Storia do Mogor 65.4.7

65.4.7

The lasciviousness of Shahjahan did not interfere with his care to govern his kingdom most perfectly. He upheld the maxim of his father [133] that true justice must be enforced, rewarding the meritorious and punishing the guilty. He kept his eye on his officials, punishing them rigorously when they fell short in their duty. This was the reason that he kept at his court an official with several baskets full of poisonous snakes. He would order that in his presence they should be made to bite any official who had failed to administer justice, leaving the culprit lying in his presence till the breath left him. Thus he did, as I saw, to the cotual (Kotwal) called Mahomed Said (Muhammad Sa'id), who is the magistrate. This man did not decide uprightly, and took bribes. Therefore an order was given that he should be bitten in one hand in his (Shahjahan's) presence by a cobra capello, the most poisonous snake on earth. The official in charge of the snakes was asked how long the man could live. The official replied that he could not live more than an hour. The king remained seated until the Kotwal expired. He then ordered that the body should lie two days in front of his court-house. Others who had deserved death were ordered to be thrown to mad elephants, who tore them to pieces.