The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.432

v3.c20.432

Muhammad now decreed a fresh evacuation of Delhi, actuated on this occasion by a desire for the welfare of his subjects. The fertile province of Oudh had for many years prospered under the mild and paternal rule of its governor, ‘Ain-ul-Mulk, and from its overflowing granaries the king purposed to relieve the misery of his people. Any attempt to transport grain through the starving and turbulent Doāb would have been foredoomed to failure, and since he could not bring food to his people he led his people to the food. On the western bank of the Ganges, near the site of the ancient city of Khor, in 27° 33′ N. lat. and 79° 35′ E. long. at a distance of 165 miles from Delhi, he caused a city of booths to be built, to which he gave the Sanskrit name of Sargadwārī (*Swarga-dwāra*), ‘the Gate of Paradise,’ and which he made his headquarters for the next six years. To this city he brought the inhabitants of Delhi, and here they were fed. ‘Ain-ul-Mulk and his brothers loyally supported him, encamped on the opposite bank of the river, and conveyed the hoarded grain of Oudh to Sargadwārī, the temporary booths of which were replaced in the following year by more permanent buildings, where the citizens of Delhi dwelt, not only in plenty, but in moderate comfort.