Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t1.24

c7.s3.t1.24

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.