History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c40.s8: §10. Shah Jahan's funeral.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c40.s8
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§10. Shah Jahan's funeral.
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At midnight these two arrived and laid on the dead man a heavy fine for having neglected the fasts and prayers of Islam. Then they went to the octagonal tower, made their bow to Jahanara, removed the body to the hall near the tower, bathed and shrouded it and placed it in a sandal-wood coffin.
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Jahanara had wished that the corpse might be taken to the Taj Mahal next day in a grand procession befitting the funeral of an Emperor of Delhi,—"the officers of State carrying the coffin on their shoulders;
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∗ Last illness and death of Shah Jahan, best described in Kambu, 16b—26a, and A.N. 926, 931—932. Bernier, 198; Storia, ii. 125-126 (Jahanara gossip.) K. K. ii. 188 (Jahanara secures her father's pardon for Aurangzib; cf. Storia, ii. 127.)
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all the rich men and nobles of Agra and its environs and all the scholars, theologians, and popular leaders of the capital walking beside the bier with bare heads and feet, and chanting the *credo* and *laud*; the common people in their tens of thousand forming the rear of the procession; gold and silver being scattered on both sides every now and then as they moved on." But it was not to be. Aurangzib had not cared to come to his dying father's side, nor to send instructions for his funeral, and even his delegate, Prince Muazzam, had started too late to arrive in time for the ceremony. "Jahanara was powerless, the ordering of the affair was in the hands of others;" and so the most magnificent of the Mughal emperors had to be carried to his last resting-place on earth "by a few men—eunuchs and the like, in a manner unlike the funeral of other emperors and unworthy of his ancestry."
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The officers in the fort broke open the door at the base of the staircase of the tower, which had been walled up during Shah Jahan's captivity, and took the coffin out. Passing through the gate of the outermost enclosure, opposite that door, they reached the open plain outside the fort. Here Hushdar Khan, the *subahdar* of Agra, with the local officers joined them, and led the party to the riverside at dawn. Then, conveying the coffin over the Jamuna in a boat, they reached the Taj Mahal.
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Here the qazis, respectable men, leading citizens, scholars and holy men of Agra had assembled. They read the funeral prayer over the corpse at noon and taking it inside the dome of the Taj Mahal buried it by the side of all that remained on earth of Mumtaz Mahal.*
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The public grief at the death of Shah Jahan was universal and sincere. All his virtues were told over again and his few faults forgotten. He had been a good ruler, as kind to his subjects as to his family, stern in punishing oppressive tax-collectors and governors, and erring, if at all, on the side of excessive leniency. His Court had been magnificent beyond comparison and his public buildings were the pride of the age. At his death "the cry of lamentation rose up from every house in the lanes and market-places alike."†
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Nearly a month after the event Aurangzib came to Agra and visited Jahanara, whom he showed every courtesy and favour, and promised to allow as much influence and honour as she had enjoyed in her father's reign. During the last days of Shah Jahan, her entreaties had conquered his just resentment and he had at last signed, after many previous refusals, a pardon to Aurangzib for the wrongs he had done to him.
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∗ Funeral of Shah Jahan, Kambu, 26a; A.N. 932—934; Aqil Kh. 108; Storia, ii. 126. † Character and popularity of Shah Jahan, Kambu, 27a; K.K. ii. 187; Dilkasha, 51.
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§11. Public opinion on Aurangzib’s treatment of his father.
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Aurangzib’s treatment of his father outraged not only the moral sense but also the social decorum of the age.* Rebellion against a reigning father was the curse of the Mughal imperial family. Jahangir had risen against Akbar’s Government and Shah Jahan against that of Jahangir. They had unhesitatingly encountered and even slain their fathers’ generals or rival brothers, but shrunk from facing their fathers in battle. At the arrival of the emperor in person the rebellious prince had either made his submission or fled in shame. But Aurangzib’s ambition had ridden over decency and the established conventions of society. Hence, he now came to be
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*Opinion of Amanat Khan Khwafi, diwan of Lahor, in M. U. i. 14. Khush-hal Khan Khattak (Biddulph, 54) sang of Aurangzib: "Such is the grief that he brought on the house of his own father, Arabia and Persia alike are confounded at his deeds. Who has heard of such deeds among the descendants of Adam?" Mecca opinion in Storia, ii. 3. Opinion of a former Qazi-ul-quzat (Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 216). Shah Abbas II.’s opinion, ante p. 111. Aurangzib’s letter of condolence to Jahanara on hearing of Shah Jahan’s death and her reply are given in the Ruqat-i-Hamid-ud-din Khan (my second MS.), pp. 133 and 155.
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execrated by the public as a bold bad man, without fear, without pity, without shame.
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To recover public respect, he had to pose as the champion of Islamic orthodoxy, as the reluctant and compelled instrument of the divine will in a mission of much needed religious reform. Hence he displayed extreme zeal in restoring the ordinances of pure Islam and removing heretical innovations, that the people might forget his past conduct as a son and as a brother, till at last his Court historian could write of him, "His imperial robe of state thinly veiled the *darvish's* frock that he wore beneath it." (*M.A.* 333.)