Storia do Mogor 65.7.1

65.7.1

These goods were not sent by Shahjahan into his treasure-houses. Of these, in addition to the old ones, he constructed for himself two — one for gold and another for silver. The one for gold was called Zaura (? zakhlraJi) — that is to say, 'Treasure'; and that for silver, Baura (bhaunra) — that is to say, 'Horn-beetle.' These receptacles were two square cisterns seventy feet long and thirty feet high, with two handsome marble pillars in the middle. The treasuries were closed by trap-doors ; and above these cisterns were large halls, also used as special treasuries for the money to be expended. In the treasury for gold there were current coins worth each seven patacas. There were other coins, which were not current, of the value of seven hundred, of three thousand five hundred, and of seven thousand patacas. These were very beautiful, and the king gave them as presents to his ladies. When I was attending as physician on one of these, she made me a present of one of these coins. While Aurangzeb was king, the whole of these treasures, and the treasures of Queen Nurjahan, were expended, owing to the falling off in the revenue.