Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c5.s2.t1.38

c5.s2.t1.38

4. *Astrologers, court-poets, musicians, etc.*—The appointment of astrologers at the court of ancient Hindu kings, and the credulity of Hindu monarchs are well known. The Muslim Sultans were not very different in this respect. Horoscopes were everywhere used, omens were taken, dreams were interpreted, charms were resorted to: in fact, the Qur’an was not infrequently used in divining the issue of an undertaking. In such circumstances even the minutest detail of royal life was regulated by the court astrologers and other masters of the occult and mysterious sciences. Hamayun, no mean student of the science of stars, was even contemplating the construction of an observatory, thus forestalling the work of the distinguished scholar and founder of the Jaipur City, Raja Jai Singh. Astrology is by no means neglected at the present day either in Hindu or Muslim society.¹