Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t1: I. Military and Physical Sports
Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t1
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I. Military and Physical Sports
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To begin with military sports, polo, fencing, wrestling, horse-racing, dog-racing, arrow-shooting, and a variety of other games were popular all over the country. In the Deccan and among the Rajputs, offended honour never failed to challenge the offender to a duel. In the dominions of the Sultan, however, there existed an organized system of administration which that it is wrong to imagine that the gifts of God are confined to soul, wisdom and intelligence alone. They also extend to the use of weapons of wood and iron (*vide* A.H., 55). The author expalins in another connection that every person should learn fearlessness, pride, tenacity of purpose, keenness, aggressiveness in attack, industry, perseverance, patience, loyalty, and watchfulness from various wild and domestic animals. The various forms of amusements and sports were designed to cultivate all these virtues of an ideal soldier. Every gentleman, so the author emphasizes, should know swordsmanship, wrestling, polo, stick-fencing, the handling of the pellet-bow and even the Hindu *chakra* (disc). (*ibid.*, 153-4). Compare also the indulgence of young Akbar in all kinds of amusements, as for instance camel-riding, horse-racing, hound-racing, polo, and pigeon-flying, and Abu'l Fazl's comments thereon. A.N., II, 317-8.
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prevented the recognition of private vengeance as an honourable and legitimate form of redress.¹ The place of duels was usually taken by physical feats to decide the claims of superiority between two contending rivals. Wrestling (*kushti, dangal*) was a favourite form of diversion. In fact every nobleman and commoner received some sort of instruction in this art. The monarchs and even the religious saints encouraged wrestling, employed famous wrestlers, watched the matches, and even joined in person in feats of wrestling.²
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¹ Compare Tod, I, 413, for an illustration from Rajput history. Compare Barbosa, I, 190-1, for a description of duel arrangements in the Deccan. A challenge was duly sent to the offender, and after it was accepted, royal permission to fight a duel was sought and usually granted. The day and the hour were then fixed by mutual arrangement. Seconds were chosen who selected the weapon with which the combatants were to engage in the duel, that of the one being of 'the same length as that of the other'. When the duel was fought, the King and the court also watched the spectacle. The traveller further adds that such duels were almost a daily feature of life in the South.
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² Compare W.M., 35b, for instruction in wrestling. Compare the interesting account of Prince Akbar and his cousin, the son of Mirza Kamran in A.N., I, 248. They quarrelled over the possession of a drum and the matter was decided by their engaging in wrestling, when Akbar subdued his cousin. Mirza Kamran watched the spectacle all the time. Similarly on the occasion of circumcising young Akbar, Humayun gave entertainments and feasts. He further asked his nobles to choose their rivals for a wrestling match and himself joined the match, wrestling with one named Imam Quli. Compare B.N., 339, for the favourite wrestler of Babur named Sadiq who beat another famous champion named Kalal, whereupon the Mughal Emperor rewarded him with a gift of 10,000 Tankas, a fine horse and other articles to the value of 3,000 Tankas. Compare Macauliffe, II, 15, for Sikh tradition.
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Archery was everywhere popular. We have referred in another connection to the manufacture of pellet-bows and arrows. Let us make note of the fact here that spectacular feats of shooting arrows were staged from time to time, and the champions of shooting acquired fame and renown in the land.³ Sword-play, throwing of discs (*chakra*) and javelins were similarly popular. Swimming was generally encouraged and Babur’s feats of swimming are well known. Among minor games, we may mention the popularity of a sort of hockey in Kashmir and of ball-throwing (*geru*) in Bengal.¹
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³ Compare K., 149, for the Id displays of the Emperor Humayun. On arrival at the Id Maidan the monarch was greeted by his guard with a show of marksmanship. At some height they used to fit gold and silver targets made in the form of melons. Then advancing in military formation they used to shoot their arrows. Instantly the targets were shattered into bits through their excellent marksmanship. Humayun rewarded the display with handsome gifts of horses and of dresses of honour. Compare also the account of Tarikh-i-Daudi, 9-10, for a famous Afghan marksman named Sikandar Shirwani. He was a young man of exceptionally robust build. He could fit an arrow 11 fists in length (i.e., more than 3 feet) to his bow and shoot it up to a distance of 800 step (about 800 yards).
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¹ Compare the account in *J.D.L.*, 1925, 52. Compare Temple, 208, for hockey. Sir Denison Ross has a painting of the reign of Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor which depicts a game of hockey in progress, played by polo sticks, while the Emperor is watching it. The game of polo had, it appears, a direct influence on the development of hockey.
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*Polo and Horse-racing, etc.*—The most aristocratic of outdoor games was polo, and of amusements, horse-racing. The precise origin of polo is still difficult to fix. The game has been traced as far back as the reign of the founder of the Sassanian dynasty in Persia.² It was introduced by the Muslims into Hindustan, where it soon became popular among all classes. In fact, the first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-un-din Aibak died of an accident in playing polo at Lahore.³ The Turks were very fond of the game; one of the emblems of court offices was represented by a polo-stick and ball of gold. The popularity of the game did not suffer when at a later date the kingdom passed into the hands of the Afghans.⁴ The Rajput skill in playing polo was similarly very high.⁵
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² Compare Sykes, I, 466. Harun-ur-Rashid was the first Abbasid Caliph who played polo. Mu‘tasim improved upon it in certain directions. Marwan was also fond of it. *Vide* Sprenger, 25. Compare T.I., 455, for the skill of Uljaitu, the Mongol Sultan of Persia in polo playing.
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³ Compare the account in T.M., 84-5; Raverty, 528.
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⁴ Compare for Afghans M.T., I, 321, 323, also T.D., 3 when an Afghan nobleman carries his unsportive spirit beyond the limits of propriety and fairness.
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⁵ Compare P. (hin), 285, for Rajput skill. Compare also Barbosa, I, 119, for the skill of the Gujaratis (or the people of Gujarat) in polo playing; with them polo was as popular as the ‘reed game’ in Portugal.
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Horse-racing was just as popular. It had the additional advantage of the blessings of the Prophet who had prohibited other amusements and gambling in no uncertain terms, but was indulgent towards betting on horse-racing. A regular literature soon sprang up on the study of the horses, which does credit to the scientific methods of the age.⁶ It is quite reasonable to infer from these facts that the number of pedigree horses was quite large in the studs of the Sultans and the nobles. Special Arab horses were imported for racing purposes from Yemen, Oman, Fars. Each animal is reported to have cost from one thousand to four thousand Tankas.¹
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⁶ Compare for instance *Adab-ul-Harb* for chapters on horse breeding. Compare T., 20, for religious prohibition of dog-racing which positively ruined all the good deeds of a man.
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¹ Compare K.R., I, 200.
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The game of polo was played substantially as it is to-day.² For horse-racing, the skill of Rajputs and Gujaratis, among others, was praiseworthy.³ We shall not be wrong in inferring that the Turks and Afghans and in fact all ruling classes of Hindustan had attained a very high degree of skill in horsemanship.
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² Compare Encyclopaedia Britannica (1929 Edition), XVIII, 175, for the modern game. ‘Polo is played with four players on each side, on exactly the same principles as hockey or association football. A match lasts about one hour, divided into periods of play; during the intervals ponies are changed...’ So there are two forwards and two backs. But during the course of the game as the players pass the ball to one another these places are being constantly changed. The modern game is a most elastic one, but there should always be one player in each place (i.e. at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 or half-back and No. 4 or back). Compare the account of Amir Khusrau in his Kulliyat, folios 777-8, where he describes the two opposing teams of four players, the intervals of play and the scoring with the ball which determined the issue of the game. He describes the movement of the team of Sultan Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah (including the Sultan) as a man ‘sitting in a crescent’. It may be added incidentally that the account of the introduction and historical development of Polo in India as given in the Encyclopaedia Britannica is incorrect.
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³ Compare P. (hin), 285, for Rajput skill in horsemanship: also Barbosa, I, 119, for Gujaratis.
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The elephants of the royal stables used to be trained in paying homage to the monarch with ceremony. At a given signal from their keeper, the animals used to put their foreheads on the ground and then raise their trunks and trumpet. They were also trained to pick up an article from the ground, keeping it in their mouths or handing it over to the keeper as they were directed. There could hardly be any other use of these costly military accessories during the time of peace. At times, they were also taken out for riding or for conveying heavy loads.⁴
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⁴ Compare the account of Timur M., 288; compare Mirza, 147, for a reference from Khusrau. Oil-cans were put under the feet of the elephants to smooth the roughness of their feet.
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Shikar (the chase).—All other amusements and exercises, however, gave way to the chase in excitement and stimulation. Voluminous literature was compiled by the Arabs on the study and breeding of hunting animals and birds, long before the Muslims were established in Hindustan.⁵ The Muslims brought all these advanced traditions of the chase with them to India together with the memories of the Sessanian monarchs, who were famous hunters of their age. In other parts of Asia, the same ruling passion for the chase and the same elaborate equipment had gone still further ahead.¹ Almost every important monarch from the time of the founder of the Slave dynasty, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, to the reign of Akbar, was fond of the chase and spent as much time over it as he could spare from his royal duties and other pleasures. Even when the Sultans were not very fond of hunting they maintained large establishments for Shikar.² The Rajput were similarly fond of the chase; in fact the famous spring hunt, known as the ‘Aheria’ was sacred to Gauri, and no means were neglected for slaying boar on this historic occasion in the month of Phalguna. The hour of sallying forth was fixed in all solemnity by the astrologers; and the success or failure of the occasion determined the fortune for the rest of the year.³
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⁵ Compare J.P.A.S.B., 1907. Phillots on the ‘Kitab-ul-Bayzarah’ homposed in the 10th century; compare also references to the breeding of hunting animals and birds in I.K., II, 60.
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¹ Compare Huart, 146, for the Persian tradition. Compare the account of Marco Polo for the chase of Kublai Khan and his personal impressions. Yule, I, 397-403. Compare Major, 4, for the presents of hunting animals to the Great Khan as an illustration.
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² Compare the accounts of the chase of Sultans of Delhi : T.M., I, 6, for the description of the chase of Qutb-ud-din Aibak; also K.K., 740-1, where Amir Khusrau speaks of his occupations: ‘He bagged both the fowls in the air and the animals on land’. Compare B., 54-5, for Sultan Balban. His favourite season was winter when he used to start very early in the morning towards Rewari and returned next day at midnight. He was accompanied by a thousand horsemen whom he knew individually and a thousand troopers who were fed from the royal kitchen. His return to the capital was announced by beat of drums. Compare B., 272-3; also M.T., I, 148, for an account of the chase of Ala-ud-din Khalji. His favourite method was the *Narga* or the formation of a beaters’circle (which by the way is the predecessor of the Mughal *Qamragha*), which assembled about sunrise when they were joined by the Sultan. Compare E.D., III, 579-80, for an account of Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq’s *Shikar* equipment. He employed 10,000 falconers who rode on horseback in the chase, 3,000 beaters, 3,000 provision dealers, and others. Four collapsible double-storied houses were carried in his train by 200 camels, together with tents, canopies and a variety of pavilions. Compare A., 178-9, for Sultan Firuz Tughluq, whose only hobbies were the construction of buildings and going to the chase, when he thoroughly enjoyed himself. ‘He brought devastation and ruin in the animal kingdom through shooting one with arrow, chasing another on horseback and releasing his falcon for the third on its wings’. Compare the account of Barani to the same purport. (*Vide* B., 599-600). Sikandar Lodi spent most of his time in the chase and the game of polo. *Vide* T.A., I, 322. Babur and his men did not forget the pleasure of the chase even while they were marching towards Lahore. *Vide* T.F., I, 378. With Akbar, *Shikar* was a favourite sport.
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³ Compare Tod, II, 660.
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The Muslim theologians on the whole reconciled themselves to the chase.¹
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¹ The employment of dogs, hounds and falcons creates many intricate and complex problems in relation to the religious validity of the game and, further, its suitability for eating by a Muslim. The Ulama on the whole reconciled themselves to the employment of falcons and hawks and even of dogs, ‘provided they were trained in hunting the game and did not spoil too much of the flesh by gnawing’. Vide T., 20.
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We may add here some remarks on the royal establishment for the chase. Every Sultan had very large establishments which included vast numbers of animals trained specially for the chase, and very large areas reserved as royal preserves. Under Firuz Tughluq the Shikar department was considered as one of the ‘pillars of the State’. ² The Shikar department was organized under an *Amir-i-shikar* who was usually noble of rank, together with other officials of similar status. Under these senior officials came minor officers for the care and keeping of royal falcons and other hunting animals and birds, known as *Arizan-i-Shikar*, *Khassa-daran* and *Mihtaran* respectively. Under them came a numerous staff of *Shikra-dars* who carried the animals and birds on the day of the chase. The services of practically all the big game hunters and watchers of the kingdom were secured by this department. All kinds of hunting animals and birds—elephants, hounds, trained ‘cheetahs’, lynxes, falcons, and hawks were collected in large numbers.³ It was an old Persian tradition to build great walled enclosures as royal preserves for wild and domestic animals.⁴ A large piece of land extending to about twelve krhos (about 24 miles) was secured near Delhi to serve as a State preserve.⁵ It may be remembered in this connection that the Shikar regulations were probably very strict and small defaults were severely dealt with.⁶
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² Compare A., 316. Compare for confirmation, the fact that two distinguished nobles of the rank of Maliks supervised the Shikar department of Sultan Firuz Tughluq.
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³ Compare B., 600; T.F., 1,287. Compare the account of Afif for details. A., 317-9.
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⁴ Compare Huart, 146, for Persian tradition. ‘(Hunting) was done in great walled parks, formerly called ‘Paradises’ in which lions, boars and bears were preserved. Theophanes tells us that the soldiers of the Roman Emperor Heraclius found, in the gardens abandoned by Chosroes II, ostriches, gazelles, wild asses, peacocks, pheasants, and even lions and tigers’.
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⁵ Compare the account of the royal preserve at Delhi in B., 54.
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⁶ Compare the account of Abu’l Fazl in this connection. In his youth Akbar was so fond of the chase that when on one occasion the hound-keepers
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Deer, nilgai and common fowl were the popular game; rhinoceros and wolves were found in the hills of the Punjab.¹ It was the privilege of the monarch to hunt a lion whenever the animal was found.² Fishing was popular with some monarchs.³ Others probably found it very unexciting in comparison with the pleasures of the chase.
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¹ Compare for instance T.F., I, 378, also T.M..S., 410; B.N., 229; A., 243. The term *Karkadan* occurs in the text, which, as Abu'l Fazl makes clear by his description (*vide* A.A., II, 58), applies to the rhinoceros.
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² Compare A., 324.
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³ Compare for instance, the account of Afif for Firuz Shah Tughluq. A., 328. Compare B.N., 355, for Babur's account of his fishing in the Gogra by candle light.
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We shall conclude this account of the chase with a few more remarks on royal hunting. Though the facts of the reign of Firuz Tughluq may not have a very close bearing on the reigns of his predecessors and successors, they will give us a fair idea of the royal *Shikar* equipment. Afif, his chronicler, informs us that when Firuz Tughluq used to go out for the chase, a big procession was formed. Forty to fifty special standards and two specially designed emblems adorned with peacock feathers, accompanied him. The emblems were carried in front of the Sultan on both sides. Just behind them were four trained wild animals and birds of prey, to the left and right of the monarch respectively. A vast number of other animals, namely, cheetahs, panthers, lynxes, hounds, eagle and falcons with their keepers on horseback followed the Sultan. Ibn Batuta informs us that a great many nobles used to go with the Sultan to the chase with their tents and canopies and a big crowd of porters and attendants. The chase of Sultan Firuz Tughluq, sometimes lasted from seventeen to eighteen days at a stretch.⁴
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⁴ Compare the account of Afif. A., 317-19; also K.R., II, 82.
Linked texts (1)
- Tārīkh-i Mubārakshāhī — Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad Sirhindī