Note 6 — Chapter IX · The Weighing of the Emperor.
M. M. translation
The chief part of the ceremony was the exchange of presents. The ambassadors and others approached the Emperor in their turn. On reaching the throne they raised their right hands to their foreheads and bowed their heads before the Emperor, then placed their presents, consisting chiefly of costly objects of art, by the side of the step on which the throne was raised, and in their turn they received presents on behalf of the Emperor. Aquaviva also drew near the Mughal, bearing a splendidly bound Latin Bible, which, according to custom, he was about to lay down; but Akbar, rising from his throne, advanced a step or two, and took the book from the hands of the missionary. “We thank you, worthy Father,” he said, “for this kindly thought, and trust that what we have to offer will not be less welcome to you,” and taking from the hands of a Brahman standing by his side a voluminous and beautifully ornamented manuscript, he presented it to the Jesuit, saying, “This is a copy of the ‘Atharva-Veda,’6 one of the most ancient of our holy books of India; it is accompanied by a Persian translation.”