Note 252 — Chapter XII

Darashiko was the eldest son and heir presumptive of Shah-Jehan, of Delhi, during whose life he defended him against the rebellion of his younger brother, Aureng-zeb, who, leagued with two other brothers, attempted to dethrone his father. Dara, having been defeated in a battle on the river Jambul, retired towards Lahore, whilst the victorious Aureng-zeb proceeded to Agra, and by stratagem rendered himself master of his father’s person, and imprisoned his brother Murad bakhsh, whom he had, till then, treated as emperor, in the castle of Agra, where the captive prince died. Proclaimed emperor under the title of Aalemgir, the new sovereign now turned his arms against Dara, who was in possession of the Panj-ab, Multan, and Kabul, and defended the line of the Setlej. Here beaten, Dara retired beyond the Indus, and took refuge in the mountains of Bikker. Aalumgir was called to Allahabad, to encounter his brother Suja, who had moved from Bengal to assert his right to the throne. Aalemgir had scarce repulsed him, when he was obliged to haste towards Guzerat: there was Dara, who had recrossed the Indus and taken an advantageous position in that maritime province. He might have been victorious in a battle, but he succumbed to the artfulness of Aalemgir. Deserted by his army, abandoned by his allies, he was delivered up by traitors to his cruel brother, subjected to an ignominious exposition in the streets of Delhi, and executed. Suja, Alemgir’s last brother was obliged to fly to Arrakan, where he died, seven years before his father, Shah Jehan, who died his son’s prisoner, in 1665. I have related the principal events of one single year, 1658 of our era. This is a date in the life of the author of the Dabistán, then in his fortieth year or thereabout. He was before this time in the Panjab, and might have personally known Darashuko, who was renowned for his great learning and most religious turn of mind. Besides what is said above in our text, we know (see Mémoires sur les particularités de la Religion musulmane, par M. Garcin de Tassy, p. 107), that Dara frequented Baba Lal, a Hindu Durvish, who inhabited Dhianpur in the province of Lahore, and conversed with him upon religious matters. The Munshi Shanderban Shah Jehani wrote a Persian work, which contains the pious conversations of these personages.