Travels in India (Tavernier) 57.1

57.1

Since Aurangzeb, who reigns at present, has occupied the throne of the Moguls, which he usurped from his father and brothers, he has imposed on himself, as I have said, a severe form of penance, and eats nothing which has enjoyed life. As he lives upon vegetables and sweetmeats only, he has become thin and meagre, to which the great fasts which he keeps have contributed. During the whole of the duration of the comet of the year , which appeared very large in India, where I then was, Aurangzeb only drank a little water and ate a small quantity of millet bread; this so much affected his health that he nearly died, for besides this he slept on the ground, with only a tiger’s skin over him, and since that time he has never had perfect health. I remember having seen the King drink upon three different occasions while seated on his throne. He had brought to him upon a golden saucer, enriched with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, a large cup of rock crystal, all round and smooth, the cover of which was of gold, with the same decoration as the saucer. As a rule no one sees the King eat except his womenkind and eunuchs, and it is very rarely that he goes to eat at the house of any of his subjects, whether of a Prince or even of his own relatives. While I was on my last journey, Zafar Khan, who was his Grand Vizier, and besides that his uncle on his wife’s side, invited the King to visit him in order to see the new palace which he had had built for himself.