The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c16.67

v4.c16.67

The Zoroastrian theologian Māhyārjī Rānā, who had been invited to court in 1578, had taken a prominent part in the conferences in the "Hall of Worship", and his influence was observed in Akbar's acts of reverence to the sun, and in rites ordained for the evening hour, when the lamps were lit, which led many to believe that the emperor had become a convert to the ancient religion of Persia; but no system could hold him, and he was really engaged in the compilation of a bewildering code of rites culled from all religions. In the same year a Portuguese mission arrived from Bengal, led by Antonio Cabral, a priest who aroused Akbar's curiosity, but was too diffident of his own learning and abilities to assume the post of a spiritual guide, and recommended the emperor to seek the advice of Jesuit missionaries of the College of St Paul at Goa. His advice was followed and Akbar sent an envoy to Goa, to beg for the services of "two Fathers well versed in letters" who should bring to his court the Gospels and other books on their faith. The Viceroy, Dom Luis de Athaide, was averse from complying with the request, fearing lest Akbar, despite his fair words, should detain the priests as hostages, but the zeal of the Jesuits overcame his scruples, and on 17 November Father Antonio Monserrate, Father Rodolfo Acquaviva and Father Francisco Enriques, a Persian convert from Islām, left Goa by sea.