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A History of Agriculture in India v2.c73: Chapter 21. Akbar the Great

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c73

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English

Contents

Chapter 21. Akbar the Great

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A.D. 1555-1605

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COMPANIONS AND ADVISERS OF AKBAR—FAIZI AND ABU-L-FAZL LIBERAL TREATMENT OF HINDUS, BUILDING OF FATEHPUR SIKRI RISE OF A NEW ARCHITECTURE AND MUGHAL PAINTING A SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY INTO RELIGIONS

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WHEN Humayun died, Akbar was in the Punjab engaged in the pursuit of Sikandar Sur, a nephew of Sher Shah. Akbar was enthroned at Kalanaur, in the Gurdaspur District, on 14 February 1556. On 5 November 1556 Akbar defeated Hemu, the general of Adali Sur, another claimant for the throne of India, at Panipat. This is known as the Second Battle of Panipat. After defeating Hemu, Akbar pressed on and occupied Delhi and Agra. From A.D. 1558 to 1560, Gwalior and Ajmer were occupied. After this Chitor was occupied in A.D. 1568 and from A.D. 1572 to 1576 Gujarat and Bengal were conquered. The extent of Akbar's empire in A.D. 1605 is shown in Fig. 32. It included the whole of Hindustan down to the Narbada. Expansion of the empire went hand in hand with orderly administration. According to Lane-Pool, ‘Much of the improvement was due to his employment of Hindus, who at that time were better men of business than the uneducated and mercenary adventurers who formed a large portion of the Mohammedan invaders.’

Personal Appearance of Akbar

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Jahangir thus describes his father's personal appearance. ‘In his august personal appearance he was of middle height, but inclining to be tall; he was of the hue of wheat; his eyes and eyebrows black, and his complexion rather dark than fair; he was lion-bodied, with a broad chest, and hands and arms long. On the left side of his nose he had a fleshy mole, very agreeable in appearance, of the size of half a pea. Those skilled in the science of physiognomy considered the mole a sign of great prosperity and exceeding good fortune. His august voice was very loud and in speaking and explaining had a peculiar richness. In his actions and movements he was not like the people of the world, and the glory of God manifested itself in him.’ A seventeenth-century portrait, copy of an earlier one, reveals his character (Fig. 33). He has a robust physique and dignified bearing.

Akbar's Camp

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Akbar's camp equipage consisted of tents and portable houses, in an enclosure formed by a high wall of canvas screens, and containing great halls for public receptions, apartments for feasting, galleries for exercise, and chambers for retirement; all framed of the most costly materials, and adapted to the most luxurious enjoyment.

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‘The enclosure was 1,530 yards square (1,279 m²). The tents and wall were of various colours and patterns within, but all red on the outside, and crowned with gilded globes and pinnacles, forming a sort of castle in the midst of the camp. The camp itself showed like a beautiful city of tents, of many colours, disposed in streets without the least disorder, covering a space of about five miles (8 km) across, and affording a glorious spectacle seen at once from a height.

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‘The greatest displays of his grandeur were at the annual feasts of the vernal equinox, and the king’s birthday. They lasted for several days, during which there was a general fair and many processions and other pompous shows. The king’s usual place was in a rich tent, in the midst of awnings to keep off the sun. At least two acres (0.8 ha) were thus spread with silk and gold carpets and hangings, as rich as velvet, embroidered with gold, pearl, and precious stones could make them. The nobility had similar pavilions, where they received visits from each other, and sometimes from the king; dresses, jewels, horses, and elephants were bestowed on the nobility; the king was weighed in golden scales against silver, gold, perfumes, and other substances in succession, which were distributed among the spectators. Almonds and other fruits, of gold and silver, were scattered by the king’s own hand, and eagerly caught up by the courtiers, though of little intrinsic value. On the great day of each festival, the king was seated on his throne, in a marble palace, surrounded by nobles wearing high heron plumes and “sparkling with diamonds like the firmament.” Many hundred elephants passed before him in companies, all most richly adorned, and the leading elephant of each company with gold plates on its head and breast, set with rubies and emeralds.

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‘Trains of caparisoned horses followed; and, after them, rhinoceroses, lions, tigers, and panthers, hunting leopards, hounds, and hawks; the whole concluding with an innumerable host of cavalry glittering with cloth of gold.

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‘In the midst of all this splendour, Akbar appeared with as much simplicity as dignity. He is thus described by two European eye-witnesses: “After remarking that he had less show or state than other Asiatic princes, they say, that ‘he is affable and majestical, merciful and severe’; that he is skilful in mechanical arts, as ‘making guns, casting ordinance, etc.; of sparing diet, sleeps but three hours a day, curiously industrious, affable to the vulgar, seeming to grace them and their presents with more respective ceremonies than the grandees; loved and feared of his own, terrible to his enemies’.”’¹

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¹ Elphinstone, Hon. M. *The History of India—the Hindu and Mahometan Periods*, pp. 548-549

Faizi and Abu-l-Fazl—Companions and Advisers of Akbar

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Akbar was greatly influenced by two brothers Faizi and Abu-l-Fazl, sons of Shaikh Mubarak, Sufi scholar, who was known for his learning and liberal opinions on religious matters. Faizi was the first Muslim who applied himself to a diligent study of Hindu literature and science. Besides Sanskrit works in poetry and philosophy, he made a version of Bhaskara’s *Bija Ganita* and *Lilavati*, the best Hindu books on algebra and arithmetic.

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He likewise superintended translations made from Sanskrit by other learned men, including one, at least, of the Vedas, and the *Mahabharata* and the *Ramayana* and the *History of Kashmir*. Faizi was first presented to Akbar in the twelfth year of his reign, and he introduced Abu-l-Fazl to Akbar six years later, in A.D. 1574.

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Abu-l-Fazl was the second son of Shaikh Mubarak and was born on the 14 January 1551. He was educated under his father’s care, and was a devoted student. His abilities were immediately recognized by Akbar and every year he grew in favour and in power, until he rose to the office of Prime Minister, and became a *mansabdar* of 4,000.

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The greatest of Abu-l-Fazl’s production was the *Akbar-nama*, in two volumes, and the *Ain-i-Akbari* or Institutes, which is a distinct work. The encyclopaedic learning of Abu-l-Fazl rivalled that of Alberuni. The *Ain* is also the fore-runner of the *British Imperial Gazetteers*. The history of the reign of Akbar is given in full in the *Akbar-nama*, year by year, from the accession of the Emperor to the end of the forty-sixth year of the reign, A.D. 1602. Those brothers soon became the intimate friends and inseparable companions of their sovereign. They were the confidants of all his new opinions in religion, and his advisers in his patronage of literature. They were also consulted and employed in the most important affairs of the government.

Liberal Treatment of the Hindus

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When Akbar felt he was firmly established, he started analysing the political situation in India. He soon realized that the failure of the Turk and Pathan kings as rulers was due to the fact that they regarded themselves as aliens and lived as colonists in India, always thinking of their ancestral land. They had no sympathy with the Hindus who were seldom employed by them in positions of trust and responsibility. Their bureaucracy was recruited from the Islamic lands of Persia, Arabia and Afghanistan. Among the aliens who prided themselves on their pale skin, a type of colour prejudice prevailed against the dark people of India. To ensure employment for their sons, nobles and officers married women from Kashmir so that their progeny would pass on as genuine white central Asians and Persians. Akbar took steps to correct the situation. Firstly he won over the Rajputs who had earlier offered him brave resistance. He employed them in his army, and his bravest and most trusted general was Man Singh of Amber. He consolidated his relations with the Rajputs by having matrimonial alliances with the royal house of Amber and Jodhpur. The Rajputs were practically partners in the empire and Rajput rajahs governed provinces and commanded armies. Thus Akbar established a truly Indian empire under his leadership, which the Hindus accepted without reserve.

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Akbar was a discerning judge of the qualities of men, and collected men of talent around him, ignoring considerations of colour and creed. His trusted courtiers included men like Todar Mal, who organized the revenue system, Birbal, known for his wit and humour, and Tansen, the singer, who were all Hindus. As a concession to the Hindu sentiment he used to paint the Hindu sectarian mark on his forehead once a week and thus appear in the audience hall to the great annoyance of orthodox Muslims.

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In the seventh year of his reign Akbar abolished the jizya or capitation tax on infidels, an odious impost which served to keep up animosity between the ruling race and those under them. About the same time he abolished all taxes on pilgrims, observing that, “although the tax fell on a vain superstition, yet, as all modes of worship were designed for one great Being, it was wrong to throw an obstacle in the way of the devout, and to cut them off from their mode of intercourse with their Maker.”

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Another humane edict, issued still earlier (A.D. 1561) was a prohibition against making slaves of persons taken in war. The victims of this practice were mainly Hindus. In the previous reigns this abuse had been carried to such a height that not only was it practised towards the wives and children of garrisons who stood a storm, but even peaceable inhabitants were seized and sold as slaves. All this was positively prohibited.

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BUILDING THE CITY OF FATEHPUR SIKRI BIRTH OF A NEW ARCHITECTURE

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After he had consolidated his power Akbar built the City of Fatehpur Sikri with its numerous palaces, mosques, baths, schools, library and mints in A.D. 1569. In the architecture of Fatehpur Sikri there is a true synthesis of Rajput Hindu and Muslim architecture. Hindu art motifs such as lotus medallions, bells and chains, hanging balconies, latticed windows and airy pavilions are gracefully harmonized with Islamic arches and domes. Among the red sandstone buildings is the exquisite tomb of the saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, whose lattice screens are an embroidery in marble. The Panch Mahal, a building of five storeys borne by open colonnades and topped by numerous pavilions, appears like a fairy palace. The palaces of Akbar’s wives, Miriam, daughter of Raja Bhar Mal of Amber, Jodha Bai from Jodhpur, and the Turkish queen, are interesting buildings. The last one is decorated with sculptured panels representing forest views and animal life. To the west is the Ankh Michauli, where Akbar used to play hide-and-seek with his ladies.

Birth of the Mughal Paintings

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At Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar collected architects, writers, poets, musicians, philosophers, painters and calligraphers. As Laurence Binyon remarks, ‘Fatehpur Sikri rivalled or surpassed Herat in the time of Baisunqur and the feverish intellectual and creative activity of the cities of Italy in the heyday of the Renaissance....As the barren ledges of rock had been transformed into palaces and gardens with stretches of shining water, and as the flowers had been sown in the gardens, and trees planted in the alleys, so artists had been collected from all quarters and settled in the palaces and workshops, and bidden to flourish and create.’ Never before in the history of India did men of talent receive such encouragement. It was thus that Mughal painting, which represents the synthesis of Persian and Indian art forms, was created under the patronage of Akbar.

Sarais and Almshouses

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Almshouses were established throughout the Imperial dominions. Caravanserais for travellers were built at every stage, and food was prepared and held in readiness at all times for the way-worn travellers, who were usually too fatigued to be equal to the exertion of cooking their own repast.

European Novelties

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It was not only in the religion of the Europeans that Akbar took interest. He was also keen to know about their inventions, including musical instruments. Abu-l-Fazl mentions that ‘one Haji Habib was sent to the port of Goa, with a large sum of money and intelligent artisans, to examine and bring to the Emperor’s knowledge the various productions of art and skill to be found in that town. He returned to the Court along with a number of men clad in Christian garb, and beating drums and playing European instruments. He presented fabrics which he had selected. The artisans who had gone there to acquire knowledge exhibited their skill, and received applause. Musicians of that country played upon various instruments, especially upon the organ, and gave great delight to all who heard them.’²

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² Abu-l-Fazl, *Akbar-nama*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. VI, p. 57

A Scientific Enquiry into Religions

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In A.D. 1575 Akbar built the House of Worship (Ibadat Khana) at Fatehpur Sikri. Representatives of all religions, viz. Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, were invited and their views were put to the test of reason.

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‘Each one fearlessly brought forward his assertions and arguments, and the disputations and contentions were long and heated,’ states Abu-l-Fazl. ‘Every sect, in its vanity and conceit, attacked and endeavoured to refute the statements of their antagonists.... One night the *Ibadat-Khana* was brightened by the presence of Padre Radalf (Padre Rodolpho Aquaviva), who for intelligence and wisdom was unrivalled among Christian doctors. Several carping and bigoted men attacked him, and this afforded an opportunity for a display of the calm judgement and justice of the assembly.’ These men brought forward the old received assertions, and did not attempt to arrive at truth by reasoning. Their statements were torn to pieces, and they were nearly put to shame; and then they began to attack the contradictions in the Gospel, but they could not prove their assertions. With perfect calmness and earnest conviction of the truth, the Padre replied to their arguments, and then he went on to say, “If these men have such an opinion of our Book, and if they believe the Kuran to be the true word of God, then let a furnace be lighted, and let me with the Gospel in my hand, and the ’ulama with their holy book in their hands, walk into that testing place of truth, and the right will be manifest.” The black-hearted mean-spirited disputants shrank from this proposal, and answered only with angry words. This prejudice and violence greatly annoyed the impartial mind of the Emperor, and, with great discrimination and enlightenment, he said: ‘Man’s outward profession and the mere letter of Muhammadanism, without a heartfelt conviction, can avail nothing. I have forced many Brahmans, by fear of my power, to adopt the religion of my ancestors; but now that my mind has been enlightened with the beams of truth, I have become convinced that the dark clouds of conceit and the mist of self-opinion have gathered round you, and that not a step can be made in advance without the torch of proof. That course only can be beneficial which we select with clear judgment. To repeat the words of the Creed, to perform circumcision, or to lie prostrate on the ground from dread of kingly power, can avail nothing in the sight of God”.’⁸

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⁸ Abu-l-Fazl, *Akbar-nama*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. VI, pp. 60, 61

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Out of the priests and scholars who met him, he was impressed by Dastur Meharji Rana, a Parsi priest from Gujarat, who explained to him the Zoroastrian doctrine of Sun and fire worship.

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Akbar also came in contact with the newly developing Sikh faith. Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, was accused of treating with contempt Hindu gods and Muslim prophets. Akbar examined his writings and found nothing but love and devotion to God and he said they were worthy of reverence.

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The net result of all these contacts with major religions was that he felt none could satisfy him, and he invented his own religion, which he called Din Ilahi or Divine Faith. He himself became its first Prophet and two of his courtiers, who were also scholars of eminence, the brothers Abu-l-Fazl and Faizi, became his chief disciples.

Worship of Energy

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Akbar realized that it is the energy of the sun which is the source of all life. Abu-l-Fazl states, ‘His Majesty maintains that it is a religious duty and divine praise to worship fire and light. There can be nothing improper in the veneration of that exalted element which is the source of man’s existence, and of the duration of his life.

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‘Every flame is derived from that fountain of divine light (the sun), and bears the impression of its holy essence. If light and fire did not exist, we should be destitute of food and medicines; the power of sight would be of no avail to the eyes. The fire of the sun is the torch of God’s sovereignty.

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‘And when the sun sets, the attendants light twelve white candles, on twelve candlesticks of gold and silver, and bring them before His Majesty, when a singer of sweet melodies, with a candle in his hand, sings a variety of delightful airs to the praise of God, beginning and concluding with a prayer for the continuance of this auspicious reign. His Majesty attaches the utmost importance to praise and prayer, and earnestly asks God for renewed light.

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‘A second order was given that the Sun should be worshipped four times a day, in the morning and evening, and at noon and midnight. His Majesty had also one thousand and one Sanskrit names of the Sun collected, and read them daily, devoutly turning towards the Sun. He used to wear the Hindu mark on his forehead, and ordered the band to play at midnight and at break of day. Mosques and prayer-rooms were changed into store rooms, or given to Hindu Chaukidars.’⁴

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⁴ Abu-l-Fazl Allami, *The Ain-i-Akbari*, p. 210

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Akbar’s religion was pure deism. In addition, some ceremonies were permitted in consideration of human infirmity. It maintained that we ought to reverence God according to the knowledge of Him derived from our own reason, by which His unity and benevolence are sufficiently established; that we ought to serve Him, and seek for our future happiness by subduing our bad passions, and practising such virtues as are beneficial to mankind; but that we should not adopt a creed, or practise a ritual, on the authority of any man, as all were liable to vice and error like ourselves. His fundamental doctrine was that there were no prophets; his appeal on all occasions was to human reason.

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When Akbar died, he was buried at Sikandra, a suburb of Agra. His mausoleum lacks the conventional saracenic domes, and faces east towards the rising sun.

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Akbar practised universal toleration and treated all his subjects alike, irrespective of their religious affiliation. He had a scientific mind and was rational in his approach to religion. He did not allow his mind to be clouded by superstition or authority of those who regarded religion as their special preserve. In an age of bigotry, he was a free-thinker. Though he himself was illiterate, he encouraged literature. The Mughal painting arose under his patronage as a visual aid to literature and history. A new type of architecture evolved, combining the beauty of the Hindu architecture with the grace of Muslim domes and arches. The administrative arrangements of Akbar were used by the British as foundation of their own. Vincent Smith was not exaggerating when he rated him as ‘one of the greatest sovereigns known to history’—a claim which rests on his natural gifts, his free mind, and his magnificent achievements.

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Binyon, L. *Akbar*, London, 1932 Abu-l-Fazl, *Akbar-nama*, in Elliot, Sir H. M. and Dowson, J. *History of India as Told by Its Own Historians*, Vol. VI (Indian reprint), Allahabad, 1964 Elphinstone, Hon. M. *The History of India—the Hindu and Mahometan Periods*, London, 1889 Lane-Poole, S. *Mediaeval India—Under Mohammedan Rule*, A. D. 712-1764, Vol. II (Indian reprint), 1951 Randhawa, M. S. and Galbraith, J. K. *Indian Painting*, Boston, 1968

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FIG. 33. Portrait of Akbar. Mughal, 17th century. (Courtesy: British Museum, London)

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FIG. 34. Farmers threshing and winnowing grain. Mughal, c. 1600. (Courtesy: Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay)

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