Travels in India (Tavernier) 50.3

50.3

The King, not penetrating the designs of Khurram, consented without difficulty to what he asked, and as soon as he had this poor Prince in his power he knew how to rid himself of him by the most secret means, and used the most plausible pretexts possible, in order to conceal his crime from the view of men, not considering that he was unable to conceal it from the eyes of God, who did not leave this action unpunished, as we shall shortly see. After the death of this blind Prince, Sultan Khurram caused himself to be called Shāh Jahān, i.e. King of the World, and in order to uphold the title raised an army to finish the task which his brother had begun, namely the dethronement of his father Jahāngīr and the taking possession of the Empire. The King, being much irritated by the death of his son and the outrage against his own person, sent considerable forces to chastise Khurram for so criminal an enterprise, and this rebel Prince, feeling himself too weak to resist them, quitted the Kingdom of Deccan, wandering with some vagabonds who followed him, sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, until he arrived in Bengal, where he raised an army in order to give battle to the King. Having passed the Ganges, he directed his steps towards the Kingdom of Lahore, and the King in person confronted him with a more numerous and stronger army than his.