Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.23

c7.s1.23

¹ For sensuality see chapter on ‘Manners’. Here it will suffice to give a characteristic illustration. An extremely charming girl was once captured by the soldiers of Sher Shah and presented to him. ‘Take away this personification of evil’, cried the monarch in horror, ‘and send her to the camp of my enemy, Humayun’. This was done. Then Sher Shah explained to his soldiers that if he kept such a pretty damsel with him he could do nothing except debauch himself, which could only ruin his political fortune. It is reported that when the girl was taken to Humayun, the Sultan was so much occupied with her and became so utterly indiffernt to military operations that it led to his defeat by the wily Sher Shah and cost him his throne (vide T.D., 75). For insistence on female chastity, compare the observations of Amir Khusrau which may be summarized as follows. A girl who had any reflections cast on her chastity could never expect to find any respectable person to marry her, even though the accusations were proved to be absolutely groundless. The poet therefore advises every honest girl to die rather than submit to the amours of a lover not her husband (vide M.A., 198). For a contrast compare the women of the Deccan. Barbosa II, 54 ibid., 216 for Devadasis.