The Nineteenth New Year’s Feast after the Auspicious Accession
Alexander Rogers translation
On Wednesday, the 29th Jumādā-l-awwal, A.H. 1033, March 10, 1624, after one watch and two gharis of day had passed, the sun, that bestows bounty on the world, passed into its house of honour in Aries. The royal servants obtained promotions and increase of mansab. Aḥsanu-llah, s. K͟hwāja Abū-l-Ḥasan, received as original and increase that of 1,000 and 300 horse. Muḥammad Saʿīd, s. Aḥmad Beg K. Kābulī, the same, Mīr S͟haraf Dīwān-i-buyūtāt, and K͟hawāṣṣ K., each of them that of 1,000. Sardār K., having come from Kāngṛa, had the good fortune to pay his respects. At this time I gave orders to the yasāwuls and men of the yasāq (guards) that hereafter at the time when I came out of the palace they should keep away defective people, such as the blind, and those whose noses and ears had been cut off, the leprous and the maimed, and all kinds of sick people, and not permit them to be seen. On the 19th the feast of the culmination was held. Ilāh-wirdī, the brother of Imām-wirdī, had run away from Bī-daulat and came to Court, and was honoured with great favours.
As the news of Bī-daulat’s coming to the border of Orissa was constantly repeated, a farman was issued to the prince and Mahābat K. and the Amirs who had been sent to the support of my son, that they should set their minds at ease about the administering the provinces (of the Deccan), and go quickly to Allahabad and Behar, and if the Subahdar of Bengal could not forestall him, and he should put forward the foot of audacity, he must be made a wanderer in the desert of disappointment by the blows of the victorious army which is in the shadow of the flag of my son. By way of precaution on the 2nd Urdībihis͟ht I gave my son K͟hān Jahān leave to proceed to Agra to remain in that neighbourhood and wait for a sign. If there should happen to be any necessity for a particular service and an order should be given him, he must act as occasion might require. I sent him a special dress of honour, with a nādirī with pearl buttons, a special jewelled sword, and to Aṣālat K., his son, a horse, and a dress of honour.
On this day a report came from ʿAqīdat K., Bakhshi of the Deccan. He wrote that, according to order, my prosperous son S͟hāh Parwīz had married the sister of Rāja Gaj Singh. I hope that her coming will be auspicious to the State. He also wrote that, having sent for Turkumān K. from Pattan he had appointed ʿAzīzu-llah in his place. Jān-sipār K., also by order, came and waited on me. When Bī-daulat crossed the Burhanpur river and took the road of ruin, Mīr Ḥusāmu-d-dīn, considering his own evil deeds, could not remain at Burhanpur. Taking his children with him, he conveyed the goods of ruin to the Deccan, in order that he might pass his days under the protection of ʿĀdil K. By chance, as he passed by Bīr, Jān-sipār K. obtained information, and sent a body of men to head him off. He seized him and his dependants, and brought them before Mahābat. Mahābat placed him in confinement, and took from him Rs. 1,00,000 in cash and goods. (Also) Jādo Rāy and Ūday Rām had taken the elephants which Bī-daulat had left in Burhanpur and brought them to the prince (Parwīz).
On this day news came that Las͟hkarī had taken the farman to ʿĀdil K., and he, having decorated the city, had gone out four koss to meet him, and had performed salutations and prostrations for the farman and the dress of honour. On the 21st I sent dresses of honour for my son Dāwar-bak͟hs͟h and K͟hān Aʿz̤am and Ṣafī K. Having appointed Ṣādiq K. to the government of Lahore, and given him a dress of honour and an elephant, I gave him leave. An order was given that he should have the mansab of 400 personal and 400 horse. Multafat K., s. Mīrzā Rustam, raised the head of distinction with the mansab of 1,500 personal and 300 horse.
One day while hunting it was reported to me that a snake with a black hood (kafcha) had swallowed another hooded (kafcha?) snake and gone into a hole. I ordered them to dig up the place and bring out the snake. Without exaggeration I had never seen a snake of this size. When, they opened its belly, the hood of the snake that it had swallowed came out whole. Although this snake was of another kind, in length and girth little difference was visible.
On the 1st K͟hurdād it was reported that S͟hajāʿat K. ʿArab, had died a natural death in the Deccan.
Addendum by Mīrzā Muḥammad Hādī, the Writer of the Preface
The MS. states: “Up to this place is the writing (taʾlīf) of the deceased king Jahāngīr. The rest, up to the end of the book, is written by Muḥammad Hādī from some trustworthy MS. collected together to complete the book.