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History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c36: Chapter XXVI. The First Half of the Reign : A General Sketch, 1658—1682

History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c36

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Chapter XXVI. The First Half of the Reign : A General Sketch, 1658—1682

§1. The contrast between the two halves of Aurangzib's reign.

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The reign of Aurangzib is naturally divided into two equal parts of about 25 years each, the first of which he passed in Northern India and the second in the Deccan. During the earlier of these two periods the centre of interest lies unmistakably in the North, not because the Emperor lived there, but because the most important developments, civil and military, concerned this region, while the South figured as a far-off and negligible factor. In the second half of the reign the situation is reversed : all the resources of the empire are concentrated in the Deccan ; the Emperor, his Court and family, the bulk of the army, and all his best officers live there for a quarter century, and Hindustan sinks back to a place of secondary importance. True, the administration goes on in the North as before, but the empire's centre of life is now in the South ; Delhi, Agra and Lahor lose their proud position as the abode of royalty, the throbbing heart of the State, and the centre of the wit and wisdom of the land; they become mere provincial cities, the seats of viceroys; their palaces still stand but are untenanted; the imperial furniture and upholstery are packed and kept under lock and key, and a curious visitor has difficulty in viewing them even with an imperial permit.

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The generals and soldiers in their enforced exile in the Deccan sigh for a return to their northern homes; one homesick noble offers the Emperor a lakh of Rupees for leave to spend only one year at Delhi; the Rajput soldiery complain that their breed is dying out by reason of their lifelong stay in the Deccan away from home and family; even the Prime Minister diplomatically suggests that the imperial arms in the South have been crowned with success and therefore the Court may now go back to Delhi without loss of prestige. But nothing can shake Aurangzib’s obstinate resolve to “root out” the Marathas.*

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During this period, practically extending over one human generation, the administration in Northern India naturally falls into decay at the withdrawal of the master’s eye and the ablest officers; the people grow poorer; the upper classes decline in morals, intelligence and useful activity; finally, lawlessness breaks out in most parts, and we notice the first rudimentary beginnings of that political economic and cultural breakdown which has rightly given the name of "the Great Anarchy" to the 18th century in Northern India. In the closing years of Aurangzib's life, Hindustan merely meant a place where the much-needed money for the Deccan wars was to be raised and from which disturbances were reported with annoying frequency.

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∗ Imperial furniture packed up in Delhi, M. A. 383. Homesick noble, M. U. i. 457. Prime Minister’s advice, Anecdotes § 46.

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During the first half of the reign the centre of interest in Northern India shifts with startling rapidity and range. The imperial banners march from Kabul in the extreme west to the Namrup hills in the extreme east of India, from Tibet beyond our northern limits to Bijapur across the southern boundary of the empire. We see wars with the Mongoloid Ahoms of Assam and Burmese of Arracan, with the aboriginal Cheros of Palamau in South Bihar and the hillmen of Morang and Kumaun northward of North Bihar, with Marathas and Bijapuris, Rajputs and Afghans, besides many operations on a smaller scale against lawless peasants and chiefs in several widely separated districts. We see the Emperor's religious intolerance fully unmasked, and we also see the first signs of the Hindu revival which was the natural response of a living creed to the stimulus of persecution by Government.

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This frequent change of scene and subject is apt to bewilder the reader by its variety and suddenness, and give him the impression of a set of detached political acts, unless he keeps his eyes fixed on the centre of the entire political machinery, the Emperor, whose will guided the whole administration and whose policy gave the only possible unity to seemingly unconnected acts in various provinces.

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But the affairs of the Deccan during these 25 years are excluded from the present volume, because they did not affect the administration in Northern India nor influence the fate of the empire in general, as they did in the second quarter century of the reign. Moreover, there was such intricate action and reaction between the four Powers in the Deccan,—namely, Bijapur, Golkonda, Shivaji and the Mughals,—that the history of the Peninsula can be studied only as a whole. It is impossible to get a proper historical perspective and to trace events to their real causes if we follow the Mughals only—their wars and alliances with any of the Deccani kingdoms, without taking note of what was happening in the other two kingdoms at the same time. The internal history of each of these three States as well as their foreign relations must be studied if we wish to understand the true course of affairs in the Deccan from the rise of Shivaji to the fall of Shambhuji. There is an organic unity in the theme and it will form the subject matter of a volume by itself.

§2. Aurangzib's personal history and movements, 1657—1681.

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A survey of the first half of the reign may well begin with the personal history of the Emperor. After his grand coronation at the commencement of the second year of his reign (13 May, 1659), Aurangzib lived at Delhi, guiding the State from the capital. News continued to reach him of the success of his armies and the removal of his domestic enemies one by one. Dara was put to death on 30th August, 1659, and Shuja driven out of India in May next, while Murad Bakhsh and Sipihr Shukoh were safe in prison. There remained only Sulaiman Shukoh, the eldest son of Dara; but he, too, was given up by his protector and brought to Delhi in chains, (27th December, 1660). A year afterwards Murad was done to death (4 Dec., 1661) and in the following May Sulaiman Shukoh also. The Emperor's eldest son, Muhammad Sultan deserted to the enemy, but soon came back (8 Feb., 1660) and was confined in a fortress for the rest of his life.

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At Prince Muhammad's going over to Shuja and the recovery of Rajmahal, the capital of Bengal, by the two, there was much alarm and slackness among the imperialists. Aurangzib advanced from Delhi to Garh Mukteshwar on the Ganges (13-24 Nov., 1659), in order to be nearer at hand to march to Bengal in case of need. But the danger was not really serious, and the Emperor spent most of his time in hunting. Early next January he left Garh Mukteshwar for Allahabad by way of Soron, again hunting on the way. But as the situation in the eastern theatre of war improved under Mir Jumla's able control, the Emperor found his own presence there unnecessary and turned aside from the way, reaching Delhi on 13th February, 1660. (A. N. 444—464).

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Thereafter he dwelt at the capital and received grand embassies sent from all parts of the outer Muslim world to wish him well on his accession. For the benefit of these foreign guests he made that lavish display of his wealth and power which "dazzled even eyes which were accustomed to the pomp of Versailles." From February 1661, when the first of these missions arrived, to October 1667, in the space of less than seven years, the Emperor spent over twenty-one lakhs of Rupees in receiving and sending out embassies, besides eleven lakhs given to the ex-king of Kashghar, who took refuge in India in 1668.

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In the 5th year of his reign, Aurangzib made a trip to Kashmir, leaving Delhi on 8th Dec. 1662 and returning to that city on 18th Jan. 1664. In February 1666 his father's death took him to Agra. So long as Shah Jahan lived in captivity, Aurangzib had naturally avoided Agra and held his Court at Delhi. But the death of the deposed Emperor removed this embarrassment, and his next enthronement (that of the 9th year) was held in Agra palace (March, 1666) with the utmost display and magnificence. In November 1662, on the eve of starting for Kashmir, he had removed the imperial treasures and precious articles of Agra fort—the hoardings of three long reigns,—to Delhi for safer keeping. They were now (May 1666) brought back to Agra in 1,400 carts and lodged in the fort for good. In October of the same year the Court returned to Delhi and stayed there for the next 7½ years, with the exception of two years (Dec. 1669—October 1671) spent at Agra again. (A. N. 759, 962.)

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In 1674 the seriousness of the Afridi rising forced the Emperor to go to Hasan Abdal, to be near enough to Peshawar to direct the operations of his armies. Here he lived from 26th June, 1674 to 23rd December, 1675, returning to Delhi on 27th March, 1676. Early in 1679, the death of Maharajah Jaswant Singh and the opportunity it presented of annexing the Jodhpur State drew him to Ajmir. His first stay in the latter city was short (19 Feb.—10

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March), as there was none to oppose his policy. But the Rathor nobles successfully conveyed Jaswant's heir, Ajit Singh, to Marwar and raised the flag of national independence which all the resources of the Mughal empire after a generation of struggle failed to defeat. So, Aurangzib had to leave Delhi again (3 Sep. 1679), never to return to his capital in life or death. In Rajputana he spent the next two years and then, early in the 25th year of his reign, he started for the Deccan where he finally exhausted his life and empire after 25 years of strenuous but un-availing toil. With this southward march from Ajmir (8 September, 1681), the first half of his reign ends, and a new scene, marked by complete dramatic unity, opens, which will be described in the Fourth and Fifth Volumes.

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§ 3. Correct dates of his regnal years and coronation celebrations.

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Some European writers have made the mistake of asserting that confusion was introduced into the dating of events and the keeping of accounts in consequence of Aurangzib's frequently changing the time of the official commencement of his regnal years. (Duff, i. 160 n.) But the truth is that every year of his reign began on exactly the same lunar month and day, viz., the first of Ramzan; and official documents and letters dated in the years of the reign, therefore, present no uncertainty at all as to the exact time meant. What Aurangzib did was to change, but only once, the date when the coronation *festivities* were to begin and he repeatedly curtailed their duration as his puritanical moroseness or financial distress increased. A clear statement of the case here will, I hope, set the matter at rest for ever.

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Aurangzib first sat on the throne on 1st Ziqada, year 1068 of the Hijera era (21 July, 1658); but his second or grand coronation took place on 24th Ramzan, 1069 (5 June, 1659), and only the next year's act of sitting on the throne on the same day of Ramzan. But, in the second year it was ordered that in official documents every year of the reign should be calculated from 1st Ramzan, both because it was the commencement of a holy month and also because on that day in 1068 he had crossed the Chambal to fight Dara. The actual *enthronement* took place on the 24th Ramzan of his second year, because the astrologers considered it a most lucky day.

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As for the coronation rejoicings,* they were kept in abeyance in the 1st year, but in the 2nd year they extended from 24th Ramzan (the day of enthronement) to 10th Zihijja (the day of the Id-uz-zuha), a period of 2½ months. In the 3rd year the Court festivities were reduced to eight days only, *i.e.*, from the day of actual enthronement to the 1st of Shawwal (the Id-ul-fitr). But it was found inconvenient to feast and rejoice in a season of religious fasting and prayer, and so, from the 4th year onwards the Emperor sat on the throne immediately at the end of the month of Ramzan, *i.e.*, on the day of the Id-ul-fitr, (sometimes a day later), and the celebrations ran for 10 days from that date. This rule was followed throughout the remainder of the reign. Only in his 6th year there was no rejoicing, as the Court was then in mourning for the death of Mir Jumla. In the 21st year (1677) he abolished the celebrations, the making of presents to him by the nobles, and all kinds of display at Court on the occasion of the coronation anniversary.

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∗ *A. N.* 155 (1st year); 388, 390 (2nd year); 481 (3rd year); 613 (4th year); 816 (6th year); *M. A.* 162 (21st year).

§4. Aurangzib's illness, 1662.

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Early in the 5th year of his reign, Aurangzib had a severe illness,[*] which was aggravated by his obstinate devotion to work and religious austerities. The days of Ramzan (10 April—9 May, 1662) were extremely hot and long, and this being the month of the fast, the Emperor could not quench his thirst or repose in bed during the day-time, but transacted business, tried cases, and performed his prayers as regularly as in other seasons. It used to be midnight before he finished his prayers and other duties and found time to take his meals which were scanty and simple like a hermit's, so as to be in keeping with the character of the holy month. Even his nights were devoted to prayer, and if sleep stole on his eyelids and he reclined in bed, he would start up at the first consciousness of it and then begin to count his beads again! Thus, overwork and lack of sleep and proper nourishment during an entire month in the frightful heat of a Delhi summer, greatly weakened him and his body became full of pain. Even when the period of fasting ended, he gave himself no greater repose, but insisted on holding Court twice daily and doing regular work in spite of ill health.

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∗ A. N. 745—753; Bernier, 123—126; Storia, ii. 54—61.

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At last in the afternoon of 12th May, a fever seized him; he went to the Private Audience as usual, but was forced in a few minutes to retire to the harem. Next day his temperature rose; the doctors who bled him let so much blood out that he became extremely weak; his agony was frightful; the fever-heat "scorched him like the rays of the sun"; at times he fell into fits of insensibility and a deadly pallor spread over his face. Weeping women surrounded his couch, expecting the end at any moment. The greatest anxiety and distraction reigned in the palace and the capital, and the evil was aggravated by the rival movements of his sons to gain adherents and secure their own succession. His sister Raushanara, who ruled the harem in reward of having supported him during the War of Succession, is said to have usurped the charge of the sick man and excluded all save her own friends from his bedside. Even Aurangzib’s queen Nawab Bai, the mother of his second son, was dragged away by the hair from her husband’s chamber by Raushanara during the crisis of the disease. The people of Delhi were in wild terror at the prospect of war and rapine as soon as the supreme authority would close his eyes. One man rule is not an unmixed blessing.

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The public anxiety was prolonged through the 5th day, when his fever and weakness continued without abatement. But such was Aurangzib’s strength of mind that he showed his face in the Audience Hall for a moment that evening and the next, leaning on a mace and receiving the presentation of the royal standards. The courtiers were reassured by the sight of His Majesty, and the rumours of his death in the bazars were stilled. On the 7th day the four highest grandees of the State were granted audience at his bedside. The illness continued for a month more, but there was no longer any cause for public alarm or disorder. On 22nd May he sat for a time on the marble throne in front of his bedroom in Delhi fort, and on Friday the 23rd and 30th he went to the Jama Mosque in a litter to pray in public. During this period he also showed himself daily to the outside public at the balcony of morning salute (*jharokha-i-darshan*), and attended the presentation of the standards in the Audience Hall in the evening, though still weak and ailing.

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Indeed, he could have recovered much sooner if he had spared himself such exertions. But his spirit was unconquerable by the weakness of the flesh. Not only did he insist on appearing in public with the fever on him, as we have described above, but he also transacted much business during this time. At last on 17th June his malady took a decided turn for the better, and a week afterwards he performed the customary bath of complete recovery.

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There were rejoicings all over the country. Raushanara, in particular, gave a grand feast on her beloved brother's escape from death. The absolute peace that was maintained throughout the empire during this critical month and a half is the highest tribute to the strength of Aurangzib's character* and the stability of the rule he had founded. The Indian world seemed to have been laid under a spell by that masterful will and durst not stir a finger until he was known to be dead beyond hope of revival.

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∗ Bernier's *Agha* (Danishmand Khan) on hearing of Aurangzib's fortitude during illness, exclaimed, "What strength of mind! What invincible courage! Heaven preserve thee, Aurangzib, for greater achievements! Thou art not yet destined to die!" (p. 125).

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On his recovery, Aurangzib was advised to regain strength and refresh his spirits by a visit to the pleasant valley of Kashmir, then known as the "Earthly Paradise." He left Delhi on 8th December, 1662, reaching Lahor on 8th February next, where three months were spent in supervising the administration. Then, early in May 1663 he started for Kashmir,* entering the valley through the Pir Panjal Pass at Bhimbar. The Court passed 2½ months most happily at Srinagar, and then moved from one delightful spot to another enjoying the beauty of the prospect, and setting out on return before winter. Lahor was reached on 29th Sep. 1663 and Delhi on 18th January next.

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∗ A. N. 819—840; Bernier, 391—428 (entirely wrong about the year, see Storia, ii. 66). According to M. A. (46) and K. K. (ii. 176) a terrible accident during the outward journey depressed Aurangzib's mind and made him resolve to give up the idea of visiting Kashmir in future. "While crossing the terrible Pir Panjal Pass, a frightened elephant turned back from the front and ran towards Bhimbar like a sudden calamity or a whirlwind. A terrible confusion fell on the men and animals in that narrow pass. Some female elephants and porters fell into the pit of destruction at the attack of this moving mountain and were so thoroughly destroyed that not a bone (of them) could be seen. On hearing of this accident the heart of the gracious Emperor was greatly moved and from that very time he resolved never again to visit Kashmir." It is surprising that the detailed official history, A. N., is silent about the incident, which Bernier, an eye-witness, also gives (407) though in a different form.

§5. Imperial hunt.

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During these early years passed at *Delhi*, when there was no cloud on the horizon of the frontiers, Aurangzib often devoted himself to the pleasures of the chase in the neighbourhood of the capital or in the Doab, though in old age he condemned *shikar* as the business of the idle (*bekar*). The Court chronicles have preserved full descriptions of the imperial hunt.* Thus we read that in January 1660 he shot five tigers in one day near Garh Mukteshwar; in December 1661 he killed two fighting nilgaus with two successive shots, near Palam and set up three stone monuments (*takhtgah*) on the scenes of this feat of marksmanship; and in September 1663 he bagged two tigresses in one day on the bank of the Chinab at the foot of the Jammu hills. In hawking, too, he was equally successful: in 1660 in about a month the falcons slipped by him killed 258 small bustards besides waterfowl on the Ganges, while in the season 1662 they struck down 150 herons (*kulang*). Another favourite game was the *qamurgha* hunting of the Turks. A large circle of beaters drove the game into the centre, where 355 deer were crowded together (1662). The Emperor himself shot down eight of them (six with matchlocks and two with the bow) and his companions forty others; 31 were captured alive and the rest were set free. At first nearly a thousand more had been enclosed, but even the deer can fight when driven at bay; they fell in a body on the beaters, gored five of the men (two fatally) and, breaking the cordon, escaped.

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∗ *A. N.* 459—464, 645—6, 673—5, 839. Also bare mentions in *Akhbarat*.

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§6. Minor conquests on the outskirts of the empire.

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The early years of Aurangzib's reign saw the expansion of the empire in many directions. First, Daud Khan, the governor of Bihar, annexed Palamau (1662). Next came the conquest of Assam. After the flight of Shuja from Dacca, Mir Jumla, the governor of Bengal, was ordered to punish the Rajahs of Kuch Bihar and Assam, who had raided and seized Mughal territory in North Bengal during the late civil war. He started from Dacca on 1st November, 1661, with a very large army and fleet, and entered the Kuch and Ahom capitals on 19th December and 17th March respectively. But from May to November 1662 he was besieged by floods and the enemy, and his communication with the outer world and the fleet on the Brahmaputra was cut off. The Mughals suffered terrible hardship and loss from famine and pestilence and the night attacks of the enemy. But when the ground became dry again, he resumed the offensive, early in November, and pursued the Ahom king up to Tipam at the mouth of the Namrup hills.

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At the beginning of January 1663 a treaty was signed by the king's agents, securing the retirement of the invaders in return for a large piece of territory and a vast tribute in gold and elephants. Mir Jumla, stricken with a mortal illness in the pestiferous swamps of Assam, died just before reaching Dacca (31st March, 1663). But in November 1667 the Assamese recovered Gauhati and pushed the Mughal frontier back to Dhubri (Rangamati). The Emperor sent Rajah Ram Singh with a large Rajput contingent to recover the province, but after seven years of desultory and futile warfare (1669—1676), Ram Singh was recalled. In February 1679 Gauhati was sold to the Mughals by an Ahom noble, only to be recovered by their Rajah two years later.

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Shaista Khan, the successor of Mir Jumla in the viceroyalty of Bengal, restored security to the great water-ways and rich riverside districts of East Bengal by capturing CHATGAON. He first bought over the Portuguese half-caste mariners (*Firingis*) settled at Chatgaon, whose trade was piracy under the protection of the Rajah of Arracan. Then he wrested the island of Sondip, a halfway house in the Bay of Bengal, from its rebel zamindar (18 Nov. 1665). Lastly the combined Mughal and Firingi fleets defeated the Arracanese navy in two engagements and captured the city of Chatgaon, the nest of the pirates (26 January, 1666). It was annexed to Bengal again.

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Another success of this period was the acknowledgment of Mughal suzerainty by TIBET.* In 1665 the Mughal governor of Kashmir sent to the ruler of Tibet a mission with a letter from Aurangzib threatening invasion unless he agreed to introduce "the marks of Islam" into his country and publicly profess obedience to the empire. The chief submitted in fear, advanced six miles from his capital to honour the imperial letter on the way, and promised obedience to it. The two demands were carried out; the first by the building of a mosque and the chanting of the call to prayer in a land where they had been unknown before, and the second by the public proclamation of the Emperor's titles and the minting of gold and silver coins bearing his name at the Tibetan capital.* The embassy was honourably sent back with a loyal reply, a golden key emblematic of the surrender of the whole country, and a thousand muhars and two thousand Rupees stamped with Aurangzib's name, as well as some rare products of the country, for presentation to the Emperor.

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Tibet in those times is described rather vaguely as a country more than six months' journey in length and one to two months' journey in breadth. Its armed strength is said to have been more than 12,000 cavalry and infantry, and the State officials were mostly of the Black Qalmaq clan of Tartars.

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∗ A. N. 921—923. Bernier (422—426) describes the reception of a Tibetan embassy by Aurangzib in Kashmir (1663). M. A. 236. Tarikh-i-Kashmiri Azami, 124 b and 131 b. K. K. ii. 185 (useless). The ruler of Tibet is named in the Persian works as Daldan Namjal, sometimes as Daldal Muhamal. The first word may be Dalai.

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This clan invaded Tibet in 1683 and the overlordship which Aurangzib had so easily placed on the land was invoked for its protection. An imperial force was sent under Fidai Khan, the son of Ibrahim Khan (viceroy of Kashmir), who returned after expelling the Qalmaq invaders and bringing away a vast booty with him. The official history, however, says that the imperialists conquered Tibet from its native ruler and annexed it to the Mughal dominions. This was unlikely to have been the case.

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§7. Lawless risings in the provinces.

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The disturbances of internal peace in Aurangzib's reign were of three classes: (a) The outbreaks inevitable during a succession dispute among the princes, when the collapse of civil authority tempts plunderers and ambitious chiefs to enrich themselves by lawless acts without fear of punishment. (b) Hindu risings against the policy of temple destruction which began to be enforced throughout the empire in the 12th year. (c) Revolts of vassal princes. We have also a few sporadic cases of defiance of imperial authority by petty chieftains in out-of-the-way or jungly places, which had not yet been reduced to the orderly condition of the longer settled and more civilized districts of the empire.

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In order to understand the real cause of many of the village disorders in Mughal times, we must bear in mind that the population was dynamic, not static. Internal movements of the people were constantly going on. In different generations different tribes were migrating to new districts and trying to push away the older settlers and make a home for themselves. Or, as it oftener happened, a clan that had entered a district as servants and tenants, in a few generations grew strong enough to overthrow their masters and become the dominant tribe and owner of the land. Thus, the Tenwa Jats first entered Mathura and Aligarh about 1600, but sixty years later they had multiplied so greatly as to make themselves lords of the Joar pargana. Their chief Nandram withheld revenue during the War of Succession, but had to submit to Aurangzib about 1660. (N. W. P. Gaz., ii. 428).

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The first year of Aurangzib's reign was spent in campaigning against his brothers, and the second and third in teaching the enemies of law and order that they had got a master again and that the authority of Government could no longer be safely defied.

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The district of Mathura had been the jagir of Dara Shukoh. He was a popular ruler, and, as he had patronized pandits and even coquetted with Hinduism by making gifts to temples, his fall was resented by his tenants. After Samugarh, when Dara's troops and officials fled from the district, the villagers took advantage of the absence of administrators, and there was much plundering. On 6th June, 1658, Aurangzib sent a new *faujdar* with a strong force to chastise these lawless men, but it took time to re-establish order in that region. In June 1662, the district of Koil (Aligarh) was so much disturbed that troops had to be sent from the capital to suppress the disorders.[*]

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The Hindu revolts provoked by Aurangzib's bigotry, as well as his dealings with the Sikhs, will be treated in detail in a subsequent chapter. The minor risings may be dismissed with brief notices here. In November 1659 large numbers of Rajputs of the Bais and other clans under a leader named Bahadur Panchkoti rebelled and plundered the highways and villages in Baiswara. Indeed, defiance of civil authority was the normal condition of the Baiswara peasantry, and the public revenue could be rarely gathered without the employment of an armed force. In the closing years of the reign fights between the local officers and the peasantry led by their tribal zamindars were very frequent here. The Sambal Afghans belonging to the Niazai clan crossed from Bannu to the eastern bank of the Indus river in May 1663 and plundered many Mughal outposts; but a large expedition with artillery defeated them, drove them back across the river, and seized booty valued at two lakhs of Rupees.*

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∗ Mathura disturbances, *A. N.* 115; Koil, 752 (text has *Kul*). Minor risings:—Baiswara, *A. N.* 450-451 and *Insha-i-Raushan Kalam* (for last decade of reign); Chakra-sen Bhil, *Pad.* i. 449, *A. N.* 474, 615, and *Akh.* 20/3; Bhupal Singh Gond, *Akh.* year 12, sheets 15, 24, 26, 27, year 13, sh. 9, 15; Mina, *Akh.* 12/5; Uchhrain, *Akh.* 13/8; Kishtawar, *Akh.* 13/8; Allahabad zamindars, *Akh.* 14/2; Bir Singh Gaur, *M. A.* 137, probably same as Nar Singh Gaur of Ishwardas 73a; Alam &c., *M.A.* 146; Hamir-sen, *Akh.* 8/7; Zamindar of Jammu, *ibid.* 10/9; Orissa zamindars *Muraqat-i-Hasan*, 52, 58 (Keonjhur), 116, 130, 181 (Hijli), 127 (all).

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Early in 1660, Chakra-sen, the Bhil zamindar of Ghatakheri near Bhilsa in Malwa, rose against the Government, gave up waiting upon the local subahdar and paying his customary tribute, and seized the neighbouring villages. Bhagwant Singh Hada, an imperial officer whose home was near by, was despatched to punish him, and captured the Bhil's stronghold in May. We next hear of Chakrasen as joining another rebel, Durjan Singh Hada, in Mau Maidanah (?) early in 1677, when forces had to be sent against both. In the same province Bhupal Singh, the son of Alam Singh, a Gond zamindar, rebelled in January 1669, but was expelled by the local officers from near Bhilsa. By October he had assembled 8,000 fighters under his banner, defeated the imperial faujdar of Chaukigarh,* and seized a number of outposts, and his power had grown so strong that the Emperor had to send four high generals against him. In January next Bhupal Singh wrote humbly making his submission and begging pardon. His brother, Murardas, was offered by Aurangzib the zamindari of Chaukigarh on condition of embracing Islam. But Bhupal Singh remained in arms for some time longer and had to be placed under the ban of the empire. Hamir-sen (probably a Bhil) rebelled in Shahabad, in December 1665, and the Rajah of Jammu in April 1667. In October 1669 there was a rising of the Mina tribe near Ajmir, which Ram Singh Gaur put down; but the village of Jandauli in pargana Alipur was ravaged by a Rajput chief.

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∗ The Niazai Afghans were pushed out of Bannu by the Marwals in the 16th century. They then "spread across the Khattak-Niazai hills and colonized the plains upon both banks of the Indus." (Imp. Gaz. iv. 394). A. N. 828 says that they were removed by the Mughal Government from Dhankot (which Aurangzib had renamed Muazzam-nagar) to the west bank of the Indus. The Ain-i-Akbari, ii. 401, (Jarrett), gives Dhankot ferry as "the place where the Indus is crossed for reaching the Bangash country." Erskine locates it near Khushal-garh "or perhaps Kalabagh", which latter is less likely.

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The Rathor State of Idar, on the Rajput border of Gujrat, remained in perpetual turmoil during the reign. Taking advantage of internal discord, Prince Murad Bakhsh had occupied the chief town and stationed a Musalman faujdar there. But during the War of Succession, Punja, the son of the late Rao, had recovered Idar and he held it till his death. Then Mughal rule was restored for some time, though members of the dispossessed family continued to harass the imperialists and raid the villages of the province of Gujrat. In January 1670, one of these Rathor princes* surprised the Mughal outpost of Idar, slew 200 men and carried off much booty. Gopinath Rao expelled Sayyid Kamal, the Mughal faujdar, about 1675, and recovered Idar, where he reigned for 5 years. But the imperialists drove him out to a miserable death in 1680 and held Idar thereafter.

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∗ Chaukigarh, in Bhupal territory, 47 miles south-east of Bhupal city and 16 miles north of the Narmada river; 23° 6 N. 78° 7 E.

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The irruption of the Uchhrain clan into Sehwan (west of Sindh) early in 1670, the withholding of tribute by the Rajah of Kishtawar south of the Kashmir hills in May, the rising of Hardi and other landowners in the province of Allahabad in the following January (1671), the rebellion of Bir Singh Gaur the grandson of Rajah Bithaldas, (? in Ajmir)

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∗ The Akhbarat, 13/8, calls him Punja. But according to the bardic chronicles relied on by Forbes (Ras-mala, i. 446-448), Punja died in 1658, and his brother Arjundas and then his uncle Gopinath continued to resist the Mughals. Even after 1680 the local Rathors were not pacified.

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in September 1674, and the disturbances caused by Alam, Ismail, and some other Afghan zamindars in Bihar,* next year, were all of a purely local nature and were evidently punished by the provincial officers. The zamindars of Keonjhur and Hijli in Orissa rebelled and withheld tribute at Aurangzib’s accession, and there was a general remissness among the vassals here at that time.

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Besides the natural anarchy of the War of Succession and the revolts against Aurangzib’s anti-Hindu measures, some local disturbances were caused by pretenders setting up for his dead brothers or nephews. A false Dara Shukoh appeared in Gujrat in August 1663, a false Shuja in the Morang hills (west of Kuch Bihar) in May 1669, a second in the Yusufzai country in 1674, and a third in Kamraj (Kashmir) as late as 1704; a bogus Buland Akhtar (second son of Shuja) in the Allahabad province in July 1699, and a counterfeit of the rebel prince Akbar in the Deccan in March of the same year.†

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∗ They are said to have risen in Shahjahanpur and Kantgola. There is a place of the former name 15 miles s. of Patna, and a place called Athman-gola, 28 m. e. of Patna. Rennell (sheets 4 and 9) gives a Katganj on the north bank of the Ganges opposite Athman-gola.

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† False Dara (A. N. 837), Shuja (M. A. 84, Storia, ii. 193, Tarikh-i-Azami, third viceroyalty of Ibrahim Khan), Buland Akhtar (M. A. 405), Akbar (M. A. 404, Ishwardas, 119 b).

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§8. Campaigns against Rajah of Bikaner and Champat Bundela.

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We now turn to rebels of a higher rank, namely vassal princes who had thrown off their allegiance to the crown. The first of them was Rao Karan of the Bhurtiya clan,* the chieftain of Bikaner, who had served in the Mughal army of the Deccan in the last year of Shah Jahan's reign, but had come back to Northern India at Dara's instigation without taking Aurangzib's leave. Afterwards he had put off paying the customary visit of respect to the new Emperor, and sent evasive replies to the royal letters summoning him to the Court. So, in August, 1660 an army, 9,000 strong, was sent under Amir Khan to bring him to reason. Rao Karan was cowed into submission, waited on the Emperor (27 Nov.) and received his pardon. Next January he was created a Commander of Three Thousand nominal rank (with 2,000 troopers) and sent to serve in the Deccan wars.

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The next lawless Rajah to feel Aurangzib's heavy hand was Champat Rai Bundela.† The province of Bundelkhand, immediately south of Allahabad and east of Malwa, continued to be a centre of disorder throughout the 17th century. We have seen (Ch. I §3) how after the war of 1635 the family of Bir Singh Dev was dispossessed and the throne of Urchha given to Devi Singh, a descendant of his eldest brother. The new Rajah could not keep his turbulent clansmen in order and his authority never spread to Eastern Bundelkhand, where a family sprung from a younger brother of Bir Singh’s father ruled as the lords of Mahewa. Their leader was Champat Rai who exercised great local influence by reason of his having been an old and important servant of Bir Singh and his successor. In 1636 he crowned Bir Singh’s infant grandson Prithwiraj and tried to rule the country as regent for his puppet. His depredations led to a fresh Mughal invasion, at the end of which (June, 1642) he submitted and some years later entered Dara’s service. When Aurangzib reached Ujjain after his victory over Jaswant, Champat Rai joined him (April, 1658) and according to three contemporary authors it was this Bundela chief who guided Aurangzib to the neglected ford over the Chambal which enabled the prince to turn the flank of Dara’s position without loss.

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But the Mughal official history is silent as to the name of the guide, and it does not support the incredible assertion of the Bundela family-bard, Lal Kavi, that Aurangzib rewarded Champat’s invaluable services by creating him a Commander of Twelve Thousand. We only know that later in the year Champat and his second son Angad were sent to serve in the Mughal army posted in the Panjab. But when Shuja was advancing to Khajwah and the wildest rumours spread through the empire, Champat deserted, and returning home took to his old game of robbery. During the unrest caused by the desertion of Jaswant at Khajwah and Dara's march on Ajmir, Champat made extensive raids and rendered the Malwa road extremely unsafe for travellers. The Emperor sent an army under Subhkaran Bundela and other Rajput officers against the rebel (10 Feb., 1659); but at first their efforts failed, and Champat, taking advantage of the jungles and broken ground of the country long evaded capture and lived by robbery. But the Mughal army was reinforced by a contingent under Rajah Devi Singh Bundela, and the jagirdars and local troops of Malwa were also ordered to assist him. Everybody's hands were now turned against Champat, who fled from place to place closely followed by the imperialists. In fear of capture he could not stay anywhere long, but hid himself in the day-time and changed his abode every night. His followers dwindled away, as his losses in skirmishes could not be made up.

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Most of the local Bundela chieftains joined in the hunt after him, to prove their loyalty to the throne. His brother and helper, Sujan Rai, lost his fort of Vedpur and committed suicide to escape arrest. Champat, daily tortured by ague and attended by only 25 retainers, was surprised near Urchha and forced to flee to Sahra in the Sarangpur district of Malwa, whose Rajah* (a chief of the Dhandhera clan) he had befriended in the days of his influence at Shah Jahan's Court. But even here, after a long and exhausting march, suffering from fever and hunger, he was driven off by the approach of the enemy. The outlaw gave himself up to despair and ran blindly onwards like a hunted animal. His mind became confused; nowhere could he find a way of escape. Even his own daughter (the wife of a local chief, Jnan Shah) refused asylum or food to his son Chhatra Sal, though he had been fasting for the last three days and was sinking with fatigue. The Dhandhera clan of Sahra were afraid of imperial wrath for having harboured the outlaw and now thought only of buying the forgiveness of Government by arresting and giving up their guest and refugee. Two hundred armed horsemen were sent by Sahib Rai Dhandhera to dog the steps of the unhappy fugitive under the pretext of forming his body-guard.

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At last about the middle of October 1661, Champat Rai finding capture by these false friends imminent, and unable to defend himself in the extreme agony of fever and weakness, stabbed himself to death, and so also did his constant companion in life, Rani Kali Kumari. His severed head was sent to Aurangzib, as the peace-offering of the Dhandheras.

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∗ Rao Karan of Bikaner, A. N. 570—572, 599—600, 603, 606.

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† Champat Rai, *Chhatra-prakash*, cantos 5-8, (inaccurate trans. in Pogson's *Boondelas*, pp. 20-43); A. N. 78 (joins Aurangzib at Ujjain), 92, 163, 217 (sent to Lahor), 301, 630-633; M. U. ii. 510 (life); Abd. Hamid, ii. 221, 303 (campaign against him in Shah Jahan's time), 304 (enters Dara's service). For full details, Irvine's *Later Mughals*, ii. 219-227. Mahewa is 59 miles west of Mahoba.

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∗ Chhatra-prakash is evidently wrong about this chief, whom it calls "Rajah Indraman of Sahra," because it is clear from the Persian accounts that (i) Indraman was released from prison in 1657 by Aurangzib and not by Champat and (ii) he did not die shortly before Champat, but lived for several years afterwards. (M. U. ii. 265).

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Thus perished Champat Rai, but his son Chhatra Sal lived to be long a thorn in the side of the Mughals. This gallant youth escaped from his father's enemies, and a few years afterwards he was, at the request of Jai Singh, enlisted in the Mughal army and employed in the war with Shivaji (1665). But the service of the Emperor galled his spirits; he secretly visited Shivaji, who exhorted him to protect Hinduism and resist Aurangzib's policy of religious persecution. Chhatra Sal then deserted from the Deccan, reached Bundelkhand (1671), and took to a life of rebellion and robbery. His history will be told in a later chapter. [Ch. 61.]

§ 9. Palamau : its early history.

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We shall next pass on to the punishment of Rajah Pratap Rai Chero and the annexation of his kingdom, PALAMAU, which took place only two months after the fall of Champat Rai. Beyond the southern limits of Bihar lies the district of Palamau, as a sort of rugged step leading to the plateau of Chota Nagpur on the south-east and the Central Provinces on the south-west. It is a wild country, broken up by spurs and peaks, with many rainy-weather rivers unfit for navigation and yielding no assured supply of water for irrigation. The southern part of the district is extremely rocky barren and jungly; in the northern part the valleys are a little wider and more fertile; but "nowhere in the district is it possible to get more than six or seven miles from a well-defined hill. There are no level plains, and the general appearance of the district is that of a confused mass of rocky hills, mostly covered by a dense growth of jungle. From the summit of a ridge or hill, the country appears covered by a waving sheet of low forest, with all signs of human habitation concealed from view, except perhaps a glimpse here and there of a low red tiled roof, a distant grove of trees, or an occasional herd of cattle." The population is scanty, living in small and scattered villages embosomed in the hollows among the hills.[*]

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The dominant people of the district in the 17th and 18th centuries were the Cheros, a Dravidian people, said to have branched off from the Rajbhant tribe which once held sway over the country stretching from Gorakhpur to Bundelkhand and which has left there many remains of its former power.

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∗ O' Malley's Palamau District Gazetteer (1907), 2, 3, 6-9.

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The growing pressure of Rajput expansion in the Ganges valley dislodged the Cheros from the district of Shahabad. From the Rohtasgarh plateau, which they had long held, they sallied forth to the conquest of Palamau. They first entered this district as mercenary soldiers and then seized the throne by treacherously massacring their employers, Rajput chiefs of the Raksel clan (1613). The conquerors settled in the country in 12,000 families, and were given lands on condition of military service.

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This was early in the 17th century. One of the Chero chiefs, "Medini Rai, surnamed the Just, (c. 1625), extended his sway and made himself lord paramount of the southern portion of Gaya and of large portions of Hazaribagh and Sirguja, and penetrated into Chota Nagpur as far as Doisa."* His clansmen were hereditary cattle-lifters and they made life and property insecure on their borders. The Rajahs had evidently come into conflict with the Mughal empire and been forced to promise tribute. When payment was neglected, Shaista Khan, the governor of Bihar, invaded the country (Oct., 1641—February, 1642), received the submission of the chief, Pratap Rai, and returned with an indemnity of Rs. 80,000.

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∗ On the race and early history of the Cheros, O' Malley's Gaz., 18-20, 51-52 ; Beames, Memoirs of the Races Folklore &c., i. 33, 59-61. The upper classes of the Cheros in Palamau have now intermarried with the local Rajputs and call themselves Chauhans !

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Next year, an attempt was made by the discontented nobles (including Pratap's own uncles) to dethrone him. Both sides begged help from the viceroy of Bihar, with profuse promises. Taking advantage of these family disputes, the Mughals gained possession of the fort of Deogan (near their Gaya frontier), reduced Pratap to the status of a Mughal *mansabdar*, and turned his ancestral kingdom into a fief, subject to an annual payment of one lakh of Rupees (1643).*

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The tribute was exorbitant in amount, and beyond the power of the Rajah to pay regularly.†

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∗ Early Mughal relations with Palamau, Abdul Hamid's *Padishah-namah*, ii. 248-250, 356-361.

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† The gross revenue collected from the Shahabad district seventy years afterwards was seven lakhs. (*Chahar Gulshan*, 65 a.) Palamau is incomparably less fertile and smaller in cultivable area. Pratap's heritage had been reduced by the cession of a productive tract in the N. E. corner to the Mughals (in 1643), and much of his territory was held on service tenure, yielding no revenue in cash or grain. Under the British, the current demand of land revenue (1905) is only Rs. 1,09,000. (*Gaz.* 139). But in 1643 the gross revenue of Palamau, to be collected by the Rajah, was assessed by the Mughals at 2½ lakhs, *i.e.*, the Rajah had to pay nearly half his income to the paramount Power and could not have possibly maintained himself and his retainers—much less kept state, on the balance, unless the standard assessment was collected every year without fail, which was never the case in such a primitive and sterile country, subject to the calamities of the seasons.

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It naturally fell into arrears, while additional provocation was given by the cattle-raids of the Cheros across the Bihar frontier every year. Very likely these evils increased during the War of Succession.

§10. Mughal conquest of Palamau.

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Aurangzib decided on chastisement. When Daud Khan returned to his viceroyalty of Bihar, about the middle of 1660, orders arrived from the Court urging him to conquer Palamau, and commanding the provincial faujdars, fief-holders, zamindars and other allies to hasten with their followers and co-operate with the governor in the expedition. (A. N. 649—660.)

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Three forts guarded the kingdom on its northern frontier, *viz.*, Kuthi, 40 miles north of the city of Palamau, Kunda 16 miles south south-east and Deogan, 22 miles west of Kuthi. On 23rd March, 1661, Daud Khan left Patna, accompanied by Mirza Khan the faujdar of Darbhanga, Tahawwur Khan the jagirdar of Chainpur, Rajah Bahroz of Mungir and others. The fort of Kuthi was found evacuated and the Mughals occupied it on 24th April.

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The next point of attack was Kunda, an extremely strong hill-fort, with a large and well equipped garrison. By great exertions the Mughals cut a way through the dense bamboo jungle which covered the sixteen miles that lay between Kuthi and Kunda, and arrived near the latter fort only to find it deserted. On 23rd May, Daud Khan entered Kunda, but soon afterwards dismantled its fortifications, as he considered it impolitic to hold such an out-of-the-way position.

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The rainy season having set in, the invaders went into cantonments. Mud forts were built every six miles between Kuthi and Kunda, each garrisoned by a hundred horsemen and some foot musketeers, besides zamindars' levies. Thus communication with the base was kept up and provisions arrived in the camp in safety. Meanwhile, agents had been sent by the Rajah to beg forgiveness and promise obedience and tribute, but their mission failed to turn the Khan from his purpose.

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At the end of the rainy season, the advance on Palamau was resumed on 15th October, 1661. Mirza Khan with 300 cavalry and 200 foot musketeers formed the Van. The Right Wing was composed of 700 horse and 300 foot under Tahawwur Khan and the Left Wing was placed under Daud Khan's nephew Shaikh Tatar with 500 troopers of his own contingent and Rajah Bahroz with 400 cavalry and 1500 infantry. In the Centre was Daud Khan himself with 2000 cavalry, while 500 troopers formed the Rear. The invaders numbered 6,400 strong. A large party of wood-cutters had been sent ahead under escort of imperial and local officers, to clear the jungle and make a level road to Palamau. Outposts were established at suitable places on the way. Every evening when the halt was made, entrenchments had to be thrown up round the camp to guard against surprise. The advance was necessarily very slow; in nine days only 20 miles were covered.

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On 23rd October the camp was pitched at Loharsi, 22 miles north-east of Palamau. At the near approach of the invaders, terror seized the Rajah's heart anew, and he sent his chief minister Surat Singh to the Khan, offering submission and a tribute of one lakh to the Emperor and a present of half a lakh to the Khan. The viceroy reported these terms to the Emperor and waited some time for the reply.

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But one day the news reached him that a party of the enemy had plundered a convoy of grain coming to his army, 14 miles from his camp. The Rajah sent agents to disavow all knowledge of this violation of the truce, ascribing it to his subjects, making apologies for it, and paying Rs. 50,000 out of his promised tribute. But Daud Khan refused to listen to him.∗

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∗ The printed Persian text of A. N. (653) has Narsi, corrected in the index as Tarhasi. Blochmann takes it to be Tarhasi-Mangarh (J. A. S. B. Vol. XL., Pt. I. 1871), names which I have not been able

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The march was resumed on 21st November and the Mughals arrived within two miles of Palamau on the 29th. The enemy issued from the fort, entrenched one mile in front of the invaders and boldly prepared for resistance. Just then the Emperor's reply arrived, telling Daud Khan to destroy the Rajah unless he turned Muslim, in which case his State would be spared for a tribute. The Khan sent these terms to the Rajah and waited for an answer. But the Mughal army was impatient for fight. Before the Rajah could reply, Tahawwur Khan Birlas forced on a battle without Daud Khan's knowledge. On 7th December he fell on the enemy's trenches with his own division (the Right) only. Daud Khan hastened to his aid and began to entrench at musket-shot from the enemy's lines. From 9 A.M. to sunset, a severe fire was kept up, the losses in Tahawwur Khan's division being 16 killed and 50 wounded. At night the enemy brought two large pieces of cannon out of the fort, mounted them on their battlements and completely dominated the Mughal position, which was on a lower ground.

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