History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c20.s2.67

c20.s2.67

A word about the unlucky Deval. Her life after the death of her husband is tantalizingly obscure. Baranī only says that all the ladies staying at Gwalior were brought to Delhi.⁶³ He does not say what happened to Deval Devi, nor does Khusrau. Hājiuddabīr, however, says that Qutbuddin married her against her will and everybody condemned this action.⁶⁴ Ferishtah also says that Qutbuddin took into his *haram* Deval Devi, the wedded wife of Khizr Khan.⁶⁵ This may not be improbable. Qutbuddin had little moral scruples and the taking possession of the wives of a dead prince by the ruling monarch was a common practice in those days. With the murder of Qutbuddin at the hands of Khusrau Khan the affairs at Delhi became chaotic. According to Barani, Khusrau Khan married the wife of Qutbuddin.⁶⁶ He does not say that she was Deval Devi. Obviously she must have been the chief wife of Mubarak Shah. Some later Persian writers and a few modern historians, however, suggest that she was the ill-starred Deval Devi, perhaps because of the tragedy associated with her name. But their surmise is not supported by any contemporary evidence. In fact nothing is known of the end of this princess to whom the fates seemed to be deliberately inimical.