History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c32.s1.t8.1

v2.c32.s1.t8.1

The letters of Aurangzib have reached us in (a) three compact and clearly defined collections made by his secretaries. (b) Three compilations consisting of selections from various earlier sources, made long after his death. These are generally of an ill-defined and mixed character, hardly any two MSS. agreeing in the number and arrangement of the letters. This is partly due to the fact that after the editors had issued their compilations with their own prefaces, later copyists covered the leaves left blank at the end of their transcripts by inserting other letters of Aurangzib out of the vast number of them circulating in India throughout the 18th century. There is a second difficulty with regard to this group : sometimes a letter of a certain purport differs so much in language and extent in two different collections that they must be considered as belonging to two distinct types. Which of the two faithfully represents Aurangzib’s original letter and which of them is a later recension, it is difficult to say. (c) Two incomplete collections which stand apart from all other groups. (d) Short orders written on petitions, as given in No. 21 above. (e) Stray letters scattered through a large number of other works.