The Tenth New Year’s Festival after my auspicious Accession.
Alexander Rogers translation
On the 28th the mansab of K͟hwāja Jahān, which was 3,000 personal and 1,800 horse, was increased by 500 personal and 400 horse. In the end of the month I presented Ibrāhīm K͟hān with a horse, a robe of honour, a jewelled dagger, a standard and drums, and dismissed him to the province of Behar. The office of ʿarẓ-mukarrir (reviser of petitions), that belonged to K͟hwājagī Ḥājī Muhammad, as he had died, I gave to Muk͟hliṣ K͟hān, who was in my confidence. Three hundred horse were increased in the mansab of Dilāwar K͟hān, who now had 1,000 personal and horse. As the hour of the leave-taking of Kunwar Karan was at hand, I was desirous of showing him my skill in shooting with a gun. Just at this time the qarāwulān (shikaris) brought in news of a tigress. Though it is an established custom of mine only to hunt male tigers, yet, in consideration that no other tiger might be obtained before his departure, I went for the tigress. I took with me Karan, and said to him that I would hit it wherever he wished me to do so. After this arrangement I went to the place where they had marked down the tiger. By chance there was a wind and disturbance in the air, and the female elephant on which I was mounted was terrified of the tigress and would not stand still. Notwithstanding these two great obstacles to shooting, I shot straight towards her eye. God Almighty did not allow me to be ashamed before that prince, and, as I had agreed, I shot her in the eye. On the same day Karan petitioned me for a special gun, and I gave him a special Turkish one.
On the night of Friday, the 15th, a strange affair occurred. By chance on that night I was at Pushkar. To be brief, Kis͟han, own brother to Rāja Sūraj Singh, was in great perturbation through Gobind Dās, the Vakil of the said Raja having some time ago killed his nephew, a youth of the name of Gopāl Dās. The cause of the quarrel it would take too long to tell. Kis͟han Singh expected that, as Gopāl Dās was also the nephew of the Raja (Sūraj Singh), the latter would kill Gobind Dās. But the Raja, on account of the experience and ability of Gobind Dās, relinquished the idea of seeking revenge for his nephew’s death. When Kis͟han saw this neglect on the part of the Raja, he resolved himself to take revenge for his nephew, and not allow his blood to pass away unnoticed. For a long time he kept this matter in his mind, until on that night he assembled his brothers, friends, and servants, and told them that he would go that night to take Gobind Dās’s life, whatever might happen, and that he did not care what injury might happen to the Raja. The Raja was in ignorance of what was happening, and when it was near dawn Kis͟han came with Karan, his brother’s son, and other companions. When he arrived at the gate of the Raja’s dwelling he sent some of the experienced men on foot to the house of Gobind Dās, which was near the Raja’s. He himself (Kis͟han) was on horseback, and stationed himself near the gate. The men on foot entered Gobind Dās’s house, and killed some of those who were there on guard. Whilst this fight was going on Gobind Dās awoke, and seizing his sword in a state of bewilderment was coming out from one side of the house to join the outside watchmen. When the men on foot had finished killing some of the people, they came out of the tent to endeavour to find out Gobind Dās, and, meeting him, they finished his affair (killed him). Before the news of the killing of Gobind Dās reached Kis͟han, he, unable to bear it any more, dismounted and came inside the dwelling. Although his men protested in a disturbed state that it was not right to be on foot, he would in no way listen to them. If he had remained a little longer and the news of his enemy having been killed had reached him, it is possible that he would have escaped safe and sound, mounted as he was. As the pen of destiny had gone forth after another fashion, as soon as he alighted and went in, the Raja, who was in his maḥall (female apartment), awoke at the uproar among the people, and stood at the gate of his house with his sword drawn. People from all sides were aroused and came in against the men who were on foot. They saw what the number of men on foot was, and came out in great numbers and faced Kis͟han Singh’s men, who were about ten in number. In short, Kis͟han Singh and his nephew Karan, when they reached the Raja’s house, were attacked by these men and both of them killed. Kis͟han Singh had seven and Karan nine wounds. Altogether in this fight 66 men on the two sides were killed, on the Raja’s side 30 and on Kis͟han Singh’s 36. When the sun rose and illumined the world with its light, this business was revealed, and the Raja saw that his brother, his nephew, and some of his servants, whom he considered dearer than himself, were killed, and the whole of the rest had dispersed to their own places. The news reached me in Pushkar, and I ordered them to burn those who were killed, according to their rites, and inform me of the true circumstances of the affair. In the end it became clear that the affair had happened in the manner in which it has been written here, and that no further enquiry was necessary.
“We are bound to the K͟hwājagī and are servants to the K͟hwājagī.”
I also with my own pen wrote some lines in the style of that writing, and sent impromptu quatrains with 1,000 Jahāngīrī muhrs to the said K͟hwāja—
“O thou whose kindness to me is ever more and more,
The State has remembrance of thee, O Dervish,
As from good tidings our heart is rejoiced,
We are glad that thy kindness passes all bounds.”
“Although we have the business of kingship before us,
Every moment more and more we think on the dervishes.
If the heart of our Dervish be gladdened by us
We count that to be the profit of our kingship.”
I gave the Ḥakīm 1,000 muhrs for the composition of this quatrain. On the 7th of the month of Day, when I was coming back from Pushkar and returning to Ajmir, on the way forty-two wild pigs were taken.
On the 12th, Z̤afar K͟hān, who had been removed from the Subah of Behar, came and waited on me, and made an offering of 100 muhrs, as well as three elephants. On the 15th of Day I increased the mansab of Qāsim K͟hān, the Subahdar of Bengal, by 1,000 personal and horse, so as to make it 4,000 personal and horse. As the diwan and bakhshi of Bengal, Ḥusain Beg and T̤āhir, had not done approved service, Muk͟hliṣ K͟hān, who was one of the confidential servants of the Court, was nominated to these duties. I conferred on him a mansab of 2,000 personal and 700 horse, and also gave him a standard. The duty of ʿarẓ-mukarrir (reviser of petitions) I ordered to be given to Dayānat K͟hān. On the 25th, Friday, the weighing of my son K͟hurram took place. Up to the present year, when he is 24 years old, and is married and has children, he has never defiled himself with drinking wine. On this day, when the assembly for his weighing was held, I said to him: “Bābā, thou hast become the father of children, and kings and kings’ sons have drunk wine. To-day, which is the day of thy being weighed, I will give thee wine to drink, and give thee leave to drink it on feast days and at the time of the New Year, and at all great festivals. But thou must observe the path of moderation, for wise men do not consider it right to drink to such an extent as to destroy the understanding, and it is necessary that from drinking only profit should be derived.” Bū ʿAlī (Avicenna), who is one of the most learned of hakims and physicians, has written this quatrain—
“Wine is a raging enemy, a prudent friend;
A little is an antidote, but much a snake’s poison.
In much there is no little injury,
In a little there is much profit.”
I gave a jewelled dagger to ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān by the hand of Maqṣūd ʿAlī. S͟haik͟h Mūsā, a relation of Qāsim K͟hān, was dignified with the title of K͟hān, and promoted to the mansab of 800 personal and 400 horse, and was allowed to go to Bengal. The mansab of Z̤afar K͟hān was increased to 500 personal and horse, and he was appointed to duty in Bangash. On the same day Muḥammad Ḥusain, brother of K͟hwāja Jahān, was given the faujdārship of the Sarkar of Ḥiṣṣār and dismissed, his mansab being increased by 200 horse to raise it to 500 personal and 400 horse, with the gift of an elephant. On the 5th Bahman an elephant was conferred on Mīr Mīrān. When the merchant ʿAbdu-l-Karīm left Iran for Hindustan, my exalted brother S͟hāh ʿAbbās sent me by his hand a rosary of cornelian from Yemen and a cup of Venetian workmanship, which was very fine and rare. On the 9th of the same month they were laid before me. On the 18th some offerings of many kinds of jewelled ornaments, etc., which Sult̤ān Parwīz had sent to me, were laid before me. On the 7th Isfandārmuẕ, Ṣādiq, nephew of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah, who was permanently employed as Bakhshi, was honoured with the title of K͟hān. I had also conferred this title on K͟hwāja ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīz. According to what was right, I called him by the title of ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīz K͟hān and Ṣādiq by that of Ṣādiq K͟hān. On the 10th, Jagat Singh, son of Kunwar Karan, who had obtained leave to go to his native country, when he took leave was presented with 20,000 rupees, a horse, an elephant, a dress of honour, and a special shawl. Five thousand rupees, a horse, and a dress of honour were also given to Haridās Jhālā, who was one of the confidants of the Rānā and tutor to Karan’s son. By his hand I also sent a mace of gold (s͟has͟hparī) for the Rānā.
On the 20th of the same month, Rāja Sūraj Singh, son of Rāja Bāso, who on account of the nearness of his dwelling-place to it had been sent with Murtaẓā K͟hān to capture the fort of Kāngra, came on my summons and waited on me. The aforesaid K͟hān had entertained certain suspicions with regard to him, and on this account, considering him an undesirable companion, had repeatedly sent petitions to the Court, and wrote things about him until an order was received to summon him.
On the 26th, Niz̤āmu-d-dīn K͟hān came from Multan and waited on me. In the end of this year news of victory and prosperity came in from all sides of my dominions. In the first place, this was with regard to the disturbance of Aḥdād, the Afghan, who for a long time past had been in rebellion in the hill country of Kabul, and round whom many of the Afghans of that neighbourhood had assembled, and against whom from the time of my revered father until now, which is the 10th year after my accession, armies have always been employed. He by degrees was defeated, and, falling into a wretched state, a part of his band was dispersed and a part killed. He took refuge for some time in Chark͟h, which was a place on which he relied, but K͟hān Daurān surrounded it and closed the road for entry and exit. When there remained no grass for his beasts or means of living for men in the fortress, he at night brought down his animals from the hills and grazed them on the skirts, and accompanied them himself, in order that he might set an example to his men. At last this intelligence reached K͟hān Daurān. He then appointed a body of his leaders and experienced men to go into ambush on an appointed night in the neighbourhood of Chark͟h. That band went and hid itself at night in places of refuge, and K͟hān Daurān rode on the same day in that direction. When those ill-fated ones brought out their cattle and let them loose to graze, and the ill-conditioned Aḥdād himself passed by the places of ambush with his own band, suddenly a dust rose in front of him. When they enquired it became known that it was K͟hān Daurān. In a state of bewilderment he endeavoured to turn back, and the scouts announced to the aforesaid K͟hān that it was Aḥdād. The K͟hān gave his horse the reins and went at Aḥdād; the men who were in ambush also blocked the road and attacked him. The fight lasted till midday in consequence of the broken nature of the ground and the thickness of the jungle; at last defeat fell on the Afghans and they betook themselves to the hill: about 300 fighting men went to hell and 100 were taken prisoners. Aḥdād could not regain the stronghold and hold on there. Necessarily he turned his face towards Qandahar. The victorious troops entering Chark͟h, burnt all the places and houses of those ill-fortuned ones, and destroyed and rooted them up from their foundations.
“With broken arms and loosened loins,