Storia do Mogor 65.19
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 65.19
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65.19.1
After Aurangzeb had given his army a rest and had delayed the enemy, he made dispositions for crossing the river. He ordered the whole of his artillery to be discharged, and directed that, under cover of this fire, Murad Bakhsh with his whole force should plunge into the river, the banks of which are very difficult of descent and ascent, being encumbered with many stones of all sizes, though the bed is not of any great breadth (I have crossed it myself many times). Qasim Khan, on his part, likewise ordered his guns to be fired, making a show of fighting the enemy and disputing the passage with him. But he had come to a secret understanding with Aurangzeb, and had already on the previous night hidden away the powder and shot, leaving only enough to let off three volleys. At the beginning the fighting was very fierce and severe, and the crossing was well defended by the men of Jaswant Singh. But in the end Murad Bakhsh plunged into the river with such valiant spirit that the rajah could not resist him, Qasim Khan having already withdrawn. But the rajah never ceased to fight most desperately, until at length he saw himself left with only the smallest remnant of his force.
65.19.2
When Aurangzeb's troops reached the other side of the river, Rajah Jaswant Singh was advised, owing to his reduced numbers, to beat a retreat. If he survived, he could gather together many armies and fight many battles. Listening to these counsels, he retreated against his will in the best way he could, followed by five hundred horsemen, and started for his own country, which was at a distance of seventy leagues from the scene of the defeat. He did not wish to return to Agrah, owing to the great loss of some ten thousand Rajputs, who had followed him and were all his subjects. Aurangzeb gave orders to put up on the site a sarae and plant a garden, calling it Fatepur (Fathpur)—that is to say, 'Filled with Victory.' Here he made himself master of all the artillery and baggage, with which he strengthened his army, digging up the powder and shot that Qasim Khan had buried.
65.19.3
Rajah Jaswant Singh arrived in his country with only fifteen horsemen, all the rest from various accidents having quitted him. His wife, the daughter of the Rana, a Hindu king, was named Ranagi (Rani Ji). She had been informed of his defeat, of what had passed in the battle—with what valour he had fought, and how with the few men remaining he was unable to resist [179] the enemy any longer. But instead of sending a message to meet him and console him in his discomfiture, she at once ordered the gates of the fortress to be closed. This was at Udepor (Udepur), the chief town. He was not to be allowed to enter; and she added the contemptuous words: 'From this day he is no longer my husband, and I never want to see his face again. As a descendant of the great Rana, his soul should not have been thus vile; he ought to have recollected his connection with our illustrious house. His business was to gain the battle or die on the spot; then should I have acquired one of two glorious things—the renown of being a hero's wife, or an honoured widow's death by burning.' Her rage and passion were so extreme that she knew not what she was inventing or saying. She had conceived an idea that her husband had been killed in the battle, and that all they were telling her was only meant to prevent her burning herself [as a sati]. She issued orders for the preparation of the necessary materials for her death by fire, announcing that her husband was dead, for how could it be otherwise ?
65.19.4
On being assured once again that her husband was really alive, she suddenly flew into a greater rage ; turning pale, she had a fit, and fell to the ground. On recovering her senses, she exclaimed passionately : ' Better were it that I had not been born, or had died before I saw this day ; or at the least had not been born into this family, or else married to a man of honour though of low degree, and not to this coward.' Worn out by all this grief, she said in the end that all her life long she would never look on the face of such a white-livered soldier. She would lead a life of renunciation.
65.19.5
Then came her mother to her, and with every effort sought a means of consoling her. It was promised to her that in a few days they would furnish to the rajah another army, with which to renew the attack on Aurangzeb. Thus in one way or another his honour could be vindicated by them, they sparing neither their wealth nor any of their treasures. In spite of all this she would not allow herself to be comforted. She would not on any terms permit her husband to enter the fortress, nor would she receive his messages ; she ordered that no one should mention his name in her presence. Things remained thus for some years, until Aurangzeb, who had then become king, offered himself as a mediator to restore friendship between them. He sent several women from his palace and eunuchs on various occasions. As a mark of respect to the king's requests, she reluctantly consented. Nevertheless, she never forebore from showing the rajah a wry face as a token of her disapproval, which she persisted in with much rancour. Once the rajah wanted to eat a melon, and along with it the serving-maid presented a knife. Thereupon Rani Ji suddenly fell upon the maid and seized her by the hair, beating and thumping her, saying : ' Knowest thou not the courage of this runaway, that when he sees a bit of iron of any sort he swoons ?' This was her behaviour for the rest of her life.
65.19.6
When Shahjahan heard of this unfortunate defeat, he raised his hands and his eyes to heaven, saying, 'Ala ham di lillah !' [Al hamdu lillah !] — that is to say, 'Praise be to God!' ' Already I knew that the time of my rule was nearing its end, but not that there would fall upon me this calamity, so that, filled with anguish thereby, I cry, " Hia Ala teri raza " [Ya Allah! teri raza !]— that is to say, "O God! thy will be done " — ' it is my sins that chastise me, and I deserve it all, " mere Ala !" [mere Allah !], " my God !" ' When Dara received the report that the river passage at Ujjain had been forced, he was greatly enraged, and in a passion stamped on the ground, and, wringing his hands, cursed Qasim Khan. If he had him there, he would without fail order him to be cut into pieces. With the same passion he let himself loose upon and railed against Mir Jumlah. He said to his father that he (Shahjahan) was the chief cause of the mishap. If his majesty had not confided an army to Mir Jumlah, he could not have transferred it to the rebel Aurangzeb. ' But this day our own arms are turned against us. If your majesty had only listened to my advice in the first instance, we should never have arrived at this plight.' He joined in his accusation the names of Muhammad Amin Khan and Shaistah Khan, saying they also were traitors. He wanted to have them beheaded, and their families sent to a house of ill fame.
65.19.7
And without a doubt he would have done so, through the great excitement he was in ; but Shahjahan, whose affliction was added to by Dara's disordered condition and his wild words, employed all his wisdom and mildness in assuaging the violence of his son. He impressed on him that all this was merely the wiliness and plotting of Aurangzeb to secure Mir Jumlah and seize his goods, having discovered that Muhammad Amin Khan and Shaistah Khan had no intention of exposing themselves to his severities. Dara listened to these arguments, and although he disagreed, he dissembled, and busied himself with the preparation of his entire army. Aurangzeb and Murad Bakhsh, finding themselves victors through the good results attained in this first fight, became emboldened and thought themselves invincible, and assumed that no army existed in the world able to oppose them. Thus all the soldiers in the army boasted that after they were masters of the empire, they would without fail press on into Persia and Turkey, uttering unending rodomontade. To raise the spirits of his troops, Aurangzeb announced (very truly, as I saw when the time came) that in the army of Dara there were thirty thousand Moguls ready to come under his standards.