Storia do Mogor 65.17.3

65.17.3

The other generals expressed doubts, and said there was no certain news of the death of King Shahjahan, and that it was not for them to take the prince's side until they knew the truth. If the king were dead, they would come over to his side. They asked for fifty days' time, so that they might send their spies and learn what was going on. If no answer arrived within that limit of time, they pledged their word to adopt his cause. To make sure of their promises, Aurangzeb took from them an oath on the Quran. In this interval, knowing well that the king was alive, he (Aurangzeb) resorted to some of his devices, and sent an order to a trusty captain called Mirza Abdulha ('Abdullah), who was in charge of the castle on the Narbada, the river which divides the lands of the Dakhin from Hindustan. This is an obligatory point for crossing, a place where no one can come or go without being examined. The orders were that everybody returning to the Dakhin should be searched. If he captured any letters saying that King Shahjahan still lived, he must forthwith burn them, and behead those who carried them.