The Fifteenth New Year’s Feast after the Auspicious Accession
Alexander Rogers translation
Verse.
“At midnight came the thought of thee. I was ashamed and resigned my life.
The poor man was abashed when suddenly the guest arrived.”
I shall now give a brief account of the country of Kashmir and of its peculiarities.
Verse.
Their cheeks shone like lamps;
There were fragrant buds on their stems (or ‘under their rind’),
Like dark amulets on the arms of the beloved.
The wakeful, ode-rehearsing nightingale
Whetted the desires of wine-drinkers;
At each fountain the duck dipped his beak
Like golden scissors cutting silk;
There were flower-carpets and fresh rosebuds,
The wind fanned the lamps of the roses,
The violet braided her locks,
The buds tied a knot in the heart.”
On Thursday, the 11th, certain servants of the State were promoted in the following manner: Tātār K. to 2,000 personal and 500 horse; ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīz K. to 2,000 personal and 1,000 horse; Debī Chand of Gwalior to 1,500 personal and 500 horse; Mīr K͟hān, s. Abū-l-Qāsim K. Namakīn to 1,000 personal and 600 horse; Mīrzā Muḥammad to 700 personal and 300 horse; Lut̤fu-llah to 300 personal and 500 horse; Naṣru-llah ʿArab to 500 personal and 250 horse; and Tahawwur K. was appointed to the faujdārship of Mewāt. On Thursday, the 25th, Sayyid Bāyazīd Buk͟hārī, faujdār of Bhakkar, raised his head of honour with the Subadarship of Sind, and his mansab, original and increased, was fixed at 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse, and he was also presented with a standard. S͟hajāʿat K. ʿArab obtained the honour of exaltation to the mansab of 2,500 personal and 2,000 horse. Anīrāʾī Singh-dalan, at the request of Mahābat K., was appointed to Bangash. Jān-sipār K. was promoted to the mansab of 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse.
On Mubārak-s͟hamba (Thursday), the 8th of K͟hūrdād, Iʿtiqād K͟hān was promoted to the mansab of 4,000 personal and 1,500 horse, and Ṣādiq K͟hān to that of 2,500 personal and 1,400 horse. Zainu-l-ʿābidīn, son of the deceased Āṣaf K͟hān (Jaʿfar), was promoted to be Bakhshi of Aḥadīs. Rāja Bīr Singh Deo Bandīla raised his head of honour with the high mansab of 5,000 personal and horse.
In Kashmir the most juicy(?) fruit is the as͟hkan(?) (askamī in the MSS.). It is subacid (mai-k͟hūs͟h), smaller than the ālū bālū (sour cherry), much better flavoured, and more delicate. When drinking wine, one cannot eat more than three or four ālū bālū, but of these one can take as many as a hundred in twenty-four hours, especially of the paiwandī(?) sort. I ordered that the as͟hkan should hereafter be called the k͟hūs͟hkan. It grows in the hills of Badakhshan and in Khurasan; the people there call it jamdamī. The largest of them weigh ½ mis̤qāl. The s͟hāh-ālū (cherry), on the 4th Urdībihis͟ht, appeared of the size of a grain of pulse; on the 27th it reddened, and on the 15th K͟hūrdād it was ripe, and new fruit (nau-bar) had formed(?). The s͟hāh-ālū (cherry), to my taste, is better than most fruits. Four trees had borne fruit in the Nūr-afzā garden. I called one of these S͟hīrīn-bār, the second K͟hūs͟h-guwār, the third, which bore the most fruit, Pur-bār, and the fourth, which had less, Kam-bār. One tree in K͟hurram’s garden had also borne fruit, and I called it S͟hāhwār. There was a young plant in the little garden of ʿIs͟hrat-afzā (joy enhancing), and this I called Nau-bār (new fruit). Every day I plucked with my own hand sufficient to give a flavour to my cups. Although they sent them by runners from Kabul as well, yet to pick them oneself from one’s home garden gave additional sweetness. The s͟hāh-ālū of Kashmir is not inferior to that of Kabul; it is even better grown. The largest of them weighed one tānk, five surk͟hs.
When Mahābat K. heard this fearful news, he sent a fresh body of men to assist, and strengthened the posts. Wherever they found a trace of those ill-fortuned ones, they did not fail to slay or bind them. When I heard this news, I summoned Akbar Qulī, s. Jalāl K. who had been told off for duty in the conquest of the fort of Kāngṛa, to my presence, and gave him the mansab of 1,000 personal and 1,000 horse, and confirmed to him, according to custom, his hereditary territory (the Gakhar country) in jagir, presented him with a dress of honour and a horse, and sent him to the support of the army of Bangash. As ʿIzzat K. had left a son of very tender years, keeping before my eyes, that discerned the truth, his life-sacrifice, I gave him (the child) a mansab and a jagir, so that those left behind should not be scattered abroad, and others might have increased hope.
On this day S͟haik͟h Aḥmad of Sirhind, who had for some time been placed in the prison of correction on account of his pretentiousness (literally, adorning his shop and selling himself) and immoderate language, was summoned to my presence, and I released him, giving him a dress of honour and Rs. 1,000 for expenses, and making him free to go or remain. He justly represented that his punishment had really been a valuable lesson to him, and that his desire was to wait on me.
On Wednesday, the 18th of the same month (S͟hahrīwar), Dilāwar K. Kākar died a natural death. Beyond all the other Amirs of high rank, he combined valour with leadership and knowledge of affairs, and from the time when I was a prince carried away from all the ball of superiority in my service. He acted constantly with the perfection of sincerity and the jewel of doing right, and had thus arrived at the dignity of Amirship. In the end of his life God Almighty bestowed grace upon him, and the conquest of Kis͟htwār, which was an exemplary service, was accomplished by his courage. It is hoped he may be one of the pardoned. His sons and the others that he left behind him I exalted with all kinds of favours and patronage, and enrolled those of his people who were fit for mansabs amongst the servants of the Court. I ordered the rest, to remain as usual with his sons, so that his company might not be split up.
On this day Qūr Yasāwul came with a diamond that Ibrāhīm K. Fatḥ-jang had obtained from the Bengal mine, and waited on me. Wazīr K., dīwān of Bengal, who was an old servant of the Court, died a natural death.
On 1 S͟hahrīwar (about 11 August) ducks (murg͟hābī) appeared on the Wular lake, and on the 24th of that month they appeared on the Dal lake. The following is the list of birds which are not met with in Kashmir:
When this news reached my ear, I appointed Jalāl, s. Dilāwar K., on whose forehead the traces of bravery and ambition were manifest, and who had done good service in the conquest of Kis͟htwār, with the mansab of 1,000 personal and 600 horse, giving him the attendants of his father who were enrolled among the servants of the Court, and an army of the soldiers of Kashmir, with many of the Zamindars and men on foot with muskets, to assist him in overcoming that mob, doomed to a vile end. An order was also given that Rāja Sangrām, the Zamindar of Jammu, with his own men, should come in by the hill-road from Jammu. It is hoped that the rebels will quickly obtain the recompense for their deeds.
Verse.
So clear the water that the grains of sand at bottom
Could be counted at midnight by a blind man.
On Monday, the 13th, the feast of the Dasahrā took place. According to the annual custom, they decorated the horses in the special stables, and those that had been entrusted to Amirs, and brought them out. At this time I experienced in myself a shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing. I hope that in the end, please God, it may all go well.
On Wednesday, the 15th, I went to make an autumn tour in the direction of Ṣafāpūr and the valley of Lār, situated downstream of the Kashmir River. In Ṣafāpūr there is a fine tank, and on the north side of it a hill full of trees. It being the beginning of autumn, it had a wonderful appearance, with trees of all colours, such as the planes, the apricot, and others, reflected in the middle of the tank, and very beautiful. Undoubtedly the beauties of autumn are not less than those of spring.
Verse.
There’s no exhilaration in decay, but to the eye
The glory of autumn is more brilliant than the Spring.
On Friday news came of the death of Mīrzā Raḥmāndād, s. the K͟hān-k͟hānān. He died a natural death at Bālāpūr. It appears that he had been suffering from fever for some days. When he was recovering, the Deccanis one day appeared with an army. His elder brother, Dārāb K., mounted with the intention of fighting. When the news reached Raḥmān-dād, with great bravery, notwithstanding his weakness and failing health, he went to his brother. After he had beaten the enemy, he returned and in taking off his jubba (quilted waistcoat) was not sufficiently careful. The wind immediately caught him, and he was seized with convulsions, and his tongue became powerless to speak. He remained two or three days in this state and died. He was a good and brave youth, was fond of sword-play, and was very zealous. In every place it was his idea to display his skill with the sword. Although fire burns equally what is green and what is dry, yet it appeared very grievous to me, and what must it have been to his broken-hearted old father? Hardly had the wound from the calamity of S͟hāh-nawāz K. healed, when he received this fresh wound. I trust that God Almighty may give him patience and resignation.
On Thursday, the 11th, I went, at the request of K͟hurram, to his newly-built house. I took those of his offerings that pleased me. Three elephants were placed in the private stud. On the same day I appointed ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīz K. Naqs͟hbandī to the faujdārship of the district of Kāngṛa, and his mansab was fixed at 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse. I gave a private elephant to Iʿtiqād K. Alf K. Qiyām-k͟hānī K. obtained leave to take charge of the fort of Kāngṛa, and his mansab, original and increased, was fixed at 1,500 personal and 1,000 horse. S͟haik͟h Faiẓu-llah, son-in-law of Murtaẓā K., was appointed in company with him to stay at the top of the fort (bālā-i-qilʿa).
As they had now broken their agreement through evil disposition and quarrelsomeness, and had turned back from the way of obedience and service, I sent off the hosts of good fortune again under his leadership, that they might receive retribution for their evil deeds, and be an example to all those of crooked fortune and turned heads. But as the important business of Kāngṛa had been entrusted to him, he had sent most of his experienced men there. For some days, accordingly, he could not arrange the matter. At last, report followed on report one after another, that the enemy had gathered strength, and that nearly 60,000 vagabond horsemen had collected together and taken possession of royal territory, and wherever there were posts, had removed them, and joined together in the town of Mahakar. For three months the imperialists had passed their days in strife and fighting with their rascally enemies, and during this time three pitched battles had taken place, and each time the self-sacrificing servants (of the State) had proved superior to the evil-fortuned rebels. As grain and provisions could not reach the camp by any road, and the enemy was plundering on all sides of the army of good fortune, a great scarcity of grain resulted, and the animals were in bad plight. Having no choice, they came down from the Bālāg͟hāt, and took up their position at Bālāpūr. The rebels, waxing valiant in their pursuit, engaged in plundering in the neighbourhood of Bālāpūr. Of the servants of the Court 6,000 or 7,000 horsemen, well mounted, were selected, and they made an attack on the enemy’s camp. They (the enemy) numbered about 60,000 cavalry. Briefly, a great fight took place, and their camp was plundered. Having killed and taken prisoners many of them, they returned in safety and with plunder. When they turned back those wretches again attacked them from all sides, and they came on, fighting as far as the camp. On both sides about 1,000 were killed. After this fight they (the imperialists) remained about four months at Bālāpūr. When the scarcity of grain became excessive, many of the qulaqchīs (servants) ran away and joined the enemy, and constantly bands of them, taking to the road of disloyalty, were enrolled among the rebels. On this account, not considering it advisable to delay any longer, they (the imperialists) came to Burhanpur. Again, those wretches followed them and besieged Burhanpur, and they were six months shut up there. Many parganas of the provinces of Berar and Khandesh passed into their possession, and they stretched out the hand of oppression over the cultivators and poor, and engaged in collecting the revenues. As the army had undergone great hardships and the animals had fallen into bad condition, they could not leave the city to inflict substantial punishment. Thus the pride and conceit of those short-sighted ones became greater. Just at this time the royal standards returned to the capital, and by the grace of God Kāngṛa was conquered.
“The slave of the King of Holiness, ʿAbbās.”
in the Nastaʿlīq character. He had this ruby inserted in a jīg͟ha (turban ornament), and sent to me as a souvenir. As the ruby bore the names of my ancestors, I took it as a blessing for myself, and bade Saʿīdā, the superintendent of the goldsmith’s department, engrave in another corner the words “Jahāngīr S͟hāh b. Akbar S͟hāh,” and the current date. After some days, when the news of the conquest of the Deccan arrived, I gave that ruby to K͟hurram, and sent it to him.
As Las͟hkar K. had satisfactorily performed his duties at Agra, I increased his mansab by 1,000 personal and 500 horse, and made it 4,000 personal and 2,500 horse, and sent him as an auxiliary to the army of the Deccan. Saʿīdā, superintendent of the goldsmith’s department, was dignified with the title of Bī-badal K. Four horses, some silver ornaments and cloths, which the ruler of Persia had sent me by Āqā Beg and Muḥammad Muḥibb ʿAlī, were produced before me on this day. The entertainment of Thursday, the 20th, took place in the Nūr-manzil garden. I gave a present of Rs. 1,00,000 to my son S͟hahriyār. Muz̤affar K., according to order, came from Thatta, and had the good fortune to wait on me. He offered 100 muhars and Rs. 100. Las͟hkar K. produced a ruby as an offering. It was valued at Rs. 4,000. A special horse of the name of Muṣāḥib (companion) was given to ʿAbdu-llah K. ʿAbdu-s-Salām, s. Muʿaz̤z̤am K., having arrived from Orissa, had the good fortune to wait on me: 100 muhars and Rs. 100 were laid before me as his nazar. The mansab of Dūst Beg, s. Tūlak K., was fixed at 900 personal and 400 horse. The entertainment of Thursday, the 27th, was held in the Nūr-afs͟hān garden. A special dress of honour was given to M. Rustam, and a horse to his son, who was called Dakhanī, and a special horse and an elephant to Las͟hkar K.