Storia do Mogor 65.12
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 65.12
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65.12.1
The prince Shah Shuja' also consulted his astrologers, and they told him that before much time had passed there would arise a rebellion in the empire, and that he would become emperor. The little cobra carried upon the head of the large one was, they said, the king of the cobras, who had come to the end of his reign, and was thus compelled to leave his old abode. This event caused considerable fear to all people, and it was spoken of in many directions. Both Mahomedans and Christians assured me that it was as the astrologers had divined, and that it must happen as they had said. But in saying that Shah Shuja' must become king they went too far. All the same, this may have been the reason for Shah Shuja' rising in rebellion against his father.
65.12.2
The third son of King Shahjahan was the prince Aurangzeb, the present King of Hindustan. This prince was very different from the others, being in character very secretive and serious, carrying on his affairs in a hidden way, but most energetically. He was of a melancholy temperament, always busy at something or another, wishing to execute justice and arrive at appropriate decisions. He was extremely anxious to be recognised by the world as a man of wisdom, clever, and a lover of the truth. He was moderately liberal, distributing rewards and conferring gifts wherever suitable. But above all, for a long time he pretended to be a faquir (faqir), a holy mendicant, by which he renounced the world, gave up all claim to the crown, and was content to pass his life in prayers and mortifications.
65.12.3
Still, being then in the Dakhin, he never refrained from urging his claims at court by the mediation of his sister, Roxonara Begom (Roshan-ara Begam). All was done in great secrecy, with much craft, so that his brothers could neither know nor suspect anything. He was aware that his father was not fond of him, and being afraid that he might be removed from charge of the Dakhin, he sought by his pretences to secure some of his affection. However, Shahjahan recollected every day the faqir and the apples (I. 118), and thus gave no credit to the make-believe of Aurangzeb. In addition, Dara said several times to his father that he was not afraid of any of his brothers except the bigot and prayer-monger. With this cloak of renunciation he deceived many, and secured intimacy [159] with the poor mendicants, many of whom were devoted to him, and the greater number of them were used as spies, to give him news of the many things that occurred. He was so subtle as to deceive the quickest-witted people, among whom are these faqirs. For, having been told that many of these people had considerable sums hidden in their patched coats, he issued an order at the city of Brampur (Burhanpur) that all the mendicants should be collected at an entertainment, where he meant to distribute alms. In addition to the banquet, he intended as a sacrifice for his sins to give to each of them a new coat.
65.12.4
A great number of the mendicants assembled, for none could refuse this chance of filling his belly and covering his nakedness with a new garment. After having dined, the new clothes were given to them as they left, taking from them the old ones that they had on their bodies. Finding themselves thus cornered and knowing the loss they must suffer, they became anxious, and shouted that they could not give up their clothes by reason of their great holiness, and many said that they had vowed they would be buried in those clothes, which they had carried about on their bodies for so many days. Their objections were of no avail, and they were sent away, carrying the new raiment. Aurangzeb ordered the said clothes to be piled up, and after they had been searched he acquired a large number of golden coins. With these he wished to purchase a string of lovely pearls. He asked his teacher, Secmir (Shekh Mir), a man of great wisdom, whether the pearls were worth a hundred thousand rupees, which the owner demanded. The teacher, without inspecting them, and keeping his eyes cast on the ground, said to him : ' If your highness does not mean to acquire greater pearls, you can buy these ; but my advice is that with the said money you raise soldiers, and by them you will become master of larger pearls and greater riches.' Aurangzeb followed this advice, and praised the judgment of Shekh Mir.
65.12.5
Not content with pretending to be a faqir, Aurangzeb went further, and acted the mola (mulla, man learned in theology), catechizing this one and the other. When at the city of Orangabad (Aurangabad), where he held his court, he had in his following a Rajput prince, whom he began to catechize in the hope of making him a Mahomedan. But finding the prince remained fixed in his religion, he said to him that if the Hindu faith was the true one, he would be able to lay hold of a red-hot iron with his hand without being injured. If he remained uninjured, then he (Aurangzeb), too, would follow the same religion. The Rajput accepted the offer [160] ; the red-hot iron was put into his hands, but, not able to retain it, he threw it forthwith on to a tent of Aurangzeb's close by, which took fire and was burnt. The rajah, who was injured by the fire, said : 'It seems to me that we both of us live in error — I because I burnt myself, and your highness because your tent was burnt.' In spite of this Aurangzeb did not desist from his habit of catechizing both Hindus and Christians, turning some of them into Mahomedans, and of these some only agreed in order to acquire promotion, and others in order to obtain employment in his court, or to earn some rupees [161].
65.12.6
Aurangzeb grew very fond of one of the dancing-women in his harem, and through the great love he bore to her he neglected for some time his prayers and his austerities, filling up his days with music and dances; and going even farther, he enlivened himself with wine, which he drank at the instance of the said dancing-girl. The dancer died, and Aurangzeb made a vow never to drink wine again nor to listen to music. In after-days he was accustomed to say that God had been very gracious to him by putting an end to that dancing-girl's life, by reason of whom he had committed so many iniquities, and had run the risk of never reigning through being occupied in vicious practices. During the time that Aurangzeb was in the Dakhin a man called Mirzamula (Mir Jumlah), who was a Persian by birth, was the wazir of the Gulkhandah king and general of his army. Mir Jumlah came to the kingdom of Gulkhandah in the service of a Persian merchant, and was in charge of some horses that the trader had brought from Persia for sale to the King of Gulkhandah. Mir Jumlah went through the streets from door to door selling shoes ; but fortune resolved to favour him, and little by little he rose to be a great merchant of much fame in the kingdom. Owing to his being very rich, with ships at sea, also a man of much wisdom and very generous, he gained for himself many friends about the court, who looked after his interest at the king's audiences.
65.12.7
Anxious to rise in life, Mir Jumlah made a present to the King of Gulkhandah of some fine elephants and various cloths of Europe and of China. In this way he was well received, and obtained an appointment with good pay. He filled various honourable offices, and in all of them gave a good account of himself, and the king thought so highly of him that he made him governor of the Carnatte (Karnatik) province. There he was on terms of familiarity with and much esteemed by the great ; and above all, he kept up a great friendship with Dom Phelipe Mascarenha, Viceroy of Goa. They sent each other presents. Dom Phelipe sent him several kinds of brocade and porcelain from China, accompanied by many curiosities from Japan. Besides these, he sent him some ' armes blanches ' — a breast-plate, a morion, and a sword. All of these were much prized by Mir Jumlah, and he made use of them on necessary occasions in battle. He replied to these gifts by sending a number of jewels and diamonds, which he extracted from the mines that are in the said province of Karnatik. During the time of his government in the Karnatik, Mir Jumlah gathered together the great treasures which then existed in that province in the ancient temples of the Hindu idols. Besides these, others were discovered by his exertions in the said province, for which (i.e., precious stones) it is very famous.