[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Dark Ages](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages) › [Travellers (1500–1858)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel) › [Histoire de la dernière révolution des États du Grand Mogol](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier) › [Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable) › 5 # Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 5: LETTER TO MONSIEUR DE LA MOTHE LE VAYER Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 5 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [5.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1) — 8 parts - [5.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2) — 8 parts - [5.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3) — 7 parts - [5.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4) — 8 parts - [5.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5) — 8 parts - [5.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.6) — 8 parts - [5.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.7) — 8 parts - [5.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.8) — 9 parts - [5.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.9) — 10 parts - [5.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.10) — 8 parts ### LETTER TO MONSIEUR DE LA MOTHE LE VAYER ### [5.1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.1) Written at Dehli the first of July 1663. Containing a description of Dehli and Agra, the Capital Cities of the Empire of the Great Mogol, together with various details illustrative of the Court Life and the Civilisation of the Mogols and the People of the Indies. MONSIEUR, I know that your first inquiries on my return to France will be respecting the capital cities of this empire. You will be anxious to learn if Dehli and Agra rival Paris in beauty, extent, and number of inhabitants. I hasten, therefore, to gratify your curiosity upon these points, and I may perhaps intersperse a few other matters which you will not find altogether uninteresting. ### [5.1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.2) In treating of the beauty of these towns, I must premise that I have sometimes been astonished to hear the contemptuous manner in which Europeans in the Indies speak of these and other places. They complain that the buildings are inferior in beauty to those of the Western world, forgetting that different climates require different styles of architecture; that what is useful and proper at Paris, London, or Amsterdam, would be entirely out of place at Dehli; insomuch that if it were possible for any one of those great capitals to change place with the metropolis of the Indies, it would become necessary to throw down the greater part of the city, and to rebuild it on a totally different plan. Without doubt, the cities of Europe may boast great beauties; these, however, are of an appropriate character, suited to a cold climate. Thus Dehli also may possess beauties adapted to a warm climate. The heat is so intense in Hindoustan, that no one, not even the King, wears stockings; the only cover for the feet being babouches, or slippers, while the head is protected by a small turban, of the finest and most delicate materials. The other garments are proportionably light During the summer season, it is scarcely possible to keep the hand on the wall of an apartment, or the head on a pillow. ### [5.1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.3) For more than six successive months, everybody lies in the open air without covering — the common people in the streets, the merchants and persons of condition sometimes in their courts or gardens, and sometimes on their terraces, which are first carefully watered. Now, only suppose the streets of S. Jaques or S. Denis transported hither, with their close houses and endless stories; would they be habitable? or would it be possible to sleep in them during the night, when the absence of wind increases the heat almost to suffocation? Suppose one just returned on horseback, half dead with heat and dust, and drenched, as usual, in perspiration; and then imagine the luxury of squeezing up a narrow dark staircase to the fourth or fifth story, there to remain almost choked with heat. In the Indies, there is no such troublesome task to perform. You have only to swallow quickly a draught of fresh water, or lemonade; to undress; wash face, hands, and feet, and then immediately drop upon a sofa in some shady place, where one or two servants fan you with their great panhas, or fans. But I shall now endeavour to give you an accurate description of Dehli, that you may judge for yourselves how far it has a claim to the appellation of a beautiful city. ### [5.1.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.4) It is about forty years ago that Chah-Jehan, father of the present Great Mogol, Aureng-Zebe, conceived the design of immortalising his name by the erection of a city near the site of the ancient Dehli. This new capital he called after his own name, Chah-Jehan-Abad, or, for brevity, Jehan-Abad; that is to say, the colony of Chah-Jehan. Here he resolved to fix his court, alleging as the reason for its removal from Agra, that the excessive heat to which that city is exposed during summer rendered it unfit for the residence of a monarch. Owing to their being so near at hand, the ruins of old Dehli have served to build the new city, and in the Indies they scarce speak any more of Dehli, but only of Jehan-Abad; however, as the city of Jehan-Abad is not yet known to us, I intend to speak of it under the old name of Dehli, with which we are familiar. Dehli, then, is an entirely new city, situated in a flat country, on the banks of the Gemna, a river which may be compared to the Loire, and built on one bank only in such a manner that it terminates in this place very much in the form of a crescent, having but one bridge of boats to cross to the country. Excepting the side where it is defended by the river, the city is encompassed by walls of brick. ### [5.1.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.5) The fortifications, however, are very incomplete, as there are neither ditches nor any other kind of additional defence, if we except flanking towers of antique shape, at intervals of about one hundred paces, and a bank of earth forming a platform behind the walls, four or five feet in thickness. Although these works encompass not only the city but the citadel, yet their extent is less than is generally supposed. I have accomplished the circuit with ease in the space of three hours, and notwithstanding I rode on horseback, I do not think my progress exceeded a league per hour. In this computation I do not however include the suburbs, which are considerable, comprising a long chain of buildings on the side of Lahor, the extensive remains of the old city, and three or four smaller suburbs. By these additions the extent of the city is so much increased that a straight line may be traced in it of more than a league and a half; and though I cannot undertake to define exactly the circumference, because these suburbs are interspersed with extensive gardens and open spaces, yet you must see that it is very great. ### [5.1.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.6) The citadel, which contains the Mehalle or Seraglio and the other royal apartments of which I shall have occasion to speak hereafter, is round, or rather semicircular. It commands a prospect of the river, from which it is separated by a sandy space of considerable length and width. On these sands are exhibited the combats of elephants, and there the corps belonging to the Omrahs or lords, and those of the Rajas or gentile princes, pass in review before the Sovereign, who witnesses the spectacle from the windows of the palace. The walls of the citadel, as to their antique and round towers, resemble those of the city, but being partly of brick, and partly of a red stone which resembles marble, they have a better appearance. The walls of the fortress likewise excel those of the town in height, strength, and thickness, being capable of admitting small field-pieces, which are pointed toward the city. Except on the side of the river, the citadel is defended by a deep ditch faced with hewn stone, filled with water, and stocked with fish. Considerable as these works may appear, their real strength is by no means great, and in my opinion a battery of moderate force would soon level them with the ground. Adjoining the ditch is a large garden, filled at all times with flowers and green shrubs, which, contrasted with the stupendous red walls, produce a beautiful effect. ### [5.1.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.7) Next to the garden is the great royal square, faced on one side by the gates of the fortress, and on the opposite side of which terminate the two most considerable streets of the city. The tents of such Rajas as are in the King's pay, and whose weekly turn it is to mount guard, are pitched in this square; those petty sovereigns having an insuperable objection to be enclosed within walls. The guard within the fortress is mounted by the Omrahs and Mansebdars. In this place also at break of day they exercise the royal horses, which are kept in a spacious stable not far distant; and here the Kobat-kan, or grand Muster-master of the cavalry, examines carefully the horses of those who have been received into the service. If they are found to be Turki horses, that is, from Turkistan or Tartary, and of a proper size and adequate strength, they are branded on the thigh with the King's mark and with the mark of the Omrah under whom the horseman is enlisted. This is well contrived, to prevent the loan of the same horses for different review days. ### [5.1.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.1.8) Here too is held a bazar or market for an endless variety of things; which like the Pont-neuf at Paris, is the rendezvous for all sorts of mountebanks and jugglers. Hither, likewise, the astrologers resort, both Mahometan and Gentile. These wise doctors remain seated in the sun, on a dusty piece of carpet, handling some old mathematical instruments, and having open before them a large book which represents the signs of the zodiac. In this way they attract the attention of the passengers, and impose upon the people, by whom they are considered as so many infallible oracles. They tell a poor person his fortune for a payssa (which is worth about one sol); and after examining the hand and face of the applicant, turning over the leaves of the large book, and pretending to make certain calculations, these impostors decide upon the Sahet or propitious moment of commencing the business he may have in hand. Silly women, wrapping themselves in a white cloth from head to foot, flock to the astrologers, whisper to them all the transactions of their lives, and disclose every secret with no more reserve than is practised by a scrupulous penitent in the presence of her confessor. The ignorant and infatuated people really believe that the stars have an influence which the astrologers can control. ### [5.2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.1) The most ridiculous of these pretenders to divination was a half-caste Portuguese, a fugitive from Goa. This fellow sat on his carpet as gravely as the rest, and had many customers notwithstanding he could neither read nor write. His only instrument was an old mariner's compass, and his books of astrology a couple of old Romish prayer-books in the Portuguese language, the pictures of which he pointed out as the signs of the European zodiac. A tal Bestias, tal Astrologuo, he unblushingly observed to the Jesuit, the Reverend Father Buzé, who saw him at his work. I am speaking only of the poor bazar-astrologers. Those who frequent the court of the grandees are considered by them eminent doctors, and become wealthy. The whole of Asia is degraded by the same superstition. Kings and nobles grant large salaries to these crafty diviners, and never engage in the most trifling transaction without consulting them. They read whatever is written in heaven; fix upon the Sahet, and solve every doubt by opening the Koran. ### [5.2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.2) The two principal streets of the city, already mentioned as leading into the square, may be five-and-twenty or thirty ordinary paces in width. They run in a straight line nearly as far as the eye can reach; but the one leading to the Lahorgate is much the longer. In regard to houses the two streets are exactly alike. As in our Place Royale, there are arcades on both sides; with this difference, however, that they are only brick, and that the top serves for a terrace and has no additional building. They also differ from the Place Royale in not having an uninterrupted opening from one to the other, but are generally separated by partitions, in the spaces between which are open shops, where, during the day, artisans work, bankers sit for the despatch of their business, and merchants exhibit their wares. Within the arch is a small door, opening into a warehouse, in which these wares are deposited for the night. ### [5.2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.3) The houses of the merchants are built over these warehouses, at the back of the arcades: they look handsome enough from the street, and appear tolerably commodious within; they are airy, at a distance from the dust, and communicate with the terrace-roofs over the shops, on which the inhabitants sleep at night; the houses, however, are not continued the whole length of the streets. A few, and only a few, other parts of the city have good houses raised on terraces, the buildings over the shops being often too low to be seen from the street. The rich merchants have their dwellings elsewhere, to which they retire after the hours of business. There are five streets, not so long nor so straight as the two principal ones, but resembling them in every other respect. Of the numberless streets which cross each other, many have arcades; but having been built at different periods by individuals who paid no regard to symmetry, very few are so well built, so wide, or so straight as those I have described. ### [5.2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.4) Amid these streets are dispersed the habitations of Mansebdars, or petty Omrahs, officers of justice, rich merchants, and others; many of which have a tolerable appearance. Very few are built entirely of brick or stone, and several are made only of clay and straw, yet they are airy and pleasant, most of them having courts and gardens, being commodious inside and containing good furniture. The thatched roof is supported by a layer of long, handsome, and strong canes, and the clay walls are covered with a fine white lime. Intermixed with these different houses is an immense number of small ones, built of mud and thatched with straw, in which lodge the common troopers, and all that vast multitude of servants and camp-followers who follow the court and the army. It is owing to these thatched cottages that Dehli is subject to such frequent conflagrations. More than sixty thousand roofs were consumed this last year by three fires, during the prevalence of certain impetuous winds which blow generally in summer. So rapid were the flames that several camels and horses were burnt. Many of the inmates of the seraglio also fell victims to the devouring element; for these poor women are so bashful and helpless that they can do nothing but hide their faces at the sight of strangers, and those who perished possessed not sufficient energy to fly from the danger. ### [5.2.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.5) It is because of these wretched mud and thatch houses that I always represent to myself Dehli as a collection of many villages, or as a military encampment with a few more conveniences than are usually found in such places. The dwellings of the Omrahs, though mostly situated on the banks of the river and in the suburbs, are yet scattered in every direction. In these hot countries a house is considered beautiful if it be capacious, and if the situation be airy and exposed on all sides to the wind, especially to the northern breezes. A good house has its courtyards, gardens, trees, basins of water, small jets d'eau in the hall or at the entrance, and handsome subterraneous apartments which are furnished with large fans, and on account of their coolness are fit places for repose from noon until four or five o'clock, when the air becomes suffocatingly warm. Instead of these cellars many persons prefer Kas-kanays, that is, small and neat houses made of straw or odoriferous roots placed commonly in the middle of a parterre, so near to a reservoir of water that the servants may easily moisten the outside by means of water brought in skins. They consider that a house to be greatly admired ought to be situated in the middle of a large flower-garden, and should have four large divan-apartments raised the height of a man from the ground, and exposed to the four winds, so that the coolness may be felt from any quarter. ### [5.2.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.6) Indeed, no handsome dwelling is ever seen without terraces on which the family may sleep during the night. They always open into a large chamber into which the bedstead is easily moved in case of rain, when thick clouds of dust arise, when the cold air is felt at break of day, or when it is found necessary to guard against those light but penetrating dews which frequently cause a numbness in the limbs and induce a species of paralysis. The interior of a good house has the whole floor covered with a cotton mattress four inches in thickness, over which a fine white cloth is spread during the summer, and a silk carpet in the winter. At the most conspicuous side of the chamber are one or two mattresses, with fine coverings quilted in the form of flowers and ornamented with delicate silk embroidery, interspersed with gold and silver. These are intended for the master of the house, or any person of quality who may happen to call. Each mattress has a large cushion of brocade to lean upon, and there are other cushions placed round the room, covered with brocade, velvet or flowered satin, for the rest of the company. Five or six feet from the floor, the sides of the room are full of niches, cut in a variety of shapes, tasteful and well proportioned, in which are seen porcelain vases and flower-pots. The ceiling is gilt and painted, but without pictures of man or beast, such representations being forbidden by the religion of the country. ### [5.2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.7) This is a pretty fair description of a fine house in these parts, and as there are many in Dehli possessing all the properties above mentioned, I think it may be safely asserted, without disparagement to the towns in our quarter of the globe, that the capital of Hindoustan is not destitute of handsome buildings, although they bear no resemblance to those in Europe. That which so much contributes to the beauty of European towns, the brilliant appearance of the shops, is wanting in Dehli. For though this city be the seat of a powerful and magnificent court, where an infinite quantity of the richest commodities is necessarily collected, yet there are no streets like ours of S. Denis, which has not perhaps its equal in any part of Asia. Here the costly merchandise is generally kept in warehouses, and the shops are seldom decked with rich or showy articles. For one that makes a display of beautiful and fine cloths, silk, and other stuffs striped with gold and silver, turbans embroidered with gold, and brocades, there are at least five-and-twenty where nothing is seen but pots of oil or butter, piles of baskets filled with rice, barley, chick-peas, wheat, and an endless variety of other grain and pulse, the ordinary aliment not only of the Gentiles, who never eat meat, but of the lower class of Mahometans, and a considerable portion of the military. ### [5.2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.2.8) There is, indeed, a fruit-market that makes some show. It contains many shops which during the summer are well supplied with dry fruit from Persia, Balk, Bokara, and Samarkande; such as almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, raisins, prunes, and apricots; and in winter with excellent fresh grapes, black and white, brought from the same countries, wrapped in cotton; pears and apples of three or four sorts, and those admirable melons which last the whole winter. These fruits are, however, very dear; a single melon selling for a crown and a half. But nothing is considered so great a treat: it forms the chief expense of the Omrahs, and I have frequently known my Agah spend twenty crowns on fruit for his breakfast. ### [5.3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.1) In summer the melons of the country are cheap, but they are of an inferior kind: there are no means of procuring good ones but by sending to Persia for seed, and sowing it in ground prepared with extraordinary care, in the manner practised by the grandees. Good melons, however, are scarce, the soil being so little congenial that the seed degenerates after the first year. Ambas, or Mangues, are in season during two months in summer, and are plentiful and cheap; but those grown at Dehli are indifferent. The best come from Bengale, Golconda, and Goa, and these are indeed excellent. I do not know any sweetmeat more agreeable. Pateques, or water-melons, are in great abundance nearly the whole year round; but those of Dehli are soft, without colour or sweetness. If this fruit be ever found good, it is among the wealthy people, who import the seed and cultivate it with much care and expense. ### [5.3.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.2) There are many confectioners' shops in the town, but the sweetmeats are badly made, and full of dust and flies. Bakers also are numerous, but the ovens are unlike our own, and very defective. The bread, therefore, is neither well made nor properly baked. That sold in the Fort is tolerably good, and the Omrahs bake at home, so that their bread is much superior. In its composition they are not sparing of fresh butter, milk, and eggs; but though it be raised, it has a burnt taste, and is too much like cake, and never to be compared to the Pain de Gonesse, and other delicious kinds, to be met with in Paris. In the bazars there are shops where meat is sold roasted and dressed in a variety of ways. But there is no trusting to their dishes, composed, for aught I know, of the flesh of camels, horses, or perhaps oxen which have died of disease. Indeed no food can be considered wholesome which is not dressed at home. ### [5.3.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.3) Meat is sold in every part of the city; but instead of goats' flesh that of mutton is often palmed upon the buyer; an imposition which ought to be guarded against, because mutton and beef, but particularly the former, though not unpleasant to the taste, are heating, flatulent, and difficult of digestion. Kid is the best food, but being rarely sold in quarters, it must be purchased alive, which is very inconvenient, as the meat will not keep from morning to night, and is generally lean and without flavour. The goats' flesh found in quarters at the butchers' shops is frequently that of the she-goat, which is lean and tough. But it would be unreasonable in me to complain; because since I have been familiarised with the manners of the people, it seldom happens that I find fault either with my meat or my bread. I send my servant to the King's purveyors in the Fort, who are glad to sell wholesome food, which costs them very little, at the high price I am willing to pay. My Agah smiled when I remarked that I had been for years in the habit of living by stealth and artifice, and that the one hundred and fifty crowns which he gave me monthly would not otherwise keep me from starving, although in France I could for half a roupie eat every day as good meat as the King. ### [5.3.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.4) As to capons, there are none to be had; the people being tender-hearted toward animals of every description, men only excepted; these being wanted for their Seraglios. The markets, however, are amply supplied with fowls, tolerably good and cheap. Among others, there is a small hen, delicate and tender, which I call Ethiopian, the skin being quite black. Pigeons are exposed for sale, but not young ones, the Indians considering them too small, and saying that it would be cruel to deprive them of life at so tender an age. There are partridges which are smaller than ours, but being caught with nets, and brought alive from a distance, are not so good as fowls. The same thing may be remarked of ducks and hares, which are brought alive in crowded cages. The people of this neighbourhood are indifferent fishermen; yet good fish may sometimes be bought, particularly two sorts, called sing-ala and rau. The former resembles our pike; the latter our carp. When the weather is cold, the people will not fish at all if they can avoid it; for they have a much greater dread of cold than Europeans have of heat. Should any fish then happen to be seen in the market, it is immediately bought up by the eunuchs, who are particularly fond of it; why, I cannot tell. The Omrahs alone contrive to force the fishermen out at all times by means of the korrah, the long whip always suspended at their door. ### [5.3.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.5) You may judge from what I have said, whether a lover of good cheer ought to quit Paris for the sake of visiting Dehli. Unquestionably the great are in the enjoyment of everything; but it is by dint of the numbers in their service, by dint of the korrah, and by dint of money. In Dehli there is no middle state. A man must either be of the highest rank or live miserably. My pay is considerable, nor am I sparing of money; yet does it often happen that I have not wherewithal to satisfy the cravings of hunger, the bazars being so ill supplied, and frequently containing nothing but the refuse of the grandees. Wine, that essential part of every entertainment, can be obtained in none of the shops at Dehli, although it might be made from the native grape, were not the use of that liquor prohibited equally by the Gentile and Mahometan law. I drank some at Amed-abad and Golkonda, in Dutch and English houses, which was not ill-tasted. If wine be sometimes found in the Mogol empire, it is either Chiras or Canary. The former is sent by land from Persia to Bander-Abasy, where it is embarked for Sourate, from which port it reaches Dehli in forty-six days. The Canary wine is brought by the Dutch to Sourate; but both these wines are so dear that, as we say at home, the taste is destroyed by the cost. A bottle containing about three Paris pints cannot be purchased under six or seven crowns. The liquor peculiar to this country is Arac, a spirit drawn by distillation from unrefined sugar; ### [5.3.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.6) the sale of which is also strictly forbidden, and none but Christians dare openly to drink it. Arac is a spirit as harsh and burning as that made from corn in Poland, and the use of it to the least excess occasions nervous and incurable disorders. A wise man will here accustom himself to the pure and fine water, or to the excellent lemonade, which costs little and may be drunk without injury. To say the truth, few persons in these hot climates feel a strong desire for wine, and I have no doubt that the happy ignorance which prevails of many distempers is fairly ascribable to the general habits of sobriety among the people, and to the profuse perspiration to which they are perpetually subject. The gout, the stone, complaints in the kidneys, catarrhs and quartan agues are nearly unknown; and persons who arrive in the country afflicted with any of these disorders, as was the case with me, soon experience a complete cure. Even the venereal disease, common as it is in Hindoustan, is not of so virulent a character, or attended with such injurious consequences, as in other parts of the world. But although there is a greater enjoyment of health, yet there is less vigour among the people than in our colder climates; and the feebleness and languor both of body and mind, consequent upon excessive heat, may be considered a species of unremitting malady, which attacks all persons indiscriminately, and among the rest Europeans not yet inured to the heat. ### [5.3.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.3.7) Workshops, occupied by skilful artisans, would be vainly sought for in Dehli, which has very little to boast of in that respect. This is not owing to any inability in the people to cultivate the arts, for there are ingenious men in every part of the Indies. Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling-pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings and miniatures, and was particularly struck with the exploits of Ekbar, painted on a shield by a celebrated artist, who is said to have been seven years in completing the picture. I thought it a wonderful performance. The Indian painters are chiefly deficient in just proportions, and in the expression of the face; but these defects would soon be corrected if they possessed good masters, and were instructed in the rules of art. ### [5.4.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.1) Want of genius, therefore, is not the reason why works of superior art are not exhibited in the capital. If the artists and manufacturers were encouraged, the useful and fine arts would flourish; but these unhappy men are contemned, treated with harshness, and inadequately remunerated for their labour. The rich will have every article at a cheap rate. When an Omrah or Mansebdar requires the services of an artisan, he sends to the bazar for him, employing force, if necessary, to make the poor man work; and after the task is finished, the unfeeling lord pays, not according to the value of the labour, but agreeably to his own standard of fair remuneration; the artisan having reason to congratulate himself if the korrah has not been given in part payment. How then can it be expected that any spirit of emulation should animate the artist or manufacturer? Instead of contending for a superiority of reputation, his only anxiety is to finish his work, and to earn the pittance that shall supply him with a piece of bread. The artists, therefore, who arrive at any eminence in their art are those only who are in the service of the King or of some powerful Omrah, and who work exclusively for their patron. ### [5.4.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.2) The citadel contains the Seraglio and other royal edifices; but you are not to imagine that they are such buildings as the Louvre or the Escurial. The edifices in the Fort have nothing European in their structure; nor ought they, as I have already observed, to resemble the architecture of France and Spain. It is sufficient if they have that magnificence which is suited to the climate. The entrance of the fortress presents nothing remarkable except two large elephants of stone, placed at either side of one of the principal gates. On one of the elephants is seated the statue of Jemel, the renowned Raja of Chitor; on the other is the statue of Polta, his brother. These are the brave heroes who, with their still braver mother, immortalised their names by the extraordinary resistance which they opposed to the celebrated Ekbar; who defended the towns besieged by that great Emperor with unshaken resolution; and who, at length reduced to extremity, devoted themselves to their country, and chose rather to perish with their mother in sallies against the enemy than submit to an insolent invader. It is owing to this extraordinary devotion on their part, that their enemies have thought them deserving of the statues here erected to their memory. These two large elephants, mounted by the two heroes, have an air of grandeur, and inspire me with an awe and respect which I cannot describe. ### [5.4.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.3) After passing into the citadel through this gate, there is seen a long and spacious street, divided in the midst by a canal of running water. The street has a long divan, or raised way, on both sides, in the manner of the Pont-neuf, five or six feet high and four broad. Bordering the divan are closed arcades, which run up the whole way in the form of gates. It is upon this long divan that all the collectors of market-dues and other petty officers exercise their functions without being incommoded by the horses and people that pass in the street below. The Mansebdars or inferior Omrahs mount guard on this raised way during the night. The water of the canal runs into the Seraglio, divides and intersects every part, and then falls into the ditches of the fortification. This water is brought from the river Gemna by means of a canal opened at a distance of five or six leagues above Dehli, and cut with great labour through fields and rocky ground. The other principal gate of the fortress also conducts to a long and tolerably wide street, which has a divan on both sides bordered by shops instead of arcades. Properly speaking, this street is a bazar, rendered very convenient in the summer and the rainy season by the long and high arched roof with which it is covered. Air and light are admitted by several large round apertures in the roof. ### [5.4.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.4) Besides these two streets, the citadel contains many smaller ones, both to the right and to the left, leading to the quarters where the Omrahs mount guard, during four-and-twenty hours, in regular rotation, once a week. The places where this duty is performed may be called splendid, the Omrahs making it a point to adorn them at their own expense. In general they are spacious divans or alcoves facing a flower-garden, embellished by small canals of running water, reservoirs, and fountains. The Omrahs on guard have their table supplied by the King. Every meal is sent ready dressed, and is received by them with all suitable ceremony, they three times performing the taslim, or salute of grateful acknowledgment, by turning the face toward the King's residence, and then raising the hand to the head and lowering it to the ground. There are, besides, many divans and tents in different parts of the fortress, which serve as offices for public business. ### [5.4.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.5) Large halls are seen in many places, called Kar-kanays, or workshops for the artisans. In one hall embroiderers are busily employed, superintended by a master. In another you see the goldsmiths; in a third, painters; in a fourth, varnishers in lacquer-work; in a fifth, joiners, turners, tailors, and shoemakers; in a sixth, manufacturers of silk, brocade, and those fine muslins of which are made turbans, girdles with golden flowers, and drawers worn by females, so delicately fine as frequently to wear out in one night. This article of dress, which lasts only a few hours, may cost ten or twelve crowns, and even more, when beautifully embroidered with needlework. The artisans repair every morning to their respective Kar-kanays, where they remain employed the whole day; and in the evening return to their homes. In this quiet and regular manner their time glides away; no one aspiring after any improvement in the condition of life wherein he happens to be born. The embroiderer brings up his son as an embroiderer, the son of a goldsmith becomes a goldsmith, and a physician of the city educates his son for a physician. No one marries but in his own trade or profession; and this custom is observed almost as rigidly by Mahometans as by the Gentiles, to whom it is expressly enjoined by their law. Many are the beautiful girls thus doomed to live singly, girls who might marry advantageously if their parents would connect them with a family less noble than their own. ### [5.4.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.6) I must not forget the Am-Kas, to which you at length arrive, after passing the places just mentioned. This is really a noble edifice: it consists of a large square court of arcades, not unlike our Place Royale, with this difference, however, that the arcades of the Am-Kas have no buildings over them. Each arcade is separated by a wall, yet in such a manner that there is a small door to pass from one to the other. Over the grand gate, situated in the middle of one side of this court, is a capacious divan, quite open on the side of the court, called the Nagar-Kanay. In this place, which thence derives its name, are kept the trumpets, or rather the hautboys and cymbals, which play in concert at certain hours of the day and night. To the ears of an European recently arrived, this music sounds very strangely, for there are ten or twelve hautboys, and as many cymbals, which play together. One of the hautboys, called Karna, is a fathom and a half in length, and its lower aperture cannot be less than a foot. The cymbals of brass or iron are some of them at least a fathom in diameter. You may judge, therefore, of the roaring sound which issues from the Nagar-Kanay. On my first arrival it stunned me so as to be insupportable: but such is the power of habit that this same noise is now heard by me with pleasure; in the night, particularly, when in bed and afar, on my terrace this music sounds in my ears as solemn, grand, and melodious. ### [5.4.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.7) This is not altogether to be wondered at, since it is played by persons instructed from infancy in the rules of melody, and possessing the skill of modulating and turning the harsh sounds of the hautboy and cymbal so as to produce a symphony far from disagreeable when heard at a certain distance. The Nagar-Kanay is placed in an elevated situation, and remote from the royal apartments, that the King may not be annoyed by the proximity of this music. Opposite to the grand gate, which supports the Nagar-Kanay, as you cross the court, is a large and magnificent hall, decorated with several rows of pillars, which, as well as the ceiling, are all painted and overlaid with gold. The hall is raised considerably from the ground, and very airy, being open on the three sides that look into the court. In the centre of the wall that separates the hall from the Seraglio, and higher from the floor than a man can reach, is a wide and lofty opening, or large window, where the Monarch every day, about noon, sits upon his throne, with some of his sons at his right and left; while eunuchs standing about the royal person flap away the flies with peacocks' tails, agitate the air with large fans, or wait with undivided attention and profound humility to perform the different services allotted to each. ### [5.4.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.4.8) Immediately under the throne is an enclosure, surrounded by silver rails, in which are assembled the whole body of Omrahs, the Rajas, and the Ambassadors, all standing, their eyes bent downward, and their hands crossed. At a greater distance from the throne are the Mansebdars or inferior Omrahs, also standing in the same posture of profound reverence. The remainder of the spacious room, and indeed the whole courtyard, is filled with persons of all ranks, high and low, rich and poor; because it is in this extensive hall that the King gives audience indiscriminately to all his subjects: hence it is called Am-Kas, or audience-chamber of high and low. ### [5.5.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.1) During the hour and a half, or two hours, that this ceremony continues, a certain number of the royal horses pass before the throne, that the King may see whether they are well used and in a proper condition. The elephants come next, their filthy hides having been well washed and painted as black as ink, with two large red streaks from the top of the head down to the trunk, where they meet. The elephants are covered with embroidered cloth; a couple of silver bells are suspended to the two ends of a massive silver chain placed over their back, and white cow-tails from Great Tibet, of large value, hang from the ears like immense whiskers. Two small elephants, superbly caparisoned, walk close to these colossal creatures, like slaves appointed to their service. As if proud of his gorgeous attire and of the magnificence that surrounds him, every elephant moves with a solemn and dignified step; and when in front of the throne, the driver, who is seated on his shoulder, pricks him with a pointed iron, animates and speaks to him, until the animal bends one knee, lifts his trunk on high and roars aloud, which the people consider as the elephant's mode of performing the taslim or usual reverence. ### [5.5.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.2) Other animals are next introduced; — tame antelopes, kept for the purpose of fighting with each other; Nilgaux, or grey oxen, that appear to me to be a species of elk; rhinoceroses; large Bengale buffaloes with prodigious horns which enable them to contend against lions and tigers; tame leopards, or panthers, employed in hunting antelopes; some of the fine sporting dogs from Usbec, of every kind, and each dog with a small red covering; lastly, every species of the birds of prey used in field sports for catching partridges, cranes, hares, and even, it is said, for hunting antelopes, on which they pounce with violence, beating their heads and blinding them with their wings and claws. Besides this procession of animals, the cavalry of one or two Omrahs frequently pass in review before the King; the horsemen being better dressed than usual, the horses furnished with iron armour, and decorated with an endless variety of fantastic trappings. The King takes pleasure also in having the blades of cutlasses tried on dead sheep, brought before him without the entrails and neatly bound up. Young Omrahs, Mansebdars, and Goul-ze-berdars, or mace-bearers, exercise their skill, and put forth all their strength to cut through the four feet, which are fastened together, and the body of the sheep at one blow. ### [5.5.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.3) But all these things are so many interludes to more serious matters. The King not only reviews his cavalry with peculiar attention, but there is not, since the war has been ended, a single trooper or other soldier whom he has not inspected, and made himself personally acquainted with, increasing or reducing the pay of some, and dismissing others from the service. All the petitions held up in the crowd assembled in the Am-Kas are brought to the King and read in his hearing; and the persons concerned being ordered to approach are examined by the Monarch himself, who often redresses on the spot the wrongs of the aggrieved party. On another day of the week he devotes two hours to hear in private the petitions of ten persons selected from the lower orders, and presented to the King by a good and rich old man. Nor does he fail to attend the justice-chamber, called Adalet-Kanay, on another day of the week, attended by the two principal Kadis, or chief justices. It is evident, therefore, that barbarous as we are apt to consider the sovereigns of Asia, they are not always unmindful of the justice that is due to their subjects. ### [5.5.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.4) What I have stated in the proceedings of the assembly of the Am-Kas appears sufficiently rational and even noble; but I must not conceal from you the base and disgusting adulation which is invariably witnessed there. Whenever a word escapes the lips of the King, if at all to the purpose, how trifling soever may be its import, it is immediately caught by the surrounding throng; and the chief Omrahs, extending their arms towards heaven, as if to receive some benediction, exclaim Karamat ! Karamat ! wonderful ! wonderful ! he has spoken wonders ! Indeed there is no Mogol who does not know and does not glory in repeating this proverb in Persian verse: Aguer chah ronzra Goyed cbeb est in Bubayed Gouft inck mab ou peruin. \[Should the King say that it is night at noon Be sure to cry, Behold I see the moon !\] ### [5.5.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.5) The vice of flattery pervades all ranks. When a Mogol, for instance, has occasion for my services, he comes to tell me by way of preamble, and as matter of course, that I am the Aristotalis, the Bocrate, and the Abouysina-Ulzaman, the Aristotle, the Hippocrates, and the Avicenna of the age. At first I endeavoured to prevent this fulsome mode of address by assuring my visitors that I was very far from possessing the merit they seemed to imagine, and that no comparison ought to be made between such great men and me; but finding that my modesty only increased their praise, I determined to accustom my ears to their flattery as I had done to their music. I shall here relate an anecdote which I consider quite characteristic. A Brahnen Pendet or Gentile doctor, whom I introduced into my Agah's service, would fain pronounce this panegyric; and after comparing him to the greatest Conquerors the world has ever known, and making for the purpose of flattery a hundred nauseous and impertinent observations, he concluded his harangue in these words, uttered with all conceivable seriousness: 'When, my Lord, you place your foot in the stirrup, marching at the head of your cavalry, the earth trembles under your footsteps; the eight elephants, on whose heads it is borne, finding it impossible to support the extraordinary pressure.' The conclusion of this speech produced the effect that might be expected. ### [5.5.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.6) I could not avoid laughing, but I endeavoured, with a grave countenance, to tell my Agah, whose risibility was just as much excited, that it behoved him to be cautious how he mounted on horseback and created earthquakes, which often caused so much mischief. 'Yes, my friend,' he answered without hesitation, 'and that is the reason why I generally choose to be carried in a Paleky.' The grand hall of the Am-Kas opens into a more retired chamber, called the Gosel-Kané, or the place to wash in. Few persons are permitted to enter this room, the court of which is not so large as that of the Am-Kas. The hall is, however, very handsome, spacious, gilt and painted, and raised four or five French feet from the pavement, like a large platform. It is in this place that the King, seated in a chair, his Omrahs standing around him, grants more private audiences to his officers, receives their reports, and deliberates on important affairs of state. Every Omrah incurs the same pecuniary penalty for omitting to attend this assembly in the evening as for failing to be present at the Am-Kas in the morning. The only grandee whose daily attendance is dispensed with is my Agah, Danech-mend-Kan, who enjoys this exemption in consequence of his being a man of letters, and of the time he necessarily devotes to his studies or to foreign affairs; but on Wednesdays, the day of the week on which he mounts guard, he attends in the same manner as other Omrahs. ### [5.5.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.7) This custom of meeting twice a day is very ancient; and no Omrah can reasonably complain that it is binding, since the King seems to consider it as obligatory upon himself as upon his courtiers to be present; nothing but urgent business, or serious bodily affliction, preventing him from appearing at the two assemblies. In his late alarming illness Aureng-Zebe was carried every day to the one or the other, if not to both. He felt the necessity of showing himself at least once during the twenty-four hours; for his disorder was of so dangerous a character that his absence, though only for one day, might have thrown the whole kingdom into trouble and insurrection and caused the closing of every shop. ### [5.5.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.5.8) Although the King, when seated in the hall of Gosel-Kane, is engaged about such affairs as I have mentioned, yet the same state is maintained for the most part as in the Am-Kas; but being late in the day, and the adjoining court being small, the cavalry of the Omrahs does not pass in review. There is this peculiar ceremony in the evening assembly, that all the Mansebdars who are on guard pass before the King to salute him with much form. Before them are borne with great ceremony that which they call the Kours, to wit, many figures of silver, beautifully made, and mounted on large silver sticks: two of them represent large fish; two others a horrible and fantastic animal called Eiedelia; others are the figures of two lions; others of two hands and others of scales; and several more which I cannot here enumerate, to which the Indians attach a certain mystic meaning. Among the Kours and the Mansebdars are mixed many Gourse-berdars, or mace-bearers chosen for their tall and handsome persons, and whose business it is to preserve order in assemblies, and to carry the King's orders, and execute his commands with the utmost speed. ### [5.6.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.6.1) It would afford me pleasure to conduct you to the Seraglio, as I have introduced you into other parts of the fortress. But who is the traveller that can describe from ocular observation the interior of that building? I have sometimes gone into it when the King was absent from Dehli, and once pretty far I thought, for the purpose of giving my professional advice in the case of a great lady so extremely ill that she could not be moved to the outward gate, according to the customs observed upon similar occasions; but a Kachemire shawl covered my head, hanging like a large scarf down to my feet, and an eunuch led me by the hand, as if I had been a blind man. You must be content, therefore, with such a general description as I have received from some of the eunuchs. They inform me that the Seraglio contains beautiful apartments, separated, and more or less spacious and splendid, according to the rank and income of the females. Nearly every chamber has its reservoir of running water at the door; on every side are gardens, delightful alleys, shady retreats, streams, fountains, grottoes, deep excavations that afford shelter from the sun by day, lofty divans and terraces, on which to sleep coolly at night. Within the walls of this enchanting place, in fine, no oppressive or inconvenient heat is felt. The eunuchs speak with extravagant praise of a small tower, facing the river, which is covered with plates of gold, in the same manner as the two towers of Agra; ### [5.6.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.6.2) and its apartments are decorated with gold and azure, exquisite paintings and magnificent mirrors. Before taking our final leave of the fortress, I wish to recall your attention to the Am-Kas, which I am desirous to describe as I saw it during certain annual festivals; especially on the occasion of the rejoicings that took place after the termination of the war. Never did I witness a more extraordinary scene. The King appeared seated upon his throne, at the end of the great hall, in the most magnificent attire. His vest was of white and delicately flowered satin, with a silk and gold embroidery of the finest texture. The turban, of gold cloth, had an aigrette whose base was composed of diamonds of an extraordinary size and value, besides an Oriental topaz, which may be pronounced unparalleled, exhibiting a lustre like the sun. A necklace of immense pearls, suspended from his neck, reached to the stomach, in the same manner as many of the Gentiles wear their strings of beads. The throne was supported by six massy feet, said to be of solid gold, sprinkled over with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. I cannot tell you with accuracy the number or value of this vast collection of precious stones, because no person may approach sufficiently near to reckon them, or judge of their water and clearness; ### [5.6.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5.6.3) but I can assure you that there is a confusion of diamonds, as well as other jewels, and that the throne, to the best of my recollection, is valued at four Kourours of Roupies, I observed elsewhere that a Lecque is one hundred thousand roupies, and that a Kourour is a hundred Lecques; so that the throne is estimated at forty millions of roupies, worth sixty millions of pounds \[livres\] or thereabouts. It was constructed by Chah-Jehan, the father of Aureng-Zebe, for the purpose of displaying the immense quantity of precious stones accumulated successively in the treasury from the spoils of ancient Rajas and Patans, and the annual presents to the Monarch, which every Omrah is bound to make on certain festivals. The construction and workmanship of the throne are not worthy of the materials; but two peacocks, covered with jewels and pearls, are well conceived and executed. They were made by a workman of astonishing powers, a Frenchman by birth, named who, after defrauding several of the Princes of Europe, by means of false gems, which he fabricated with peculiar skill, sought refuge in the Great Mogol's court, where he made his fortune. _First 42 of 93 passages. [Read on](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5)_ --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.travel.bernier~en-constable.5) · Pramāṇa