History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c85.s5.9

v5.c85.s5.9

Even when the grants of land in lieu of salary were drawn up by the Pay Office, they remained for years as mere orders on paper, the actual delivery of the villages to the grantees being impossible. At last the Emperor used to cry out in bitterness of spirit to his Paymasters, "How often have I told you that I do not need any retainers? Why do you not dismiss them? You do not realise the badness of your action, but refuse to listen to your master's words!" [K. K. ii. 411—412.] The interval between the order and the actual possession of the jagir, it was sarcastically said, was long enough to turn a boy into a grey-beard. [Ibid. 379.]