History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c84.s5.t1.1

v5.c84.s5.t1.1

The province of Kashmir had been conquered by Akbar in 1586. Its delightful climate and romantic scenery attracted him and his successors for three generations. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan paid repeated visits to this country and Aurangzib one (in 1663) after his recovery from a severe fever at Delhi. To the ladies of the palace, a journey to the Happy Valley on richly caparisoned elephants, with all the comforts of royalty, and a succession of pleasure-parties in gardens and pavilions near charming fountains,—was the finest of all recreations. But such journeys did not always end in pleasure. Sometimes an elephant would take fright and stampede down the narrow and rough path, killing the attendants and porters and causing indescribable confusion and alarm on the way. Sometimes unexpected rough weather and the breakdown of transport arrangements would force the queens to walk on foot over the snows to some shelter. The descendants of Timur and Babur had so far degenerated in the Indian plains that at last the hardships of mountain travel and the cold of Kashmir excited only their fear and repulsion. After his first and only visit early in his reign, Aurangzib vowed never to go to Kashmir again; and none of his successors visited it even once.*