Storia do Mogor 338.22
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 338.22
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338.22.1
Madraspatam, on the 5th of January, 1705. (Signed) Nicolao Manuci. [Here the manuscript breaks off, and resumes abruptly at the top of the next folio — viz., 218. A leaf must be missing or misplaced. The fragments which follow consist most probably of detached passages which were to be worked up into Part V., in which some of them do appear.] . . . [218] in my presence. Aurangzeb feels forced to continue the war against Shiva Ji (i.e., the Mahrattahs), and he has from the first had the ambition of conquering the countries of others, be it by treachery or force of arms. In the execution of these designs there have died in his armies over a hundred thousand souls yearly, and of animals, horses, pack-oxen, camels, elephants, et cetera, over three hundred thousand. In spite of the greatness of the empire, by reason of which supplies of these necessaries always used to be forthcoming in abundance, the great nobles and the famed generals and captains have nowadays to go without them. Their families are in distress, and to such a state have their wives and daughters come that throughout the empire they are forced by their sufferings to ask alms in the streets. It is noteworthy that the wives of commanders of some consideration, through the distress they are in, move from door to door with nothing but a plain white sheet over their head.
338.22.2
In the Dakhin provinces there was no rain from 1702 to 1704, but instead plague prevailed. In these two years there expired over two millions of souls ; fathers, compelled by hunger, offering to sell their children for a quarter to half a rupee, and yet forced to go without food, finding no one to buy them. It is now twenty-five years since Aurangzeb came in person to the Dakhin to begin this war, as I have already stated (II. 200). Let the careful reader reflect on the enormous expenditure incurred, the unnumbered deaths during this time. Yet never did he (Aurangzeb) betray any sign of emotion. During any great peril or hardship that arrived he would say to the few generals with him that his great ancestor, Taimur-i-lang, gained his great fame as a conqueror precisely because similar contretemps had happened to him [219]. This king took a good many forts in the Cunção (Konkan) belonging to the Mahrattahs. These forts were situated at the foot of lofty mountains near the sea, which stretch from the vicinity of Goa up to the neighbourhood of Chaul (Chanwal). But there were very heavy expenses, great losses both of men and animals, and great dearness from want of supplies. Sometimes it happened that the officers were forced to go in person to the baker's and carry a little flour to be made into a loaf — for this they paid him two rupees ; while the few servants who stayed on subsisted on leaves and roots.
338.22.3
Finding himself in this desperate condition the king was forced to retreat, taking up a position under protection of Amadanaguer (Ahmadnagar) and its fortress. During this march the princess, his daughter, and the other queens made petition to his majesty, stating that it was now thirty years nearly since they left the court of Dihli, and all that time they had been on the march, and had suffered many hardships; they were now old women, and his majesty should concede to them before he died permission to retire into the fortress of Ãgrah. Thereby they would be saved from being made prisoners and insulted after his death. His answer was that on this point he had taken the requisite measures to place them in security two years before his death. Dã,ud Khãn, after making an agreement with the Mahrattahs, withdrew, and took up his abode in Arkãt, leaving the enemy present in the direction of AdonI and Sirã. The king sent him various orders, appointing him governor of that country, and telling him to make exertions to eject the enemy therefrom. In addition, he made him governor of the kingdom of Gulkandah, and he received instructions to expel the enemy from that region also. They had invested the fortress of Badanagar (? Bhãgnagar) by an army of thirty thousand horse.
338.22.4
Dã,ud Khãn replied that [220] the force he had under his command was much too small to make a campaign against, and fight with, so many enemies. He requested that some one else might be sent in his place, otherwise the enemy would inevitably occupy the whole Karnãtik. At the same time, he instructed his representatives at court to make every effort, and not to leave the king without obtaining an advance of a million of rupees. Further on I will recount what has happened (IV. 233).
338.22.5
Without troubling himself about the increasing ruin to his empire due to the Mahrattahs, this king now plans the renewal of war against the Hindu prince of Maisur, or Saranpattan (Srirangapatanam). His ambition is to capture the great treasure possessed by this prince. This territory lies near the region of Malabar, and the prince possesses one hundred thousand matchlockmen and ten thousand cavalry. His revenue, after paying expenses, is every year eleven carois (krors) of rupees — that is, thirty-five millions. He is lord over a large territory defended by over one hundred fortresses and many forests. This prince has a Brahman as his chief counsellor, named Duduhaja Daluahia (Duduhaja Dahvãe), a man of sound judgment. The reigning prince is a nephew of the late ruler, and is deaf. For this reason King Aurangzeb protests that this prince is not a legitimate successor, and claims the right to take possession. Thus he is making ready for a campaign, and has sent out orders to the princes of Tanjor, the princess of Trichinopoly, and other neighbouring rulers who are his feudatories. They must be prepared to invade Maisúr ; and should they refuse compliance they will, he says, be chastised.
338.22.6
The King of Gulkandah, Shãh 'Abdullah Qutb Shãh [1611-72] several times [221] made war against this monarch [i.e., of Maisúr], hoping to obtain his treasures and territory. But he had no success, the said prince defending himself valiantly ; and the punishment he inflicted on his adversaries was to release them after cutting off their noses. They say that the inhabitants of this country (Maisúr) are so active that when horsemen are passing through their forests, they come out rapidly, and, placing their hands on the horse's quarters, spring up behind, and cut off the rider's nose with a sort of half-moon in iron that they carry. By this feat so much fear was established in the (Mogul) army that no one was so bold as to advance until the musketeers had fired. No one can enter or leave the Maisur ruler's territories without a passport. The officials in charge of the diamond mines reported to his majesty (Aurangzeb) that they had obtained there a large diamond weighing two ounces and two-eighths. He ordered it to be sent to the Presence; but it never reached him, the Mahrattahs having carried it off while it was on its way.
338.22.7
This old king (Aurangzeb) still shows his eagerness for war by the gestures he uses on the march. While seated in his palanquin, he unsheathes his sword, makes cuts in the air, first [222] one way, then the other, and, smiling all the while, polishes it with a cloth, then returns it to its scabbard. He does the same with his bow, to show that he can still let fly an arrow. But most of the time he sits doubled up, his head drooping so much that his beard lies on his chest, and it looks to you as if it grew out of his throat. When his officers submit any petition, or make report to him of any occurrence, he gently raises his head and straightens his back. He gives them such an answer as to leave no opening for reply, and still looks after his army in the minutest particulars. But those who are at a distance pay very little attention to his orders. They make excuses, they raise difficulties; and under cover of these pretexts, and by giving large sums to the officials at court, they do just as they like. If he would only abandon his mock saint-hood, and behead a few of those in his empire, there would not be so much disorder, and he would be better obeyed. It is from this cause that they countermine him by working on his various scruples.
338.22.8
As an example I will give a case in Bengal. There is a province there which in the time of Shãhjahãn yielded seventeen lakhs of rupees. The king noticed that during his time it was bringing in no more than five lakhs. He asked the grand wazīr the cause of this falling off. The wazīr replied hypocritically that the government of Shãhjahãn was tyrannical and the people oppressed ; whereas that of his majesty was compassionate and holy, leaving the people to live in peace and happiness. These words satisfied his majesty, and this is the method by which the officials succeed in doing as they please. Nowadays most of the old ones are dead, and those appointed in their places are wanting in experience ; they also draw much less pay, and thus are discontented. With the Hindu princes it is just the same. One of them, having a grievance against the son-in-law of Mahamed Amican (Muhammad Amín Khãn), deserted to the enemy [223] with two thousand horsemen, and on the march looted the royal baggage train.