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T RAVELS

IN TIIK

JM O G U I, EMPIRE

A-D

( J fi n I 1 1 ft I i

(i (•{•// Irnibrra >'</ /•> a till in ft

TRAVELS

IN THE

MOGUL EMPIRE

A.D. 1656-1668
BY

FRANCOIS BERNIER

M.I). OK THE FACULTY OK MONTl'ELLIER

TRANSLATED, ON THE BASIS OF IRVING BROCK S VERSION
AND ANNOTATED BY

ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE

(1891)

SECOND EDITION REVISED BY-

VINCENT A. SMITH, M.A. 0

AUTHOR OF 'THE EARLY HISTORY OF INDIA,' ETC. f~

HUMPHREY MILFORD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW

NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY

1916

CONTENTS

PAGE

List of Illustrations . • • • . . • • . vii
Preface . , ix

Chronicle of some of the principal events in the life and times of

Francois Bernier ........ xix

Bibliography of the writings of Francois Bernier . . . xxv

Translation of Bernier's Dedication to King Louis XI V. of France,

from the 1670 Paris edition ...... xlv

Translation of Bernier's Address to the Reader, from the 1670

Paris edition ......... xlvii

An extract of a letter to Mr. H. 0., from M. de Monceaux the

younger, from the 1671 London edition .... xlix

The History of the late Rebellion in the States of the Great

Mogol I

Remarkable occurrences after the War . . . . .116
Letter to Monseigneur Colbert concerning Hindoustan . . 200

Letter to M. de la Mothe le Vayer, containing a description of

Dehli and Agra ........ 239

Letter to M. Chapelain describing the Gentiles of Hindoustan 300

Series of nine letters to M. de Merveilles, descriptive of a march
made with the Camp of the Emperor Aureng-Zebe to
Kachemire ......... 350

v Some particulars relating to Mr. H[enry] O[uHin-
burgh] ,,.,,.*..

vi CONTENTS

PACK

Replies to questions put by M. Thevenot regarding : —

i Jews in Kachemire ....... 429

ii The Moisson or periodical rains in the Indies . . 431

iii The regularity of the Winds and Currents in the Indies 434

iv The fertility, wealth and beauty of the Kingdom of

Bengale 437

v The periodical rising of the Nile .... 446

A Memorandum, omitted to be inserted in my first Work, to
complete the Map of Hindoustan, and make known the
Revenues of the Great Mogol 455

Abstract of the King's Licence, from the 1670 Paris edition . 461
Appendices : —

i Regarding Dryden's Tragedy of AURENG-ZEBE. . 465

ii On the identity of the ' Great Mogul's diamond' with

the Koh-i-niir ....... 469

iii Tavernier's description of the Peacock Throne of the

Great Mogul 471

iv Note on the letter to Monsigneur Colbert concerning

the absorption of the precious metals in India . 473

INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE EMPEROR SnAn JAHAN .... Frontispiece

Photogravure by Mr. Emery Walker from a contemporary
Painting in the British Museum, Add. MSS. 18,801.

PAGE
FIG. _ ,.

1. PRINCE AURANGZEB. After a contemporary Indian

painting, in the possession ot
Colonel Hanna ... 9

2. THE EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN. After the engraving from an In-

dian drawing, in Valentyn's
Beschryving ...» 44

3. PRINCE MURAD BAKHSH. Do. do. . 69

4. SULTAN SHUJAH. Do. do. . 84

5. PRINCE DARA SHIKOH AND HIS SON Do> do. . 99

SIPIHR SHIKOH.

6. THE EMPEROR ALAMGIR (AURANG- Do. do. . 117

ZEB).

7. AMIR JUMLA AMUSING HIMSELF IN Do. do. . I7O

HIS ZENANA.

8. SivAjI. After the engraving in Valentyn 187

9. ' GUNGA DlN.' After a lithograph from a draw-

ing by Captain Oliver J. Jones,
R.N 206

10. AN ELEPHANT FIGHT AT LUCKNOW After a drawing by a Lucknow

DURING THE NAWABI. Artist

11. THE EMPRESS TAj MAHAL. After the engraving from an In-

dian drawing, in Valentyn's
Beschryving .... 296

12. RAUSHAN ARA BEGUM. Do. do. . 351

Figs I -12 reproduced by Messrs. Walker and Boutall, London.

MAPS

L'EMPIRE DU GRAND MOGOL. Reproduced from the original in

the 1670 Paris edition facing 238

REGNI KACHEMIRE NOVA ET ACCUR ATA Reproduced from the original in

DESCRIPTIO. the 1672 Amsterdam edition . 408

IMPERII MAGNI MOGOLIS NOVISSIMA Do. do. . 454

DESCRIPTIO.

Maps reproduced by John Bartholomeiv and Co. , Edinburgh.

vli

EXTRACT FROM PREFACE TO
FIRST EDITION (1891)

I WAS led to select Berniers Travels as the opening
volume of my ORIENTAL MISCELLANY Series for two
reasons. An edition of this book had been promised,
but never actually issued,, by my Grandfather as one of
the works to be included in that MISCELLANY, which
may be regarded as the precursor of all the healthy,
cheap, and popular literature of the present day; and,
further, it was a book which I had ever admired, even
before I was able, from actual experience, to fully appre-
ciate its very remarkable accuracy.

Strange to say, although frequently reprinted and trans-
lated, there does not exist, so far as I am aware, any satis-
factory edition as to general editing, notes, and so forth,
and this has, I hope, proved of advantage to me. For all
that, I cannot claim to have approached, even partially, an
ideally perfect edition ; but, to quote Bernier's own words
as applied to his map of The Mogol Empire, I prefer to
hope that I have produced a work { not absolutely correct,
but merely less incorrect than others that I have seen/
For instance, a copy of the Urdu translation made in 1875
by Colonel Henry Moore, and lithographed in two volumes
8vo, at Umritsur and Moradabad in 1886 and 1888 re-
spectively, only reached my hands after the Bibliography
had been printed off. Nor have I been able as yet to
find any copy of a Lucknow reprint of the Delhi edition,
No. 22 of the list.

In my treatment of Indian proper names, and Indian
and Persian words generally, in my notes and elsewhere,
I have availed myself very liberally of the ' time-honoured
spelling' proviso or clause, laid down by authority, in
the rules which govern the transliteration of such words.

x PREFACE

In the matter of type, ornament, and printing generally,
I have endeavoured to retain the old-time flavour of the
early French and English editions, but I have never aimed
at a facsimile reprint ; and I need hardly add that in
the text I have preserved the transliterations, admirably
phonetic as they all are, to be found in the first French
editions, and have avoided attempting any work that
might be open to the charge of e restoration ' in the
manner too often practised in the art of Architecture at
the present day.

In accordance with these general principles I have given
a translation of Bernier's Dedication to the French King,
and of his Address to the Reader, both of which have been
hitherto omitted from every edition except the first. They
contain, as was generally the case at the period, a great
deal of valuable personal history not to be found elsewhere,
and all worthy of preservation.

The letter from M. de Monceaux the younger, to Mr.
H. 0., given in the first English translation, and omitted
in most of the subsequent reprints or new editions, has also
been included, and containing as it does very pleasant tes-
timony to the high esteem ('the most knowing Company
on Earth ') in which our own Royal Society was held by
Foreign savants thus early in its history, I trust that it
will prove of general interest, taken in connection with
the identification of Mr. H. 0. with the first indefatigable
secretary of that illustrious body, which it has been my
privilege to establish.

As will be seen from Appendix I., it is to the first
English edition of Bernier that we are indebted for
Dryden's masterpiece of Aureng-Zebe, a tragedy (first
acted, it is believed, in the Spring of the year 1675, and
printed in !()?()) of which Dr. Johnson was moved to say
that, founded on the actions of a great Prince then reign-
ing, it was fortunate that his dominion was over nations
not likely to employ their critics upon the transactions of
the English stage; otherwise, ' if he had known and dis-

PREFACE xi

liked his own character, our trade was not in those times
secure from his resentment. His country is at such a dis-
tance, that the manners might be safely falsified, and the
incidents feigned : for the remoteness of the place is re-
marked, by Racine, to afford the same conveniencies to a
poet as length of time.' However, as may be gathered
from Appendix I., the poetic licence allowed to himself
by Dryden has enabled him to portray the character of
Aurangzeb in a much more favourable light than the
stern facts of history would warrant, and strange to say
this seems to have been generally overlooked by those
writers who have hitherto quoted Dr. Johnson's criticism.

THE. editorial work of Mr. Archibald Constable,
although excellent 011 the whole, shares the lot
of most human productions in falling short of
perfection. Critical scrutiny has revealed the need for
numerous minute emendations in order to correct mis-
prints, typographical defects, misspellings of proper names
or foreign words, mistakes of interpretation, and errors in
sundry matters of fact. Such emendations have been
silently made and do not require to be further specified.
The spelling of names and the transliteration of foreign
words still remain rather irregular, but I have not thought
it necessary to observe absolute uniformity. The Index
has been left unchanged. Mr. Constable's dates seem to
be all in old style.

Mr. Constable's citations from Fryer's work, entitled
A New Account of East India and Persia, were made from
the rare original edition of l6'f)8, then the only one in
existence. I have altered the references so as to suit the
more accessible Hakluyt Society edition by Mr. William

xii

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Volume i. appeared in 1909 and
The third volume is in the press.

Crooke, of which
Volume ii. in 1912.

Mr. Constable's commentary makes nineteen references
to the work by Father Fran 9013 Catrou, S.J., entitled
Histoire Generate de I' Empire du Mogol, first published in
1705, and thrice reissued ten years later in enlarged
forms. That work, while not disdaining the support of
other authorities, was avowedly based on the memoirs of
Niccolao Manucci, a Venetian who practised as a physician
in India with success during the second half of the seven-
teenth century. When Mr. Constable was engaged on
his edition the testimony of Manucci was known only
through the paraphrase of Catrou, and it was impossible
to be certain that any given statement in the Jesuit's
book reflected accurately the observations of the Venetian.
Some years ago the late Mr. William Irvine succeeded in
tracing the forgotten Manucci manuscripts, of which he
had copies made. He then translated the whole under
the title Storia do Mogor, adding an elaborate commentary.
His labours resulted in the production of four massive
volumes published by Mr. John Murray in 1907 and 1908,
which supersede Catrou. Practically the whole value of
Catrou's compilation consists in the material derived from
Manucci, and now that, owing to Mr. Irvine's scholarly
enthusiasm, the text of that author has been made
accessible in an English version, it is not only superfluous,
but actually misleading, to quote Catrou, as will appear
from the comments to be made presently. I have, therefore,
prepared a statement giving exact references to the quarto
edition of Catrou published in 1715 (the references of
Mr. Constable being without indication of the pages) and
also to the passages in the Sloriti do Mo^or which most
nearly correspond. The studious reader will thus be
enabled to follow up Mr. Constable's vague references
to 'Catrou' in the pages of Mr. Irvine's monumental
work.

5UMM

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

References to Catrou and Manned.

Xlll

Reference to
1 Catrou ' in Ber-
nier, ed. Constable.

Catrou, Histoire
Gfnerale de I Empire
du Mogol, Paris, 1715,
quarto.

Manucci, Storia do Mogor,
transl. and ed. by W. Irvine ;
London, 1907, 1908 ; 4 vols.
thick octavo.

Page

Part Page

Vol.

Page

6, n. I

I. and II. 170

221-7

11, n. 2

166

217

16, n. 2

173

226

17, n. 3

174

232

23, n. 2

171

225

68, n. 1

211

303

70, n. I*

211

303

101, n. I*

„ 225

356-60

103, n. 1*

„ 226

359

105, w. 3*

211

304

108, n. I*

231

383

114, n. I*

228

375

274, n. 1

118

))

158, 159

283, n. 4*

158

II.

287, n. 1*

156

176, 182, 183

288, n. I*

117

158

288, n. 2

119

\ "
(IV.

161 )
421 (

469

173

226, 233, 237

476*

165

206

NOTE. — Irvine {Storia do Mogor , vol. i. p. xxvi) mentions three
issues of Catrou's revised work in French, all published at Paris, and
bearing the date 1715; namely, (No. i) I vol. quarto; (No. 2) 4
vols. small octavo ; and (No. 3) 3 vols. duodecimo. Copies of Nos.
I and 2, which I have not examined, are in the British Museum. I
do not know where No. 3 is to be found. No copy of any of the
three issues exists at Oxford in the Bodleian, All Souls College
Library, or the Library of the Union Society. The India Office
Library has a good copy of No. I only, which I have used. It is a
small quarto, containing Parts I. and II. to the end of Shahjahan's
reign, 272 pp., reprinted from the editio princeps of 1705; and
Part ill. Aurangzeb's reign, 207 pp., paged separately, with a Table
des Matures of 4 pages not numbered. The passages marked with an
asterisk differ materially in Catrou and the Storia do Mogor.

xiv PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Certain matters which could not be conveniently
included in the emendations may be noted here.

Page 3, n. 1. The title Sdhib-i Kirdn has nothing to do
with a reign of thirty years. It means ' lord of [auspicious]
conjunction [of the planets]/ i.e. that the prince had
been born under such a conjunction. Shahjahan called
himself the ' second Sdhib-i Kirdn,' Timur having been
the first.

Page 73 n. 1, 1. 5. The names omitted are given by
Manucci as Father Estanilas Malpica, a Neapolitan, and
Father Pedro Juzarte, a Portuguese (Storm do Mogor,
i. 223). The India Office copy of Catrou (p. 170) gives
them as f les P. P. Stanislas Malpica Napolitain, Pedro
Juzarte Portugais.'

Page 57, n. 2. The statements are incorrect. Sulai-
man Shikoh was poisoned at Gwalior by order of
Aurangzeb, but his younger brother, Sipihr Shikoh,
although imprisoned for a time at the same place, was
married in 1673 to Zubdat-un-nissa, a daughter of
Aurangzeb, and detained at Salimgarh (Delhi), where he
died on July 2, 1708 (Storia do Mogor, see Index).

Page 59, n. 3. Sulaiman Shikoh was not given up ' by
the Raja/ who, on the contrary, refused to violate the laws
of hospitality, defying Aurangzeb to do his worst. The
betrayal was the work of the Raja's son, who desired to
curry favour with the emperor (Storia do Mogor, i.
379).

Page 68, n. The boy was Sultan Muhammad Azam,
Aurangzeb's third son, born on Oct. 17, 1653 (N.S.), and
therefore almost four years and eight months old on
June 15, 1658 (ibid. i. 303, note). But Mr. Irvine also
gives the date of his birth as July 9, 1653 (ibid. iv. 400,
note 2). Beale gives the date as July 1 1 (O.S.).

Page 70, n. 1. The eunuch Shahbaz was suddenly
seized by four men, who forthwith strangled him, ' and
buried him without a sound' (Storia do Mogor, i. 303).

Page 101, n. 1 ; page 103, n. 1. The details given by

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION xv

Manucci (i. 356-60) do not agree exactly with Catrou's
version.

Page 105, n. S. Manucci says : — ' Then he called in the
men hidden for the purpose, and ordered them to bring
in the fetters already lying ready for use. Some, on the
other hand, want to make out that these fetters were of
silver, intended by Aurangzeb to terrify his son Sultan
Muhammad if he were disobedient' (Storia do Mogor,
i. 304). As to the eunuch, see the comment above on
p. 70, note 1.

Page 108, n. 1. Manucci states that: — 'The qdzi
passed sentence according to the instructions received,
and to execute it the king sent a company of soldiers
from his guard with some of his slaves. When they had
arrived at Gwaliyar fortress, they cut off Murad Baksh's
head in the presence of the complainant and other
witnesses. He was interred there and then ' (ibid, i,
383).

Page 114, n. 1. Manucci, who goes more into detail,
does not give the date, Feb. 7, 1658 (ibid. i. 375).

Page 118, n. 1. For "The history of the Taj, see A
History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, Oxford, 191 1,
pp. 414-8.

Page 257, w. 1. Mr. Constable's note and Appendix A.
of Keene's Handbook are in error. The true story of the
elephants is summarized in A History of Fine Art in India
and Ceylon, p. 425.

Page 273, n. 2. ' Dame Jeanne,' anglicised as ' demi-
john,' was a kind of glass vessel. I do not know how
the phrase 'raisons de Dame Jeanne' arose.

Page 284,n.3. 'Some 168 Mmdrs have been located
to date — 33 in the United Provinces, 30 in the Punjab,
and 105 in Rajputana. There are 75 in the Jaipur
State alone.' (Ann. Progr. Rep. of Super* Muhammadan
and British Monuments, Northern Circle, 1912-13, p. 7).

Page 287, n. 1. The trouble arose owing to the
capture by the Portuguese of two slave-girls, not

XVI

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

daughters, of Mumtaz Mahall (Storia do Mogor, i. 176,
182, 183). The mistake is due to a mistranslation of
'deux de ses filles' (Catrou, Parts i. and n. p. 156).

Page 323, n. 2; page 329, w. 3. Mr. Constable's
ingenious explanation of the use of the form * Hanscrit '
instead of ' Sanskrit ' seems to be unnecessary and
erroneous. The simple explanation is that the writers
who use that form followed the pronunciation of Western
Rajputana and Gujarat.

'The sibilant is the Shibboleth of the Rajpoot of
Western India, and will always detect him. The " lion "
(sing) of Pokurna is degraded into " asafoetida " (hing) ;
as Halim Hing' (Tod, Annals, Popular Edition, 1914,
vol. i. p. 557 «.). 'Especially in the west and south
[of Rajputana], the letter s is pronounced like a rough ht
thus agreeing with Northern Gujarat! and many Bhil
dialects ' (Grierson, Linguistic Survey, vol. ix. part 11. p. 4).

Page 394, n. last para. Dr. (Sir M A.) Stein published
his critical edition of the text of the Rdjalurang'mi in
1892, and his magnificent translation with encyclopaedic
commentary in 1900 (Constable, 2 vols.).

V. A. S.

CHRONICLE

SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS

IN THE

LIFE AND TIMES

FRANCOIS BERNIER

ILouis xnr., Iting of JFrance.

Sames Stuart, vi. of £cotlano anK i. of BnglanU, mgns in
England.

3afjangfr, Emperor of f^tnoostan.

Born at Joue, near Gonnord, in Anjou. His parents, cultivators of 1620.
the soil, were leaseholders, in the Barony of Etiau, of land belonging Septemb
to the Canonry of St. Maurice at Angers.

Baptized. September

26UL

Aujourd'hui vingt-sixiesme jour de septambre mil six cent vingt, a

este baptize1 par moy cur6 soubsign6 Francois fils de honnorable homme
Pierre Bernier et de Andre'e Grimault ; fut parrain venerable et discret
Messire Francis Bernier cure* de Chantzaux, et marraine honneste fille
Julliesne Bonnin, laquelle ma declarer ne sgavoir signer.

F. Bernier. Guytton.

— (Register of the Parish ofjout, preserved in the Archives of the
Commune of Jout- Etiau. )

Charles IM ifctng of !EngIano, begins to retgn, 2;tfj Inarch 1625.
ILouts xiv. succeeds to the tfjrone of JFrance, i4tfj ilHag 1643.
Styah. ^afjan, (Emperor of f^tnliostatt, tfty Jthruarg 1628.
Commonbealtjj proclaimed in fEnglimU, sotjj Sfanuarg 1648-9,

Travels in Northern Germany, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. 1647-1650.

xx CHRONICLE OF FRANCOIS BERNIER

1652. Having passed an examination in physiology, for which he had been

May 6th. prepared by the philosopher Gassendi, in Provence, he matriculates at
the University of Montpellier.

July 18th. Passes his examination as licentiate in medicine.

August 26th. Takes his degree as Doctor of Medicine, and subsequently goes to
Paris.

1654. Visits Palestine and Syria.

1655. Tends, together with Antoine de la Potherie, amanuensis, the philo-
October 24th. sopher Gassendi in his last illness, and is present at his death.

Bernier undoubtedly owed his great powers of accurate observation
to his training under Gassendi, and he has warmly recorded his sense of
gratitude to M. Chapelle (who first introduced him to that philosopher)
in the last paragraph of his letter to M, Chapelain, on the Gentiles of
Hindostan, see p. 349.

Admirable testimony to the genius of Gassendi has been borne by
Henry Rogers as follows : ' The character of Gassendi's intellect is
everywhere indicated by his works ; — it was critical rather than inven-
tive. . . . Gassendi's powers of acquisition must have been singularly
active ; nor was his logical acuteness, or the liveliness of his imagin-
ation, much inferior to the promptness and retentiveness of his
memory. His learning is never mere learning ; like that of many of
his erudite contemporaries, it ministers to his intellect, but does not
oppress it. The vivacity of his mind animates and penetrates the
mass ; and the acuteness of his reasoning and the exuberance of his
illustrations relieve of much of their tedium discussions in themselves
often uninviting enough.' Encyc. Brit. Eighth edition, 1856.

s himself lEmperor of f^mtiostan, uuticr the
title of ^lamgtr, 2ist 3ulg 1658.

1656-1658. Goes to Egypt. Has ' the plague ' at Ro?etta. Lives at Cairo for

upwards of a year. Embarks at Suez for Jedda, where he is detained
for nearly five weeks. Sails thence for Moka, where he arrives after a
passage of fifteen days. Is compelled to abandon his intention of
visiting Abyssinia, and sets sail in an Indian vessel for Surat, which he
reaches in twenty-two days, most probably towards the end of 1658 or
early in 1659.

1659. After the battle fought at Deora near Ajmere, between the Princes

March-April. Aurangzeb and Dara, on the I2th-I3th March 1659, Bernier, then on
his way from Surat to Agra, is compelled by Dara, whom he meets
near Ahmedabad, to accompany him as his physician. Dara being
obliged to fly towards Sind, Bernier is harassed by robbers ; but event-
ually reaches Ahmedabad, where he falls in with a Mogul Noble who
was travelling to Delhi, and places himself under his protection.

CHRONICLE OF FRANCOIS BERNIER xxi

11. of Unglantt enters ILoiriJon, 29^ ilHag 1660.
Restoration.

Is in Delhi, whence he dates his letter to M. de la Mothe le Vayer,

July 1st.
see p. 239.

At Delhi, Aurangzeb about to start for Kashmir. 1664.

December 14th.

At Lahore, Aurangzeb having arrived there. 1665.

February 25th.

After travelling in Kashmir, he voyages to Bengal with Tavernier, December 6th.
who left Agra on the 25th November. On the 6th December they are at
Alum Chand, about eighteen miles west of Allahabad.

Tavernier and Bernier part company near Rajmahal. Bernier pro- 1666.

ceeding to Kasimbazar (Tavernier's Travels. Edited by Dr. Ball, January 6th.
London, 1889), afterwards travelling from Bengal to Masulipatam (see
my text, p. 113) and Golkonda, where he heard of the death of the Shdh
Jahdn (p. 198), which event happened on the 22d January 1666.

In this year he was still in Golkonda (text, p. 195), and it is probable 1667.

that in the early part of it he embarked at Surat, where he saw Chardin
the traveller, see page 312.

He is at Shiraz in Persia, see p. 300. October 4th,

Is at Taduan near Shiraz, whence he addresses a letter to M. 1668.

Chapelain at Paris, received there on the 1 5th February 1669. June 4th.

M. Chapelain addresses a letter on the 26th April from Paris to 1669.

Bernier at Marseilles. April-May.

Bernier is still at Marseilles, as would appear from a letter addressed September
to him there by M. Chapelain. It is probable that shortly after this 25th.

date he was in Paris arranging for the publication of his Travels.

Date of the French King's Licence for the printing and publishing 1670.
of his book. April 25th.

The transfer of all his rights in the publication, to Claude Barbin, August 13th
is registered in the book of the Booksellers and Printers of Paris.

James n. succeeds to tfje <£rofcm of; fEnglanti, 6tfj JFrfjruarjj 1685.

Visits England. 1685,

Dies at Paris. 1688.

September 22d.
Extrait du Registre des sepultures faites en Tfglise paroissiale de

St. Barthtlemy & Paris de septembrc 1677 a mars 1692.

Annee 1688.— Le jeudi vingt-troisieme septembre a ete inhume dans
cette eglise Me Francois Bernier, docteur en me'decine de la Faculte"
de Montpellier, age" de soixante et treize ans, de'cede le vingt-deuxieme

xxii CHRONICLE OF FRANCOIS BERNIER

du dit mois en la maison place Dauphine, a la Renomme'e, de cette
paroisse. Ont assiste au convoy Philippe Bourigault, aussi docteur en
medecine de la dite Faculte", demeurant de present susdite place
Dauphine, et Martin Barthelemy d'Herbelot, escuyer, demeurant rue
de Touraine, paroisse St. Sulpice.

B. D'HERBELOT. P. BOURIGAULT.

His friend D'Herbelot, the Orientalist, and his nephew Philippe
Bourigault, who arranged for his burial, would appear to have given his
age inexactly as seventy-three, whereas he was then a few days short of
sixty-eight years.

Bernier does not appear to have been long ill, and it is said that his
death resulted from an apoplectic fit, the effect of excitement caused by
some rude bantering he had been subjected to when in the company of
M. le Procureur-general de Harlay. He had made his will on the
l8th September, bequeathing his property to his nephew Philippe
Bourigault, charged with legacies to Antoine de la Potherie, his man of
business, formerly secretary to Gassendi, to the Prior of Saint- Marc-
les-Vendome, his two female servants, and another.

For the facts contained in the foregoing Chronicle I am mainly in-
debted to the researches of Drs. E. Farge and Pompee Mabille, and
M. L. De Lens; see Biographies and Miscellanea^ No. 12-16, p. xlii
post.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A BIBLIOGRAPHY1 OF THE WRITINGS OF
FRANCOIS BERNIER.

TRAVELS IN THE MOGOL EMPIRE.

£$*tt£0 in the JUtthx>r'0 HJifetime.
/.— AS A SEPARATE PUBLICATION.

HISTOIRE | DE LA DERNIERE | REVOLUTION | DES ETATS | DU

[Frontispiece, Map of the Empire of the Great Mogul ; title-page ;
Dedication to the King, two leaves ; Address to the Reader, one leaf;
pages 268. The map (reproduced at p. 238 of this volume) is interest-
ing, and the position of many of the places tolerably accurate, others
are very far out. For a translation of the Dedication to the King, and
the Address to the Reader, see pp. xlv.-xlvii.]

[Title-page. Pages 294. Abridgment of the Letters-Patent of the
King, authorising the printing and publication of the book ; one leaf.
This authority is dated Paris, 5th April 1670, and ends by stating that
the Sieur Bernier had made over to Claude Barbin the right of
printing, publishing, and selling the said work.]

N.B. In the British Museum Library Catalogue there is an entry —

1 For much valuable aid in the preparation of this Bibliography I am indebted to
Mr. John P. Anderson of the British Museum.

Paris 1670
2 vols.
12mo.

Paris 167L
2 vols.
12mo.

XXVI

Pressmark 1434. a. — of the issue of Tome II. as a separate work in
same year, viz. 1670. A careful examination and measurement of the
volume in question (which was at one time in the possession of Henri
Ternaux — afterwards Ternaux-Compans — the well-known historian
and bibliographer of books of early travel, each of the outside covers
bearing his well-known crest, a ram's head, with his initials H. T. in
Gothic letters, all stamped in gold), has convinced the writer that
there is an error in the entry. The mistake has arisen from the fact
that some owner of the volume has erased the words 'TOME n.' from
the title-page. The British Museum cataloguer has thus been led to
suppose that he had a copy of a ' reissue ' in his hands ; this belief
being strengthened, perhaps, by the fact of the volume having the
leaf with the Extrait du Privilege du Roy at the end, following page
294, as in the copy with 'TOME n.' on the title-page described above.
The volume in question is half-bound in calf, gilt tooling and orna-
ments in the Ternaux-Compans style, and is lettered at the back

EVENEMENTS | DES ETATS | DU MOGUL | PARIS 1670. |

M.DC. LXXI I AVEC PRIVILEGE DV ROY. |

[Title-page. Pages 3-178. Letter to Monsieur de la Mothe le
Vayer, written at Dehli 1st July 1663, descriptive of Dehli and Agra
etc. Blank leaf. Pages 1-137, Letter to Monsieur Chapelain, de-
spatched from Chiras in Persia, 4th October 1667, concerning the
superstitions etc. of the Indous or Gentiles of Hindoustan. Pages
1-69, Letter to Monsieur Chapelle, despatched from Chiras in Persia,
loth June 1668, regarding his intention of resuming his studies of
some points relating to the atomic theory, and the nature of the
human understanding.]

[Title-page. General title to the series of letters descriptive of the
journey to Kashmir made in 1664 in the suite of the Great Mogol, one
leaf. Pages 5-285. The series of nine letters to Monsieur de Merveilles,
the first being written from Dehli on the I4th December 1664, Aureng-
zebe being then about to start. Pages 286-293. * Some particulars
omitted to be inserted in my first work, which will serve to improve
the map of Hindoustan, and afford details concerning the Revenue of
the Great Mogol.' On verso of page 293 an abstract of the King's
Licence (for a translation, see p. 461 of this volume) given in Tome

WRITINGS OF FRANgOIS BERNIER xxvii

II. of 1670, to which is appended the certificate of registration of the
publication as follows : —

Registre fur h Livre de la Communautl des Libraires 6° Impri^
tneurs de Paris, le 13. Aouft 1670. Signt Lovis SEVESTRE, Syndic,

THE | HISTORY ( OF | $0e %<\it (£et>ofuftott | OF | Z$t EMPIRE 3

[Title-page. Seven pages, an extract of a letter written to Mr.
H[ENRY] O[LDENEURG] from Monsr de Monceaux the younger, giving a
character of the book here Englished, and its Author. Six pages, The
Heads of the Principal Contents of this History, Added by the English
Interpreter. One page, Errata of Tome I. and Tome II. Pages 1-258,
The history of the late Revolution of the Dominions of the Great
Mogol.]

(parftcufar <£pente; I OR THE | Most Considerable | PASSAGES | After
the War of Five Years, or | thereabout, in the Empire of the GREAT
MOGOL. | Together with a Letter concern-] ing the Extent of INDOSTAN;
the | Circulation of the Gold and Silver at | laft fwallow'd up there ;
the Riches, Forces, Justice, and the Principal Cause of the Decay of
the States of ASIA. \ TOM. u. | London, Printed by S. G. for Moses
Pitt at | the White Hart in Little Britain, 1671.

[Title-page as above. Pages 1-176, Particular events etc. Pages
i -102, Letter to Colbert. Map of The EMPIRE of the Great MOGOL.
This map has been copied from the one in the First French edition,
Paris, 1670, seme of the names have been Anglicized, and, although not
quite so well engraved, it is printed on better paper. One leaf, Ad-
vertisement of the publication by M. Pitt of an English translation,
price is. 6d. in 8vo. of the voyage of Roland Frejus of Marfcilles to
Mauritania in Africk, in 1666, by the French King's Order.]

A CONTINUATION | OF THE | MEMOIRES | OF | Monfieur BERNIER, -

| Concerning the | Empire of the Great Mogol\ \ Wherein is contained
I i. An exact Defcription of DEHLI | and AGRA, the Capital Cities of 2 vols.

8vo.

xxviil A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

[Title-page. Four pages, The Heads of the Chief Contents of the
Third Tome. Five pages, The Heads of the Fourth Tome. Three
pages, List of books * to be fold by Moses Pitt at the White Hart in
Little Britain.' One Leaf, Licence for printing and publishing 'this
Continuation of the Memoires of Mons. BernierJ dated, Whitehall,
April 24, 1671, and signed, JOHN COOKE. Pages 1-173, Letter
to Monsieur de la Mothe le Vayer.]

[Title-page. General title to the series of letters, one leaf. Pages
2-174, The series of nine letters to Monsieur de Merveilles. Pages
175-178, 'Some particulars forgotten to be inferted in my firft Book,
to perfect the Map of Indoftan, and to know the Revenue of the Great
Mogol.' Pages 1-39, Letter to Monsieur Chapelle. One page, List
of books to be sold by Mofes Pitt. This is the earliest English trans-
lation of the Editio Princeps. ]

e OPROER | int | RYCK VAN MOGOL, | t'Amflerdam, | By Joannes

Amsterdam Jan/sonius van \ IVaefberge. Anno 1672. | [At foot of a copperplate

1672. engraving representing a Mogul executioner, sword in right hand,

volB. in one. and holding up the head of a man whose body lies at his feet. In

12m o. background a general scrimmage or uproar.]

WRITINGS OF FRANCIS BERNIER xxix

man to right, with NON SOLUS to left.] | t'AMSTELDAM, | By JOHANNES
JANSSONIUS van | WAESBERGE. 1672. |

[Engraved title-page, as above. Printed title-page, as above. Two
pages, the Translator to the Reader, dated Utrecht, ist May 1672, and
signed SIMON de VRIES. Map IMPERII | MAGNI MOGOLIS | Novif-
fima Defcriptio. \ Pages 1-140, History of the late Revolution, etc.
Title-page to vol. ii. Pages 3-162, Occurrences after the war and the
letter to Colbert. Title-page to vol. iii. Pages 3-94, Letter to
Monsieur De la Mothe le Vayer. Pages 95-168, Letter to Monsieur
Chappelain (sic). Pages 169-200, Letter to Monsieur Chapelle. Title-
page to vol. iv. Pages 3-146, The series of nine letters to Monsieur
de Merveilles on the journey to Kashmir, etc. Pages 147-151, Some
particulars forgotten to be inserted in the first volume, etc. The
Translator has taken the trouble to verify the figures, but has himself
fallen into an error. His words are ' De reghte reeckeningh is : Over
de 230. Millionen Roupies, of meer als 345. Millionen guldens sijnde
3450. Tonnen Gouds.' Which maybe English'd thus: 'The correct
amount of this statement is above 230 millions of rupees, or more than
345 millions of gulders which would amount to 3450 tons of gold.1

A very choicely printed edition, and the first with any pictorial
illustrations. There are no notes of any kind, but here and there the
French equivalent for the Dutch is given. The map of the Mogul
Empire, which has been compiled from various sources, is in many ways
superior to the one in the first French edition, and is reproduced
at page 454 of my edition. Bombay, titled Bombaja, is shown, an
early mention of the name of that city and territory ceded to Charles 11.
by the Portuguese in 1661.

The illustrations, all copperplate engravings, some of them rather
weak in their mechanical execution, are as follows : Vol. i. facing
page 12, to illustrate the incident recorded at page 13 of my edition,
Begum Sahib and her Khansaman (Steward), a mere fancy sketch ;
Begum Sahib with an ostrich plume headdress, but with a very chubby,
honest Dutch face, and so forth. Page 58, The battle of Samugarh.

Vol. ii. page 10, The Tartar Princess shooting arrows into a band
of Mogul soldiery, who are falling fast ; see pp. 122, 123 of my edition.
Page 22, Didar Khan and the wife of the Gentile Scrivener.

Vol. iii. page 33, The Great Mogul riding in state, several of the
details correct, according to Bernier's text, as a whole a mere fancy
sketch. Page 44, An outriding (Suwarl) of *he Great Mogul. At
page 6 1 is an interesting map of the Kingdom of Kashmir, a new and
accurate delineation (!<EGNI KACHEMIRE Nova et Accurata de-

1 A ton of gold = one hundred thousand gulders (Picard's Dutch Dictionary).
Tavernier constantly talks of this measure of account. The gulder may be here
taken as worth about is. gd. to is. g}d.

XXX

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

LaHaye
1671-72.
? vols.

12mo.

Frankfort A/M.
1672-73.
4 vols.

12mo.

Milan 1675.
? vols.

12mo.

London 1676.
2 vols.

8vo.

scriptio). This has been compiled from the text of Bernier's account,
and is curiously incorrect. The royal elephants falling from the Pire
Penjale (see page 408 of my edition, where this map is reproduced),
are shown thereon. At the back of the map is inserted an engraving
of an elephant fight ; see page 276, et seq.> also a mere fancy sketch.]

[Edition not seen.]

[Edition not seen. It is a German translation by Johann Wilhelm
Serlin, who was also its publisher, of the first French editions, Nos.
I and 2.]

Istoria della ultima revoluzione delli Stati del Gran Mogor dell Sr.
Bernier tradotta in Italiano. [Edition not seen.]

Vol. i. has the same title-page as in the 1671 edition (No. 3),
the addition of the words THE SECOND EDITION above the imprint.

Vol. ii. the same title-page as in the first edition, but printed by
William Godbid. Both these volumes are in smaller type than the
first edition, but otherwise it has been followed. The third and fourth
volumes of the first edition (No. 4) do not appear to have been re-
printed for the second edition, but copies of the complete work, made
up with vols. i. and ii. second edition, and iii. and iv. of the first,
bound up together, are not uncommon. Probably vols. iii. and iv. did
not sell as well as vols. i. and ii.

U,— WITH OTHER WORKS.

IO Collections of travels through Turkey into Persia and the East Indies,

London 1684. giving an account of the present state of those countries. . . . Being

Folio. the travels of Monsieur Tavernier, Bernier, and other great men. . . .

The second volume, London, Printed for Moses Pitt at the Angel in

St. Paul's Churchyard, M.DC.LXXXIV.

[A reprint of the four volumes of Bernier's History of the late Revo-

WRITINGS OF FRANCOIS BERNIER xxxi

lution, etc., London, 1671-2, is contained in pages 1-154. We learn
from the copy of the letter from Monsieur de Monceaux the younger,
as given in this edition, that the Translator's name was Mr. H[enry]
Ouldinburgh. This name is also spelt Oldenburg, see Appendix V.]

zinct the

JUath.

/.— AS A SEPARATE PUBLICATION.

Voyages de Fran9ois Bernier, Docteur en Medecine de la Faculte*
de Montpellier, contenant la Description des Etats du Grand Mogol,
de 1'Hindoustan, du Royaume de Kachemire, etc., ... Le tout
enrichi de Cartes et de Figures . . A Amsterdam, Chez Paul Marret,
Marchand Libraire dans le Beurs-straet, a la Renommee. M.DC.XCIX.

[Frontispieces to both volumes the same, the Great Mogul riding in
state, a mere fancy sketch.

Vol. i., Map of the Mogol Empire, copied from the one in the first
French edition, facing p. 5.

Vol. ii. The illustrations are as follows : — Engraving of Inhabitants
of Agra, facing page 5, some of the details from authentic Eastern
sources, but not applicable to Agra. Folding plate of The Court of
the Great Mogul, facing page 40, compiled from the text of Bernier and
various other writers, curious, here and there an authentic detail. This
plate has been used to illustrate various other accounts of the Mogul
Court. The Great Mogul being weighed against coin, folding plate,
facing page 55, a mere fancy sketch. Two elephants fighting, folding
plate facing page 63, copied in part from the engraving at page 61,
vol. iii. , of edition No. 5. Folding plate, facing page 97, background,
hilly landscape with a representation of a Hindoo idol, of the Satyr
type usually met with in books of travel of that period ; to the left a
Moslem Fakir playing on a meerdung (species of drum worn round the
neck, and played on with the fingers of both hands) ; to the right, a
female figure, intended, I believe, to represent a woman on the way to
consult a devotee of some sort. Both of these figures have been copied
from drawingsafternature, and areundoubtedly quite authentic. Opposite
page 113, folding plate of a Suttee ceremony ; to the left two figures in
Western dress looking on, a mere fancy sketch. At page 123, a Hindoo
Fakir, with his arms above his head, from nature. Folding plate
opposite page 236, the Great Mogul riding in state, copied from the
engraving at page 33, vol. iii., edition No. 5. Several of the details of
arms, musical instrument in hand of mounted figure in the foreground,
etc., have been copied from an early MS. copy of the Ain-i-Akbari,
in which there are drawings of these and other objects to illustrate the

Amsterdam

1699.

2 vols.

12mo.

XXX11

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

text, and after which the plates in Blochmann's* edition have been
compiled. Other details, such as the trappings of the elephant, etc.,
incorrect and of no vilue. This plate (or modifications of it) has often
been used for illustrating early books on India. At page 269, Carte
nouvelle du ROYAVME DE KACHEMIRE, a French translation of the
map at page 6l, vol. iii., of edition No. 5, fairly well engraved.
Facing page 343, a map of the sources of the river Nile, curious as an
illustration to Bernier's text, and typical of the delineation of the
sources of the Nile, and ' adjacent country ' (!) that lingered on all maps
until comparatively modern times.]

12 Voyages de Frangois Bernier, etc. [A reprint of No. 1 1. Vol. ii.

Amsterdam has M.DCC.IX. as imprint,— a mistake, I take it, for M.DCCXI., o
1710 and 1709. ft mav ^e that vo\t {{f {s from another edition of 1709, — the ornaments
\stc i
2 vols on tne tirte'Pages of 1710 and 1709 differing.]

12mo.

Amsterdam

1711.

2 vols.

12mo.

Amsterdam
1723.
2 vols.

12mo.

Voyages de Frangois Bernier, etc. [A reprint of No. II. The
plates for the maps and illustrations wearing out, and showing great
signs of having been ' touched up. ']

Voyages de Frangois Bernier, etc.
same maps and plates.]

[A reprint of No. II., with

'5 Voyages de Frangois Bernier, etc. [A reprint of No. II, with a few

Amsterdam errors corrected in vol. i., which has on the title-page Nouvelle
\ Edition revue &> corrigce, but this is the only vol. of the new edition.

Vol. ii. is of the 1723 edition, and bears on title-page M.DCCXXIII.
The map of the Mogul Empire does not appear to have been issued

(sic.)
2 vols.

12mo.

Amsterdam
1725.
2 vols.

12mo.

London 1826.

2 vols.

8vo.

with vol. i.]
Voyages de Francois Bernier, etc. [Edition not seen.]

Travels in the Mogul Empire, by Francis Bernier. Translated from
the French by Irving Brock. In two volumes. London: William
Pickering, Chancery-Lane. 1826.

1 Calcutta. Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1873, voL i. All published as yet

WRITINGS OF FRANgOIS BERNIER xxxiii

[An exceedingly well printed book. Valuable appendices, considering
the period when published, and a preface that practically contains all that
was then known about Bernier. The translator was handicapped by
an evident want of any acquaintance with the East, and has therefore
failed to bring out the extreme accuracy of much that Bernier records.
Monsieur de Monceaux's letter to Mr. H. O., and the valuable state-
ment regarding the Mogul Revenues (see pages 455-460 of my edition),
have been omitted. As stated elsewhere, I have used Mr. Brock's
translation to some extent as the basis for my own.]

In a prospectus, dated Edinburgh, 2Oth June 1825, The travels of
Francis Bernier, and his Account of the Court of the Great Mogul,
2 vols., is announced as a work under preparation for Constable's
Miscellany. This book was never included in that series, and it is
possible that the edition described above, No. 17, was originally pre-
pared for it. At present I have not been able to verify this.

Bernier's Travels : comprehending a description of the Mogol «

Empire including the Kingdom of Kashmir, etc. etc. etc. Translated

Calcutta, 1826
from the French by John Steuart. Condo et compono quae mox _ .

depromere possim. Calcutta : Printed at the Baptist Mission Press, gvo>'

II Circular Road, 1826.

[Title-page. One leaf, dedication, dated Calcutta, 1st January 1826,
to Captain George Anderson Vetch, of the Bengal Army.1 Pages i.-iii,
Translator's Preface. Page iv., blank. Pages v. -vi., Advertisement,
which contains many mistakes relating to Bernier's career and other
editions of his works. Pages vii.-viii, Contents. Pages 1-58, Letter
to Monsieur Chapelain. The series of nine letters to Monsieur de
Merveilles pages 59-143, from which the concluding six paragraphs as
well as the answers to the five questions put by M. Thevenot have been
omitted. Pages 144-213, Letter to Monsieur de la Mothe le Vayer,
containing the description of Dehli and Agra, etc. At the end six pages
of correspondence, being reprints of a series of letters signed ' Oscar,'
' Censorious, ' and ' A Subscriber, ' which appeared in the India Gazette^
ranging in date from I2th January 1826 to i8th February 1826, relating
to the forthcoming publication. * Censorious ' appears to have seen the
MS., or perhaps proof-sheets, as he condemns the book from every point
of view. ' Oscar,' who was perhaps Captain Vetch, replies, appealing
for fair play : * Most critics, Mr. Editor, have the grace to wait at least
till the game is fairly started, and then give the vieu holla ; but this
poacher in the fields of criticism takes a pot-shot at his prey in its seat,
while with palpitating breast it is about to open on the public view.'

1 Fifty-fourth Regiment Native Infantry, in charge of the construction of the
road from Benares to Allahabad. Bengal Army List for i8a6.

xxxiv A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

Judging from the style of the translation, the intimate acquaintance
with India apparent all through, and the endings, such as,
' I remain,

My dear Sir,

Your ever faithful and affectionate,

FRANCIS BERNIER'

which are, without any warrant, appended to many of the letters, Mr.
Steuart was probably an East Indiaa clerk in some Government
office, who had a knowledge of French. ' A Subscriber,' in the
correspondence quoted above, states that on seeing the letters he was
glad to observe that a translation of Bernier's travels was about to
appear, and mentions that he has heard that the translator had already
issued an English version of a 'most useful French work, in which,
I understand, are to be found beautiful models of familiar letters.']

19 Voyages de P'ran^ois Bernier, Docteur en medecine de la Faculte
Paris 1830. de Montpellier Paris. Imprime aux frais du Gouvernement

2 vols. pour procurer du travail aux ouvriers typographies-, Aout, 1830.
8vo* [A mere reprint of edition No. 1 1, without the maps and illustrations.

All i'ie old typographical errors are repeated, and several new ones
have ciept in. In the words of M. L. de Lens (Les correspondants de
Francois Bernier pendant son voyage dans F Inde . . . Angers, 1872):
'C'est une simple r&mpression, a laquelle aucun homme de lettres n'a
donne ses soins. L'ouvrage fut public aux frais du Gouvernement, dans
le but indique ci-dessus [pour procurer du travail aux ouvriers typo-
graphies], sur un credit de 4O,ooof. vote par la Chambre de deputes.']

20 The history of the late Revolution, etc., Bombay : Re-printed at
Bombay 1830. lne Summachar Press, 1830.

1 vol. [A verbatim, and to some extent facsimile, reprint of vols. i. and ii.

8vo, of the first English edition, No. 3. The Editor, probably the pro-

prietor of the Summachar Press, dedicates the book, by permission,
to Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B., Governor of Bombay. Following the
text, at the end of the book, is an announcement, which, as it contains
much curious information worthy of record, and is an interesting
specimen of quaint Indo-English composition, is here reprinted : —

PROSPECTUS.
Literature of India.

The Literati in general and the Lovers of Oriental Literature in
particular^ are hereby informed that it is intended to reprint

The History of the Revolution in the Empire of the GREAT MOGUL

WRITINGS OF FRANCOIS BERNIER xxxv

by Monsr : F. BERNIER, Physician of the Faculty of Montpellier
(about A.D. 1656) — a work, the very name of which avows its im-
portance, and its known scarcity, its value, and hence so highly and
desirable as a record of Indian Affairs, as the most important Historical
event that has engaged either Scholar or Historian ; — a work so im-
portant in itself and written by an Eye-witness of that important
transaction which forms the great Era of Hindoostanee reference as
the foundation of another Dynasty, — claims the first place in the estima-
tion, and search — and would do if as easily attainable, as it is now
scarce — in the Library of every Indian Antiquarian, — a work that is
not more known to, than it is prized by, every lover of ORIENTAL
LITERATURE, — while at the same time, it is now so scarce, — that even a
transient and hasty sight of it is a treat hardly obtainable — as a volume
that requires (as it did in the present instance) years of patient and
persevering search to procure. Forming as it does the basis of every
document that relates to the celebrated AURUNGZEBE, — it is by this
alone, self-avowed to be of the greatest importance.

Every attempt that is made by scientific research or literary labour to
elucidate the history and establish the truth of any record regarding
Hindoostan — this mighty aggregate of former kingdoms ; must derive
its materials from and refer to this work, because — it is the only authentic
source of that information which an Eye-witness (and an eye-witness
alone) can afford — as well as being the testimony of an European. By
birth an European who had every advantage of time and place, under
most favourable circumstances. By Education of a liberal profession —
by Situation a Physician — and as such occupying the first of all possible
opportunities for observation — unsuspected, and peaceably, allowed
access to every attainable particular — attending the ROYAL FAMILY,
who were the contending parties — he would hear, and see, and know,
All that was to be, or heard, or seen or known, and more than probably
was he also consulted and confidently entrusted with all the PRIVATE
reasons and resources which publicly influenced the Great contending
BELLIGERENTS — while his situation thus placed for so long a time put
him in possession of every information of the native character, under
all its various and varying modifications, at such an eventful period —
who then could possess greater or so great advantages ! — as if Providen-
tially placed there to record by simple historical detail, the passing
events he witnessed as they occurred.

It is therefore proposed to reprint the London Edition ( ' Englished
out of French') of 1671. And it is further proposed to do this un-
altered, that a work so scarce, so valuable and so desirable may be easily
procurable (as easy as it has hitherto been difficult) by every person who
wishes to possess it, either as a depository in the Library, or a com-
panion for the sitting-room : For the contemplation of the Philosopher,
or the instruction of Youth.

XXXVI

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

Calcutta

[1866.] 2 VOlS.
8vo.

Delhi 1872.
1vol.

12mo.

It shews at once the Native Spirit of the Country and the manner in
which their revolutions are accomplished : while the mighty and sudden
effects that are produced — changeable or lasting — shew at once that
overruling power which directs and disposes the wills and affections of
n-.en ! by results as unexpected as they were undesigned. While at the
same time it exhibits the powerful contrast of European and Christian
clemency in the present rule of England, throughout — her immense
possessions, and almost boundless Empire in the same Land ; on the
one hand Fire and Sword, Blood and Carnage, Desolation and Havoc,
Robbery and Destruction mark the path of the NATIVE conqueror in
every way ; while on the other hand Peace and Plenty — Forbearance
and Security unite the Olive Branch with the Laurel to crown the
CHRISTIAN Victories and make them the means of dispensing every
advantage to soothe, to comfort and reward Native sufferings. The
native victories succeed but to destroy — the English conqueror only to
preserve and improve— the Native and the Christian therefore are
alike interested in every event recorded in this History (of the MOGAL
REVOLUTION) both in its cause and effect— and the influence it has
produced on the character and Country at large : that character and
Country which is being enlightened with all that the Native can receive,
or the European bestow in whatever is useful, or attainable in the
present state of human intellect.

ELEVEN YEARS of continued solicitude have been employed in search-
ing for the Copy of a work now obtained and at last by accident : — a
perseverance only stimulated by the known judgement of that en-
lightened friend who first named and of another who lately recom-
mended it — the conviction of its importance, the pleasure of making
its possession general — and the Hope that it would meet with that en-
couragement which it deserves ! It is then presumed, that those laud-
able intentions are not over-rated in fixing the price of the volume at
15 Rupees for Subscribers only: and 20 for non Subscribers, on or
after the I5th February next, on which day it is intended that the work
shall appear well printed in a large Type, on fine paper and occupying
about 300 pages 8vo neatly half bound and Lettered.

Bombay, i$th January 1830.]

Travels in the Mogul Empire by Francis Bernier. Translated from
the French by Irving Brock. Calcutta, R. C. Lepage and Co. , Printers
and Publisher.

[A reprint of the edition No. 17, with the addition of several typo-
graphical errors. It is not edited in any sense, and the title-page is
undated. ]

A description of Dehli and Agra. The capital cities of the Empire
of the Great Mogol, by Monsieur Bernier, Physician and companion
of Danishmand Khan. Written at Dehli, ist July 1663.

or in

WRITINGS OF FRANgOIS BERNIER xxxvii

[This is a reprint, in 102 pages, of the letter to Monsieur de la Mothe
le Vayer, from the third volume of the London edition of 1672.
All the old errors are reproduced ; at page 77 the amusing one about
the 'toothpick,' see page 214 of the present edition. No imprint or
date, but a preface of three pages, signed W. H. T., and dated The
Camp, Dehli, January ist, 1872, which however gives no new facts,
and is based upon the information contained in Bernier's own narra-
tive. Outside cover, white paper, bearing a crescent and star in red,
and half-title ; DEHLI AND AGRA in the time of AURANGZIB.

Price one rupee, .]

U.— WITH OTHER WORKS.

Relacion de el Estado presente de el Gran Mogol segun la que 23

imprimio el Doctor en Medecina FRANCESCO BERNIER ano de 99. Brusselas 1701.

[In don Sebastian Fernandez de Medrano's Relaciones Modernas. 8vo.

Pages 68-85. A mere abstract, but cleverly done.]

Mr. F. Bernier's Voyage toSurat : containing the History of the late 24

Revolution of the Empire of the Great Mogol ; together with the most London 1745.
considerable Passages for five years following in that Empire. To Folio.
which is added a letter to the Lord Colbert, etc. etc. Forming pages
102-236, vol. ii., of 'A Collection of Voyages and Travels . . . com-
piled from the curious and valuable library of the Earl of Oxford. . . .
London, Thomas Osborne, 1745.'

[A modernised reprint of the English editions of 1671-72, with
various additional errors and misprints.]

SReife be$ £>etrn 23ermer in ba& $onigreid) ^actyemtr. Forming 25
chapter xxiv. (pp. 99-128) of vol. xi. of SUtgemetne fnftorte ber SRcifcn Leipzig 1753.
ju Safferitnb ju Sanbe . . Seipjtg, bep Strfftee itnb 2#etfit$, 1753. Quarto.

[A useful compilation. More especially devoted to the Kashmir
journey and description of that country. A few notes and references
to other travellers, such as Roe. At page 106, a full-page engraving,
liile&Rauchenara Begum, a fancy picture, but founded upon authentic
details. The engravings in Valentyn's Beschryving . . . van de Levens
der Groote Mogols, 1726, having been utilised for this and other similar
pictures, such as * Begum Saheb,' ' Chah Jehan,' etc., inserted in other
parts of the same volume as illustrations to abridgments of other
Eastern travellers. The map of India in two sheets, which forms a
frontispiece to this volume, compiled from the latest maps by M.
Bellin, Ing. de la Marine 1752, is valuable.]

XXXV111

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

La Haye 1755,
Quarto.

27
London 1811.

Quarto.

Paris 1816.
Octavo.

Paris 1833.
Octavo.

Voyage de Bernier au Royaume de Kachemire. Pages 179-210 of
vol. xiii. of Prevost d'Exiles' Histoire Generate des Voyages, ou
Nouvelle Collection de toutes les relations de voyages par mer et par
terre . . A La Haye, chez Pierre de Houdt, 1755.

[A French translation of No. 25. Copy of the engraving of
Rauchenara Begum at page 188. French edition of Bellin's map, and
in addition a French translation of Valentyn's Map of the Kingdom
of Bengal. Engraving of Begum Saheb inserted at back of plate of
Rauchenara, not as in the German edition.]

Bernier's voyage to the East Indies ; containing the history of the
late revolution of the empire of the Great Mogol, etc. etc. Pages
57-234 of vol. viii. of John Pinkerton's general collection of the best
and most interesting voyages and travels in all parts of the world ;
many of which are now first translated into English. Digested on a
new plan.

[A reprint of No. 24, with a few minor alterations. At page 64,
a full-page engraving of Fort Gwalior fronf the North-west, after the
view by Hodges. At page 150, N.E. view of the Cotsea Bhaug [Kudsia
Bagh] on the river Jumna at Dehli, after Daniell.]

Voyage de Bernier a Cachemire. Chapter x., pages 169-232 of
vol. v. of Abrege de 1'Histoire generale des voyages . . . Par J. F.
Laharpe. Paris, Ledoux et Tenre, 1816.

[A tolerably full abridgment of Bernier's Journey to Kashmir.]

Bernier. Voyage a Cachemire (1638 (sic) — 1670). Pages 84-108 of
vol. xxxi. of ' Histoire universelle des voyages effectues par mer et par
terre dans les cinq parties du Monde, sur les divers points du Globe.
. . Revus ou Traduits par M. Albert Montemont. Paris, Armand-
Aubre-e.' [1833.]

[A cleverly written precis from a literary point of view. The date
1638 is evidently a misprint for 1658.]

(S)th*r HJork* bg Jfrattfoi* jUrnur.

1. Anatomia ridiculi Muris, hoc est, dissertatiunculoe J. B. Morini
adversus expositam a P. Gassendi philosophiam, etc. Lutetiae, 1651,

2. Favilla ridiculi Muris, hoc est, diss?rtatiunculae, ridicule defensae
a J. B. Morino, astrologo, adversus expositam a Petro Gassendi, Epicuri
Pliilosophiam, etc. Lutetiae, 1653, 4°.

WRITINGS OF FRANgOIS BERNIER xxxix

3. Abrege de la Philosophic de Gassendi en viii. tomes. Lyon,
1678, &°.

[This is the first complete edition. Separate parts of the work were
published, first at Paris in 1674 and 1675, and at Lyon in 1676.]

4. Seconde edition, reveiie et augmentee per 1'autheur. 7 torn.
Lyon, 1684, 12°.

5. Three Discourses of Happiness, Virtue, and Liberty. Collected
from the works of the learn'd Gassendi, by Monsieur Bernier. Trans-
lated out of French. London : Printed for Awnsham and John
Churchil [sic], at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row, 1699, 8°.

6. Requeste des maitres es-arts, professeurs et regents de 1'Univer-
site de Paris, presentee a la Cour souveraine du Parnasse, ensemble
1'Arrest intervenu sur la dite requeste centre tous ceux qui pretendent
faire enseigner ou croire de nouvelles decouvettes qui ne soient pas
dans Aristote.

[This is entirely distinct from Boileau's L'Arret burlesque. It was
circulated in sheets during 1671. Both pieces are mentioned in the
Letters of Mme. de Sevigne, 6th and 2Oth Sept. 1671, and they were
published by Gabriel Gueret at La Haye the same year, in a volume
entitled, 'La Guerre des Auteurs anciens et modernes,' pages 179-
20 1. The two pieces were also published in 24 pages, 12° at Libre-
ville in 1702, and they also appear in the editions of *Menagiana' of
1713 and 1715.]

7. Eclaircissement sur le livre deM.de la Ville (le pere Le Valois,
jesuite) intitule : Sentimens de M. Descartes touchant 1'essence et les
proprietes des corps, etc.

[This is included in Bayle's * Recueil de quelques pieces concernant
la philosophic de M. Descartes, 1684. In his preface he states that a
few copies had been printed for private circulation some years before,
probably either in 1680 or 1681.]

8. Doutes de Mr Bernier sur quelquesuns des principaux Chapitres
de son Abrege de la Philosophic de Gassendi. Paris, 1682, 12°.

9. Nouvelle division de la terre par les dififerentes especes d'hommes
qui 1'habitent, envoyee par un fameux voyageux a M. 1'abbe de la****.

[This appeared in the Journal des Savants, April 1684, and in the
Mercure de France of 1722.]

10. Traite du Libre, et du Volontaire (Doute i.-iii. Extrait d'un livre
de la Providence et du Destin par Hierocles.) Amsterdam, 1685, 12°.

11. Lettre sur le Cafe.

[Addressed to Philippe Sylvestre Dufour and printed at pp. 207-
216, in his work entitled 'Traitez Nouveaux e curieux du Cafe, du
The, et du Chocolate,' pages 207-216. Lyon, 1685, 12°.

xl A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

12. Extrait de diverges pieces envoy ees pour estreines a Mme. de la
Sabliere.

[This appeared in the Journal des Savants , the 7th and 1 4th June
1688. It comprises the following articles : Introduction a la lecture
de Confucius} Description du canal de j auction des deux mers ; Combat
des vents ; Maximes touchant le mouvement ; Des Refractions ; Epi-
taphe de Chapelle ; Observations medic ales contmuniquees par un pro-
fesseur de Montpellier. The Description du canal du Languedoc
appeared originally in the ' Mercure Galant,' February 1688.]

13. Copie des Etrenes envoyees a Madame de la Sabliere. [Mont-
pellier, 1688] 4°.

14. Memoire de Mr Bernier sur le Quietisme des Indes.

[This appeared in the * Histoire des ouvrages des Sgavans,' Sept.
1688, pages 47-52. ]

anb JBtsceUatua.

1. Vincentii Panvrgi Epistola de tribus impostoribus, ad Clarissi-
mum virum loan. Baptistam Morinvm, etc. Parisiis, 1654, 4°.

[In this violent attack upon Gassendi the author informs us : ' Hanc
autem epistolam inscripsi titulo DE TRIBUS IMPOSTORIBUS, scilicet
Petro Gassendo Epicureo Philo?opho, Francisco Bernerio, Anatomista
murium, et Neuraeo Pictone, Archipaedogo : Titulo quidem famoso,
sed in his hominibus minime falso.' For an exhaustive account of the
many polemical treatises which appeared under the same title about the
beginning of the I7th century, see De Tribus Impostoribus M.D. lie.
texte Latin, collationne sur Texemplaire du Due de la Valliere . . .
Augments de variantes de plusieurs manuscrits, etc. , et dune notice
philologique et bibliog raphique par Philomneste Jtinior. Paris. Gay 1 86 1 . ]

2. lo. Bapt. Morini doctoris medici, et regii mathematvm professoris
Defensio svae dissertationis de Atomis et Vacuo ; aduersus Petri
Gassendi Philosophiam Epicuream, contra Francisci Bernerii, Ande-
gaui Anatomiam ridiculi muris, etc. Parisiis, 1657, 4°.

3. Francois Bernier : In Niceron's ' Memoirespour servir a 1'histoire
des Hommes Illustres,' etc., vol. xxiii. pp. 364-370. Paris, 1733, I2°-

[This article, which contains many facts correctly stated, all doubt-
ful dates, etc., being avoided, has formed the basis of many subsequent
biographical articles until the appearance of the Angevin literature;
see Nos. 12-16 below.]

4. Francois Bernier : In vol. i. of Eloy's Dictionnaire historique de
la Medecine. Liege and Francfort, 1755, 2 vols. 8°.

WRITINGS OF FRANgOIS BERNIER xli

[Short, but correct as far as it extercls. In the second edition of
Eloy, Mons, 1778, 4 vols. 4to, this notice is much extended, and in it
will be found the earliest exact mention of Bernier's birthplace, ' Jouar
pres de Gonnord en Anjou.' M. Eloy concludes by a kindly reference to
Bernier's observations on the medical science of the ' Brachmanes,'
which he styles the earliest account of any philosophical value.]

5. Fran9ois Bernier : In the 'Biographic Universelle,' vol. iv. pp.
304-306. Paris, 1811, 8°.

[Signed \V[alckenae]r. A valuable article, based upon No. 3.]

6. In The Edinburgh Review for October 1815, in an article on
certain accounts of parts of Western Asia, Elphinstone's Account of the
Kingdom of Caubul, then just published, is criticised. The Reviewer
characterises that work as being more of a treatise on the country visited,
than a narrative of travels, and, quoting Elphinstone's eulogium on
M. Volney's book on Syria and Egypt says (p. 417) : ' But though the
systematic fulness and method with which information is conveyed be
an indisputable advantage of that mode of writing chosen by M . Volney
and imposed upon Mr. Elphinstone by his situation, yet the reader
must regret the absence of the picturesque and dramatic qualities of
narrative, which, combined with the greatest accuracy and extent of
knowledge, render Bernier the first of travellers, and which, without
these substantial merits, bestow a powerful interest on the romantic
adventures and relations of Bruce.'

7. Review of the ' Voyages of Fra^ois Bernier,' in The Retrospec-
tive Review, vol. i., sec. ser., London 1827, pp. 245-268. [The
Amsterdam editions of 1699 and 1710 are those reviewed. Extracts
are given from Brock's translation, which is characterised as * very good
. . . Although we could have wished that more copious notes had
brought the work to a level with the Oriental knowledge of the present
day.']

8. In The Quarterly Review for January 1828, in an article on
Bishop Heber's Indian Journals, etc., mention is made in a foot-
note, pp. 126-7, °f Mr. Brock's translation of Bernier's Travels in the
Mogol Empire, which is styled ' good. ' The writer of the article further
states that, ' If any of our readers are unacquainted with this excellent
old traveller, we beg leave to tell them that his account of India is the
most picturesque of all that have preceded Heber's ; nor can we imagine
anything more interesting than to compare his descriptions of the
barbaric splendour of the court of Aurengzebe with the Bishop's
account of his visit to his descendant, the present pageant-king of Dehli.
We are sorry our limits prevent us from quoting the parallel passages.
The mutability of human fortunes was never more strikingly pourtrayed.'

xlii BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FRANQOIS BERNIER

9. Frangois Bernier : In ' Vies de plusieurs personnages celebres,
etc., by C. A. Walckenaer, vol. ii., pp. 74-77. Laon, 1830, 8*.

[A reprint of No. 5, with corrections and additions.]

10. Fran9ois Bernier : In vol. i. of The lives of celebrated travellers.
By James Augustus St. John, forming vol. ii. of Colburn and Bentley's
National Library, London, 1831. [An abstract of Bernier's travels,
with an account of his life founded upon the preceding article (Xo. 9)
by Walckenaer, covering pages 192-220 ; well done, all the salient
features being adequately brought forward.]

11. Frangois Bernier: In 'Biographic Universelle (Michaud) an-
cienne et moderne . . nouvelle edition . . Paris, 1854 \et seq.~\ Vol. iv.
pp. 78. 79. [Signed W[alckenae]r, a mere reprint of No. 5.]

12. 6loge de Frangois Bernier. Rapport de la Commission. Par
Dr. E. Farge.

[In the ' Annales de la Societe Linneenne du Departement de Maine
et Loire, 3° Annee, 1858, pp. 338-353-]

13. Fran9ois Bernier, philosophe, medecin, et voyageur, par Dr.
Pompee Mabille. Cosnier et Lachese : Angers, 1864, 8°.

14. Les Correspondants de Frangois Bernier, pendant son voyage
dans 1'Inde, par L. De Lens.

[In the ' Memoires de la Societe Nationale d'Agriculture, Sciences,
et Arts d'Angers,' 1872, vol. xv., pp. 129-176. Angers, 1872. Re-
printed in book form at Angers the same year.]

15. Documents inedits ou peu connus sur Frangois Bernier, par
L. De Lens.

[In the ' Revue Historique, Litteraire, et Archeologique de 1'Anjou,'
for 1872-73, vol. i. (Nouvelle serie, illustree), pp. 161-177, 332-348;
vol. ii. pp. 75> 92.]

1 6. Frangois Bernier, by L. De Lens. [In Celestine Port's ' Dic-
tionnaire Historique,' vol. i., pp. 325-328. Paris, 1874, 8°.]

[It would be impossible to overstate the value of all that is contained
in Nos. 12-16. The original and authentic material there made known
for the first time must for ever form the basis of all succeeding Bernier
Literature.]

DEDICATION, ETC

TO THE KING

IKE,

The Indians maintain that the mind of a man
cannot always be occupied with serious affairs, and
that he remains forever a child in this respect : that, to
develop what is good in him, almost as much care must
be taken to amuse him as to cause him to study. This
may be true with regard to the natives of Asia, but
judging by all the great things I hear said everywhere
regarding FRANCE and her MONARCH, from the Ganges
and the Indus, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, unto the
Seine, I have some difficulty in believing this to be a
saying capable of universal application. Nevertheless I
will still venture to offer HIM this History, because it
seems to me capable of affording some hours of amuse-
ment to a KING, who might wish tojind occasional relaxa-
tion from weighty affairs of State ; not only because it
is a Tragedy which I have just seen acted in one of the
largest Theatres in the World, but from the fact of its
being varied by several great and extraordinary in-
cidents, affecting one of the most illustrious of the Royal
Families of Asia. I cannot, however, doubt that it is

xlvi Dedication to the King

written in a style devoid of elegance, and somewhat
badly arranged, but I hope that His MAJESTY will
chiefly take into His consideration the subject, and that
HE will consider it nothing very extraordinary that
during my long absence, wJiether wandering about the
World, or attached to a Foreign Court, my language
may have become semi-barbarous. Moreover, I am well
pleased to return from such a distance, not quite empty-
handed before His MAJESTY, and lay claim by this
means to render HIM some account of so many years of
my life, spent in absence from His Kingdom, for I have
always remembered, no matter how far away I may have
been, that I had a Master to whom I was accountable,
being.

His MAJESTYS

Most humble and most obedient
Subject and Servant,

F. BERNIER.

TO THE READER.

I will not recount to you in a formal manner the
Manners and Customs, the Learning and the
Pursuits of the Mogols and the Indians, but will en-
deavour to make them known to you through Facts and
actual Occurrences, by describing in the first place a
Civil War and Revolution in which all the leading
Statesmen of that nation took a part, adding thereto,
that you may the better understand my narrative, a
Map of the Country, which however I do not desire
to put forth as absolutely correct, but merely as less
incorrect than others that I have seen. Secondly, by
relating some of the most important events which took
place between the end of the War and my leaving the
country ; and thirdly, by means of Correspondence,
which appears to me necessary to accomplish my
purpose.

Should I be so fortunate as to succeed, I shall feel
encouraged to publish other Letters concerning my
Travels, and to translate from the Persian an Abridg-
ment of an Ancient and Important History of the
Kings of Kachmire,1 which was compiled by order of
King Jehan-Guyre, the son of that great Ekbar
who so skilfully contrived to possess himself of that
Kingdom.

1 See p. 393, footnote 2.

An Extract of a LETTER
Written to Mr. H. O.1

FROM

Monsr. de Monceaux the Younger,
Giving a Character of the Book
here Englished^ and its Author.

Ertue sometimes is no less interessed than
Affection : Both, Sir, are glad to receive from
time to time pledges mutually answering for
those that have united themselves in a close
correspondence. Yours indeed should demand
of me such, as might be a security to you for the advance, you
have been pleased to make me of your Friendship. But since
ot present I have nothing worth presenting you with ; and yet
am unwilling to give you any leisure to be diffident of my real-
ness, or to repent for having so easily given me a share in
your esteem, 1 here send you a Relation of INDOSTAN, in
which you will find such considerable occurrences, as will make
you confess I could not convey to you a more acceptable present,
and that Monsieur Bernier who hath written it, is a very
Gallant man, and of a mould, I wish all Travellers were made
of. We ordinarily travel more out of Unsetledness than
Curiosity, with a designe to see Towns and Countries rather
than to know their Inhabitants and Productions ; and we stay
not long enough in a place to inform ourselves well of the
Government, Policy, Interests, and Manners of its People.

1 Mr. Henry Ouldinburgh ; see entry No. IO of the Bibliography,
p. xxx ante,

xlix

1 An Extract of a Letter

Monsieur Bernier, after he had benefited himself for the
space of many years by the converse of the famous Gassendi ;
seen him expire in his arms, succeeded him in his Knowledge,
and inherited his Opinions and Discoveries, embarqued for
Mgypt, stay'd above a whole year at Cairo, and then took the
occasion of some Indian Vessels that trade in the Ports of the
Red Sea, to pass to Suratte ; and after twelve years abode at
the Court of the Great Mogol, is at last come to seek his rest
in his native Countrey, there to give an Accompt of his Observa-
tions and Discoveries, and to poure out into the bosome of
France, what he had amassed in India.

Sir, I shall say nothing to you of his Adventures which you
willjind in the Relations that are to follow hereafter, which hi
abandons to the greediness of the Curious, who prefer their
satisfaction to his quiet, and do already persecute him to have
the sequel of this History. Neither shall I mention to you the
hazards he did run, by being in the neighbourhood of Mecca ;
nor of his prudent conduct, which made him merit the esteem
of his Generous Fazelkan, who since is become the t first
Minister of that Great Empire, whom he taught the principle
Languages of Europe, after he had translated for him the
whole Philosophy of Gassendi in Latin,1 and whose leave he
could not obtain to go home, till he had got for him a select
number of our best European Books, thereby to supply the loss
he should suffer of his Person. This, at least, I can assure
you of, that never a Traveller went from home more capable
to observe, nor hath written with more knowledge, candour, and
integrity; that I knew him at Constantinople, and in some
Towns of Greece, of so excellent a conduct, that I propossed
him to myself for a Pattern in the designe I then had to carry
my curiosity as far as the place where the Sun riseth ; that /
have often drowned in the sweetness of his entertainment the
bitternesses, which else I must have swallowed all alone in such
irksome and unpleasant passages, as are those of Asia.

1 Petri Gassendi . . . opera omnia in sex tomos divisa . . . Lug-
duni sumplibus Laurentii Anisson, &* loan. Bapt. Devenet M. DC.
Iviii, is the edition here referred to.

Written to Mr. H. O. li

Sir, you will do me a pleasure to let me know the sentiment
your Illustrious Society T hath of this Piece. Their approba-
tion begets much emulation among the Intelligent, who all have
no other Ambition than to please them. I my self must avow
to you, that if 1 thought I could merit so much, 1 should not
so stiffly oppose as I do, the publication of the Observations
and Notes I have made in the Levant. / should suffer my
friends to take them out of my Cabinet, where from the slight
value I have for them, they are like to lie imprisoned, except
the King my Master, by whose order I undertook those Voyages,
should absolutely command me to set them at liberty, and to
let them take their course in the world. Mean time, Sir, you
will oblige me to assure those Great Men, who this day compose
the most knowing Company on Earth, of the Veneration I have
for the Oracles that come from their Mouth, and that I prefer
their Lyceum bejore that of Athens ; and lastly, that of all
their Admirers there is none, that hath a greater Concern for
their Glory, than

PARIS, Julij 16,
1670.

De Monceaux.

1 The Royal Society, of which Henry Ouldinburgh was the first

Secretary ; see Appendix v.

THE HISTORY

THE LATE REBELLION

THE HISTORY

OF THE LATE

REBELLION

IN THE STATES

OF THE GREAT MOGOL

HE desire of seeing the world, which had
induced me to visit Palestine and Egypt, still
prompted me to extend my travels, and I
formed the design of exploring the Red Sea
from one end to the other. In pursuance
of this plan, I quitted Grand Cairo, where
I had resided more than a year, and in two-and-thirty
hours (travelling at a Caravan-rate) reached the town
of Suez. Here I embarked in a galley, and was con-
veyed in seventeen days, always hugging the coast,
from Sues to the port of Gidda, half a day's journey
from Mecca. Contrary to my expectation, and in viola-
tion of a promise which I had received from the Bcig1
of the Red Sea, I was constrained to land on this so-called
holy territory of Mahomet, where no Christian, who is
not a slave, dares set his foot. After a detention of
nearly five weeks, I took my passage on board a small

1 The Bey of the Red Sea was an important official who, among other
duties, had control of the pilgrim traffic to Mecca, through Jeddah,

2 HISTORY OF THE STATES

vessel, which, sailing along the shores of Arabia Felix,
brought me in fifteen days to Moka, near the straits of
Bab-el-mandel. It was now my intention to pass over to
the island of Masowa, and Arkiko, on my way to Gotider,1
the capital of Habech? or Kingdom of Ethiopia ; but I was
informed that Catholics were not safe in that country,
since the period when, through the intrigues of the Queen-
Mother, the Portuguese were slaughtered, or expelled, with
the Jesuit Patriarch whom they had brought thither from
Goa ; and that, in fact, an unhappy Capuchin had been
recently beheaded at Suaken? for having attempted to
enter the kingdom. It seemed, indeed, that less risk
would be incurred if I adopted the disguise of a Greek or
an Armenian ; and that when the King knew I could be of
service to him, he would probably make me a grant of
land, which might be cultivated by slaves, if I possessed
the means of purchasing them ; but that I should, at the
same time, be compelled to marry immediately, as a monk,
who had assumed the .character of a Greek physician, had
already been obliged to do ; and that I could never hope
to obtain permission to quit the country.

These considerations, among others which may be
mentioned in the sequel, induced me to abandon my
intention of visiting Gonder. ' I embarked, therefore, in

1 Gondar, more correctly Guendar, formerly the capital of the
Amharic kingdom of Abyssinia, with which there was a considerable
trade to India. In the erection of its Fort — a massive building,
designed on the plan of a mediaeval stronghold, and built in the i6th
century — Indian workmen were employed. It contained many
Christian churches, and Venetian artists are said to have had a hand
in the decoration of some of them. Bernier proposed to visit it,
vid Massowah, the well-known town on an island of the same name
on the Abyssinian coast of the Red Sea, from thence crossing over
to the mainland at the town of Arkiko, or Ercico.

2 From the Arabic Habash, the country of Abyssinia, or Ethiopia.
The Abash of Marco Polo. Hubshee is the modern Hindostanee term
for all negroes.

3 Suakin, or more correctly Sawakin, was then, as it still is, the chief
port of the Soudan on the Red Sea.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 8

an Indian vessel, passed the straits of Bab-el-mandel, and
in two-and-twenty days arrived at Sourate, in Hindoustan,
the empire of the Great Mogol. I found that the reigning
prince was named Chah-Jehan, or King of the World.
According to the annals of the country, he was the son of
Jehan-Guyre, or Conqueror of the World, and grandson of
Ekbar, or the Great : so that in tracing his genealogy
upwards to Houmayon, or the Fortunate, the father of
Ekbar, and to Houmayon s predecessors, Chah-Jehan was
proved to be the tenth, in regular descent, from Timur-
Lengue, the Lame Lord or Prince, whom we commonly, but
corruptly, call Tamerlan.1 This Tamerlan, so celebrated
for his conquests, married a kinswoman, the only daughter
of the prince who then reigned over the people of Great
Tartary called Mogols ; a name which they have com-
municated to the foreigners who now govern Indoiistan,
the country of the Indous, or Indians. It must not, how-'
ever, be inferred that offices of trust and dignity are
exclusively held by those of the Mogol race, or that they
alone obtain rank in the army. These situations are filled
indifferently by them and strangers from all countries;
the greater part by Persians, some by Arabs, and others
by Turks. To be considered a Mogol, it is enough if a
foreigner have a white face and profess Mahometanism ;2
in contradistinction to the Christians of Europe, who are
called Frangnis,3 and to the Indous, whose complexion is
brown, and who are Gentiles*

1 Amir Timury styled Sahib Kiran, because he reigned more than
thirty years, was born in 1336, and died in 1405. Called Timur Lang
(Tinnir i Leng} from some defect in his feet. He married the sister
of Amir Husain, the ruler of Balkh, the capital of Khurasan, whom
he had deposed and put to death. 2 See pp. 212, 404.

3 Firinghees, from the Persian Farangi, i.e. a Frank, a European.

4 In the original 'Gentils,' which throughout this edition will be
rendered by the word Gentiles, in preference to using the old Anglo-
Indian slang word ' Gentoo,' derived from the Portuguese Gentio, a
gentile, a heathen, a term which was applied to the Hindoos in contra-
distinction to the Moros (old Anglo-Indian 'Moors '), or Muhammadans.

4 HISTORY OF THE STATES

I learnt also on my arrival that this King of the World,
Cliah-Jelian} who was about seventy years of age, was the
father of four sons and two daughters ; that some years
had elapsed since he elevated his sons to the vice-royalty
of his four most considerable provinces or kingdoms ; and
that he had been afflicted, for about the space of a twelve-
month, with a disorder which it was apprehended would
terminate fatally. The situation of the father having
inspired the sons with projects of ambition, each laid
claim to the empire, and a war was kindled among them
which continued about five years.

This war, as I witnessed some of the most important of
its events, I shall endeavour to describe. During a period
of eight years I was closely attached to the court ; for the
state of penury to which I had been reduced by various
adventures with robbers, and by the heavy expenses in-
curred on a journey of nearly seven weeks, from Sourate
to Agra and Dehli, the chief towns of the empire, had
induced me to accept a salary from the Great Mogol, in
the capacity of physician ; and soon afterwards, by chance,
I procured another from Danechmend-Kan,2 the most
learned man of Asia, formerly Bakchis, or Grand Master
of the Horse, and one of the most powerful and dis-
tinguished Omrahs,3 or Lords of the Court.

The eldest son of the Great Mogol was named Dara, or

1 Shah Jahan, the third son of the Emperor Jahangir, was born at
Lahore in 1593, and died in prison at Agra in 1666. He had four
daughters, but Bernier mentions the eldest and the youngest only.

2 A Persian merchant, by name Muhammad Shafi, or Mulla Shafi.
He came to Surat about the year 1646, from which place he was sent
for by the Emperor Shah Jahan, who conferred upon him the command
of 3000 men, and made him paymaster of the army (Bakhshi) with the
title of Danishmand Khan (Learned Knight). In the reign of Alamgir
he received still further promotion, and was appointed Governor of
Shahjahanabad or New Delhi, where he died in 1670.

8 Omrah, from Umarat the plural of the Arabic word Amir, a
commander, a chief, a lord. The old travellers use the word Omrah
as a singular for a lord or grandee, although properly speaking it
should be applied collectively.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 5

Darius : the second Sultan Sujah, or the Valiant Prince :
the third was Aureng-Zebe, or the Throne's Ornament ;
and the name of the youngest was Morad-Bakche, or the
Desire Accomplished. Of the two daughters, the elder
was called Begttm-Saheb, or the Chief Princess; and the
younger Rauchenara-Begum, the Light of Princesses, or
Princess of the Enlightened Mind.1

It is usual in this country to give similar names to the
members of the reigning family. Thus the wife of Chah-
Jehan — so renowned for her beauty, and whose splendid
mausoleum is more worthy of a place among the wonders
of the world than the unshapeii masses and heaps of stones
in Egypt — was named Tage Mehalle,2 or the Crown of the
Seraglio ; and the wife of Jehan-Guyre, who so long wielded
the sceptre, while her husband abandoned himself to
drunkenness and dissipation, was known first by the appel-
lation of Nour-Mehalle, the Light of the Seraglio, and after-
wards by that of Nour-Jehan-Begum, the Light of the World.

The reason why such names are given to the great,
instead of titles derived from domains and seigniories, as,
usual in Europe, is this : as the land throughout the whole
empire is considered the property of the sovereign, there
can be no earldoms, marquisates or duchies. The royal
grants consist only of pensions, either in land or money,
which the king gives, augments, retrenches or takes away
at pleasure.

1 Dara Shikoh was born in 1615, and murdered by order of his
brother Aurangzeb in 1659. Sultan Shujah, born in 1616, is said to
have been drowned with all his family in Arakan by the Raja of that
country in 1660, but see pp. 111-114.

Aurangzeb, who ascended the throne in 1658 under the title of
Alamgir (Conqueror of the World), was born in 1619, and died in
1707. Murad Bakhsh, born in 1624, and murdered by order of
Aurangzeb in 1662.

2 Properly, Mumtaz Mahal, daughter of Asaf Khan, wazir, the
brother of Nur Jahan Begum, wife of the Emperor Jahangir. She was
born in 1592, married in 1612, and died in child-bed a few hours after
the birth of her daughter Raushan Ara Begum, in the year 1631.

6 HISTORY OF THE STATES

It will not, therefore, appear surprising, that even the
OmraJis are distinguished only by this kind of title. One,
for instance, calling himself Raz-Andaze-Kan, another
Safe-Cheken-Kan, a third Barc-Andaze-Kan ; and others
Dianet-Kan or Danechmend-Kan, or Fazel-Kan : which
terms respectively signify The Disposer of Thunder, The
Destroyer of Ranks, The Hurler of the Thunderbolt,
The Faithful Lord, The Learned, and The Perfect ; and
so it is with others.

Dam was not deficient in good qualities : he was
courteous in conversation, quick at repartee, polite, and
extremely liberal : but he entertained too exalted an
opinion of himself; believed he could accomplish every-
thing by the powers of his own mind, and imagined that
there existed no man from whose counsel he could derive
benefit. He spoke disdainfully of those who ventured to
advise him, and thus deterred his sincerest friends from
disclosing the secret machinations of his brothers. He
was also very irascible ; apt to menace ; abusive and
insulting even to the greatest Omrahs ; but his anger was
seldom more than momentary. Born a Mahometan, he
continued to join in the exercises of that religion ; but
although thus publicly professing his adherence to its
faith. Dara was in private a Gentile with Gentiles, and a
Christian with Christians. He had constantly about him
some of the Pendets, or Gentile Doctors, on whom he
bestowed large pensions, and from these it is thought he
imbibed opinions in no wise accordant with the religion
of the land : but upon this subject I shall make a few
observations when I treat of the religious worship of the
Indons or Gentiles. He had, moreover, for some time lent
a willing ear to the suggestions of the Reverend Father
Buzee, a Jesuit, in the truth and propriety of which he
began to acquiesce.1 There are persons, however, who

1 Catrou in his History of the Mogul Dynasty in India, Paris, 1715,
which is largely based upon the materials collected by Signer Manouchi,
a Venetian, who was for forty-eight years a Physician at the Courts of

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 7

say that Dam was in reality destitute of all religion, and
that these appearances were assumed only from motives of
curiosity, and for the sake of amusement ; while, according
to others, he became by turns a Christian and a Gentile
from political considerations; wishing to ingratiate him-
self with the Christians who were pretty numerous in his
corps of artillery, and also hoping to gain the affection
of the Rajas, or Gentile Princes tributary to the empire ;
as it was most essential to be on good terms with these
personages, that he might, as occasion arose, secure their
co-operation. Darn's false pretences to this or that mode
of worship, did not, however, promote the success of his
plans ; on the contrary, it will be found in the course of
this narrative, that the reason assigned by Aure?ig-Zebe for
causing him to be beheaded was, that he had turned Kafer,
that is to say an infidel, without religion, an idolater.

Sultan Sujah, the second son of the Great Mogol,
resembled in many characteristic traits his brother Dara ;
but he was more discreet, firmer of purpose, and excelled
him in conduct and address. He was sufficiently dexter-
ous in the management of an intrigue ; and by means of
repeated largesses, bestowed secretly, knew how to
acquire the friendship of the great Omrahs, and, in par-
ticular, of the most powerful Rajas, such as Jessomseiugue1
and others. He was, nevertheless, too much a slave to
his pleasures ; and once surrounded by his women, who
were exceedingly numerous, he would pass whole days

Delhi and Agra, and for some time attached to Dara's person, says
that ' no sooner had Dara begun to possess authority, than he became
disdainful and inaccessible. A small number of Europeans alone
shared his confidence. The Jesuits, especially, were in the highest
consideration with him. These were the Fathers . . . and Henry
Busee, a Fleming. This last had much influence over the mind of the
prince, and had his counsels been followed, it is probable that Christi-
anity would have mounted the throne with Dara.'

1 The Maharaja Jaswant Singh, of Jodhpur, who was one of
Alamgir's best generals, holding the rank of commander of 7000. He
died near Kabul in 1678.

8 HISTORY OF THE STATES

and nights in dancing, singing, and drinking wine. He
presented his favourites with rich robes, and increased or
diminished their allowances as the passing fancy of the
moment prompted. No courtier, who consulted his own
interest, would attempt to detach him from this mode
of life : the business of government therefore often
languished, and the affections of his subjects were in a
great measure alienated.

Sultan Sujah declared himself of the religion of the
Persians, although his father and brothers professed that
of the Turks. Mahometanism is divided into various sects,
which occasioned the following distich from the pen of
the famous Cheik-Sady, author of the Goulistan.

I am a drinking Derviche ; I am apparently without religion ;
I am known by the seventy-two sects.1

Among all these sects there are two leading ones whose
respective partisans are mortal enemies to each other.
The one is that of the Turks, called by the Persians
Osmanlous, or Followers of Osman, whom the Turks believe
to have been the true and legitimate successor of Mahomet,
the Great Caliph, or Sovereign Pontiff, to whom alone it
belonged to interpret the Koran, and to decide the contro-
versies that occur in the law. The other is that of the
Persians, called by the Turks, Chias, Hafezys and Aly-
Merdans; that is, Sectaries, Heretics, and Partisans of
Aly ; because the Persians believe that this succession and
pontifical authority, of which I have just spoken, belonged
only to Aly the son-in-law of Mahomet.

When he avowed himself one of the latter sect, Sultan
Sujah was evidently actuated by motives of policy ; for as

1 By this he meant that he was to be numbered among the lost,
alluding to the saying of the Prophet Muhammad, ' It shall come to
pass that my people shall be divided into three-and-seventy sects, all
of which, save only one, shall have their portion in the fire.' 'Tis said
that the reason why the Prophet pitched on the number seventy-three
was, that the Magians were divided into seventy sects, the Jews into
seventy-one, and the Christians into seventy-two.

FlO. i. — Prince Aurangzcb,

10 HISTORY OF THE STATES

the Persians were in possession of the most important
offices in the* kingdom, and exercised the largest share
of influence at the Court of the Mogol, he hoped thus to
secure interest and support, whenever the tide of events
should render them necessary.

Aureng-Zebe, the third brother, was devoid of that
urbanity and engaging presence, so much admired in
Dam : but he possessed a sounder judgment, and was
more skilful in selecting for confidants such persons as
were best qualified to serve him with faithfulness and
ability. He distributed his presents with a liberal but
discriminating hand among those whose goodwill it was
essential to preserve or cultivate. He was reserved,
subtle, and a complete master of the art of dissimulation.
When in his father's court, he feigned a devotion which
he never felt, and affected contempt for worldly grandeur
while clandestinely endeavouring to pave the way to future
elevation. Even when nominated Viceroy of the Decan,
he caused it to be believed that his feelings would be
better gratified if permitted to turn Fakire, that is to say,
a beggar, a Derviche or one who has renounced the World ;
that the wish nearest his heart was to pass the rest of his
days in prayer or in offices of piety, and that he shrank
from the cares and responsibility of government. Still his
life had been one of undeviating intrigue and contrivance;
conducted, however, with such admirable skill, that every
person in the court, excepting only his brother, Dam,
seemed to form an erroneous estimate of his character.
The high opinion expressed by Chah-Jehan of his son
Aureng-Zebe, provoked the envy of Dara, and he would
sometimes say to his intimate friends, that, of all his
brothers, the only one who excited his suspicion, and
filled him with alarm was that Nemazi — or, as we should
say, f that Bigot,' that ever-prayerful one.

Morad-Bahche, the youngest of the Mogol's sons, was
inferior to his three brothers in judgment and address.
His constant thought was how he might enjoy himself,

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 11

and the pleasures of the table and of the field engaged
his undivided attention. He was, however., generous and
polite. He used to boast that he had no secrets : he
despised cabinet intrigues, and wished it to be known
that he trusted only to his sword and to the strength of
his arm. He was indeed full of courage; and if that
courage had been under the guidance of a little more
discretion, it is probable, as we shall see, that he would
have prevailed over his three brothers, and remained the
undisputed master of Hindoustan.

Begnm-Saheb, the elder daughter of Chah-Jehan, was
very handsome, of lively parts, and passionately beloved
by her father. Rumour has it that his attachment reached
a point which it is difficult to believe,1 the justification of
which he rested on the decision of the Mullahs, or doctors
of their law. According to them, it would have been un-
just to deny the King the privilege of gathering fruit from
the tree he had himself planted. Chah-Jehan reposed un-
bounded confidence in this his favourite child ; she watched
over his safety, and was so cautiously observant, that no dish
was permitted to appear upon the royal table which had not
been prepared under her superintendence.2 It is not sur-
prising, therefore, that her ascendency in the court of the
Mogol should have been nearly unlimited ; that she should
always have regulated the humours of her father, and
exercised a powerful influence on the most weighty con-
cerns. This Princess accumulated great riches by means

1 This statement is repeated by Valentyn, in his Beschryving . . .
van de Levens.der Groote Mogols, Dordrecht and Amsterdam, 1726, in
these words : — * Begum Saheb, die om haare schoonheit van haaren
Vader zeer, ja te veel, bemind wierd.'

Catrou says, 'To a great share of beauty Beg6m-Saeb united a
mind endued with much artifice. The attachment she always had for
her father, and the profusion of the avaricious Cha-Jaham (sic) towards
his daughter, caused a suspicion, that crime might be blended with their
mutual affection. This was a popular rumour, which never had any
other foundation than in the malice of the courtiers.'

2 See p. 1 6 text, and footnote J.

12 HISTORY OP THE STATES

of her large allowances, and of the costly presents which
flowed in from all quarters, in consideration of numberless
negotiations intrusted to her sole management. The
affairs of her brother Dam prospered, and he retained the
friendship of the King, because she attached herself
steadily to his interest, and declared openly in favour of
his party. He cultivated with assiduous attention the
goodwill of this valuable coadjutor, and it is thought
promised that, on his accession to the throne, he would
grant her permission to marry. This pledge was a re-
markable one, the marriage of a Princess being of rare
occurrence in Hindoustan, no man being considered worthy
of royal alliance ; an apprehension being entertained that
the husband might thereby be rendered powerful, and
induced perhaps to aspire to the crown.

I shall introduce two anecdotes connected with the
amours of this Princess, and hope I shall not be suspected
of a wish to supply subjects for romance. What I am
writing is matter of history, and my object is to present a
faithful account of the manners of this people. Love
adventures are not attended with the same danger in
Europe as in Asia. In France they excite only merriment ;
they create a laugh, and are forgotten : but in this part
of the world, few are the instances in which they are not
followed by some dreadful and tragical catastrophe.

It is said, then, that Begum-Saheb, although confined in
a Seraglio, and guarded like other women, received the
visits of a young man of no very exalted rank, but of an
agreeable person. It was scarcely possible, surrounded as
she was on all sides by those of her own sex whose envy
she had long provoked, that her conduct should escape
detection. Chah-Jehan was apprised of her guilt, and
resolved to enter her apartments at an unusual and un-
expected hour. The intimation of his approach was too
sudden to allow her the choice of more than one place of
concealment. The affrighted gallant sought refuge in the
capacious cauldron used for the baths. The King's coun-

OF THE GREAT MOGOL IS

tenance denoted neither surprise nor displeasure ; he dis-
coursed with his daughter on ordinary topics, but finished
the conversation by observing that the state of her skin
indicated a neglect of her customary ablutions, and that
it was proper she should bathe. He then commanded the
Eunuchs to light a fire under the cauldron, and did not
retire until they gave him to understand that his wretched
victim was no more.

At a subsequent period, Begum-Saheb formed another
attachment, which also had a tragical termination. She
chose for her Kane-Saman, or steward, a Persian, named
Nazerkan, a young nobleman remarkable for grace and
mental accomplishments, full of spirit and ambition, and
the favourite of the whole court. Chah-Hestkan,1 the
uncle of Aure?ig-Zebe, greatly esteemed this young Persian,
and ventured to propose him for Begum-Saheb' s husband ;
a proposition which was very ill received by the Mogol.
He had indeed already entertained some suspicion of an
improper intercourse between the favoured Nobleman and
the Princess and did not long deliberate on the course he
should pursue. As a mark of distinguished favour the
King presented the betel,2 in the presence of the whole
court, to the unsuspecting youth, which he was obliged
immediately to masticate, agreeably to the custom of the
country. Betel is a small parcel made of aromatic leaves

1 Shaista Khan, who, when Governor of Bengal, provoked a war with
Job Charnock, Governor of the Factory of the East India Company at
GolaghatnearHughli. He died in 1694, aged 93 lunar years, after having
filled many important offices of State under Shah Jahan, and Alamgi'r.

2 In the original ' un Betlay,' the leaf of the Piper betel, Lin., chewed
with the dried areca-nut, thence improperly called bstel-nut ; a very
old mistake. Betel is from the Portuguese betle, derived from the
Malayalim vettila = simple or mere leaf. Familiar to Anglo-Indians
as Pawn, in Ilindostanee Pan, from the Sanskrit parna a leaf. ' Pawn-
sooparie' (supdri, the areca-nut in Urdu) is the well-known name in
Northern India at the present day for the combination, as detailed by
Bernier, offered to visitors with itr (otto) of roses, or other scents, which
politely intimates the close of an entertainment, a friendly visit, or an
official interview.

14 HISTORY OF THE STATES

and other ingredients mixed up with a little of the lime
made from sea-shells, this colours the lips and mouth red
and agreeably perfumes the breath. Little did the un-
happy lover imagine that he had received poison from the
hand of the smiling Monarch, but indulging in dreams of
future bliss, he withdrew from the palace, and ascended
his paleky.1 Such, however, was the activity of the poison,
that he died before he could reach home.

Rauchenara-Begum, the Mogol's younger daughter was
less beautiful than her sister, neither was she so remarkable
for understanding ; she was nevertheless possessed of the
same vivacity, and equally the votary of pleasure. She
became the ardent partisan of Aureng-Zebe, and made no
secret of her enmity to Begu?n-Saheb and Dam. This
might be the reason why she amassed but little wealth,
and took but an inconsiderable part in public affairs. Still,
as she was an inmate of the Seraglio, and not deficient in
artifice, she succeeded in conveying, by means of spies,
much valuable intelligence to Aureng-Zebe.

Some years previous to the war, the turbulent disposition
of his four sons had filled Chah-Jehan with perplexity and
alarm. They were all married and of adult age ; but, in
utter disregard of the ties of consanguinity, each, animated
by deadly hatred toward the others, had set up his pre-
tensions to the crown, so that the court was divided into
separate factions. The King, who trembled for his
personal safety, and was tormented by sad forebodings of
the events which actually befel him, would gladly have
confined his refractory children in Goualeor, a fortress
which had often received members of the royal family
within its walls, and considered impregnable, situated as
it is on an inaccessible rock and containing within its
walls good water and sufficient wherewithal to support its

1 The Hindostanee word pdlki, from the Sanskrit palyanka, a bed, a
palankin (Portuguese, palanchino], the well-known closed-in litter,
with a pole projecting before and behind, which is borne on the
shoulders of four or six mep

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 15

garrison ; but he justly considered that they had become
too powerful to be dealt with in so summary a manner.
He was indeed in perpetual apprehension of their having
recourse to arms, and either erecting independent
principalities, or converting the seat of government into a
bloody arena, in which to settle their personal differences.
To save himself, therefore, from some impending and
overwhelming calamity, Chah-Jehan resolved to bestow
upon his sons the government of four distant provinces.
Sultan Sujah was appointed to Bengale ; Aureng-Zebe to the
Decan ; Morad-Bakche to Guzarate ; and Dam to Caboul
and Moultan. The three first-mentioned Princes repaired
to their respective provinces without delay, and soon
betrayed the spirit by which they were animated. They
acted in every respect as independent sovereigns, appro-
priated the revenues to their own use, and levied formid-
able armies under pretence of maintaining tranquillity at
home, and commanding respect abroad. Dam, because he
was the eldest son and expected to succeed to the crown, did
not quit the court of his father. Chah-Jehan, appearing to
encourage that expectation, authorised his son to issue
orders, afid permitted him to occupy an inferior throne,
placed among the Omrahs, beneath his own ; l so that two
kings seemed to reign with almost equal power ;2 but there
is reason to believe that the Mogol practised much duplicity,
and that, notwithstanding the respectful and affectionate

1 Catrou says that the influence of Dara grew to an astonishing
height during the absence of his brothers. * His eldest son ruled the
empire with absolute power. A sopha had been prepared for him,
lower, indeed, than the throne of his father ; but he is the only instance
of a prince of the Mogol race being allowed to be seated in the presence
of the Emperor. He had the power to command a combat of
elephants whenever he pleased ; a distinction reserved only for the
sovereign.'

2 Berrier appears to have had in his mind the saying of S'adi
contained in the chapter of the Gulistdn on the Manners of Kings :
' It has been observed that ten Darweshes may sleep upon one
blanket, but that one kingdom cannot contain two Kings.

16 HISTORY OF THE STATES

demeanour of Dam, his father was never cordially attache
to him. The old monarch lived in continual dread of
being poisoned,1 arid carried on, it is supposed, a secret
correspondence with Aureng-Zebe, of whose talents for
government he always entertained a high opinion.

I have thought a slight sketch of Chah-Jehan and his
sons a proper introduction to this history, and necessary
to the right understanding of what is to follow. Nor
could I well avoid adding a few particulars concerning
his two daughters, who play so prominent a part in the
tragedy. In the Indies, as well as in Constantinople and other
places, the most momentous events are too often caused
by the influence of the sex, although the people may be
ignorant of this fact, and may indulge in vain speculations
as to the cause of the agitation they deplore.

It may also elucidate my narrative to revert to the pro-
ceedings of Aureng-Zebe, of the King of Golkonda, and of
his Vizier Emir-Jemla a short time before the war broke
oat : this may give my readers an insight into the
character and genius of Aureng-Zebe, the hero of this
history, and the future King of the Indies.

We shall first see in what manner Emir-Jemla laid the
foundation of the power and supremacy of Chah-Jehan s
third son.

During the time that Aureng-Zebe was intrusted with
the government of the Decan the King of Golkonda had for
his Vizier and general of his armies this Emir-Jemla, a Persian
by birth,2 and celebrated throughout Hindoustan. The
Vizier's lineage was not noble, but his talents were of the
first order : he was an accomplished soldier, and deeply

1 In the original * craignant sur tout le Boucon,' a curious fact not
commonly known, also see ante, p. II, where it is stated that the
Emperor's food was prepared under the superintendence of the Begum
Sahib.

- Mir Muhammad Said Ardistanf, surnamed Mir Jumla and after-
wards entitled Mu'azzam Khan, Khan Khanan Sipah Salar, was born
in Ardistan near Ispahan, and came to India as the personal attendant
of a Persian merchant. It was in 1656 that he threw himself on the

OF THE GREAT MOGOL it

versed in business. His wealth, which was prodigious, he
had acquired, not only by the opportunities afforded him
as chief minister of an opulent kingdom, but likewise by
means of his extensive commerce with various parts of the
world, as well as by the diamond mines which he farmed
under feigned names. These mines were worked with
indefatigable industry, and it was usual to count his
diamonds by the sacks-full.1 His political influence, it may
readily be imagined, was also very great, commanding as
he did not only the armies of the king, but keeping in his
own pay a formidable body of troops, with a corps of
artillery composed principally of Franks or Christians. It
ought likewise to be mentioned that the Vizier having
found a pretext for the invasion of the Karnatic? pillaged
the whole of its ancient idol-temples, and thus increased
his pecuniary resources to an incredible amount.3

protection of Shah Jahan. On the accession of Aurangzeb he was
appointed Governor of Bengal and died at Khizarpur in Kiich Behar
in 1663 after his return from an expedition against the kingdom of
Assam. Amir Jumla is called, by Catrou, Mirza Mulla. See foot-
note 3, below. Tavernier also makes use of this name when writing
of him.

1 de Thevenot says that he possessed 20 mans, or 408 Dutch livrcs,
weight of diamonds. The man (Surat) of de Thevenot may be taken
as 40 seers, or 35 '5 English pounds avoirdupois.

2 ' Le Royaume de Karnates ' in the original, which is a very correct
definition of the country, which then had its northern limit at Bidar,
and may be said to have embraced the Canarese-speaking people of
southern India.

3 Catrou bears out Bernier's narrative, and says that Amir Jumla was
in the habit of selling the best diamonds to the Portuguese. 'Dom
Philippes Mascarenhas, sent as Viceroy of the Indies for the Portuguese
at Goa, was his principal correspondent. The object of Mirza Mulla [so
Catrou calls Amir Jumla] was to secure to himself the protection of the
Portuguese, in the event of a change of fortune. The Persian who
found himself supported no longer placed any limits to his peculations.
He plundered the temples of their idols ; he seized upon all precious
stones with which the statues were ornamented ; he compelled the
inhabitants of the Karnatic to surrender to him whatever they possessed
of gold and jewels ; and he caused those who, according to the custom
of the country, had buried their treasures, to expire under the severity

18 HISTORY OF THE STATES

The jealousy of the King of Gol/conda1 was naturally
awakened : and he eagerly, but silently, sought an
opportunity to destroy, or remove from his presence, one
whom he regarded as a dangerous rival rather than an
obedient subject. Surrounded by persons devoted to the
interest of the minister, he felt the prudence of concealing
his intentions ; but in an unguarded moment, when in-
formed for the first time of the improper intimacy subsist-
ing between Emir-Jemla and the queen-mother, who still
retained much beauty, he gave utterance to the feelings
by which he had so long been oppressed, and denounced
vengeance against this powerful offender.

The Vizier was at this time in the Karnaiic ; but, every
important office at court being filled by his own and his
wife's relations and friends, he was soon made acquainted
with the danger which awaited him. This crafty man's
first step was to write to his only son Makmet Emir-Kan,2

of the lash. So many cruelties rendered him hateful in his Province ;
and such great wealth created him envy at Court.'

Tavernier in his Travels in India makes frequent mention of Dom
Philippe de Mascarenhas, the Viceroy of Goa, who had formerly been the
Governor of the Portuguese possessions in Ceylon. He first saw him at
Goa on the 22d January 1648 and says of him — ' He possessed a quantity
of diamonds — all stones of great weight from 10 to 40 carats ; two not-
ably, which he showed me when I was at Goa. One of them was a
thick stone, weighing 57, and the other 674 carats, both being fairly
clear, of good water and Indian cut.' Dr. V. Ball, in his exceedingly
valuable edition of Tavernier's Travels, London 1889, has proved
that the carat used by Tavernier was the Florentine, equal to
3 '04 grs. troy, which is 4 per cent, lighter than the English carat of
3 '17 grs. troy. The great Mascarenhas diamond would therefore have
weighed 64^ carats English. The Dom was immensely wealthy, but he
did not live to return to Europe with his ill-gotten gains, having died
on board the vessel on which he was returning from Goa to Portugal.
Tavernier states that the report was that he was poisoned and that it
was held to be a just punishment for his having made away with many
persons in the same manner, especially when he was Governor in the
island of Ceylon.

1 Abdullah Kutb-Shah, the sixth Sultan of the Kutb-Shahi dynasty
of Golkonda ; he died in 1674. a Mir Muhammad Amin.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 19

then with the King, to urge his immediate departure
from court, under any false pretext, and to represent the
necessity of his joining him in the Karnatic : but he found
it impossible to elude the vigilance with which he was
guarded. Disappointed in this, the Vizier's next measure
was at once bold and original, and it brought the King of
Golkonda to the very verge of destruction : so true it is
that he who cannot keep his own counsel cannot preserve
his crown. Jemla addressed a letter to Auretig-Zebe, at
this time in Daulet-Abad,1 the metropolis of the Decan, to
the following effect :

( I have rendered, as all the world knows, essential
services to the King of Golkonda, and he owes me a heavy
debt of gratitude. Nevertheless, he is plotting my ruin
and that of my family. May I be permitted, therefore, to
throw myself under your protection ? In acknowledgment
of the kindness I anticipate at your hands, I suggest a plan
by which you may easily obtain possession both of the King's
person and kingdom. Confide in my integrity, and the
enterprise will neither be difficult nor dangerous : assemble
four or five thousand of your choicest cavalry, and proceed
by forced marches towards Golkonda, which may be reached
in sixteen days, spreading a rumour that this body of horse
is escorting an ambassador from Chah-Jehan, who has affairs
of moment to negotiate with the King at Bagnaguer.2

1 The Fort of Daulatabad, anciently called Deogarh, was from a
remote period the stronghold of the rulers of the Deccan. After
Aurangzeb's death in 1707 this fortress and other Mogul territory in the
Deccan passed into the hands of Asaph Jah, a distinguished general in
Aurangzeb's service, the founder of the Nizam's dynasty, in whose
family they have remained ever since.

2 Bhagnagar, the * Fortunate City,' called after Bhagmatf the
favourite mistress of Kutb Shah Muhammad Kuli, who founded it in
1589, removing his seat of government from Golkonda, about 7 miles
distant, on account of its want of water and general unhealthiness. The
historian Khafi Khan states that some time after the death of Bhagmatf
the name was changed to Haidarabad (Hyderabad), but that in the
vernacular language of the people it continued to be called Bhagnagar.
It is now the chief city and capital of the Haidarabad State.

20 HISTORY OF THE STATES

* The Dabir,1 through whose medium the first commu-
nication is always made to the King, is my relation — my
creature — and entirely in my confidence : you have only
to advance with rapidity,, and I promise so to order it, that
you shall arrive at the gate of Bag-naguer without exciting
a suspicion that you are any other than an ambassador
from Chah-Jehan. When the King advances, according to
custom, to receive the credentials, you may easily secure
his person, then his whole family, and dispose of him in
the manner you may deem fit, inasmuch as his palace of
Bag-naguer where he usually lives is unwalled, and without
a ditch or fortifications of any sort. Meanwhile I will
defray the whole expense of the expedition, and engage to
pay fifty thousand rupees daily during the time it may be
in progress.'

Aureng-Zebe, ever intent upon projects of ambition,
immediately adopted the measures proposed in this
letter. He proceeded at once towards the territory of
the King of Golkonda, and with such address was the
plot conducted, that when the Prince reached Bag-
naguer, no one doubted that this formidable body of
horse accompanied an embassy from the Great Mogol.
The King, as is usual on similar occasions, repaired to
his garden for the purpose of receiving the pretended
ambassador with appropriate ceremony and honour ; and
while unsuspiciously approaching his perfidious enemy,
he was about to be seized by ten or twelve slaves —
Georgians — as had been projected, when an Omrah,
who was in the conspiracy, touched with sudden re-
morse and compassion, exclaimed, 'Your majesty is lost
if you do not instantly fly ; this is Aureng-Zebe, and no
ambassador.' It would be superfluous to describe the
King's consternation : he fled from the spot, and, mount-
ing the first horse he could find, rode at full speed to

1 The Dabir-ul-Mulk, who exercises the functions of a Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, is still a very, important official at the Afghan
and other Oriental courts.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 21

the fortress of Golkonda^ distant only a league from Bag-
naguer.

Although disappointed of his prey, Aureng-Zebe felt that
that there was no occasion for alarm, and that he might
securely prosecute his endeavours to obtain possession of
the King's person. The entire spoliation of the palace
was his next act. He stript it of all its costly contents,
but sent the women to the King, according to a custom
most scrupulously observed amongst Eastern despots.
He then determined to besiege the King in his fortress,
but as he was without a supply of the necessary muni-
tions of war the siege was protracted, and Chah-Jehan,
two months after its commencement, peremptorily com-
manded his son to relinquish "his enterprise, and return
without delay to the Decan ; so that, although the
fortress had been reduced to the last extremities from
the want of provisions and war material, he was obliged
to retire.

Aureng-Zebe was aware that in issuing these orders,
the Mogol was influenced by Dam and Begum [Saheb\, who
foresaw that if permitted to pursue his designs against
the King of Golleonda, he would become too powerful.
The Prince, however, betrayed no resentment, but ac-
knowledged the duty of implicit obedience to his father's
commands. Before he retired he received ample indem-
nification for the expense of the armament, and stipulated
that Emir-Jemla should have free permission to remove
with his family, property, and troops, and that the silver
coin of the realm should in future bear the arms of Chah-
Jehan. Moreover, he married his son Sultan Mahmoud*
to the King's eldest daughter, exacted a promise that
the young Prince should be nominated successor to the
throne of Gblkotida, and received, as the Princess's

1 Situated in a commanding position on a granite ridge. It is now
used as the Nizam's treasury and a State prison.

2 Sultan Muhammad, who was poisoned in Dec. 1676 at Salfmgarh
(Delhi) by his father's order (Storia do Mogor, ii. 195).

22 HISTORY OF THE STATES

dowry, the fortress of Ram-guy re* with the whole of its
appurtenances.

These two great men, Emir-Jemla and Aureng-Zebe, were
not long together before they planned great enterprises,
and while returning to the Decan, they besieged and cap-
tured Bider, 2 one of the strongest places in Fisapour. 3
They then proceeded to Daulet-Abad, in which city they
lived upon terms of the closest intimacy, forming gigantic
plans of future aggrandizement. Their union may be re-
membered as an important epoch in the history of Hin-
doustan : it prepared the way for the greatness and renown
of Aureng-Zebe.

Jemla, who had by his address contrived to obtain fre-
quent invitations to the court of Chah-Jehan, repaired at
length to Agra, and carried the most magnificent presents,,
in the hope of inducing the Mogol to declare war
against the Kings of Golkonda and Visapour, and against
the Portuguese. On this occasion it was that he presented
Chah-Jehan with that celebrated diamond which has been
generally deemed unparalleled in size and beauty.4 He
dilated with earnestness on the benefits which would
accrue from the conquest of Golkonda, whose precious
stones were surely more deserving of his consideration
than the rocks of Kandahar, whither the Mogol was about

1 Ramgiri, about 113 miles to the north-east of the town of Hyderabad.

2 Bidar, about 75 miles to the north-west of the town of Haidarabad
(Hyderabad). Noted for the metal ware, bidari (bidree) work, to
which it has given its name.

3 Bijapur, the great Moslem State, founded by a son of Murad n.,
the Ottomau Emperor who succeeded to the throne in 1422. Bernier
follows the Hindoo form of the name, Vijayapura.

4 Not theleast valuable part of Dr. Ball's edition of Tavernier's 7>-£zW>,
is his identification of this diamond with the world-renowned gem the
Koh-i-mir, or Mountain of Lustre,' which he has been able to do by a
comparison of Tavernier's drawing of the Great Mogul's diamond with
models of the Koh-i-mir as it was when brought to England in 1850,
and by a scientific sifting of other evidence. For an abstract of Dr.
Ball's account, which he has kindly sanctioned and revised, together
with extracts from Catrou, relating to Amir Jumla, see Appendix II,

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 23

to lead an army : his military operations in that kingdom
ought not to cease, he said, until the conquest of his arms
extended to Cape Comory.1

The diamonds may have produced their effect upon the
mind of Chah-Jehan ; but it is the more received opinion
that he was glad of a pretext for raising an army which
should restrain the growing insolence of his eldest son ;
and that it was for this reason he entered into the views
of Jemla.

Whatever were his motives, he resolved to send an
army towards the Decati under the Emir's command.

Dara had incurred his father's displeasure by his recent
and undisguised attempts to become paramount in power
and authority : but there was one act of his which C/iah-
Jehan regarded with peculiar horror and indignation, and
which he was least disposed to forgive, — the murder of
Vizier Sadullah- Kan,2 a nobleman whom the Mogol con-
sidered the most accomplished statesman of Asia, and for
whom he felt a warmth of friendship that became quite
proverbial. What was the offence which Dara judged
worthy of death is not ascertained. Perhaps he appre-
hended that in the event of the King's demise, the power-
ful ascendency of the Vizier might leave the crown at his
disposal, and that he would place it on the head of Sultan
Sujah, whose party he seemed to favour : or it is possible
Dara may have been influenced by the reports promulgated
respecting the intentions of Sadullah-Kan, who, from being
an Indian [Hindoo] by birth, had excited the jealousy of
the Persians at court. One of these rumours was, that

1 The ancient and correct name of that Cape, the most southern
point of India, Comorin being a Portuguese corruption of Kumari
('a virgin').

2 In the Shah Jahan-ndma of Inayat Khan, it is stated that Sadullah
Khan, 'Allami, died from the effects of a severe and painful attack of
colic. The Wazir, who was considered the most able and upright
minister that ever appeared in India, died in 1656. Catrou also
records that Dara was accused of having caused Sadullah Khan to be

poisoned.

24 HISTORY OF THE STATES

after the death of Chah-Jehan, the Vizier designed to
exclude the Mogols from the throne, and either to restore
the royal race of the Patans,1 or usurp the crown for himself
or his son. His wife was a Patan ; and it was pretended
that he kept a well-appointed army of that people,
cantoned in various parts, to aid him in accomplishing
his project.

It was evident to Dara that to send troops to the
Decan was in effect to increase, by so many men, the
strength of Aureng-Zebe. He opposed the measure, there-
fore, with many arguments and entreaties, and by every
art he could devise. Finding it, however, impossible to
move Chah-Jehan from his purpose, he persuaded him to
impose certain conditions, by which Aureng-Zebe should
engage to abstain from all interference in the conduct of
the war; fix his residence at Daulet-Abad', confine his
attention to the government of the Decan ; and also that
the Emir should retain the absolute and undivided com-
mand of the army : leaving the whole of his family at
court, as hostages for his fidelity. This last clause was
extremely offensive to Jemla ; but Chah-Jehan prevailed
with him to yield compliance, assuring him that this
stipulation was intended only to satisfy the caprice of his
son, Dara, and that he should soon be followed by his wife
and children. The Emir put himself at the head of a fine
army, with which he marched into the Decan : and with-
out tarrying in that country, entered Fisapour, com-
mencing his operations with the siege of Kaliane,2 a place
of considerable strength.

Such was the state of Hindoustan when the Mogol, who
had passed his seventieth year, was seized with a disorder,
the nature of which it were unbecoming to describe.
Suffice it to state that it was disgraceful to a man of

1 The Lodi Pathan dynasty of Delhi having been crushed by the
Mogul invasion of Babar Shah in 1526.

2 Kdlidni) about 30 miles to the west of Bidar, in what is now part
of the Haidarabad (Hyderabad) State.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 25

his age, who, instead of wasting, ought to have been
careful to preserve the remaining vigour of his constitu-
tion.1

The Mogol's illness filled the whole extent of his
dominions with agitation and alarm. Para collected
powerful armies in Deh/i^nd^Agm^ih^ principal cities of
th"e"Tdngdom. In Bengale, Sultan Sujah made the same
vigorous preparations for war. Aureng-Zebe in the Decan,
and Morad-Bakche in Guzarale, also levied such forces as
evinced a determination to contend for empire. The four
brothers gathered around them their friends and allies ;
all wrote letters, made large promises, and entered into a
variety of intrigues. Dam, having intercepted some of
these letters, showed them to his father, inveighing
bitterly against his brothers ; and Begum [Sakeb], his
sister, availed herself of so advantageous an opportunity
to prejudice the Mogol against his three rebellious sons:
but Chah-Jehan placed no confidence in Dara, and sus-
pecting he had a design to poison him, swallowed no food
without the utmost fear and caution. It is even thought
that he corresponded at this time with Aureng-Zebe, and
that Dara, being apprised of the circumstance, was trans-
ported with rage to such a degree as to threaten his
father. Meanwhile, the King's distemper increased, and
it was reported that he was dead : the whole court was in
confusion ; the population of Agra was panic-stricken ; the
shops were closed for many days, and the four Princes
openly declared their settled purpose of making the sword
the sole arbiter of their lofty pretensions. It was, in fact,
too late to recede : not only was the crown to be gained
by victory alone, but in case of defeat life was certain
to be forfeited. There was now no choice between a
kingdom and death : as Chah-Jehan had ascended the
throne by imbruing his hands in the blood of his own
brothers, so the unsuccessful candidates on the present

1 This illness was in September 1657, when Shah Jahan was upwards
pf 64 years of age,

26 HISTORY OF THE STATES

occasion were sure to be sacrificed to the jealousy of the
conqueror.

Sultan Sujah was the first who took the field. He had
filled his coffers in the rich country of Bengale by utterly
ruining some of the Rajas or Kinglets of that region, and
by plundering others. He was therefore enabled to raise
a numerous army : and confiding in the support of the
Persian omrahs, whose religious views he had embraced,
advanced rapidly on Agra. He issued a proclamation
which set forth the death of his father by poison from the
hand of Dura, and declared his determination both to
avenge so foul a murder, and to occupy the vacant throne.
Chah-Jehan, at the instance of Dara, hastened to undeceive
him in regard to the rumour of his decease ; the malady
was giving way, he said, to the power of medicine, and
he expressly commanded him to return forthwith to his
government of Bengale. But as Sultan Sujah' s friends at
court represented the Emperor s disorder as incurable, he
continued his march toward the capital, pretending that
he was too well convinced of the death of his revered
parent, and that if, contrary to his expectation, he should
be yet alive, he was desirous of kissing his feet, and re-
ceiving his commands.

Aureng-Zebe also published his proclamations, and put
his forces in motion, much at the same time as Sultan
Sujah. He, too, was meditating an advance on Agra when
he received a similar prohibition, both from the King and
from Dara ; the latter of whom menaced him with punish-
ment if he quitted the Decan. He dissembled, however,
like his brother of Bengale, and returned a similar answer ;
but as his finances were not abundant, and his army was
comparatively small, he endeavoured to obtain by fraud
what he could not hope to gain by arms. The immediate
dupes of his artifice were Morad-Bakchc and Emir-Jcmla.
In a letter to the former he said : —

' I need not remind you, my brother, how repugnant to
my real disposition are the toils of government. While

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 27

Dam and Sultan Sujah are tormented with a thirst for
dominion, I sigh only for the life of a Fakire. But, although
renouncing all claim to the kingdom, I nevertheless ('
consider myself bound to impart my sentiments to you,
my friend, whom I have always tenderly loved. Dam is
not only incapable of reigning, but is utterly unworthy of
the throne, inasmuch as he is a Kafer — an idolater — and
held in abhorrence by all the great Omrahs. Sultan Sujah
is equally undeserving the crown ; for being avowedly a
Rafezy — an heretic — he is of course an enemy ioHindoustan.
Will you then permit me to say that in you alone are to
be found the qualifications for ruling a mighty empire ?
This opinion is not adopted by myself only ; it is likewise
entertained by the leading nobles, who esteem you for
your matchless valour, and are anxious for your arrival in
the capital. With respect to myself, if I can exact a
solemn promise from you that, when king, you will suffer
me to pass my life in some sequestered spot of your
dominions, where I may offer up my constant prayers to
heaven in peace, and without molestation, I am prepared
immediately to make common cause with you, to aid you
with my counsel and my friends, and to place the whole
of my army at your disposal. I send you one hundred
thousand roupies, of which I entreat your acceptance, as
an earnest of my best wishes. The time is critical : you
should, therefore, not lose one moment in taking possession
of the castle of Sourate, where I know the vast treasure
of the State to be deposited.'

Morad-Bahche, whose wealth and power were compara-
tively limited, received his brother's proposals, accompanied
as they were by so large a sum, with great delight, and
was beyond measure elated at the prospect which now
presented itself to him. The letter was everywhere
exhibited, in expectation that the young men would be
induced by its contents to enter with cheerfulness into his
army, and that it might dispose the opulent merchants
more willingly to lend the large sums he was exacting

28 HISTORY OF THE STATES

with undeviating rigour. He now assumed all the conse-
quence and authority of a king; was profuse in his
promises, and contrived everything so successfully that he
soon collected a pretty numerous army. From this army
it was his first care to detach three thousand men, under
the command oiChah-Abas, a eunuch/ but a valiant soldier,
to lay siege to the castle of Sourate.

Aureng-Zebe next turned his thoughts on Emir-Jemla.
He sent to him his eldest son Sultan Mahmond (whom he
had married to the King of Golkondas daughter) 2 with a
request that he would come to him at Daulet-Abad, as he had
intelligence of the greatest importance to impart. The
Emir was at no loss to divine the nature of this intelligence,
and refused to quit his army which was still engaged in the
siege of Koliane ; 3 alleging that he had recently received
tidings from Agra, and could assure Sultan Mahmoud that
Chah-Jehan was not dead. In no case, however, could he
think of co-operating with Aureng-Zebe, while his wife and
children were in Dam's power: his determination was
fixed ; he would not be a party in the present quarrel.

Finding it impossible to accomplish the object of his
mission, Sultan Mahmoud returned to Daulet-Abad, ex-
tremely displeased with the Emir; but Aureng-Zebe, no
way discouraged, sent another message by his second son,
Sultan Mazum* who conducted his mission with so much
address and urbanity, and made such protestations of
friendship, that Emir-Jemla could not withstand the force
of his solicitations. He vigorously prosecuted the siege
of KaHane, and having forced the garrison to capitulate,
hastened to Daulet-Abad with the flower of his army.

1 The Khwaja Shahbaz of Khafi Khan, who, in his history, says
that after the fort of Surat was reduced, a ransom of fifteen lakhs of
rupees was demanded from the merchants of the place, who eventually
agreed to pay six.

a See p. 21. 3 See p. 24.

4 Muhammad Mu'azzam, who succeeded his father, Aurangzeb,
with the title of Shah Alam Bahadur Shah, was born at Burhanpur in
1643, and died at Lahore in 1712.

Aureng-Zebe received Emir-Jemla with the strongest pro-
fessions of kindness, calling him ' Baba ' and 'Babagy ' [Baba
Ji] — ' Father/ and ' My Lord Father/ He embraced his
welcome visitor a hundred times ; and taking him aside,
addressed him thus : — ' I acknowledge the force of the
objection made by you to Sultan Mahmoitd, and it is the
opinion of my friends at court, who are men of judgment,
that it would be extremely imprudent, while your family
are in the hands of Dam, to stir openly in my favour, or
even to manifest the slightest disposition to promote the
interest of my cause. But it is not for me to inform you
that there are few difficulties which may not be overcome.
A scheme has occurred to my mind, which, though at first
it may surprise you, will, I doubt not, on reflection, appear
to you well calculated to ensure the safety of your family.
Suffer yourself to be confined in prison ; it will have the
effect of imposing upon the world, and we shall reap all
the success we can desire from this plan : for who will
ever imagine that a person of your rank could tamely
submit to incarceration ? In the mean time, I can employ
a part of your troops in any manner you think fit ; and
you will not perhaps refuse, in furtherance of our project,
to supply me with a sum of money, according to the offer
you have so repeatedly made. With these troops, and
this money, I may safely try my fortune. Allow me,
therefore, to conduct you to the fortress of Daulet-Abad
where you will be guarded by one of my sons ; we may
then deliberate upon the means to be pursued, and I can-
not conceive how any suspicion should arise in the mind
of Dara, or how he can reasonably ill-treat the wife and
children of one who is apparently my enemy.'

I have authority for stating that such was substantially
the language used by Aureng-Zebe. The considerations
which dictated the Emir's answer to these strange pro- ,
positions are not now so well known. It is certain, how-
ever, that he complied with them, that he consented to
place the troops under Aureng-Zebe s orders, to lend him

SO HISTORY OF THE STATES

money, and, what is even more extraordinary, to be con-
ducted to the fortress of Daulet-Abad. Some have
thought that Emir-Jemla was really allured by the solemn
assurance of advantages to be derived from his acqui-
escence, and that he was likewise influenced by the
recollection of those vows of ardent and indissoluble friend-
ship which had been so frequently interchanged between
him and Aureng-Zebe. Others there are who, perhaps
with more reason, believe that fear forbade him to with-
hold his assent, as the two sons of Aureng-Zebe, Sullan
Mazum and Sultan Mahmoud, were present at the con-
ference ; the former completely armed, and assuming a
look that could not be mistaken ; the latter indulging in
unseemly grimaces, after having raised his arm in a manner
which implied an intention of proceeding to violence : for
the pride of this Prince was mortified because his brother's
mission had been attended with better success than his
own, and he was at no pains to conceal his resentment.

When the imprisonment of Emir-Jemla became known
that portion of the army which had been brought from
Visapour demanded aloud the release of their commander,
and would soon have opened the door of his prison, if they
had not been appeased by the arts of Aureng-Zebe, who
intimated to the superior officers that the Emir's confine-
ment was quite voluntary, and a part, in fact, of a scheme
understood between themselves. He was, besides, lavish
of his presents : he promised advancement to the officers,
and increased the pay of the private soldiers ; giving them
at once three months' advance as a pledge of his liberal
intentions.

In this manner the troops lately under Jemla's command
were persuaded to take part in the campaign meditated
by Aureng-Zebe, who thus soon found himself in a condition
to take the field. He first marched in the direction of
Sourate for the purpose of accelerating the fall of that
place, which persevered in a vigorous and unexpected
resistance ; but a few days after his army had been put in

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 31

motion he received news of the surrender of that town.1
He then despatched a congratulatory letter to Morad-
Bakche ; made him acquainted with all that had passed
with Emir-Jemla ; told him he was now at the head of a
formidable force ; that he possessed abundance of money,
that his understanding with the principal courtiers was
complete ; and that he was fully prepared to proceed
towards Brampour2 and Agra. He then urged him to
hasten his march, and he fixed the place for the junction
of the two armies.

Morad-Bakche was disappointed in the amount of treasure
found in Sourate ; perhaps it had been exaggerated by
report; or the governor, as was generally, suspected, had
appropriated a large portion of it to his own use. The
money of which he came into possession only sufficed to
pay the soldiers, who had been induced to enlist by the
expectation of the immense wealth which the walls of
Sourate were believed to enclose. Nor ought the capture
of the town to have increased the military reputation of
this Prince ; for, although destitute of regular fortifications,
it yet baffled his utmost endeavours for more than a
month : and he had made no progress in the siege until
the Dutch instructed him, for the first time, in the art of
mining. The blowing up of a considerable part of the
wall spread consternation in the garrison, and terms of
capitulation were immediately proposed.3

The fall of Sourate facilitated the future operations of
Morad-Bakche. It procured him a great name ; mining is
yet imperfectly known among the Indians, and nothing
could have inspired them with more astonishment than the

1 In January 1658.

2 Burhanpur, called Brampore and sometimes Bramport by the old
travellers, on the river Tapti, in the Nimar District, Central Provinces.
Founded about 1400, and held by independent Muhammadan Princes
until 1600, when it was annexed to the Mogul Empire by Akbar. It
was the seat of the government of the Deccan until 1635 whea
Aurangabad took its place.

8 See p. 28, footnote *.

32 HISTORY OF THE STATES

efficacious method in which this new art had been employed
by Morad-Bakche. It was moreover universally believed
that vast riches haa fallen into his hands. But notwith-
standing the fame acquired by this event, and all the
flattering promises of Aureng-Zebe, the eunuch Chah-Abas
urged him to disregard the extravagant declarations of his
brother, and not rashly to throw himself into his hands.
'Listen/ he said, ( while it is yet time, to my advice;
amuse him with fair words, if you please ; but do not
think of joining him with your forces. Let him advance
alone toward Agra. We shall by and by receive positive
intelligence of your father's state of health, and see the
course that events may take. In the mean time you may
fortify Sourate, a most important post, which will secure to
you the dominion of an extensive country producing a rich
revenue, and with a little management you may become
master of Brampour, also a town in a commanding situa-
tion, and the key, as it were, of the Decan.'

But the letters daily received from Aureng-Zebe deter-
mined Morad-Bakche not to relax his exertions, and the
wise counsel of the eunuch Chah-Abas was rejected. This
acute statesman had a warm and affectionate heart, and
was sincerely attached to the interests of his master.
Happy would it have been for the young prince if he had
listened to his sage advice ; but Morad was blinded by an
inordinate thirst for dominion : his brother's letters were
more and more expressive of his entire devotedness to his
cause, and he considered that, if left to his own resources,
he should never be able to realise those schemes of
greatness that continually haunted his imagination. He
therefore broke up from his encampment at Amed-Abad,
abandoned Guzarate, and made the best of his way, over
mountains and through forests, to the rendezvous where
Aureng-Zebe had halted some days in expectation of his
arrival.

The junction of the armies was celebrated by great
rejoicings and much festivity. The two brothers were

OF THE GREAT MOGOL S3

inseparable, and Aureng-Zebe renewed his professions of
unalterable affection and his protestations of complete
disinterestedness. Of the kingdom, he repeated that he
most assuredly entertained no thought; he had placed
himself at the head of an army for .the sole purpose of
combating Dara, their common foe, and of seating Morad
on the vacant throne. During the march of the armies
toward the capital, Aureng-Zebe spoke in the same tone,
and never omitted, either in private or public, to address
his brother with the reverence and humility due from a
subject to his sovereign, calling him Hazaret, ' King/ and
f Your Majesty/ Strange that Morad should never have sus-
pected his honesty of intention, or that the late nefarious
transactions in Golkonda should have made so slight an im-
pression on his mind ! but this Prince was blinded by a wild
ambition for empire, and incapable of perceiving that he
who had recently incurred so much infamy by his attempt
to usurp a kingdom could feel little inclination to live
and die a Fakire.

The combined armies formed an imposing force, and
their approach created a great sensation at the seat of
government. Nothing could exceed the uneasiness of
Dam, and Chah-Jchan was appalled at the threatening
aspect of affairs. Whatever scope he permitted to his
imagination, he could conceive no event, however momen-
tous and fraught with evil consequences, which might not
be brought to pass by the talents of Aureng-Zebe and the
intrepidity of Morad-Bakche. In vain did he despatch
courier after courier announcing his convalescence, and
assuring the two brothers that the whole of their proceed-
ings should be buried in oblivion if they immediately
returned to their respective governments : the united
armies continued to advance, and as the King's malady was
really considered mortal, the Princes had recourse to
their usual dissimulation, affirming that the letters pur-
porting to bear the King's sign-annual were forgeries by
Dara ; that Chah-Jehan was either dead or on the point

54. HISTORY OF THE STATES

of death ; and that if he should happily be alive, they
were desirous of prostrating themselves at his feet, and
ielivering him from the thraldom in which he was held
by Dara.

Chah-Jehans situation was indeed distressing : — afflicted
with disease, and almost a prisoner in the hands of Dara,
who, guided by a furious resentment, breathed nothing
but war, and was unwearied in preparations for conducting
it with vigour; — while his other children, regardless of
repeated injunctions, accelerated their march toward Agra.
But what a sad alternative was left him in this extremity!
his treasures, he saw, must be dissipated, abandoned to
his sons, and squandered at their pleasure ; he was com-
pelled to summon around him his faithful and veteran
captains, who were generally unfavourable to Dara, and
whom nevertheless he must command to espouse his
cause, and take the field against the other Princes, though
in his heart the old monarch felt more affection for them
than for Dara. The danger being most pressing on the
side whence Sultan Sujah was advancing, an army was im-
mediately sent against that prince, while another was
assembled in order to encounter the combined forces of
Aureng-Zebe and Morad-Bakche.

Soliman-Chekouh ,l Dam's eldest son, was the general
nominated to the command of the corps sent to oppose
Sultan Suj ah's progress. He was about five-and-twenty
years of age, of a fine person, not without ability, generous
and popular. He was a favourite with Chah-Jehan, from
whom he had already received great riches, and who
intended him for his successor in preference to Dara. As
the Mogol's chief anxiety was to avoid the effusion of
blood in this unnatural contest, he appointed an old Raja,
named Jesseingue? to be the companion or counsellor of

1 Sulaiman Shikoh, born in 1635, was poisoned in prison in the fort
•rvfGwalior about 1660.

a Raja Jai Singh I., of Jaipur (Jeypore), commonly called Mirza
Rdjd; of the Kajawat branch of the Kachhwahas of Amber (Jaipur), a

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 35

his grandson. Jesseingue is at present one of the richest
Rajas in Hindomlan, and perhaps the ablest man in the
whole kingdom. The King gave him secret instructions
to avoid, if possible, coming to an engagement, and to
leave no method untried to induce Sujah to retrace his
steps. ' Represent to my son/ he said, ' that not his duty
alone, but also his policy, demand the reservation of his
strength for a more justifiable and promising occasion:
until my malady have terminated in death, or at least
until the result of the united efforts of Aureng-Zebe and
Morad-Bakche shall be ascertained.'

But all the efforts of Jesseingue to prevent a battle
proved abortive. Soliman-Chekouh, on the one side, was
full of military ardour, and ambitious of acquiring a great
name ; and, on the other, Sultan Sujah apprehended that
if he delayed his march, Aureng-Zebe might overcome
Dara and gain possession of the two capital cities, Agra
and Dehli. Thus the two armies were no sooner in sight,

o y

than a he^vy cannonade commenced ; but I need not
detain my readers by detailing the particulars of this
action, especially as I shall have to describe others of
greater consequence : it is sufficient to state that the onset
was impetuous on both sides, and that after a warm
struggle Sultan Sujah was obliged to give way, and at
length to fly in confusion. It is certain that if Jesseingue
and his bosom friend Delil-kan?- a Patan and an excellent
soldier, had not purposely held back, the rout of the
enemy would have been complete, and their commander
probably made prisoner. But the Raja was too prudent
to lay his hands on a Prince of the Blood, the son of his
King; and he acted conformably to the Mogol's inten-

Rajput clan of great antiquity and renown. This clan traces its origin
to Dhola Rai, who is said to have founded the State of Amber in 967
A.D., the present Maharaja of Jaipur, being the thirty-fifth from the Raf.
Raja Jai Singh I. died at Burhanpur on the loth July 1667.

1 Diler Khan, a Daudzai Afghan, and younger brother of Bahadur
Khan, Rohila, an Amir of high rank. He died in 1683.

36 HISTORY OF THE STATES

tions when he afforded Sultan Sujah the means of escape.
Although the loss of the enemy was inconsiderable, yet as
the field of battle and a few pieces of artillery remained
in Soliman-Chekouh's possession, it was immediately reported
at court that he had gained a decisive victory.1 This
affair, while it raised the reputation of Soliman-Chekouh, was
injurious to that of Sultan Sujah, and the ardour of the
Persians who favoured his cause was proportionably abated.

Soliman-Chekouh had been a few days employed in the
pursuit of Sujah, when he received intelligence of the
rapid and resolute march of Aureng-Zebe and Morad Bakche
on Agra. Aware of his father's want of conduct and
prudence, and knowing that he was surrounded by secret
enemies, he prudently determined to return to the capital,
in the neighbourhood of which Dara would probably offer
battle. Every one is of opinion that the young prince
could not have adopted a wiser course ; and that if he
could have brought up his army in time, Aureng-Zebe
would have gained no advantage, if indeed he had ven-
tured to engage in so unequal a contest.

Nowithstanding the success which had attended the
arms of Soliman-Chekouh at Elabas 2 (where the Gemna falls
into the Ganges} affairs took a very different turn in the
direction of Agra. The government were struck with
amazement when they heard that Aureng-Zebe had crossed
the river at Brampour and forced his way through all the
difficult passes in the mountains, on the successful defence
of which every reliance had been placed. A body of
troops was hastily despatched to dispute the passage ot
the river of Eugenes,3 while the main body of the army

1 According to Khafi Khan's account, the battle was fought near
Benares in the month of December 1657.

2 Ilahbas, a corruption of Ilahabas, the old name of Allahabad, and
still used by the people to designate the capital of the North- West
Provinces.

8 Ujjain (Ujein), on the river Sipra, the ancient capital of Malwa,
the Greenwich of the Hindoo geographers, as their first meridian

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 37

was preparing to move forward. To command this body
of troops, two of the most skilful, and, in point of personal
influence, two of the most powerful men, were selected.
The name of the one was Kasem-Kan^ a soldier of first-
rate reputation, sincerely attached to Chah-Jehan, but
disliking Dara : he assumed the command very reluc-
tantly, and only in obedience to the Mogol. The other
was the Raja Jessomseingue,2 who in importance and
authority yielded not to Jeisseingue. He was son-in-law
of the famous and powerful Raja Ra?ia,B who lived in the
reign of Ekbar, and was prince of the Rajas.

Dara addressed these two generals in the most affec-
tionate terms, and presented them with costly gifts on
their departure with the troops : but Chah-Jehan privately
suggested the same measures of caution and forbearance,
which were practised in the case of Sultan Sujah. The
consequence was that messenger after messenger was sent
to Aureng-Zebe to beg that he would retire ; but while
there appeared this indecision on one side, all was activity
and resolution on the other : the messengers never re-
turned, and the enemy unexpectedly crowned an eminence
at a short distance from the river.4

passed through it ; now one of the chief towns of the dominions
of the Maharaja Sindhia. Bernier refers to the District, not the town
of Ujjain ; ' the passage of the river ' being, ' the ford of Akbarpur,'
of Khafi Khan's account, which is still the Nerbudda crossing of the
Great Deccan Road, about 16 miles due south of the old Fort of
Mandu, and nearly 34 miles south-east of the military station of Mhow.

1 Nawab Kasim Khan Jawini, who held the rank of a commander
of 5000.

2 Raja Jaswant Singh. See footnote I, p. 7. On his death, in 1678,
Alamgir attempted to force his children to become Moslems. This
their attendants resisted, fighting valiantly when attacked by the
Emperor's troops. They escaped safely to Jodhpur, but were com-
pelled to take to the hills and woods. On the death of Alamgfr in
1707, they regained their former possessions.

8 The renowned Rana of Chitor (Chittour).

4 The Nerbudda (Narbada), the boundary of the Ujjain (Eugenes of
Bernier) territory, about 70 miles to the south of the city of Ujjain.

38 HISTORY OF THE STATES

It was summer, and the heat was intense ; l the river
therefore became fordable. Kasem-Kan and the Raja
prepared for battle on perceiving, as they apprehended, a
disposition on the part of Aureng-Zebe to force the river.
But in point of fact, the whole of his army was not yet
come up, and this was only a feint ; for he feared that the
enemy's troops might themselves cross the stream, cut
him off from the water, attack him before the soldiers had
recovered from their fatigue, and thus prevent him from
taking up an advantageous position. It appears certain,
indeed, that he was at this time totally incapable of
opposing any effectual resistance, and that Kasem-Kan and
the Raja might have obtained an easy victory. I was not
present at this first encounter ; but such was the opinion
entertained by every spectator, especially by the French
officers in Aureng-Zebe 's artillery. The two commanders,
however, were compelled by their secret orders quietly to
take a position on the banks of the river, and to content
themselves with disputing the passage.

His army having rested two or three days, Aureng-Zebe
made the necessary dispositions for forcing the passage.
Placing his artillery in a commanding position, he ordered
the troops to move forward under cover of its fire. His
progress was opposed by the cannon of the enemy, and
the combat was at first maintained with great obstinacy.
Jessomseingue displayed extraordinary valour, disputing
every inch of ground with skill and pertinacity. With
regard to Kasem-Kan, although it cannot be denied that
he deserved the celebrity he had hitherto enjoyed, yet
upon the present occasion he approved himself neither a
dexterous general nor a courageous soldier : he was even
suspected of treachery, and of having concealed in the
sand, during the night that preceded the battle, the
greater part of his ammunition, a few volleys having left
the army without powder or ball. However this may be,

1 The battle was fought on the 2Oth April 1658, 'near Dharmatpur,'
according to the Alamgir-ndma.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 39

the action was well supported, and the passage vigorously
opposed. The assailants were much incommoded by rocks
in the bed of the river ; and the uncommon height of its
banks, in many parts, rendered it extremely difficult to
gain a footing on the other side. The impetuosity of
Morad-Bakche at length overcame every impediment; he
reached the opposite bank with his corps, and was quickly
followed by the remainder of the army. It was then
that Kasem-Kan ingloriously fled from the field, leaving
Jessomseingue exposed to the most imminent peril. That
undaunted Raja was beset on all sides by an overwhelming
force, and saved only by the affecting devotion of his
Ragipous,1 the greater part of whom died at his feet.
Fewer than six hundred of these brave men, whose number
at the commencement of the action amounted to nearly
eight thousand, survived the carnage of that dreadful day.
With this faithful remnant, the Raja retired to his own
territory, not considering it prudent to return to Agra on
account of the great loss he had sustained.2

The word Ragipous signifies Sons of Rajas. These
people are educated from one generation to another in
the profession of arms. Parcels of land are assigned to
them for their maintenance by the Rajas whose subjects
they are, on condition that they shall appear in the field
on the summons of their chieftain. They might be said
to form a species of Gentile nobility, if the land were in-
alienable and descended to their children. From an early
age they are accustomed to the use of opium, and I have
sometimes been astonished to see the large quantity they
swallow. On the day of battle they never fail to double
the dose, and this drug so animates, or rather inebriates

1 Rajputs.

2 Khafi Khan in his account of the battle says : — ' Every minute the
dark ranks of the infidel Rajputs were dispersed by the prowess of
the followers of Islam. Dismay and great fear fell upon the heart of
Jaswant, their leader, and he, far from acting like one of the renowned
class of Rajas, turned his back upon the battle, and was content to
bring upon himself everlasting infamy.'

40 HISTORY OF THE STATES

them, that they rush into the thickest of the combat
insensible of danger. If the Raja be himself a brave man,
he need never entertain an apprehension of being deserted
by his followers : they only require to be well led, for
their minds are made up to die in his presence rather
than abandon him to his enemies. It is an interesting
sight to see them on the eve of a battle, with the fumes
of opium in their heads, embrace and bid adieu to one
another, as if certain of death. Who then can wonder
that the Great Mogol, though a Mahometan, and as such an
enemy to the Gentiles, always keeps in his service a large
retinue of Rajas, treating them with the same considera-^
tion as his other Omrahs, and appointing them to impor-
tant commands in his armies ? l

I may here relate the disdainful reception experienced
by the valiant Jessomseingue from his wife, a daughter of
the house of Rana. When it was announced that he was
approaching with his gallant band of about five hundred
Ilagipous, the melancholy remnant of nearly eight thousand,
at the head of whom he had fought with noble intrepidity,
quitting the field from necessity, but not with dishonour ;
instead of sending to congratulate the gallant soldier on
his escape, and console him in his misfortune, she dryly
commanded that the gates of the castle should be closed

1 As the late Professor Blochmann has so ably demonstrated, in an
article in The Calcutta Review, No. Civ. 1871 (A chapter from Muham-
madan history. The Hindu Rdjds under the Mughal Government.)
India never became a thorough Muhammadan country. * The invaders
were few and the country was too large and too populous. The waves
of immigration from Tiiran were few and far between, and deposited
on Indian soil adventurers, warriors, and learned men, rather than
artisans and colonists. Hence the Muhammadans depended upon the
Hindoos for labour of every kind, from architecture down to agriculture
and the supply of servants. Many branches they had to learn from
the Hindoos, as, for example, the cultivation of indigenous produce,
irrigation, coinage, medicine, the building of houses, and weaving of
stuffs suitable for the climate, the management of elephants, and so
forth.' In course of time, as Bernier and many others record, the
rulers had to depend on the Hindoos for recruiting their army.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 41

against him. ' The man is covered with infamy/ she said,
'and he shall not enter within these walls. I disown him
for my husband, and these eyes can never again behold
him. No son-in-law of Rana can possess a soul so abject.
He who is allied to his illustrious house must imitate the
virtues of that great man : if he cannot vanquish he should
die.' The next moment the temper of her mind took
another turn. * Prepare the funeral pile/ she exclaimed.
' The fire shall consume my body. I am deceived ; my
husband is certainly dead ; it cannot possibly be other-
wise : ' and then again, transported with rage, she broke
into the bitterest reproaches. In this humour she con-
tinued eight or nine days, refusing the whole of that time
to see her husband. The arrival of her mother was
attended, however, with a beneficial effect : she, in some
measure, appeased and comforted her daughter, by
solemnly promising, in the Raja's name, that as soon as
he should be somewhat recovered from his fatigue, he
would collect a second army, attack Aureng-Zebe, and
fully retrieve his reputation.

This anecdote may serve as a specimen of the spirit
which animates the women of this country. I might
mention several instances of the same kind, having seen
many wives burn themselves after the death of their
husbands : but these are details which I reserve for
another place ; where I shall, at the same time, show the
ascendency which prejudice, ancient habit, hope, the force
of public opinion, and the principle of honour, have over
the human mind.1

When Dara was made acquainted with the calamitous
events that had occurred at Eugenes, the violence of his
rage would have hurried him into a course of the most
extravagant conduct, if he had not been restrained by the
arguments and moderation of Chah-Jehan. That Kasem-
Kan, had he been within his reach, would have paid the
forfeit of his head, can scarcely be doubted ; and Emir
1 See pp. 306 et sey.

42 HISTORY OF THE STATES

Jemla being regarded as the primary and principal cause
of the present crisis (since it was he who supplied Aureng-
Zebe with troops and money), Dara would have killed his
son Mahmet Emir-Kan and compelled his wife and daughter
to become prostitutes, had he not at length yielded to
the suggestions of the King, who showed the extreme
improbability of the Emirs concurrence in the measures
of Aureng-Zebe. His judgment was too sound, he observed,
to allow of his placing his family in jeopardy, for the sake
of advancing the interests of a man for whom he could
feel no warmth of friendship. On the contrary, it was
sufficiently obvious that he had been himself deceived, and
had fallen into the wiles of Aureng-Zebe.

The invaders, in the mean time, were flushed with
success, impressed with an idea of their invincibility, and
persuaded that there was no object, however difficult and
stupendous, wrhich they might not achieve. Still more to
increase the confidence of his troops, Aureng-Zebe vaunted
aloud that in Dara's army there were thirty thousand
Mogols devoted to his service ; and that this was not
entirely an empty boast will soon be made apparent.
Morad-Bakche felt impatient of delay, and expressed his
eagerness to push forward ; but his brother repressed this
ardour, representing the necessity of some repose on the
banks of the beautiful river1 [Nerbudda], especially as it
would afford an opportunity for corresponding with his
friends, and ascertaining the situation of affairs. The
advance on Agra was therefore slow and circumspect,
exactly regulated by the information daily received.

Chah-Jehan was now reduced to a state of hopelessness
and misery. He saw that his sons were not to be turned

1 The Nerbudda (Narbada) ranks second to the Ganges among the
rivers of India in religious sanctity. In fact 'tis said that in the Samvat
year 1951 (1895 A.D.) the sanctity of the Ganges will cease, while the
purifying virtue of the Nerbudda will continue the same throughout
all the ages of the world. This river, which well deserves the epithet
of ' beautiful ' applied to it by Bernier, then formed the boundary
between Hindostan proper and the Deccan.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 43

aside from their determination to enter the capital, and
viewed with dismay the mighty preparation made by Dara
for a decisive battle. He had a prescience of the terrible
evils impending over his house, which he endeavoured by
every expedient to avert. He was not in a situation,
however, to resist the wishes of Dam, for he still continued
to labour under the influence of disease, and was the
servant rather than the sovereign of his eldest son. To
that son he had long been compelled to resign all
authority, and the military commanders, as well as the
officers of the State, were instructed to yield implicit
obedience to the orders of Dara. It is not surprising,
therefore, that this Prince was enabled to assemble a
numerous army, finer than perhaps had ever trod the
plains of Hindoustan. The lowest calculation makes it
amount to one hundred thousand horse, more than twenty
thousand foot, and eighty pieces of cannon ; besides an
incredible number of camp-followers, and those bazar
dealers,1 so necessary for the support of an army in peace
as well as in war, and who, I suspect, are often included
by historians in the number of combatants, when they
speak of immense armies of three or four hundred thousand
men. Unquestionable it is, that the force under Dara's
command was sufficient, in point of physical strength, to
overwhelm two or three such armies as Aureng-Zebe's,
whose utmost number could not exceed forty thousand
men of all arms, and these harassed and nearly worn out
by long marches under a vertical sun. Yet, notwithstand-
ing this disparity of numbers, no one seemed to presage
success to Dara; the only troops on whose fidelity he could
depend being with the army under Soliman-Chekouht and
the principal Omrahs having manifested symptoms of dis-
affection to his interests. His friends, therefore, earnestly
recommended him not to hazard an engagement. Chah-
Jehan was most urgent on this point, offering, infirm as he

1 The traders in the ' Regimental Bazaar ' of a modern Indian can-
tonment or camp, so familiar to all Anglo- Indians.

44 HISTORY OF THE STATES

was, to assume the chief command, and to face Aureng-Zebes
army. This scheme was admirably adapted to preserve
peace, and to arrest the progress of that haughty prince :
neither he nor Morad-Bakche would probably have felt
disposed to fight against their father: or, if they had
ventured upon such a step, their ruin must have been the
consequence ; for Chah-Jehan was popular among all the
Omrahs, and the whole army, including the troops under
the two brothers, was enthusiastically attached to his
person.

VAVAmWAVAVA

FIG. 2. — The Emperor Shah Jahan.

Failing in their attempt to prevent an appeal to the
sword, Dam's friends exhausted every argument to dis-
suade him, at least, from acting with precipitancy, and to
induce him to delay the battle until the arrival of Soliman-
Chekouh, who was hastening to his assistance. This also
was sound advice, the young Prince being generally be-
loved, and returning at the head of a victorious army,
composed of soldiers, as I have before observed, attached

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 45

to Dara. But he rejected this, as he had done the former
proposition, and remained inflexible in his resolution to an-
ticipate Aureng-Zebe and bring him immediately to action.
If indeed Dara could have commanded fortune, and
controlled events, his own reputation and peculiar interest
might have been promoted by such a procedure. These
were the considerations that actuated him, and which he
could not altogether conceal : — he was master of the
King's person ; in possession of his treasure, and enjoying
undivided authority over the royal armies. 'Sultan Sujah
was already half ruined ; his other brothers were come,
with a weak and worn-out army, voluntarily, as it were, to
throw themselves into his hands. Once defeated, they
would have no way of escape ; he would then become
absolute lord, attain the end of his labours, and ascend
the throne without competition or difficulty. If he in-
trusted the management of the campaign to his father, an
amicable accommodation would take place; his brothers
would return quietly to their respective provinces ; Chah-
Jehan, whose health was evidently improving, would
resume the reins of government, and affairs revert to their
former state. If, again, he awaited the arrival of his son
Soliman-Chekouh, the King might employ the interval in
forming some design to his disadvantage, or enter into
negotiation with Aureng-Zebe injurious to his interests ;
and, admitting that after the junction of his son's army, a
battle were fought and gained, the part which he might
have had in the success of the day would be denied him,
and the honour of the achievement rest with Soliman-
Chekouh, whose military reputation was already known
and established. Then, who could tell the effect which the
general applause might produce on his youthful and ardent
mind, countenanced as he would be by his grandfather
and many of the chief Omrahs ? There was no saying how
boundless his ambition might become, or how little it
might be restrained by the affection and respect he owed
to his father.

HISTORY OF THE STATES

Such were the reasons which induced Dara to turn a
deaf ear to the voice of prudence and friendship. He
ordered the whole army to take the field, and presented
himself before Chah-Jehan, then in the fortress of Agra,
for the purpose of bidding him farewell. As his father
embraced him, the unhappy old man shed tears ; but
addressing him in a grave and serious tone, he said,
' Well, my son, since you will have it your own way, may
heaven bless your undertaking ! but remember this — my
injunction — if the battle be lost have a care how you come
again into my presence ! ' Little impressed with these
words, Dara took a hasty leave of the King, and marched
his army to the river Tchembel,1 about twenty leagues from
Agra, where having fortified himself he waited with con-
fidence the arrival of the enemy. But the quick-sighted
and wily Fakire, who was everywhere provided with spies,
fully aware of the difficulty of passing the river when thus
defended, came indeed, and encamped sufficiently near to
have his tents descried by Dara, but was at the same time
intriguing with a Raja of the name of Chempet,2 whom he
gained over by presents and promises, and through whose
territory he obtained permission to march his army for
the purpose of reaching speedily that part of the river
where it is fordable. Chempet even undertook to be his
guide through forests and over mountains which perhaps
were considered impracticable by Dara; and Aureng-Zebe,
leaving his tents standing to deceive his brother, had
crossed with his troops to the other side of the river 3
almost as soon as the enemy was apprised of his departure.
In this emergency, Dara was compelled to abandon his
fortifications, and pursue Aureng-Zebe, who advanced by
rapid strides towards the river Gemna, on the banks of
which he had time to intrench himself, refresh his men,
and in his turn, await composedly the approach of the

1 Chumbul, a river which rises near the military station of Mhow,
one of the principal tributaries of the Jumna.

8 Champat Raf, a chief of the Bundelas. 3 That is, the Chumbul.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 47

enemy. The position chosen by him was five leagues
distant from Agra, the name of the place which was
formerly called Samonguer,1 is now Faleabad, that is to say
the Place of Victory. Dara soon came up, and encamped
also near the banks of the same river,2 between Agra and
the army of Aureng-Zebe.

The two armies remained in sight of each other three
or four days without coming to an engagement. During
this interval, Chah-Jehan sent letter upon letter to Dara,
apprising him of Soliman-Chekouh' s near approach, and
entreating him to do nothing rashly or prematurely ; but
to draw closer to Agra, and select advantageous ground
whereon to intrench his army until the arrival of his son.
The only answer returned by Dara to these letters was,
that three days should not elapse ere he brought Aureng-
Zebe and Morad-Bakche, bound hands and feet, to his
father, who might pass such judgment upon his rebellious
sons as to him should seem meet. This answer de-
spatched, he prepared for battle.

He placed the whole of his cannon in front, linked
together by chains of iron, in order that no space might
be left for the entrance of the enemy's cavalry. Immedi-
ately in the rear of the cannon, he ranged a line of light
camels, on the forepart of whose bodies small pieces of
ordnance, somewhat resembling swivels in our vessels,
were fixed :3 these the rider could charge and discharge at
pleasure, without being obliged to dismount. Behind
these camels was posted the most considerable part of the
musketeers. The rest of the army consisted principally
of cavalry, armed either with sabres, and those kind of
half-pikes used by the Ragipom ; or with sabres and bows-
and-arrows ; which latter weapon is generally used by the

1 Samugarh. 2 The Jumna.

3 Camel swivel-guns, known by the name of Zambiiraq^ or ' Little
Wasp,' also called Shahin, the name for the 'Royal Falcon.' Com-
pare the falcon-beaked hammers of the i6th century and the old falcon
and falconet pieces.

48 HISTORY OF THE STATES

Mogoh, that is (according to the present acceptation ol
the term MogoP) foreigners whose complexions are white,
and who profess Mahometanism ; such as Persians, Turks,
Arabs, and Usbeks.

The army was formed into three divisions. The com-
mand of the right wing, consisting of thirty thousand
Mogols, was given to Calil-uHah-Kan, and the left wing was
intrusted to Rustdm-Kan Dakny, a brave and famous captain,
conjointly with the Rajas Chatresale1 and Ramseingue
Routle. Calil-ullah had been made Bakchis, or grand-master
of the horse, in the stead of Danechmend-Khan (afterwards
my Agak)2 who resigned that situation because he knew
that he had incurred Dara's displeasure by his solicitude to
uphold the sole and unshackled authority of Chah-Jehan.

Aureng-Zebe and Morad-Bakche made a nearly similar
disposition of their forces, excepting that among the
troops of the Ornrahs, stationed on either flank, a few
pieces of field artillery were intermixed and concealed ; a
stratagem invented, it is said, by Emir-Jemla, and attended
with some success. I am not aware that in this battle3
recourse was had to any other artifice, unless it were that
here and there were placed men who threw bannes* which
are a sort of grenade attached to a stick, and which were
thrown, from various parts of the line, among the enemy's
cavalry, and which produced the effect of terrifying the
horses, and sometimes of killing the men.

It cannot be denied that the cavalry of this country
manoeuvre with much ease, and discharge their arrows
with astonishing quickness ; a horseman shooting six
times before a musketeer can fire twice. They also pre-

1 Rajas Chhattar or Sattar, Sal, and Ram Singh Rautela.

2 Superior or Master, always used by Bernier in an affectionate sense
when talking of Danishmand Khan.

* For Khaff Khan's account of this battle (in the Muntakhabu-l
Lubdb), which was fought on the 28th May 1658, see pp. 220-226, vol.
vii. of Sir H. M. Elliot's History of India, as told by its own Historians.
Edited and continued by Professor John Dowson.

4 The Hindostanee ban, a rocket.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 40

serve excellent order, and keep in a compact body, espe-
cially when charging the enemy. But, after all, I do not
think very highly of their proficiency in the art of war
as compared with our well-equipped armies, for reasons
which I shall mention in another part of this work.

The preparations I have described being completed,
the artillery of both armies opened their fire, the invari-
able mode of commencing an engagement ; and the
arrows were already thick in the air, when suddenly there
fell a shower of rain so violent as to interrupt the work of
slaughter for a while. The weather had no sooner cleared
than the sound of cannon was again heard, and Dara was
at this time seen seated on a beautiful elephant of Ceylon,
issuing his orders for a general onset ; and, placing him-
self at the head of a numerous body of horse, advanced
boldly toward the enemy's cannon. He was received
with firmness, and soon surrounded by heaps of slain.
And not only the body which he led to the attack, but
those by which he was followed, were thrown into dis-
order. Still did he retain an admirable calmness, and
evince his immoveable determination not to recede. He
was observed on his elephant looking about him with an
undaunted air, and marking the progress of the action.
The troops were animated by his example, and the fugi-
tives resumed their ranks ; the charge was repeated, but
he could not come up to the enemy before another volley
carried death and dismay among the assailants : many
took to flight ; but the greater part seemed to have im-
bibed Dara's spirit, and followed their intrepid com-
mander, until the cannon were forced, the iron chains
disengaged, the enemy's camp entered, and the camels
and infantry put completely to the rout. It was now that
the cavalry of both armies coming in contact, the battle
raged with the greatest fierceness. Showers of arrows
obscured the air, Dara himself emptying his quiver: these
weapons, however, produce but little effect, nine out of
ten flying over the soldiers' heads, or falling short. The

arrows discharged, the sword was drawn, and the con-
tending squadrons fought hand to hand, both sides ap-
pearing to increase in obstinacy in proportion as the
sword performed its murderous work. During the whole
of this tremendous conflict, Dara afforded undeniable
proofs of invincible courage, raising the voice of encour-
agement and command, and performing such feats of
valour that he succeeded at length in overthrowing the
enemy's cavalry, and compelling it to fly.

Aureng-Zebe, who was at no great distance, and mounted
also on an elephant, endeavoured, but without success, to
retrieve the disasters of the day. He attempted to make
head against Dara with a strong body of his choicest
cavalry ; but it was likewise driven from the field in great
confusion. Here I cannot avoid commending his bravery
and resolution. He saw that nearly the whole of the
army under his immediate command was defeated and
put to flight ; the number which remained unbroken and
collected about his person not exceeding one thousand —
I have been told it scarcely amounted to five hundred,
— he found that Dara, notwithstanding the extreme
ruggedness of the ground which separated them, evidently
intended to rush upon his remaining little band ; yet did
he not betray the slightest symptom of fear, or even an
inclination to retreat; but calling many of his principal
officers by name, called aloud to them, Delirane!1 (Courage,
my old friends) — I am repeating his exact words — Koda-
he 2 (there is a God). What hope can we Jind in flight ?
Know ye not where is our Decan ? Koda-he ! Koda-he ! And
then, to remove all doubt of his resolution, and to show
that he thought of nothing less than a retreat, he com-
manded (a strange extremity surely !) that chains should

1 Dil iydrdnd.

8 KhudA hai, but the short, clipped utterance of one accustomed
to the Deccanee accent is here reproduced exactly. A pleasant piece
of evidence of the correctness and care with which Bernier wrote. His
whole narrative is full of similar instances. See p. 76.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 51

be fastened round the feet of his elephant ; a command
he would undoubtedly have seen obeyed, if all those who
were about him had not given the strongest assurances
of their unsubdued spirit and unshaken fidelity.

Dam all this time meditated an advance upon Aureng-
Zebe, but was retarded by the difficulty of the ground and
by the enemy's cavalry, which, though in disorder, still
covered the hills and plains that intervened between the
two commanders. Certainly he ought to have felt that
without the destruction or capture of his brother, victory
would be incomplete ; nor should he have suffered any
consideration to move him from his purpose of attacking
Aureng-Zebe, now that he was so clearly incapable of
offering effectual resistance. He had an easy opportunity
to crush this formidable rival ; but the circumstance I am
about to relate distracted his attention, and saved Aureng-
Zebe from the impending danger,

Dara perceived at this critical moment that his left
wing was in disorder ; and some one then brought him
intelligence of the deaths of Eustum-Kan and Chatresale,
and of the imminent peril into which Ramseingue Routle
was placed in consequence of having valiantly burst
through the enemy, by whom he was, however, entirely
surrounded. Dara then abandoned the idea of pushing
toward Aureng-Zebe, and determined to fly to the succour
of the left wing. After a great deal of hard fighting,
Dams presence turned the tide of fortune, and the enemy
was driven back at all points ; but the rout was not so
complete as to leave him without occupation. Mean-
while Ramseingue Routle was opposed to Momd-Bakche,
and performing prodigies of valour. The Raja wounded
the Prince, and approached so near as to cut some of his
elephant's girths, hoping in that way to bring his antago-
nist to the earth ; but the intrepidity and adroitness of
Morad-Bakche did not permit him to accomplish his object.
Though wounded and beset on all sides by the Ragipous,
the Prince disdained to yield : he dealt his blows with

52 HISTORY OF THE STATES

terrible effect, throwing at the same time his shield over
his son, a lad of seven or eight years of age, seated at his
side ; and discharged an arrow with so unerring an aim
that the Ramseingue Routle fell dead on the spot.1

It was not long before Dara was made acquainted with
the serious loss he had sustained ; and hearing also that
Morad-Bakche was hemmed in by the Ragipous, rendered
furious by the death of their master, he determined, not-
withstanding every obstacle, to advance to the attack of
that Prince ; the only measure by which he could hope to
repair the error committed in suffering Aureng-Zebe to
escape : but even this step was rendered abortive by an
act of treachery, which involved Dara in immediate and
irretrievable ruin.

Calil-ullah-Kan, who commanded the right wing, consist-
ing of thirty thousand Mogols, a force which alone was
sufficient to destroy Aureng-Zebe s army, kept aloof from
the engagement, while Dara, at the head of the left wing,
fought with courage and success. The traitor pretended
that his division was designed for a corps of reserve, and

1 Khafi Khan in his account of the battle tells us that ' At this
moment Raja Ram Singh, a man highly renowned among the Rajputs
for his bravery, wound a string of costly pearls round his head, and
with his men clothed in yellow, as bent upon some desperate action,
charged upon the elephant of Murad Bakhsh, and cried out defiantly,
"What, do you contest the throne with Dara Shukoh?" hurled his
javelin against Murad Bakhsh. Then he cried out fiercely to the
elephant-driver, "Make the elephant kneel down ! " Murad Bakhsh,
having warded off his assault, shot him in the forehead with an arrow
and killed him. The Rajputs who followed that daring fellow mostly
fell dead around the feet of the Prince's elephant, and made the ground
as yellow as a field of saffron. '

It was their practice to anoint their faces and hands with a prepara-
tion of turmeric, to show that they were come forth prepared to die.
Occasionally they dressed in orange-coloured garments, emblematic of
the followers of Mahadeo.

Prior to the onslaught of Raja Ram Singh, it is recorded by Khafi
Khan that Murad Bakhsh, seeing that his elephant, on account of its
being covered with arrow, spear, and battle-axe wounds, was likely to
turn away, ordered a chain to be cast round its legs.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 58

that he could not, consistently with his orders, move one
step, or discharge a single arrow, until the last extremity :
but the blackest perfidy was the cause of his inaction.

Some years prior to this period, Calil-ullah had suffered
the indignity of having been shoebeaten * at the hands of
Dara, and he considered the hour arrived when he might
gratify the resentment which had never ceased to rankle
in his bosom. His abstinence from all share in the battle
did not, however, produce the mischief intended, Dara
having proved victorious without the co-operation of the
right wing. The traitor, therefore, had recourse to another
expedient. He quitted his division, followed by a few
persons, and riding with speed towards Dara precisely at
the moment when that Prince was hastening to assist in
the downfall of Morad-Bakche, he exclaimed, while
yet at some distance, ' Mohbarek-bad, Hazaret, Salamet,
Elhamd-ulellah : May you be happy ! May your Majesty
enjoy health and reign in safety ! Praise be to Allah, the
victory is your own ! But, my God ! why are you still
mounted on this lofty elephant? Have you not been
sufficiently exposed to danger ? If one of the numberless
arrows, or balls, which have pierced your kotvda2 had

1 Tavernier (Travels, vol. i. p. 143) states that Shah Jahan, when
Prince Kurum, during the siege of Daulatabad, being offended at some-
thing that Azam Khan, one of the generals, had said, 'became so enraged
that, sending at once for one of his paposhes or slippers, which they
leave at the door, had him given five or six strokes with it on the
head ; this in INDIA is the highest affront, after which it is impossible
for a man to show himself.'

2 In the original, dais, which exactly describes the 'pad,' with a
canopy, the war harness of the Mogul's elephants. Howdah (howda,
more correctly) from the Arabic, haiidaj, a camel litter, ought strictly
speaking to be applied to the well-known framed seat used for State
purposes, sporting, etc. (See note on next page.) For much curious
information in this connection, consult the work by Christopher
Petri, of Hartenfels, entitled, Elephantographia cuiiosa, seu elephanti
descriptio . . . multisque selectis observationibus physicis, medicis et
jucundis historiis referta, cumfiguris aneis . . . Erfordia . . .1715,

I vol. quarto, which is rather a scarce book.

54 HISTORY OF THE STATES

touched your person, who can imagine the dreadful
situation to which we should be reduced ? In God's name
descend quickly and mount your horse ; nothing now re-
mains but to pursue the fugitives with vigour. I entreat
your Majesty permit them not to escape/

Had Dara considered the consequences of quitting the
back of his elephant on which he had displayed so much
valour, and served as a rallying-point to the army, he would
have become master of the Empire ; but the credulous
Prince, duped by the artful obsequiousness of Calil-ullah,
listened to his advice as though it had been sincere. He
descended from the elephant, and mounted his horse ;
but a quarter of an hour had not elapsed when, suspecting
the imposture, he inquired impatiently for Calil-ullah-Kan.
The villain was not, however,within his reach : he inveighed
vehemently against that officer, and threatened him with
death ; but Dara's rage was now impotent, and his menace
incapable of being executed. The -troops having missed
their Prince, a rumour quickly spread that he was killed,
and the army betrayed ; an universal panic seized them ;
every man thought only of his own safety, and how to
escape from the resentment of Aureng-Zebe. In a few
minutes the army seemed disbanded, and (strange and
sudden reverse !) the conqueror became the vanquished.
Aureng-Zebe remained during a quarter of an hour steadily
on his elephant, and was rewarded with the crown of
Hindoustan : Dara left his own elephant a few minutes too
soon, and was hurled from the pinnacle of glory, to be
numbered among the most miserable of Princes : — so short-
sighted is man, and so mighty are the consequences which
sometimes flow from the most trivial incident.1

1 Khaff Khan states that after the death of Rustam Khan and Raja
Sattar Sal, Dara became discouraged and knew not what to do. * Just
at this time a rocket struck the kowda of his elephant. This alarmed
and discouraged him so much that he dismounted in haste without even
waiting to put on his slippers, and he then without arms mounted a horse.
The sight of this ill-timed alarm, and of the empty hoivday after he
had changed his elephant for a horse, disheartened the soldiers. The

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 55

These immense armies frequently perform great
feats ; but when thrown into confusion it is impossible to
restore them to discipline. They resemble an impetuous
river which has burst its banks ; and whose waters, un-
restrained in their course, disperse over the surrounding
country, while no means can be devised to arrest them in
their career of desolation. I could never see these soldiers,
destitute of order, and marching with the irregularity of a
herd of animals, without reflecting upon the ease with which
five-and-twenty thousand of our veterans from the army in
Flanders, commanded by Prince Conde * or Marshal Turenne?
would overcome these armies, however numerous. I am
no longer incredulous, or even astonished, when I read of
the exploits of the ten thousand Greeks, or of the achieve-
ments of the fifty thousand Macedonians under Alexander,
though opposed to six or seven hundred thousand men ;
if, indeed, it be true that the armies of Darius amounted
to so many, and that the servants, and various other persons
employed to procure provisions, were not comprehended
in this number. By receiving the onset with their usual
steadiness, the French troops would throw any Indian army
into consternation ; or they might, as Alexander did, direct
their chief effort to a particular part of the line ; and the
success attending such a movement would fill the enemy with
terror, and occasion an immediate and general dispersion.

Aureng-Zebe determined to derive every possible benefit
from this unexpected and almost miraculous victory ; and,

men lost heart in sympathy with their leader, and began to think of
flight. Just at this time, as one of his attendants was girding him
with a quiver, a cannon-ball carried off the man's right hand and he fell
dead. The sight of this struck terror into the hearts of those around
him ; some of them dispersed, and others fled from the fatal field.
Dara, beholding the dispersion of his followers, and the repulse of his
army, prizing life more than the hope of a crown, turned away and fled.'

1 Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, usually known as ' Conde the
Great,' born 1621, died in 1681.

2 Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, one of the
great soldiers of France, was born in 1611, and died in 1675.

56 HISTORY OF THE STATES

to ensure the attainment of the sole object of his desire,
absolute dominion,, resorted to every kind of unprincipled
base intrigue. The perfidious Calil-ullah-Kan soon appeared
in his presence, proffering his submission, and the services of
whatever portion of the troops he might seduce from their
first allegiance. The Prince thanked him, and loaded him
with promises, but was cautious not to receive him in his
own name. He carried him at once to Morad-Bakche, by
whom the traitor was hailed, as may easily be imagined,
with every profession of kindness. During this interview
Aureng-Zebe addressed his brother as his acknowledged
King and Sovereign, observing to Calil-ullah-Kan that it was
Morad-Bakche alone who was qualified to wear the crown,
and that the victory was gained only by the skilful conduct
and irresistible valour of that Prince.1

Notwithstanding this semblance of fealty to his younger
brother, Aureng-Zebe was actively employed day and night
in writing to the Omrahs, whom he brought over gradually
to his party. Chah-hest-kan? his uncle, was unwearied in
promoting the views of his nephew, and was indeed an
invaluable coadjutor, being active, intelligent, and pos-
sessed of extensive influence. He had the reputation of
writing the most insinuating letter, and using the most
persuasive eloquence, of any man in Hindoustan. It is
known that owing to some real or imaginary affront he
greatly disliked Dara, and therefore embraced this oppor-
tunity of contributing to his downfall. Aureng-Zebe con-
cealed under the garb of disinterestedness and purity of
intention his raging passion for sovereignty. Everything
that was done, the negotiations entered into, and the pro-

1 It is stated by Khafi Khan that the howdah which Murad Baksh
used during the battle was stuck as thick with arrows as a porcupine
with quills, so that the ground of it was not visible. Also that it was
kept in the store-house in the fort of the capital (Delhi) as a curiosity,
and as a memorial of the bravery of that descendant of the house of
Tjmur, remaining there till about 1713.

2 Shaista Khan (see p. 13) was a son of the wazir Asaf Khan, and
brother of Shah Jahan's wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 57

mises made, all was in Morad-Bakche s name : from him every
command was to emanate, and he was to be regarded as the
future King. Aureng-Zebe acted only as his lieutenant, as
his zealous and dutiful subject ; the turmoils of government
were ill suited to the disposition of his mind ; to live and
die as a Fakire was his firm and inflexible resolution !

As for Dara, he was weighed down with dispondency
and terror. He repaired with all diligence to Agra, but
did not venture into his father's presence ; for his last
stern injunction,1 ' Remember, Dara, if thou art defeated,
never return to me/ still sounded in his ear. The good
old man nevertheless sent a faithful eunuch in secret to
condole with the unhappy Prince, to assure him of his
unalterable affection, and of the grief into which he was
plunged by the late disaster. ' But,' added the King,
' there is surely no reason for despair while an army under
Sohman-Chekouh remains. For the present, I advise you
to take the road to Dehli, where you will find a thousand
horses in the royal stables ; and the governor of the fort
has my orders to furnish you with money and elephants.
You should not withdraw to a greater distance than
prudence may demand ; I shall write frequently, and wish
you to be within easy reach of my letters. I still think I
possess the means of bringing Aureng-Zebe into my power,
and of inflicting due chastisement upon him.' So utterly
cast down, so absorbed in sorrow was Dara, that he could
frame no answer to this affecting communication, or even
transmit a formal acknowledgment of it to his father. He
sent several messages to Begum-Saheb, and departed at
midnight, with his wife, daughters, and his youngest son
Sepe-Chekouh? accompanied, and this is almost incredible,
by not more than three or four hundred persons. Let

1 See p. 46.

2 Dara Shikoh was married, when in his twentieth year, to the
Princess Nadira, the daughter of his uncle, Sultan Parwez, by whom
he had two sons, Sulaiman Shikoh and Sipihr Shikoh, who shared the
ill-fortunes of their father, both dying in prison in the fort of Gwalior.

58 HISTORY OF THE STATES

him pursue his melancholy way to Dehli, while we con-
sider the deep policy and consummate address which
marked the conduct of Aureng-Zebe at Agra.

One of his first measures was to gain over, or at least
to sow the seeds of disunion, among the victorious troops
commanded by Soliman-Chekouh, and thus destroy Dam's
last hope of retrieving his fortunes. He, therefore,
represented to the Paja Jesseingue and to Delil-kan, the
principal officers in that army, the utter ruin of Dara's
affairs. The formidable force on which he founded such
confident hopes of success, observed Aureng-Zebe, after sus-
taining a total overthrow, had come over to his standard.
Dara was now a fugitive, unattended by a single regiment,
and must soon fall into his hands ; and, with respect to
Chah-Jehan, such was the state of his health, that no
expectation could be entertained of his surviving many
days. It was evident that they were engaged in a cause
which was now desperate, and that a longer adherence to
Dara's fallen fortune would be extremely imprudent. He
counselled them to con'sult their best interests by joining
his army, and bringing with them Soliman-Chekouh, whose
person they might easily seize.

Jesseingiie hesitated for some time as to the line of con-
duct he should pursue. He still feared Chah-Jehan and
Dara, and dreaded the consequence of laying hands
on a Royal Personage; a violence not likely to escape
punishment, sooner or later, though that punishment
should be inflicted by Aureng-Zebe himself. He was
acquainted, too, with the high and undaunted spirit of
Soliman-Chekouh, and could have no doubt that the Prince
would die rather than submit to the loss of liberty.

At last this was what he determined upon. After
having taken counsel with Delil-kan his great friend, and
having renewed oaths of fealty to each other, it was
decided between them that Jesseingue should straightway
repair to Soliman-Chekouh' s tent, show him the overtures
made by Aureng-Zebe, and disclose frankly the whole state

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 59

of his mind. ' I ought not to disguise from you/ he told
the Prince,, ' the danger of your situation : you can depend
neither upon Delil-kan, or Daoud-kan,1 nor upon any part
of the troops ; and, by advancing to the relief of your
father, you may involve yourself in irretrievable ruin. In
this emergency you cannot do better than seek refuge in
the mountains of Serenaguer.2 The Raja of that country
will receive you kindly ; his territory is inaccessible, and |
he can be in no dread of Aureng-Zebe. While in this
secure retreat, you may calmly observe the progress of
events, and descend from your mountains when a favour-
able occasion shall arise/ 3

The young Prince could not fail to understand from
this discourse that he had lost all authority both with
the Raja and the troops ; and that he should endanger
the safety of his own person if he refused to relinquish
the command : he yielded, therefore, to the sad necessity
of the case, and proceeded toward the mountains. He
was attended by a few affectionate friends, chiefly Manseb-
dars* and Saieds, and others who considered themselves

1 Probably Daud Khan, Kureshi, who became commander of 5000
in the reign of Alamgir. In the year 1670 he was appointed governor
of Allahabad.

2 Srinagar, in what is now the Garhwal District of the North-West
Provinces, a wild mountain country along the valley of the Alaknanda
River. Srinagar, the name of the principal village in the district, was
in Bernier's time the capital of the Garhwal Rajas ; it is now to a great
extent deserted. Many writers and commentators have confounded
this place with the Srinagar in Kashmir. The position of this
(Garhwal) Srinagar, is shown with considerable accuracy, titled
Serenagher, on the map of the Mogol Empire in the first edition,
Paris, 1670, of The History of the late Rebellion, etc., and titled Seren-
agher monies, on the map in the early Dutch edition, Amsterdam,
1672 (see the reproductions at pp. 238 and 454), and also in other
editions.

3 Sulaiman Shikoh was afterwards given up by the Raja (called the
Zamindar of Srinagar in the 'Amal-i Sdlih of Muhammad Salih
Kambu) in 1670 to the officers of Aurangzeb. See p. 105.

4 Mansabdars, commanders, officers, from mansab, Pers. *a com-
mand.'

60 HISTORY OF THE STATES

bound to follow him. The bulk of the army remained
with the Raja and Delil-Kan, who had the baseness to
send a body of men to plunder the Prince's baggage.
Among other booty, they seized an elephant laden with
Roupies1 of gold. Many of Soliman-Chekouh' s attendants,
discouraged by this disgraceful outrage, deserted him, and
the peasantry, after spoiling them, even assassinated many
of the Prince's followers. He made his way, however, to
the mountains with his wife and family, and was received
with the honours due to his rank ; the Raja of Serena guer2
assuring him he should be in perfect security while in his
territory, and that he would assist him with all his forces.
We must now resume the thread of our narrative, as it
relates to what took place at Agra.

Three or four days after the battle of Samonguer
Aureng-Zebe and Morad-Bakche presented themselves be-
fore the gate of the city, in a garden, about a league distant
from the fortress. They then despatched a message to
Chah-Jehan, by an eunuch in the confidence of Aureng-
Zebe, and possessing all his address and deceit. This man
saluted the aged Monarch in the name of his master, as-
sured him of his undiminished respect and affection, and
expressed his deep sorrow for the events which had re-
cently taken place, events attributable to the inordinate
ambition and sinister designs of Darn. He begged leave
most sincerely to congratulate his august parent on the
improvement which was manifesting itself in the state of
his health, and declared that he was come to Agra only
to receive and execute his commands.

Chah-Jehan affected to approve of his son's conduct, and
expressed himself satisfied with these expressions of alle-
giance. He was, however, too well acquainted with
his hypocrisy and love of power, to place any confidence

1 Gold mohurs in fact, called ' Gold Roupies,' by many of the old
travellers.

8 Srfnagar in Garhwal. See p. 92.
8 Samugarh, nine miles east of Agra. See p. 47.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 61

in his protestations ; yet, instead of acting with decision,
showing himself to his people, and assembling his Omrahs,
for which there was still time, he chose rather to try his
own skill in artifice and dissimulation with Aureng-Zebe,
who surpassed all men in both. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the father fell into the snare which he had
spread for his son. He sent a trusty eunuch to say how
sensible he was not only of the improper behaviour of
Dam, but also of his incapacity; to remind Aureng-Zebe
of the peculiar tenderness he had ever borne him, and to
request he would visit his affectionate father, that such
arrangements might be concluded as the present distracted
state of affairs rendered necessary. The cautious Prince
likewise mistrusted Chah-Jehan ; for he knew that Begum-
Saheb quitted him neither night nor day ; that he was
completely under her control ; that she had dictated the
message, and that there were collected in the fortress
several large and robust Tartar women, such as are em-
ployed in the seraglio, for the purpose of falling upon
him with arms in their hands, as soon as he entered the
fortress. Aureng-Zebe would not, therefore, venture with-
in its walls ; and though he repeatedly fixed the day for
obeying his father's summons, he as often deferred it
to the morrow. Meanwhile, he continued his secret
machinations, and sounded the opinions of the most power-
ful Omrahs, until, having well digested his plans, the
public all at once found to their astonishment that his son,
Sultan Mahmoud, had taken possession of the fortress.
This enterprising young man, having posted a number of
men in the vicinity, entered the place on the plea of
visiting the Mogol with a message from Aureng-Zebe, and
fell suddenly on the guards stationed at the gate ; he was
quickly followed by his men, who overcame the unsuspect-
ing garrison, and made themselves masters of the fortress.
If ever man was astonished, that man was Chah-Jehan
when he perceived that he had fallen into the trap he
had prepared for others, that he himself was a prisoner,

62 HISTORY OF THE STATES

and Aureng-Zebe in possession of the fort. It is said that
the unhappy Monarch sent at once a message to Sultan
Mahmoud, promising, on his crown and the Koran, to nomi-
nate him King, provided he served him faithfully in this
conjuncture. f Come to me/ added the Mogol, ' and lose
not this opportunity of delivering your grandfather from
prison ; an act which will obtain for you the blessing of
heaven, and a glorious name that shall never die.'

If Sultan Mahmoud had possessed sufficient daring to
close with these proposals, it appears extremely probable
that he might have supplanted his father. Chah-Jeharis
influence was still powerful, and if he had been permitted
to leave the citadel, and to assume the personal command
of the troops, I have reason to believe that they would
have acknowledged his authority, and the leading Omrahs
remained faithful to his government. Aureng-Zebe would
not himself have been bold or savage enough to fight
against his own father in person, especially as he must
have thought that he would have been abandoned by
every one, possibly by Morad-Bakche himself.

It is the general opinion that Sultan Mahmoud com-
mitted the same error upon this occasion as his grand-
father had done after the battle of Samongiier and flight
of Dara. And, as I am again led to the subject, it is
fair I should observe that there are several politicians
who contend that, considering all the circumstances
of his situation, the aged Monarch, after the battle and
the defeat of Dara, adopted the most prudent course
in remaining within the fortress, and endeavouring to
overcome Aureng-Zebe by stratagem. It is the vulgar
practice, these people say, to judge of the wisdom of
every plan according to the event by which it is followed :
the worst-digested schemes are frequently attended with
success, and then they are applauded by all the world ;
and if, as there was reason to expect, the appearance of
affection and goodwill toward Aureng-Zebe, assumed by
Cfiah-Jehan, had enabled him to seize the person of that

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 63

Prince, he would be extolled for sagacity and wisdom, as
much as he is now contemned for being, as is injuriously
said, a mere driveller, guided by his Begum,1 a woman
whose passions blinded her understanding, and whose
vanity led her to believe that Aureng-Zebe would hasten
to visit her ; in other words, that the bird would, of his
own accord, fly into the cage. But to return to Sultan
Mahmoud. — It is inconceivable, according to the poli-
ticians of this country, that he did not eagerly grasp at a
sceptre which seemed to fall into his hands; especially
when, by thus gratifying his ambition, he would have
gained a reputation for tenderness and generosity. By
restoring his grandfather to freedom this young Prince
might have become the sovereign arbiter of affairs ;
whereas he is now probably destined to terminate his
existence in Goiialeor.2

Few will believe that Sultan Mahmoud was restrained
by a sense of duty to his father from acceding to the
wishes of Chah-Jehan : it is more likely that he doubted
the sincerity of the King's promises, and felt all the
danger of disputing the crown with a man endued with
the mental energy and imposing talents of Aureng-Zebe.
Whatever were his motives, he disregarded the offers of
the unhappy prisoner, and even refused to enter his
apartments, alleging that he was not authorised to visit
him, but had received positive orders not to return to his
father without carrying away with him the keys of every
gate in the fort, in order that Aureng-Zebe might come
in perfect security for the purpose of kissing his Majesty's
feet. For the space of nearly two days, Chah-Jehan could
not persuade himself to surrender the keys ; but observing
that his people were gradually deserting him, especially
the soldiers stationed at the little gate, and that he was
no longer safe, he delivered the keys at length into the
hands of Sultan Mahmoud, with an injunction to Aureng-
Zebe to come to him without further delay, if he were wise,

1 That is, his daughter, Begum Sahib. 2 See p. 83.

64 HISTORY OF THE STATES

as he had secrets of the greatest moment to disclose. As
may be well supposed Aureng-Zebe was too wary a man,
and knew too much to commit such a glaring blunder,
and so far from obeying the injunction, he immediately
appointed his eunuch Etbarkan governor of the fortress,
by whose orders Chah-Jehan, with Begum-Saheb and the
whole of the women, were closely confined. Many of the
gates were also walled up, and all intercourse between
the Mogol and his friends was effectually prevented. He
was not even permitted to leave his apartment without
the knowledge of the Governor.

At this period Aureng-Zebe wrote a letter to his father
which, before he sealed it, was shown to everybody. ' I
cannot better explain my conduct/ observed the Prince,
'than by stating that while you professed extraordinary
partiality for me, and expressed your displeasure at Dam's
proceedings, I was informed, on indisputable authority,
that you had sent him two elephants laden with golden
roupies. Thus is he furnished with means to collect new
armies, and to prolong this disastrous war ; I, therefore,
put it to you plainly whether I am not driven by his
pertinacity to resort to measures which appear harsh and
unnatural ? Is he not, properly speaking, the cause of
your imprisonment ? and is it not owing to him that I
have so long been deprived of the pleasure of throwing
myself at your feet, and discharging the duties, and pay-
ing the attentions, you have a right to demand from an
affectionate son ? It only remains for me to beg that you
will pardon what now seems strange in my conduct, and
to recommend the exercise of patience under the tempo-
rary loss of liberty ; for be assured that, as soon as Dara
shall be rendered incapable of disturbing our repose, I
shall fly to the citadel, and with my own hands open the
doors of your prison/

I have been told that Chah-Jehan did, in fact, send the
elephants, with the roupies of gold,1 to Dara, on the very
1 See p. 60 text, and footnote 1.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 65

night of his departure from Dehli, and that it was
Rauchenara-Begum who communicated the information to
Aureng-Zebe. That Princess also apprised him of the
presence of the Tartar women, by whom it was intended
he should be assailed when he entered the castle. It is
even said that Aureng-Zebe intercepted some letters written
by his father to Dara.

Many intelligent persons, however, deny the truth of
these allegations, and contend that the letter, thus
generally exhibited, was a mere invention to deceive the
public, and to reconcile them to the outrageous measures
of which the Mogol's adherents had so much right to
complain. Be the truth what it may, it is certain that the
close confinement of Chah-Jchan seemed the signal for
nearly the whole body of Omrahs to pay their court to
Aureng-Zebe and Morad-Bakche. I can indeed, scarcely
repress my indignation when I reflect that there was not a
single movement, nor even a voice heard, in behalf of the
aged and injured Monarch; although the Omrahs, who
bowed the knee to his oppressors, were indebted to him
for their rank and riches, having been, according to the
custom of this court, raised by Chah-Jehan from a state of
the lowest indigence, and many of them even redeemed
from absolute slavery A few there were, such as Danech-
mend-Kan and some others, who espoused no party ; but,
with this small exception, every Omrah declared in favour
of Aureng-Zebe.

It may, however, diminish our censure of this ungrateful
conduct, if we call to mind that the Omrahs of Hindoustan
cannot be proprietors of land, or enjoy an independent
revenue, like the nobility of France and the other states
of Christendom. Their income, as I said before,1 consists
exclusively of pensions which the King grants or takes
away according to his own will or pleasure. When deprived
of this pension, they sink at once into utter insignificance,
and find it impossible even to borrow the smallest sum.

1 See p. 5.
E

66 HISTORY OF THE STATES

The combined Princes, having thus disposed of Chah-
Jehan, and received the homage of the Omrahs, set out in
pursuit of Dara. The royal treasury supplied their
pecuniary wants, and Chah-hest-Kan, the uncle of Aureng-
Zebe, was appointed governor of Agra.

When the day arrived for the departure of the army,
Morad-Bakche' s particular friends, and chief among them
the eunuch Chah-Abas, employed every argument to induce
him to remain with his own troops in the neighbourhood
of Agra and Dehli. An excess of respect, and too smooth
a tongue denoted, they said, a treacherous heart. They
represented to him that being King, and universally
acknowledged as such, even by Aureng-Zebe himself, it was
his wisest policy not to remove from the neighbourhood
of Agra or Dehli, but to let his brother go alone in pursuit
of Dara. Had he been swayed by this prudent counsel,
Aureng-Zebe would indeed have felt greatly embarrassed ;
but it made no impression upon his mind, and he continued
to repose unreserved confidence in his brother's solemn
promises, and in the oaths which they had mutually and
repeatedly sworn on the Koran. The two brothers quitted
Agra together, and took the road to Dehli.

When they halted at Maturas T four short journeys from
Agra, the friends of Morad-Ba/cche, who had seen and heard
enough to excite their suspicion, once more endeavoured
to awaken his fears. They assured him that Aureng-Zebe
entertained some evil design, and that some dreadful plot
was certainly in progress. Of this, information had reached
them from various quarters : he must, therefore, absolutely
abstain from visiting his brother, at least for that day.
Indeed it was advisable, they added, to anticipate, without
delay, the meditated blow ; for which purpose the Prince
need only excuse himself, on the plea of indisposition, from
visiting Aureng-Zebe, who would thus be induced to come to
Morad-Bakche attended, as usual, with very few persons.

1 Mathura (Muttra), on the right bank of the Jumna, about 30 miles
above Agra.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 07

But neither argument nor entreaty could remove the
spell by which he appeared bound. The feigned and
fulsome adulation of Aureng-Zebe had indeed enchanted
the unhappy Prince ; and, notwithstanding the strenuous
efforts of his friends, he accepted an invitation from his
brother for supper. The latter expected him, and had
concerted his measures with Mirkan and three or four other
of his minions. Morad-Bakche was greeted with even more
external courtesy and respect than had been usual since
Aureng-Zebe had marked him for his victim ; tears of joy
seemed to flow, and his brother wiped, with a gentle hand,
the perspiration and dust from the face of the devoted and
credulous Prince. During supper, the utmost good-
humour and conviviality apparently prevailed ; the con-
versation was enlivening and incessant, and at the end of
the repast, a large quantity of the delicious wines of
Chiraz and Caboul was introduced. Aureng-Zebe then rose
softly, and with a countenance that beamed with affection
and delight, said, ' I need not inform your Majesty of the
serious turn of my mind, and that, as a Mahometan, I feel
scruples which do not permit me to indulge in the pleasures
of the table ; but though I deem it my duty to retire, yet
I leave you in excellent company. Mirkan and my other
friends will entertain your Majesty.' An extravagant
fondness for wine was among Morad-Bakche s foibles, and
upon the present occasion, finding it peculiarly good, he
drank to such excess that he became intoxicated, and fell
into a deep sleep. This was precisely the effect which
Aureng-Zebe intended the wine should produce. His
servants were ordered to withdraw that their master
might not be disturbed ; and Mirkan took away both his
sword and dagger.1 It was not long before Aureng-Zebe

1 In the original, ' son sabre et son jemder ou poignard. ' Kjamd/iar
( ? from the Sanscrit Yama-dhdra - ' death-bringer ') was a short,
broad dagger with the ' grip ' at right angles to the blade, between
side guards for the hand. Some had two points (dti- likhdna—*1 two
scratcher,' from likhna, to write or scratch), others were triple-pointed

68 HISTORY OF THE STATES

came to rouse him from his sleep. He entered the
room, and pushing the Prince rudely with his feet^
until he opened his eyes, uttered this short and insolent
reprimand, ' Oh, shame and infamy ! Thou a King and
yet possessing so little discretion ? What will the world
now say of thee, and even of me ? Let this wretched
and drunken man be bound hand and foot, and removed
there within, to sleep away his shame.' The command
was no sooner given than executed ; five or six soldiers
rushed upon Morad-Bakche, and in spite of his cries and
resistance, fetters and handcuffs were applied, and he was
carried away. This violence could not be perpetrated
without the knowledge of his immediate attendants ; they
wished to sound an alarm, and attempted to break into
the apartment ; but they were silenced and overawed by
Allah-Gouty , the chief officer in Morad-Bakche s artillery,
who had long been corrupted by the gold of Aureng-Zebe.
Some agitation soon began, however, to manifest itself
among the troops ; and to prevent the consequences of any
sudden movement, emissaries were busily employed during

(seh-likkdna=t three scratcher '). Shaikh Abul FazI, the Emperor
Akbar's minister and friend, tells us (Ain-i-Akbarl) that 'All weapons
for the use of His Majesty have names, and a proper rank is assigned
to them. Thus there are thirty swords, one of which is daily sent to
His Majesty's sleeping apartments. The old one is returned, and
handed over to the servants outside the Harem, who keep it till its
turn comes again. . . . Of jdmdhars and . . . there are forty of each.
Their turn recurs every week,' vol. i. p. 109, Professor Blochmann's
Translation, Calcutta, 1873. For a great deal of invaluable informa-
tion regarding Eastern swords and daggers, see An Illustrated Hand-
book of Indian arms. . . By the Hon. Wilbraham Egerton, M. A. ,
M. P. Published by order of the Secretary of State for Indict in Council,
London. William H. Allen & Co., 1880.

Catrou, quoting Manouchi, states that the sabre and dagger were
taken away by Aurangzeb's grandson, Azam, son of Prince Muhammad,
a boy of six years of age : ' Oramgzeb as if he intended his brother
only a piece of pleasantry, while sleeping, promised his grandson a
iewel if he could take away from the prince his sabre and his poignard
without awaking him. The child acquitted himself very dexterously of
fhe office, and conveyed the arms of Moradbax into the adjoining tent.'

the night in representing the occurrences in Aureng-Zebe's
tent, as perfectly trifling and unimportant : they were
present (they pretended), and Morad-Bakche having drunk
to excess, had lost his self-possession, and made use of
very intemperate language. Thei*e was no one upon
whom he had not cast injurious reflections,, and he had
even loaded Aureng-Zebe himself with the foulest abuse.
In short, he had grown so quarrelsome and ungovernable,
that it became necessary to confine him apart : but in
the morning, when re-
covered from his night's
debauch, he would be
again set at liberty. In
the mean time, large
bribes and larger pro-
mises were given to all
the superior officers ;
the pay of the whole
army was immediately
augmented; and, as
there were few who
had not long foreseen
the downfall of Morad-
Bakcke, it is not surpris-
ing that when the day
dawned scarcely a trace
of the late partial com-
motion existed. Aureng-
Zebe felt that he might
venture to shut his brother up in a covered einltary} a kind
of closed litter in which women are carried on elephants ;
and in this manner the Prince was conveyed to Dehli, and
incarcerated in the ancient citadel of Selim-guer? which
is situated in the middle of the river.

1 For amdri, a Persian word meaning a covered-in howdah, or litter.

2 Salim-ghar, built by the Emperor SaKm Shah Sur, in the year
1546, and now in ruins.

FIG. 3.— Prince Murad Bakhsh.

70 HISTORY OF THE STATES

The army submitted to this new order of things, with
the exception of the eunuch Chah-Abas, who occasioned
much trouble.1 Aureng-Zebe received the troops lately
under the command of Morad-Bakche into his service;
and resumed the pursuit of Dara, who was advancing with
the utmost expedition on Lahor, with the intention of
fortifying himself in that city, and rendering it the ren-
dezvous for his friends and adherents. But he was pressed
so closely by his eager enemy, that he found it impossible
to fortify that position : he, therefore, continued his retreat
oil the road to Moultan ; but here again the vigour of his
brother's movements disappointed any expectation he
might have formed of maintaining that post. Nothing,
indeed, could exceed the ardour and activity of Aureng-
Zebe. Notwithstanding the great heat of the weather,
his army marched day and night ; and, with a view of
encouraging the troops, he was often two or three leagues
in advance, nearly unattended. Nor did he fare better
than the private men : his meal consisted of dry bread
and impure water, and his bed was the bare ground.

Dara is blamed by the statesmen of this country for
not having taken the route to the kingdom of Caboul
when he abandoned Lahor. He was strongly advised to
adopt that course, and his reasons for refusing such sage
counsel must always be enigmatical. The governor of
Caboul was Mohabet-kan, one of the most ancient and
powerful Omrahs of Hindovgtan, who had never been on
friendly terms with Atireng-Zebe; and there were assembled
in that kingdom above ten thousand troops destined to
act against the Augans,2 the Persians, and the Usbecs. Dara
was amply supplied with money, and there can be little
doubt that the military force of that country and Mohabet-
kan himself would willingly have espoused his cause. It
should also be observed that in Caboul, Dara would have

1 Catrou says that he was deported along with Murad Bakhsh.

2 Afghans, called by the old travellers, Auganes, and sometimes
Agwans.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 71

been on the borders of Persia and Usbec, from which
countries he might have derived considerable support.
He ought indeed to have recollected how Houmayon was
restored to his kingdom by the power of the Persians,
notwithstanding the opposition of Zaher-kan,1 king of
the Patans, by whom he had been expelled. But it was
generally the fate of the unhappy Dara.to undervalue the
opinions of the wisest counsellors ; and upon this occasion,
instead of throwing himself into Caboul, he proceeded
towards Scimdy,2 and sought refuge in the fortress of Tata-
bakar, that strong and celebrated plac3 situated in the
middle of the river Indus.

When Aureng-Zebe knew the point on which Dam was
directing his retreat, he felt it quite unnecessary to con-
tinue the pursuit. Having ascertained that Caboul was
not within the plan of his brother's operations, his mind
was relieved from any serious apprehension ; and sending
only seven or eight thousand men under the command of
Mir-baba, his foster-brother, to watch the movements of
Dara, he retraced his steps towards Agra with the same
expedition he had used in the pursuit of his brother. His
mind, indeed, was harassed by fears of what might happen
in the capital during his absence : some of the powerful
Rajas, such as Jesseingue or Jessomseingue, would, perhaps,
he thought,release Chah-Jehan from prison ; Solima?i-Che/couh,
and the Raja of Serenaguer, might descend as a torrent
from their mountains ; or, finally, Sultan Sujah would

1 Sher Khan Sur, the son of the governor of Jaunpur, for some time
in the service of Muhammad Lohanl, king of Behar. He defeated the
Emperor Humayun in 1539 at Chaunsa in Behar, and in 1540 at Kanauj,
and pursued him until he was driven beyond the Indus. Sher Khan then
became the sovereign of Delhi, ascended the throne in 1542, under the
title of Sher Shah; and died in 1545. After an exile of fifteen years
Humayun returned to India, and became a second time Emperor of
Hindostan.

2 Sind (Scinde). The fortress is at Bukkuron an island in the Indus
between Sukkur and Rohri. Owing to its position it was a stronghold
of great importance.

72 HISTORY OF THE STATES

now probably venture to approach Agra. A slight in-
cident now occurred, which, as it was occasioned by it,
may serve to give an idea of Aureng-Zebe s precipitate
mode of acting.

While on his return from Moultan to Lahor, and when
marching with his accustomed rapidity, he was astonished
to see the Raja Jesseingue at the head of four or five
thousand well-appointed Ragipous, advancing towards
him. Aureng-Zebe had, as usual, preceded his army ; and
being aware of the Rajas strong attachment to Chah-
Jehan, it may easily be imagined that he considered his
situation one of extreme peril. It was natural for him
to conclude that Jesseingue would seize upon so happy
an occasion and by a coup d'etat at once rescue his
venerated sovereign from the iniquitous thraldom under
which he groaned, and inflict condign punishment upon
the unfeeling son from whom he had experienced so
much unprovoked outrage and cruelty. It is, indeed, con-
jectured that the Raja undertook this expedition with
no other design than the capture of Aureng-Zebe, and
there appears ground for the opinion from the fact of his
having been met on the road leading from Lahor to
Moultan, when the information just before received by the
Prince left no doubt upon his mind that the Raja was still
at Dehli ; with such astonishing speed had he conducted
this long march ! But the self-possession of Aureng-Zebe
and his decision of character carried him safely through
the impending danger. He betrayed no symptom of
agitation or alarm, but assuming a countenance expressive
of pleasure at the sight of the Raja, rode directly toward
him, making signs with his hand for him to hasten his
pace, and calling out, 'Salamet bached Raja-gi! Salamet
bached Baba-gi!' Thus hailing him as ' My Lord Rajal
My Lord Father ! ' When the Raja approached, he
said : I cannot describe how impatiently I have waited
to see you. The war is at an end : Darn is ruined
and wanders alone. I have sent Mir-Baba after the

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 73

fugitive ; he cannot possibly escape.' He then took off
his pearl necklace, and, as an act of the utmost courtesy
and condescension, placed it round the neck of the
Raja. ' My army is fatigued, I am anxious you should
immediately proceed to Lahor, for I am apprehensive of
some movement there. I appoint you Governor of the
city, and commit all things to your hands. I shall soon
join you ; but before we part, I cannot avoid returning
my thanks for your manner of disposing of Soliman-Chekouh.
Where have you left Delil-kant I shall know how to
punish him. Hasten to Lahor. Salamet Bachest, Farewell!'
Dam, when arrived at Tata-bakar, nominated an eunuch
distinguished for his intelligence and resolution, Governor
of the fortress, and formed an excellent garrison of Patans,
and Sayeds, and as gunners, a number of Portuguese, English,
French, and Germans. These Europeans were employed
in the artillery, and had been induced by his magnificent
promises to enter into the Prince's service. In the event
of his ascending the throne, it was intended to promote
them to the rank of Omrahs, even although they were
Franks. Depositing his treasure in the fortress, for he still
possessed a large quantity of gold and silver, Dara pursued
his march without delay along the banks of the Indus
towards Scimdy, at the head of but two or three thousand
men ; and traversing with incredible speed the territories of
the Raja Katche J soon reached the province ofGuzarate, and
presented himself before the gates of Amed-Abad. The
Governor of the city was Chah-Navaze-kan,2 the father-in-
law of Aureng-Zebe, descended from the ancient Princes of
Machate 3 [Mascate], a man of no military reputation, but

1 Or as he is now called, the Rao of Cutch (Kachh).

2 Shahnawaz Khan was father-in-law to Murad Bakhsh also, and his
daughter was in Ahmadabad when Dara came there. It was through
her entreaties that Shahnawaz Khan was induced to espouse the cause
of Dara.

3 Muscat (Maskat), the chief town of Oman in Arabia. This is
interesting as it serves to support the statement in the Ma-asiru-l
Umard of 'Abdu-r Razzak al Husainf, that Shahnawaz Khan was a

accomplished, polite, and addicted to pleasure. The city
of Amed-Abad 1 contained a strong garrison, and was in
a condition to oppose a vigorous resistance ; but whether
from failure of courage in the governor, or from his having
been taken by surprise, the gates were opened to Dara
and he was received by Chah-Navaze with every mark of
honour. It seems indeed that this man was so assiduous
in paying court to Dara, that he succeeded in impressing
his mind with an opinion of his devotedness and esteem ;
and although warned of his treacherous character, the
deluded Prince had the imprudence to confide in the
governor's professions, communicating to him the whole
of his plans, and showing him the letters from the Raja
Jessomseingue, and several other faithful adherents, who
were making preparations to join him with all the forces
they could muster.

Aureng-Zebe was equally surprised and perplexed when
he heard that Dara was master of Amed-Abad. He
knew that his pecuniary resources were still considerable,
and he could entertain no doubt that not only his
brother's friends, but malcontents from all parts, would
flock around his standard. He was not insensible of the
importance of following Dara in person and dislodging
him from so advantageous a position : but at the same
time he saw the danger of withdrawing so far from Agra
and Chah-Jehan, and of marching his army into provinces

son of Mirza Rustam Kandahari, a great-grandson of Shah Ismail,
king of Persia. It is usually stated that he was the son of the wazir
Asaph Khan, the Prime Minister of the Emperor Jahangir. For an
account of 'the ancient Princes of Mascate' of Bernier's narrative,
see the late Rev. George Percy Badger's History of the Itndms and
Scyyids of 'Omdn. Translated from the original Arabic. London.
Hakluyt Society, 1871.

1 Situated about 50 miles north of the head of the Gulf of Cambay
and 310 miles from Bombay, on the banks of the Sabarmatai river,
founded, in 1413, by Ahmad Shah on the site of an ancient Hindoo
~.ity, and one of the most splendid towns of India during the i6th and
1 7th centuries.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 75

which comprehended the territories of Jesseingue, Jessom-
seingue, and other powerful Rajas. His attention was also
distracted by the rapid advance of Sultan Sujah — then near
Elabas — with a powerful army, and by the preparations
which he understood were being made by Soliman-Chekouh
in conjunction with the Raja of Serenaguer to take an
active part in the war. He was placed in a critical and
intricate situation ; but his best course, he thought, was
to leave Dara for the present with Chah-Navaze-kan, and
to march toward Sultan Sujah, who had already crossed
the Ganges at Elabas.

Sultan Sujah encamped at a small village called Kadjoue,
a situation which on account of a large talab, or reservoir of
water, was judiciously chosen.1 There he determined to
await the attack of Aureng-Zebe, who, on bringing up his
army, took up a position on the banks of a small river,
distant about a league and a half. Between the two
armies was a spacious plain well adapted for them to
engage. Aureng-Zebe felt impatient to finish the contest,
and on the day after his arrival, leaving his baggage
on the other side of the river, proceeded to the attack.
The Emir-Jemla, erstwhile prisoner in the Decan, joined
him on the morning of the action with the forces he
could collect; the flight of the unhappy Dam having
released his wife and children from captivity, and his own
imprisonment being no longer necessary to the promo-
tion of Aureng-Zebe's designs. The battle was warmly
contested, aud the efforts of the assailants were almost
incredible ; but Sultan Sujah maintained his ground, re-
pulsing every assault with great slaughter, and increasing
Aureng-Zebe's embarrassment by steadily adhering to his

1 ' Shuja's army rested by the tank of Khajwa or Kachhwa' — Amal-
i Sdlih. Now called Khajuha, about 30 miles to the west of Fatehpur-
Haswa in the Fatehpur District, between the Ganges and the Jumna.
The battle was fought on the 5th January 1659. Talab is another
form of the word taldo, meaning an artificial pond, or tank as usually
translated.

76 HISTORY OF THE STATES

plan of not advancing into the plain. To defend the
advantageous and well-fortified position he had selected
was for the present his sole object,, foreseeing that the
heat of the weather would very soon compel his enemy to
retreat to the river, and that it would then be the time to
fall with effect upon his rear-guard. Aureng-Zebe was very
sensible of the reasons which actuated his brother, and
became the more intent on pressing forward. But a new
and unexpected source of uneasiness now presented itself.
He was informed that the Raja Jessomseingue, who had,
with apparent sincerity, entered into terms of amity, had
fallen suddenly upon the rear-guard, routed and put it to
flight, and that he was now employed in pillaging the
baggage and treasure. The news soon spread ; and as is
common in Asiatic armies, the fears of the soldiers multi-
plied the danger. But Aureng-Zebe did not lose his
presence of mind, and being aware that retreat would be
ruinous to his hopes, he determined, as at the battle with
Dara, not to recede, but await with firmness the pro-
gress of events. The disorder spread more and more
among the troops, and Sultan Sujah availing himself of so
unlooked-for an opportunity, commenced a furious attack.
An arrow killed the man who guided Aureng-Zebe 's
elephant ; the animal became unmanageable, and the
danger growing more appalling, he was about to dis-
mount, when Emir-Jemla, who was near him, and whose
conduct the whole of this day excited the admiration of
every beholder, ejaculated with a loud voice, Decankou !
Decankou ! (where is the Decan ?) l and prevented him
from accomplishing his fatal purpose. Aureng-Zebe way

1 This war-cry was probably used somewhat tauntingly in the sense
of ' Where are ye now, O men of the Deccan ? ' See p. 50, footnote2.
This and the war-cries given at p. 50, may be taken as similar to the
' Doun the Gallow-gate, my lads ' of Sir John Moore, to encourage a
regiment in the Peninsula which had a number of Glasgow men in its
ranks ; or to the slogan, ' It 's a far cry to Loch Awe,' and that of the
clan Grant, 'Stand fast, Craigellachie,' so nobly maintained of late by
one of the clan at Thobal.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 77

now to all appearance reduced to the last extremity : his
situation seemed irremediable, and he was every moment
expecting to fall into the enemy's hands. Yet such is the
caprice of fortune, that he was in a few minutes crowned
with victory ; and Sultan Sujah was obliged, like Dam at
the battle of Samonguer, to fly for his life.

Sultan Sujah owed his discomfiture to the same trifling
circumstance as occasioned the defeat of his eldest brother,
— that of descending from his elephant for the sake of
more expeditiously following the retreating foe : but it may
be doubted whether the man by whose advice he acted
was influenced by an honest or a perfidious intention.
Allah-verdi-kan^ one of his principal officers, earnestly
entreated him to mount a horse, and it is remarkable that
he made use of an artifice very similar to that of Calil-ullah-
kan at the battle of Samonguer. He ran towards Sultan
Sujah, and, when yet some way off, saluted him (as did
Calil-ullali-kan), and then, joining his hands in the manner
of fervent entreaty, he said : " Why, my Prince, incur
unnecessary risk on this exalted elephant? do you not
see that the enemy is in complete disorder, and that it
were an unpardonable fault not to pursue him with
alacrity ? Mount your horse, and you are King of the
Indies.' As in the case of Dara, the sudden disappearance
of the Prince from the view of the whole army induced a
general idea that he was either killed or betrayed ; the
troops fell into disorder, and dispersed, without the
possibility of restoring their ranks.2

1 Aliwardi Khan, Governor of Patna, who espoused the cause of
Sultan Shujah, whom he followed to Bengal, where he was killed in
July 1659.

2 See pp. 53, 54. Father Joseph Tieffen thaler, in the article on
' Cadjoua' (Khajuha) in his Description of Hindustan, Berlin, ed. 1791,
p. 234, says that Prince Sujah's elephant fell into a pit (which may have
been a dry well, not uncommon in those parts at the present day) and
that then the Prince fled. Tieffenthaler also states that a fine serai
('caravanserai') at 'Cadjoua' was the one built byAurangzeb to com-
memorate his victory. This fort-like serai, a walled garden (called

HISTORY OF THE STATES

Jessomselngue, perceiving the strange turn that the
action had taken, contented himself with securing the
fruits of his plurder, and without loss of time returned to
Agra, intending to continue his retreat thence to his own
dominions. The rumour had already reached the capital
that Aureng-Zebe had lost the battle ; that he and Emir-
Jernla were taken prisoners, and that Sultan Sujah was
advancing at the head of his victorious army. Chah-hest-
kan, Governor of the city, and the uncle of Aureng-Zebe,
so fully believed the report, that when he saw Jessomseingue,
of whose treason he had been apprised, approach the gate
of the city, he grasped, in his despair, a cup of poison. He
was prevented, however, from swallowing it by the promp-
titude of his women, who threw themselves upon him, and
dashed the cup to the ground. Two days elapsed before
the inhabitants of Agra were undeceived ; and it is not
doubted that the Raja would have succeeded in releasing
Chah-Jehan from confinement had he acted with vigour
and decision; — had he threatened with boldness, and
promised with liberality : but as he was acquainted with
the actual state of affairs, he would neither venture to pro-
long his stay in the capital, nor to undertake any daring
enterprise : he merely marched through the town, and
proceeded homeward, agreeably to his original intention.

Aureng-Zebe was full of inquietude as to the probable
proceedings of Jessomseingue, and expected to hear of a
revolution at Agra. He, therefore, scarcely followed Sultan
Sujah in his retreat, but directed his rapid steps to the
capital with the whole of his army. He soon learnt, how-
ever, that the troops whom he had just encountered, and
who suffered little or no diminution of numbers in the

the Badshahi Bagh, or Royal Garden), and a masonry tank with an
area of fourteen acres, still remain as a memorial of imperial magni-
ficence. The serai has as many as 130 sets of vaulted rooms, three of
which have been thrown into one to serve as a school. The square in
the centre of the serai has an area of ten acres, and 223 acres in all are
covered by these memorial works.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 79

late action, were daily receiving considerable accession of
strength from the different Rajas whose territories were
situated on both sides of the Ganges, and who were in-
duced to give their assistance on the strength of the
reputation Sultan Sujah had for wealth* and liberality.
He found also that his brother was establishing himself
in Elabas, that important and celebrated passage of the
Ganges, and justly considered the key of Bengale.

Under these circumstances., it occurred to Aureng-Zebe
that he had two persons near him very capable of
rendering him assistance — his eldest son, and Emir-Jemla ;
but he knew that those who have rendered essential
service to their Prince often become inflated with the
idea that no recompence is too great for them. He
already perceived that Sultan Mahmoud betrayed im-
patience of paternal control, and was continually pre-
suming on the skill and prowess he had displayed in the
capture of the citadel of Agra, whereby all the plans of
Chah-Jehan had been baffled. In regard to the Emir, the
Prince fully appreciated his transcendent talents, his
conduct, and his courage ; but these very excellencies
filled him with apprehension and distrust : for the Emir's
great riches, and the reputation he possessed of being the
prime mover in all affairs of importance, and the most
acute statesman in India, left no doubt on the mind of
Aureng-Zebe that the expectations of this extraordinary
man were as high as those of Sultan Mahmoud.

These considerations would have disconcerted an
ordinary mind ; but Aureng-Zebe knew how to remove
these two personages to a distance from the court with
so much address that neither the one nor the other felt
any cause of complaint. He sent them at the head of a
powerful army against Sultan Sujah, giving the Emir to
understand not only that the valuable government of
Bengale was intended for him during life, but that he
should be succeeded therein by his son. He added that
this was but one mark of the sense he entertained of his

HISTORY OF THE STATES

great services : when he had defeated Sujah he should be
created Mir-ul-omrah \Amir-ul-U mar d\ ; the first and most
honourable title in Hindoustan, signifying Prince of the
Omraks.

To Sultan Mahmoud he addressed only these few words .
' Remember that you are the eldest of my children, and
that you are going to fight your own battles. You have
done much; and yet, properly speaking, you cannot be
said to have done anything until the projects of Sultan
Sujah be defeated, and you become master of his person :
he is the most formidable of our adversaries.'

Aureng-Zebe then presented both the Emir and Sultan
Mahmoud with the customary seraphas,1 or rich vests, a
few horses and elephants, superbly caparisoned, and con-
trived to retain at court his son's wife (the King of
Gol/conda's daughter) and Emir-Jemla's only son Mahmet
Emir-kan ; the former, because the presence of so dis-
tinguished a woman might embarrass the operations of
the army ; the latter, because he was partial to the youth,
and wished to superintend his education : but he viewed
them doubtless in the light of hostages for the fidelity
of the two commanders.

Sultan Sujah was continually in dread that the Rajas of
Lower Bengale, who had reason to complain of his ex-
actions, would be excited to insurrection against his
authority. He was, therefore, no sooner apprised of these
arrangements than he broke up his camp at Elabas, and
marched to Benares and Palna, and afterwards to Moguiere?
a small town on the Ganges, commonly called the Key of
the Kingdom of Bengale, forming a species of strait be-
tween the mountains and a forest which is contiguous to
the town. He made this movement from an apprehension
that it was meant to cut off his retreat, and that Emir-

1 Sar-o-pa, from the Persian meaning from head to foot, cap-h-piey
a complete suit, or robe of honour.

2 Monghyr, the fort described by Bernier, now contains the public
offices, and the residences of the Europeans.

;

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 81

Jemla would cross the river either above or below Elabas.
Intending to make a stand at Moguiere, he threw up forti-
fications^ and cut a deep trench (which I saw some years
afterwards)1 extending from the town and the river to the
mountains. In this strong position he resolved to wait
the approach of his enemy., and dispute the passage of the
Ganges. He was, however, greatly mortified when in-
formed that the troops which were slowly descending the
banks of the river were designed merely for a feint ; that
Emir-Jemla was not with them ; but that having gained
over the Rajas whose territories lay among the mountains,
on the right of the river, he and Sultan Mahmoud were
marching with the utmost speed across those mountains
toward Rage-Mehalle2 accompanied by the flower of the
army, evidently with the object of shutting him out from
Bengale. He was constrained, therefore, to abandon all
the fortifications erected with so much care : yet notwith-
standing that his march was much lengthened by the
necessity of following the various bends of the Ganges,
still he arrived at Rage-Mehalle some days before the
Emir. Time was afforded him to throw up entrench-
ments ; because, when the combined commanders per-
ceived that Sultan Sujah could not be prevented from
occupying Rage-Mehalle , they inclined on the left toward
the Ganges, through almost impracticable paths, for the
purpose of receiving the troops, heavy artillery and
baggage, which were coming down the river. When this
object was accomplished, they proceeded to the attack of
Sultan Sujah, who defended his position during five or six
days with considerable success ; but perceiving that the
ceaseless fire of the Emir's artillery ruined his fortifications,
which consisted only of made earth, sand, and fascines,

1 On the 3ist December 1665, when travelling with Tavernier.
— Travels, vol. i. p. 124.

2 Rajmahal, Akbar's capital of Bengal, on the right bank of the
Ganges. The Muhammadan city is now in ruins, extending for about
four miles to the west of the modern city.

and that the approaching rains would render his position
still less tenable, he withdrew under favour of the night,
leaving behind him two larges pieces of ordnance. The
fear of some ambuscade deterred the enemy from pursuing
him that night, and before break of day the rain descended
so violently that no idea could be entertained of quitting
Rage-Mehalle. Happily for Sultan Sujah, the shower that
fell so opportunely, was the commencement of those
incessant and heavy rains with which the country is
visited in the months of July, August, September, and
October. They render the roads so difficult that no army
can act offensively during their prevalence ; and upon the
present occasion the Emir was obliged to put his troops
into winter-quarters at Rage-Mehalle ; while Sujah re-
mained at liberty to choose the place of his retreat, and
to reinforce his army. A large number of Portuguese
came to him from Lower Bengale, bringing with them
several pieces of cannon. The great fertility of the soil
attracts many Europeans to these parts, and it was Sultan
Sujah's policy to encourage and conciliate the foreigners
settled in this province. He particularly favoured the
Portuguese Missionary Fathers, holding out a prospect
of future wealth to them all, and promising to build
churches wheresoever they might desire to have them
erected. Indeed these people were capable of rendering
the Prince essential service ; the Prankish families residing
in the kingdom of Bengale, whether half-caste1 or of
Portuguese birth, amounting to eight or nine thousand, at
the lowest computation.

During the interval there arose a serious disagreement
between Sultan Mahmoud and Emir-Jemla. The former
aspired to the absolute and undivided command of the army,
and behaved to the latter with studied insolence and con-
tempt. He even allowed expressions to escape him that
denoted a total disregard of the affection and respect due
to his father ; spoke openly of his achievement in the

1 ' Mestic ' in the original.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 83

fortress of Agra, and boasted that it was to him Aureng-
Zebe should feel indebted for his crown. He was at length
informed of the anger he had excited in his father's breast ;
and fearing lest the Emir should receive orders to seize
his person, he withdrew [from Rajmahal] attended by very
few followers, and retiring towards Sultan Sujah made that
Prince a tender of his services. But Sujah, suspecting this
to be a device of Aureng-Zebe and of Emir-Jemla to entrap
him, placed no confidence in his splendid promises,, or
in his oaths of undeviating constancy. He, therefore, in-
trusted him with no command of importance, and kept an
eye upon his conduct. Sultan Mahmoud was soon disgusted
with this treatment, and, after the absence of a few months,
in despair of what might befall him, abandoned his new
master, and ventured to appear in Jemld's presence. The
Emir received him with some degree of courtesy, promis-
ing to intercede with Aureng-Zebe in his behalf, and per-
suade him to pardon this great transgression.

Many persons have told me that all this strange conduct
of Sultan Mamoud was planned by Aureng-Zebe, who was
very willing to see his son engage in any enterprise, how-
ever hazardous, which had for its object the ruin of Sultan
Sujah. Whatever the event might be, he hoped to gain
some specious pretext for having Sultan Mahmoud conveyed
to a place of security. Accordingly, when informed of his
son's return [to Rajmahal], feeling, or feigning to feel, the
utmost indignation, he sent a letter, commanding him in
peremptory terms to repair to Dehli. The unhappy Prince
dared not disobey ; but he had scarcely set foot on the
opposite shore of the Ganges, when a company of armed
men seized and forced him into an embary l as had been
Morad-Bakche, he was then conducted to Goualeor in
which fortress he will probably end his days.2

1 See p. 69 text, and footnote 1.

2 See ante, p. 21, footnote2. Sultan Muhammad was removed from
Gwalior to Salimgarh and there poisoned. He was buried at the
mausoleum of Humayun.

HISTORY OF THE STATES

Having thus disposed of his eldest son, Aureng-Zebe
advised his second son, Sultan Mazum, not to imitate the
lofty and unyielding spirit of his brother. 'The art of
reigning/ he told him, ' is so delicate, that a King's jealousy
should be awakened by his very shadow. Be wise, or a
fate similar to that which has befallen your brother awaits
you. Indulge not the fatal delusion that Aureng-Zebe may
be treated by his children as was Jehan-Guyre by his son
Chah-Jehan ; or that, like the latter, he will permit the
sceptre to fall from his hand/

FIG. 4. — Sultan Shujah.

Here, however, I may observe that, judging from the
whole tenor of Sultan Mazum s conduct, his father has no
reason to suspect him of any evil design : the most abject
slave cannot be more tractable or obsequious ; nor is it
possible that the language and behaviour of the lowest
menial should discover less of the workings of a discon-
tented and ambitious mind. Aureng-Zebe never appeared

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 85

more careless of power and dignity, or more devoted to
the cause of religion and charity. There are many shrewd
persons, however, who believe that the father's character
is, in every respect, the archetype of the son's, and that
the heart of Sultan Mazum is set upon sovereign authority,1
of which we may have proof in due course ; meanwhile let
us pass on to other occurrences.

Whilst all these events were happening in Bengale,
Sultan Sujah resisted, to the best of his ability, his skilful
opponent, passed, as he judged it expedient, from one bank
of the Ganges to the other, crossing and recrossing the
rivers and water-courses with which this part of the
country abounds. Meanwhile, Aureng-Zebe remained in
the neighbourhood of Agra. At length, after having con-
signed Morad-Bakche to Goualeor, he went to Dehli, where
he began in good earnest, and undisguisedly, to assume all
the acts, and exercise all the prerogatives, of a legitimate
King. His attention was principally engaged in the forma-
tion of plans for expelling Darafrom Guzarate; an object very
near his heart, but, for the reasons already stated, difficult
of accomplishment. Nevertheless, his extraordinary skill
and continued good-fortune overcame every impediment.

Jessomseingue had no sooner returned to his own country
than he employed the treasure plundered at the battle of
Kadjoile in raising a strong army. He then informed Dara
that he would join him with all his forces on the road lead-
ing to Agra, on which city he advised him to march without
delay. The Prince had himself contrived to assemble a
large number of troops, though not perhaps of the choicest
description : and being sanguine in his expectation that as
he approached the capital, accompanied by this dis-
tinguished Raja, his friends would be encouraged to crowd
around his standard, he quitted Ahmed-Abad and hastened

1 Aurangzeb, at this time about forty-one years old, lived and
reigned to the age of ninety, and was succeeded, in 1707* by his son,
Sultan Mu'azzam, with the title of Shah 'Alam Bahadur Shah, who
survived his father only five years.

86 HISTORY OF THE STATES

to Asmire,5 a city seven or eight days' journey from Agra
But Jessomseingue violated his promise. The Raja Jesseingue
considering that the chances of war were decidedly in
favour of Aureng-Zebe and that it was his best policy to
conciliate that Prince, exercised his influence with
Jessomseingue to deter him from espousing the cause of Dara.
' What can be your inducement/ he wrote to him, ( to
endeavour to sustain the falling fortunes of this prince ?
Perseverance in such an undertaking must inevitably
bring ruin upon you and your family, without advancing
the interests of the wretched Dara. From Aureng-
Zebe you will never obtain forgiveness. I, who am also
a Raja, conjure you to spare the blood of the Ragipous.
Do not buoy yourself up with the hope of drawing the
other rajas to your party; for I have means to counteract
any such attempt. This is a business which concerns all
the Indous (that is to say all the Gentiles)? and you can-
not be permitted to kindle a flame that would soon rage
throughout the kingdom, and which no effort might be
able to extinguish. If, on the other hand, you leave Dara
to his own resources, Aureng-Zebe will bury all the past
in oblivion ; will not reclaim the money you obtained at
Kadjoue, but will at once nominate you to the government
of Guzarate. You can easily appreciate the advantage
of ruling a province so contiguous to your own territories :
there you will remain in perfect quiet and security, and
I hereby offer you my guarantee for the exact fulfilment
of all I have mentioned/ To be brief, Jessomseingue was
persuaded to remain at home, while Aureng-Zebe advanced
with the whole of his army on Asmire, and encamped
within view of Dara.

Who that reads this history can repress an emotion of

1 Ajmere, about 230 miles to the south-west of Agra. The
Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan often resided there, and it was
here that Sir Thomas Roe, the ambassador of James i. of Englan
was received by the Emperor Jahangir in December 1651.

2 In the original, ' c'est & dire toute la Gentilite.'

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 87

pity for the misguided and betrayed Dara ? He now dis-
covered the bad faith of Jessomseingue ; but it was too
late to provide against its fatal consequences. Willingly
would he have conducted the army back to Amed-Abad,
but how could he hope to effect this desirable object in
the midst of the hot season, and during the drought that
then prevails ; having a march of fi ve-and-thirty days to
accomplish through the territories of Rajas, friends or
allies of Jessomseingue, and closely pressed by the eager
Aureng-Zebe at the head of a fresh and numerous army ?
'It is better/ he said, 'to die at once the death of a
soldier; the contest is sadly unequal, but on this spot I
must conquer or perish/ He did not, however, com-
prehend the full extent of his danger : treason was lurk-
ing where he least expected it ; and he continued to con-
fide in the perfidious Chah-Navaze-kan, who kept up a
regular correspondence with Aureng-Zebe, putting him in
possession of all Dara's designs. As a just retribution
for his faithlessness, this man was slain in the battle,
either by the hand of Dara himself, or, as is thought more
probable, by the swords of persons in Aureng-Zebe s army,
who, being the secret partisans of Dara, felt apprehensive
that Chah-Navaze-kan would denounce them, and make
mention of the letters they had been in the habit of
writing to that Prince. But what now availed the death
of the traitor ? It was from the first moment of his taking
possession of Ahmedabad that Dara ought to have listened
to the sage advice of his best friends and treated Chah-
Navaze with the contempt and distrust he merited.

The action commenced between nine and ten in the
morning.1 Dara's artillery, which was advantageously
placed on a small eminence, made noise enough; but
the pieces, it is supposed, were charged only with blank

1 For Khafi Khan's account of the defection of Raja Jaswant Singh
and the battle (fought on the I2th and I3th March 1659 at Deora,
about six miles to the south of Ajmere), see Sir H. M. Elliot's History^
etc., voi. vii. pp. 238-240.

88 HISTORY OF THE STATES

cartridges, so widely was the treachery extended. It is
unnecessary to enter into any particular detail of this
battle, if battle it should be called ; it was soon a com-
plete rout. I shall simply state that the first shot was
scarcely fired when Jesseingue, placing himself within
sight of Dara, sent an officer to inform him that if he
wished to avoid capture he must instantly quit the field.
The poor Prince, seized with sudden fear and surprise,
acted upon this advice, and flew with so much precipita-
tion that he gave no directions concerning his baggage :
indeed, considering the critical situation in which he was
placed, he had reason to congratulate himself on being
allowed time to secure his wife and family. It is certain
that lie was in the power of Jesseingue, and that it was to
his forbearance he was indebted for his escape : but the
Raja, aware of the danger that would attend any insult
offered to a Prince of the blood, has upon all occasions
shown respect to every branch of the Royal family.

The miserable and devoted Dara, whose only chance of
preservation was to regain Amed-Abad, was constrained to
pass through a long range of what might be considered
hostile territory, destitute of tents and baggage. The
country between Asmire and Amed-Abad consists almost
entirely of territories belonging to Rajas. The Prince
was accompanied by two thousand men at most ; the heat
was intolerable ; and the Koullys followed him day and
night, pillaging and assassinating so many of his soldiers
that it became dangerous to separate even a few yards
from the main body. These Koullys l are the peasantry
of this part of the country, and are the greatest robbers,

1 In Bernier's time, this was the term applied to dwellers in villages.
The word is supposed to be derived from the Tamil kfili, meaning
hire or wages ; in modern times Cooly. For an interesting note on
this subject, see Yule's Glossary, under the head ' Cooly.' There is a
race of hill people, the Kolis, who are to be found in Guzerat, in the
Konkan, and in the Deccan ; and in the RAs Mala the Koolees are
spoken of as a tribe that lived near the Indus. In Blaeu's map of The
Empire of the Great Mogol, published in 1655, territory to the north

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 89

and altogether the most unprincipled people in the Indies.
Notwithstanding every obstruction, Dara contrived to
advance within a day's journey from Amed-Abad, expecting
to enter the city on thu following day, and to assemble
an army ; but the hopes of the vanquished and unfor-
tunate are seldom realised.

The Governor whom he had left in the castle of Amed-
Abad, alarmed by the menaces, or allured by the promises
of Aureng-Zebe, had basely deserted the cause of his
master ; and sent a letter to Dara by which he desired
him not to advance nearer to the city, whose gates were
shut, and whose inhabitants were armed to oppose his
entrance. I had now been three days with Dara,
whom I met on the road by the strangest chance
imaginable ; and being destitute of any medical atten-
dant, he compelled me to accompany him in the capacity
of physician. The day preceding that on which he re-
ceived the Governor's communication, he expressed his
fear lest I should be murdered by the Koullys, and
insisted upon my passing the night in the Karavan-
serrak, where he then was. The cords of the kanates,
or screens, which concealed his wife and women (for
he was without even a tent) were fastened to the wheels
of the carriage, wherein I reposed. This may appear
almost incredible to those who know how extremely
jealous the great men of Hindoustan are of their wives,
and I mention the circumstance as a proof of the low
condition to which the fortunes of the Prince were re-
duced. It was at break of day that the Governor's
message was delivered, and the shrieks of the females

west of Cambay is titled Reino dos Collys. Chardin, in his Travels
in Persia (p. 479, vol. vii. of Langles' edition, Paris 1811), tells us
of a race of robbers in Persia whom he calls Kanlys or qoulys, and
says of them that they were all arrant rogues- and thieves, like the
gipsies of his own country. In 7 he Pioneer Mail, Allahabad, igth
August 1891, will be found (pp. 239-240) a long account of the recent
doings in the Akola District of a ' Native Jack Sheppard,' one Rasjee

Soli,

90 HISTORY OF THE STATES

drew tears from every eye. We were all overwhelmed
with confusion and dismay, gazing in speechless horror at
each other, at a loss what plan to recommend, and
ignorant of the fate which perhaps awaited us from hour
to hour. We observed Dara stepping out, more dead
than alive, speaking now to one, then to another; stop-
ping and consulting even the commonest soldier. He saw
consternation depicted in every countenance, and felt
assured that he should be left without a single follower ;
but what was to become of him ? whither must he go ? to
delay his departure was to accelerate his ruin.

During the time that I remained in this Prince's
retinue, we marched, nearly without intermission, day and
night ; and so insupportable was the heat, and so suffocat-
ing the dust, that of the three large oxen of Guzarate which
drew my carriage, one had died, another was in a dying
state, and the third was unable to proceed from fatigue.
Dara felt anxious to retain me in his service,1 especially as
one of his wives had a bad wound in her leg ; yet neither
his threats nor entreaties could procure for me a single

1 Tavernier, who probably deriv.ed his information from Bernier
himself, thus describes this incident : * As he [Dara] approached
AHMADABAo, Monsieur BERNIER, a French physician, who was on his
way to AGRA to visit the Court of the GREAT MOGUL, and who is well
known to all the world, as much by his personal merits as by the charm-
ing accounts of his travels, was of great assistance to one of the wives of
this Prince who was attacked with erysipelas in one leg. DARA SHAH,
having learnt that an accomplished European physician was at hand, sent
immediately for him, and Monsieur BERNIER went to his tent, where he
saw this lady and examined into her ailment, for which he gave a
remedy and quick relief. This poor Prince, being much pleased with
Monsieur BERNIER, strongly pressed him to remain in his service, and
he might have accepted the offer if DARA SHAH had not received news
the same night that the Governor whom he had left at AHMADABAD
had refused to allow his quarter-master to enter the town, and had
declared for AURANGZEB. This compelled DARA SnAH to decamp
quickly in the darkness of the night, and take the road to SIND, fear-
ing some new treachery, which he could not defend himself from in
the unhappy condition in which he found himself,' — Travels, vol. i.
P- 349-

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 91

horse, ox, or camel ; so totally destitute of power and
influence had he become ! I remained behind, therefore,
because of the absolute impossibility of continuing the
journey, and could not but weep when I beheld the
Prince depart with a force diminished to four or five
hundred horsemen. There were also a couple of
elephants laden, it was said, with gold and silver. Dara,
I understood, intended to take the road to Tatta-bakar,
and under all circumstances this was not perhaps an un-
wise selection. There was indeed only a choice of appal-
ling difficulties, and I could not cherish the hope that the
Prince would succeed in crossing the sandy desert which
separated him from that Fort. In fact, nearly the whole
of the men, and many of the women, did perish ; some
dying of thirst, hunger, or fatigue, while others were
killed by the hands of the merciless Koullys. Happy
would it have been for Dara had he not himself survived
this perilous march ! but he struggled through every
obstacle, and reached the territory of the Raja Kalche.1

The Raja received him with the utmost hospitality,
promising to place the whole of his army at Dam's
disposal, provided that Prince gave his daughter in
marriage to his son.2 But the intrigues of Jesseingiie
were as successful with this Raja as they had been with
Jessomseingue ; a change in his conduct was very soon
perceptible, and Dara, having reason to apprehend that
the barbarian had a design against his life, departed
without a moment's hesitation for Tata-bakar.

I should, I fear, only tire my readers were I to enter
upon a long narration of my own adventures with
Messieurs the Koullys, or robbers ; relating how I moved

1 Khafi Khan states that when Dara was denied entry to Ahmada-
bad he went ' to Kari, two kos from the city and there sought assistance
from Kanji Koli, one of the most notorious rebels and robbers of that
country. Kanji joined him and conducted him to the confines of
Kachh.'

2 This confirms in several details, Khafi Khan's narrative. See Sir
H. M, Elliot's History, vol. vii. p. 243.

92 HISTORY OF THE STATES

their compassion, and by what means I preserved t
little money which was about my person. I made a grand
display of my professional skill ; and my two servants,
who experienced the same terror as myself, declared I
was the most eminent physician in the world, and that
Dara's soldiers had used me extremely ill, depriving me of
everything valuable. It was fortunate for me that we
succeeded in creating in these people an interest in my
favour ; for after detaining me seven or eight days, they
attached a bullock to my carriage, and conducted me
within view of the minarets of Amed-Abad. In this city
I met with an Omrah who was proceeding to Dehli, and I
travelled under his protection. On the road our eyes were
too often oh ended with the sight of dead men, elephants,
oxen, horses, and camels; the wrecks of poor Dam's army.

While Dara pursued his dreary way towards Tata-bakar,
the war was still raging in Bengale ; Sultan Sujah making
much greater efforts than had been foreseen by his enemies.
But the state of affairs in this quarter occasioned little
inquietude to Aureng-Zebe, who knew how to appreciate
the talents and conduct of Emir- Jem la ; and the distance
of Bengale from Agra lessened the immediate importance
of the military operations in that country. A source of
much greater anxiety was the vicinity of Soliman-Chekouh,
and the apprehension which seemed generally to prevail
that he and the Raja were about to descend with a hostile
force from the mountains,1 distant scarcely eight days'
journey from Agra. This enemy Aureng-Zebe was too
prudent to despise, and how to circumvent Soliman-Chekouh
became now the chief object of his attention.

The most likely method of attaining that object was,
he conceived, to negotiate with the Raja of Serenaguer,
through the medium of Jesseingue : who accordingly wrote
to him letter upon letter promising the most splendid
remuneration if he delivered up Soliman-Chekouh, and
threatening the severest punishment should he refuse to
1 Of Srinagar, i.e. the Siwaliks, See p. 59. footnote 2.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 93

comply. The Raja answered that the loss of his whole
territory would affect him less than the idea that he had
been guilty of so base and ungenerous an action. When
it became evident that neither solicitation nor menace
could move the Raja from the path of honour and
rectitude, Aureng-Zebe marched his army to the foot of
the mountains, and there employed an immense number
of pioneers in levelling huge rocks and widening narrow
ways : but the Raja laughed at these vain and puerile
attempts to gain an ingress into his country ; the
mountains would have been inaccessible though assailed
by the armies of four such countries as Hindoustan ; so
that after all this display of impotent resentment, the
army was withdrawn.

Meanwhile Dara approached the fortress of Tata- bahar ;
and when only two or three days' journey from the place,
he received intelligence (as I have been since informed
by our Frenchmen and other Franks who formed part of
the garrison) that Mir-Baba, by whom the fortress had
been long besieged, had at length reduced it to the last
extremity. Rice and meat sold for upwards of a crown l
per pound,2 and other necessaries in the same proportion.
Still the Governor continued undaunted ; making frequent
and successful sorties, and in every respect approving
himself a prudent, brave, and faithful soldier; opposing,
with equal calmness and resolution, the vigorous assault
of General Mir-Baba, and deriding both the threats and
the promises of Aureng-Zebe.

That such was the praiseworthy conduct of the Gover-
nor I have been well assured by Frenchmen, our fellow-
countrymen, and many other Franks who were his com-
panions in arms. I have heard them say that when he
received news of Dara's approach, he increased his liberal
payments ; and that the whole garrison would cheerfully
have sacrificed themselves in an effort to drive the enemy

1 Ecu in the original, worth 43. 6d.

8 Livre in the original, equivalent to lib. loz. lo£ dr. av.

94 HISTORY OF THE STATES

from the walls, and open a passage for the entrance of
Dara ; so well did this valiant commander understand
how to gain the hearts of his soldiers. He had moreover
so judiciously managed, by means of numerous and intel-
ligent spies, whom he contrived, by various dexterous
schemes, to introduce in Mir-Babas camp, as to impose
upon the besiegers a firm belief that Dara was coming up
with a formidable body of troops for the purpose of raising
the siege. These spies pretended they had themselves
seen him and his army ; and this stratagem produced all
the effect which the governor anticipated ; terror seized
the enemy's troops, and no doubt was entertained that,
if Dara had arrived at the time he was confidently ex-
pected, Mir-Babas army would partly have disbanded, and
partly joined the Prince's party.

But Dara seemed doomed never to succeed in any en-
terprise. Considering it impossible to raise the siege
with his handful of men, he was at one time resolved to
cross the river Indus, and make the best of his way to
Persia ; although that plan would likewise have been
attended with nearly insurmountable obstacles : he would
have had to traverse the lands of the Patans,1 inconsider-
able Rajas who acknowledge neither the authority of
Persia nor of the Mogol ; and a vast wilderness interposed
in which he could not hope to find wholesome water. But
his wife persuaded him to abandon the idea of penetrating
into that kingdom, alleging a much weaker reason than
those I have mentioned. If he persevered in his inten-
tion, he must make up his mind, she told him, to see
both her and his daughter slaves of the Persian Monarch,
an ignominy which no member of his family could pos-
sibly endure. She and Dara forgot, or seemed to forget,
that the wife of Houmayon, when placed under similar
circumstances, was subjected to no such indignity, but
treated with great respect and kindness.2

1 Here meaning the Afghans, and their numerous clans.
a See p. 71.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 95

While Dara's mind was in this state of perplexity and
indecision, it occurred to him that he was at no con-
siderable distance from Gion-kan,1 a Patan of some power
and note, whose life he had been twice the means of
preserving, when condemned by Chah-Jehan to be thrown
under the elephant's feet, as a punishment for various
acts of rebellion. To Gion-kan Dara determined to pro-
ceed, hoping to obtain by his means forces to enable him
to drive Mir-Baba from the walls of Tata-bakar. The plan
he now proposed to himself was briefly this : — after raising
the siege with the troops supplied by the Patan, he in-
tended to proceed, with the treasure deposited in that
city, to Kandahar, whence he might easily reach the king-
dom of Kaboul. When in Kaboul he felt quite sanguine
in the expectation that Mohabet-kan would zealously and
unhesitatingly embrace his cause. It was to Dara this
officer was indebted for the government of that country,
and being possessed of great power and influence, and
very popular in Kaboul, the Prince was not unreasonable
in the hope that he would find in Mohabet-kan a sincere
and efficacious ally. But Dara's family, agitated by dismal
forebodings, employed every entreaty to prevent him from
venturing in Gion-kans presence. His wife, daughter,
and his young son, Sepe-Chekouh, fell at his feet, endea-
vouring, with tears in their eyes, to turn him aside from
his design. The Patan, they observed, was notoriously a
robber and a rebel, and to place confidence in such a
character was at once to rush headlong into destruction.
There was no sufficient reason, they added, why he should
be so pertinaciously bent upon raising the siege of Tata-
bakar ; the road to Kaboul might be safely pursued without

1 The * MSlik Jivvnn Ayyub, an Afghan' of the ' Alamgir-ndma ;
whose territory was Dadar, the chief town of the same name, being
about 5 miles east of the Bolan Pass, and between Sibi and Rindli on the
Bolan section of the Sind Pishin Ry., ' surrounded by bare and rocky
hills, which render the heat in summer perhaps greater than that of any
other place in the world in the same parallel [29° 28' N.] of latitude.'

96 HISTORY OF THE STATES

that operation , for Mir-Baba would scarcely abandon the
siege for the sake of interrupting his march.

Dam, as if hurried away by his evil genius, could not
perceive the force of these arguments ; remarking, what
indeed was the truth, that the journey to Kaboul would
be full of difficulty and danger ; and that he did not
believe it possible he should be betrayed by a man bound
to him by such strong ties of gratitude. He departed,
notwithstanding every solicitation ; and soon afforded an
additional and melancholy proof that the wicked feel not
the weight of obligations when their interests demand
the sacrifice of their benefactors.

This robber, who imagined that Dara was attended by a
large body of soldiers, received the Prince with apparent
respect and cordiality, quartering his men upon the in-
habitants, with particular injunctions to supply all their
wants, and treat them as friends and brethren. But
when Gion-kan ascertained that Dara's followers did not
exceed two or three hundred men, he threw off all disguise.
It is still doubtful whether he had been tampered with
by Aureng-Zebe, or whether he were suddenly tempted to
the commission of this monstrous crime.1 The sight of
a few mules laden with the gold, which Dara had saved
from the hands of the robbers, by whom he had been con-
stantly harassed, very probably excited his cupidity. Be

1 Tavernier tells us that Dara, on hearing of the death ' of one of his
wives whom he loved most ' from heat and thirst (see p. 103, footnote 2,
for Khafi Khan's account, which confirms Tavernier), was so over-
come by this grief, although he had always appeared to be unmoved
on all previous occasions of misfortune, that he refused all the consola-
tion offered by his friends and put on garments of mourning. ' It was
in this miserable costume that he entered the house of the traitor JuiN
KHAN, where, having laid himself down on a camp-bed to rest, a new
subject of grief appeared on his awakening. JUIN KHAN on attempting
to seize SEPEHR SHEKO, the second son of DARA SHAH, the young
Prince, though but a child, resisted the traitor with courage, and having
taken up his bow and arrow laid three men low on the ground. But
being alone he was unable to resist the number of traitors, who secured
the doors of the house, and did not allow any one of those who might

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 9?

this as it may, the Patan having assembled, during the
night, a considerable number of armed men, seized this
gold, together with the women's jewels, and fell upon
Dara and Sepe-Chekouh, killed the persons who attempted
to defend them, and tied the Prince on the back of an
elephant. The public executioner was ordered to sit
behind, for the purpose of cutting off his head, upon the
first appearance of resistance, either on his own part, or
on that of any of his adherents ; and in this degrading
posture Dara was carried to the army before Tata-bakar,
and delivered into the hands of General Mir-Baba. This
officer then commanded the Traitor, Gion-kan, to proceed
with his prisoner, first to Lahor and afterwards to Dehli.

When the unhappy Prince was brought to the gates of
Dehli, it became a question with Aureng-Zebe, whether, in
conducting him to the fortress of Goiialeor, he should be
made to pass through the capital. It was the opinion of
some courtiers that this was by all means to be avoided,
because, not only would such an exhibition be derogatory
to the royal family, but it might become the signal for
revolt, and the rescue of Dara might be successfully
attempted. Others maintained, on the contrary, that he
ought to be seen by the whole city ; that it was necessary
to strike the people with terror and astonishment, and to
impress their minds with an idea of the absolute and

have aided him to enter. DAnA SHAH, having been awakened by the
noise which these cruel satellites made when seizing this little Prince,
saw before his eyes his son, whom they brought in with his hands tied
behind his back. The unhappy father, unable to doubt any longer the
black treason of his host, could not restrain himself from launching
these words against the traitor JuiN KHAN : " Finish, finish " said, he,
" ungrateful and infamous wretch that thou art, finish that ivhich thou
hast commenced ; we are the victims of evil fortune and the unjust
passion of AURANGZEB, but remember that I do not merit death except
for having saved thy life, and remember th&t a Prince of the royal
blood never had his hands tied behind his back." JUIN KHAN, being to
some extent moved by these words, ordered the little Prince to be
released, and merely placed guards over DAnA SnAn and his son.
— Travels, vol. i. pp. 351, 352.

98 HISTORY OF THE STATES

irresistible power of Aureng-Zebe. It was also advisable,
they added, to undeceive the Omraks and the people, who
still entertained doubts of Dara's captivity, and to extin-
guish at once the hopes of his secret partisans. Aureng-
Zebe viewed the matter in the same light ; the wretched
prisoner was therefore secured on an elephant ; his young
son, Sepe-Chekouh, placed at his side, and behind them,
instead of the executioner, was seated Bhadur-Kan.1 This
was not one of the majestic elephants of Pegu or Ceylon,
which Dam had been in the habit of mounting, pompously
caparisoned, the harness gilt, and trappings decorated with
figured work ; and carrying a beautifully painted howdah,
inlaid with gold, and a magnificent canopy to shelter the
Prince from the sun : Dara was now seen seated on a
miserable and worn-out animal, covered with filth ; he no
longer wore the necklace of large pearls which distinguish
the princes of Hindoustan, nor the rich turban and em-
broidered coat ; he and his son were now habited in dirty
cloth of the coarsest texture, and his sorry turban was
wrapt round with a Kachemire shawl or scarf, resembling
that worn by the meanest of the people.

Such was the appearance of Dara when led through the
Bazars and every quarter of the city. I could not divest
myself of the idea that some dreadful execution was about
to take place, and felt surprise that government should
have the hardihood to commit all these indignities upon
a Prince confessedly popular among the lower orders,
especially as I saw scarcely any armed force. The people
had for some time inveighed bitterly against the unnatural
conduct of Aureng-Zebe : the imprisonment of his father,
of his son Sultan Mahmoud, and of his brother Morad-
Bakche, filled every bosom with horror and disgust. The
crowd assembled upon this disgraceful occasion was
immense ; and everywhere I observed the people weep-
ing, and lamenting the fate of Dara in the most touching

1 Bahadur Khan, one of Aurangzeb's officers, who had been sent
from Ajmere in pursuit of Dara.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL

language. I took my station in one of the most con-
spicuous parts of the city, in the midst of the largest
bazar; was mounted on a good horse, and accompanied
by two servants and two intimate friends. From every
quarter I heard piercing and distressing shrieks, for the
Indian people have a very tender heart; men, women,
and children wailing as if some mighty calamity had
happened to themselves. Gion-kan rode near the wretched
Dara ; and the abusive and indignant cries vociferated

FIG. 5. — Prince Dara Shikoh and his son Sipihr Shikoh.

as the traitor moved along were absolutely deafening.
I observed some Fakires and several poor people throw
stones at the infamous Patan ; * but not a single move-
ment was made, no one offered to draw his sword, with a

1 He received the title of Bakhtiyar Khan for this act of treachery.
See Sir H. M. Elliot's History, vol. vii. pp. 245, 246 for Khafi
Khan's very vivid account of the indignation of the people against
Malik Jiwan.

tOO HISTORY OF THE STATES

view of delivering the beloved and compassionated Prince.
When this disgraceful procession had passed through every
part of Dekli, the poor prisoner was shut up in one of his
own gardens, called Heider-Abad.1

Aureng-Zebe was immediately made acquainted with the
impression which this spectacle produced upon the public
mind, the indignation manifested by the populace against
the Patan, the threats held out to stone the perfidious
man, and with the fears entertained of a general insurrec-
tion. A second council was consequently convened, and
the question discussed, whether it were more expedient
to conduct Dara to Goiialeor, agreeably to the original
intention, or to put him to death without further delay.
By some it was maintained that there was no reason for
proceeding to extremities, and that the Prince might
safely be taken to Goiialeor, provided he were attended
with a strong escort: Danech-Mend-kan, although he and
Dara had long been on bad terms, enforced this opinion
with all his powers of argument : but it was ultimately de-
cided that Dara should die, and that Sepe-Chekouh should
be confined in Goiialeor. At this meeting Rauchenara-
Begum betrayed all her enmity against her hapless brother,
combating the arguments of Danech-Mend, and exciting
Aureng-Zebe to this foul and unnatural murder. Her efforts

were but too successfully seconded by Kalil-ullah-kan and
Chah-hest-kan, both of them old enemies of Dara; and by
Takarrub-kan, a wretched parasite recently raised to the rank
of Omrah, and formerly a physician. He was originally
distinguished by the appellation of Hakim Daoud, and had
been compelled to fly from Persia.2 This man rendered

1 ' Khizrabad, in old Dehli,' in Khafi Khan's account.

2 Hakim (Doctor) Daoud was the principal medical attendant on Shah
Sufi I. the king of Persia who reigned from 1628-41, but by his in-
triguing conduct was obliged to fly to India, where he amassed great
wealth, part of which he spent in building one of the principal mosques
in Ispahan (the Hakim Daoud Masjid), where his family lived in great
style on the money he remitted to them from Hindostan. Chardinsays
that he was called Areb Can in India, and that his end there was a

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 101

himself conspicuous in the council by his violent harangue.
' Dara ought not to live/ he exclaimed ; ' the safety of the
State depends upon his immediate execution ; and I feel
the less reluctant to recommend his being put to death,
because he has long since ceased to be a Musulman, and
become a Kafer. If it be sinful to shed the blood of such
a person, may the sin be visited upon my own head ! ' An
imprecation which was not allowed to pass unregarded ;
for divine justice overtook this man in his career of wicked-
ness : he was soon disgraced, declared infamous, and sen-
tenced to a miserable death.

The charge of this atrocious murder1 was intrusted to
a slave of the name of Nazer, who had been educated
by Chah-Jehan, but experienced some ill-treatment from
Dara. The Prince, apprehensive that poison would be
administered to him, was employed with Sepe-Chekouh

miserable one, his downfall being brought on by the failure of some of
his political intrigues. See p. 462 of vol. vii. of Voyages du Chevalier
Chardin en Perse, Paris 1811. Areb Can is probably intended for
Takarrub Khan, as given by Bernier, as Chardin is not so correct in
his transliteration as his friend Bernier.

1 Catrou's account of this tragic scene, which he took from the
narrative of Manucci, the Venetian physician, who, as has been be-
fore stated (p. 6), had attached himself to the person and fortunes
of Dara, and was probably an eye-witness, is as follows: — 'Dara was
waiting in his prison the decision of his fate, when his son was taken
from his arms, to be conveyed to the citadel of Gualier, the ordinal y
place of confinement for Princes. When the father found himself de-
prived of his son he rightly judged that it was time to think of preparing
for death. The Christian sentiments, with which the Missionaries had
endeavoured to inspire him, were revived in the closing hour of his life.
He requested to be allowed a conversation with Father Busee, a Flemish
Jesuit, who had formerly instructed him in our sacred Mysteries. All
communication with the Europeans was denied him. In this universal
desolation, the Prince sought for consolation in God. He was heard
to say more than once : Mahomet has destroyed me, Jesus Christ the
son of the Eternal will save me. A few hours before lie was put to
death Orangzeb caused a captious question to be put to his brother :
" What would you have done to the Emperor," they said to him,
"had he fallen into your hands as you have fallen into his?" "He
is a rebel and a parricide," said Dara; "let him judge of the treat-

102

in boiling lentils, when Nazcr and four other ruffians
entered his apartment. ' My dear son/ he cried out,
* these men are come to murder us ! ' He then seized a
small kitchen knife, the only weapon in his possession.
One of the murderers having secured Sepe-Chekouh,1 the
rest fell upon Dara, threw him down, and while three of
the assassins held him, Nazer decapitated his wretched
victim. The head was instantly carried to Aitreng-Zebe,
who commanded that it should be placed in a dish, and
that water should be brought. The blood was then washed
from the face, and when it could no longer be doubted

ment he has merited by reflecting upon his crimes, and such deserts
he would have received with the utmost rigour at my hands." This
answer exasperated Orangzeb. He only now sought a minion who
would have the barbarity to execute his orders. Nazar, one of the
slaves of Cha-Jaham, whose occupation was that of a writer to the
Emperors, offered himself for this cruel service. He proceeded to the
spot where Dara was expecting the moment which was to terminate
his miseries. He found the Prince in his apartment raising his eyes
to heaven, and repeating these words: ft Mahomed mara micuchet e
ben alia Mariani mi backet" [Mahammad ma-ra mikushad, ibn Allah
Maryam mibashaid, Pers.], which is, "Mahomet gives me death, and
the Son of God [and Mary] will [are necessary to] save me." He had
scarcely finished these words, when the executioner threw him to the
earth and cut off his head. Such was the termination of the life of
a Prince in whose character was blended such a mixture of virtues
and defects as to render him more capable of taking the lead as a
Mogol noble, than fit him for controlling the Empire. He died on
the 22d of October in the year 1657 \sic\ lamented by the people,
and regretted even by those who had abandoned and betrayed him.'

It is probable that 1657 is a misprint for 1659. Khafi Khan states
that it was in September 1659 that the order was given for his execu-
tion, 'under a legal opinion of the lawyers, because he had apostatised
from the law, had vilified religion, and had allied himself with heresy
and infidelity.' The judicial murder may thus have been perpetrated
on the 22d October as stated by Manouchi ; on this point, however,
there are many conflicting statements. See the late Professor Bloch-
mann's paper on The Capttire and Death of Ddra Shikoh, Jour. As.
Soc. Bengal, pp. 274-279, vol. xxxix., 1870.

1 Tavernier says, 'In the meantime SEPEHR SHEKO was drawn
aside, and, whilst they amused htm, a slave cut off DARA SHAH'S
head.' — Travels t vol. i. p. 354.

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 103

that it was indeed the head of Dara, he shed tears, and
said, ' Ah [At] Bed-bald ! Ah wretched one ! let this shock-
ing sight no more offend my eyes, but take away the
head, and let it be buried in Houmayons tomb.' 1

Dam's daughter was taken that same evening to the
seraglio, but afterwards sent to Chah-Jehan and Begum-
Saheb ; who begged of Aureng-Zebe to commit the young
Princess to their care. Dara's wife, foreseeing the
calamities which awaited her and her husband, had
already put a period to her existence, by swallowing
poison at Lahor.2 Sepe-CheJcouh was immured in the

1 Catrou (Manouchi) tells us that when Dara's head was brought to
Aurangzeb, ' he examined it with an air of satisfaction ; he touched it
with the point of his sword ; he opened the closed eyes to observe a
speck, that he might be convinced that another head had not been
substituted in the place of the one he had ordered to be struck off.'
Afterwards, following the counsel of Raushan Ara Begum, he caused it
to be embalmed and conveyed to Shah Jahan and enclosed in a box,
to be offered to him in the name of Aurangzeb. Before the box was
opened the old Emperor said, ' It is at least a consolation for an un-
happy father to find that the usurper has not wholly forgotten me,'
but when the packet was opened, and he beheld * the head of the son
so tenderly beloved, the good old man fell into a swoon. The Princess
Begom Saeb, always faithful to the cause of Dara, made the air resound
with her cries. Nothing, indeed, could be more affecting than the
melancholy and despair excited by so tragical a spectacle in the prison
of Agra. '

2 It is stated by Khafi Khan, that Dara's wife, Nadira Begum, died
when with her husband in Malik Jiwan's territory, and that her body
was sent to Lahore to be buried. * When Dara reached the land of
this evil zaminddr, Malik Jiwan came out like the destroying angel to
meet him. As a guest-murdering host he conducted Dara home, and
exerted himself to entertain him. During the two or three days that
Dara remained here, his wife Nadira Begam, daughter of Parwez
[Sultan Parwez his uncle, second son of the Emperor Jahangir. Dara
was married to Nadira in 1633, when he was twenty years of age, and
she was the mother of Sulaiman Shikoh and Sipihr Shikoh], died of
dysentery and vexation. Mountain after mountain of trouble thus
pressed upon the heart of Dara, grief was added to grief, sorrow to
sorrow, so that his mind no longer retained its equilibrium. Without
considering the consequences [the deceased had left a will desiring to
be buried in Ilindostan — 'Alam°ir-ndma\t he sent her corpse to

104 HISTORY OF THE STATES

fortress of Goilaleor ; and soon after these tragical events
Gion-kan was summoned before the council, and then
dismissed from Dehli with a few presents. He did not
escape the fate, however, which he merited, being way-
laid and assassinated in a forest, within a few leagues of
his own territory. This barbarian had not sufficiently
reflected, that though tyrants appear to countenance the
blackest crimes while they conduce to their interest, or
promote a favourite object, they yet hold the perpetrators
in abhorrence, and will not scruple to punish them when
they can no longer be rendered subservient to any ini-
quitous project.

In the mean time, the brave governor of Tata-bakar
was compelled to surrender the place, an order for its
immediate surrender, exacted from Dam himself, having
been sent to the faithful eunuch ; who insisted, how-
ever, on honourable terms of capitulation. The per-
fidious enemy, intending to violate every promise, readily
assented to the conditions proposed, and Mir-Babd was
admitted into the town.

The governor proceeded to Lahor, where he and the
feeble remains of his intrepid garrison were miserably
slaughtered by Kalil-ullah-kan, who commanded in that
city. The reason for this atrocious act was, that although
the eunuch professed his intention of visiting the King
at DehH, to gratify the desire expressed by Aureng-Zebe
to converse with so brave a soldier, yet he really medi-
tated a rapid march to Serenaguer, with all his followers,
for the purpose of making common cause with Soliman-
Chekouh. Among these followers (many of whom were
Franks] he distributed money with a liberal hand.

Of Dam's family, there now remained only Soliman-
Chekouh, whom it would not have been easy to draw from

Lahore in charge of Gul Muhammad to be buried there. He thus
parted from one who had been faithful to him through his darkest
troubles.' Sir H. M. Elliot's History, vol. vii. p. 244. See p. 69, note,
for Tavernier's account.

105

Serenaguer, if the Raja had been faithful to his engage-
ments. But the intrigues of Jesseingue, the promises and
threats of Aureng-Zebe, the death of Dam, and the hostile
preparations of the neighbouring Rajas, shook the resolu-
tion of this pusillanimous protector. Soliman-CheJcouh felt
that he was no longer in safety, and endeavoured to reach
Great Tibet.1 His route lay across the most dreary country,
consisting of nothing but sterile and mountainous tracts.
He was pursued by the Raja's son, overtaken and wounded;
and being conveyed to Dehli, was shut up in Selim-guer,
the fortress in which Morad-Bakche was imprisoned.2

Aureng-Zebe acted upon this occasion as he had done in
the case of Dam. That Solima?i-Chekouh's identity might
be established, the King commanded that he should be
brought into the presence of all the courtiers. I could
not repress my curiosity, and witnessed the whole of this
dismal scene. The fetters were taken from the Prince's
feet before he entered the chamber wherein the Omrahs
were assembled, but the chains, which were gilt,3 remained
about his hands. Many of the courtiers shed tears at the
sight of this interesting young man, who was tall and
extremely handsome. The principal ladies of the court

1 The territory now known as Ladakh. 2 See p. 69.

3 When Isaac Comnenus, king of Cyprus, surrendered to Richard I.
Coeur de Lion, king of England, in May 1191, he begged that he
might not be fettered with chains of iron. Richard accordingly
ordered that his chains should be of silver in consideration of his royal
birth. In the words of John Brompton, the compiler of old chronicles,
who, in this instance, is confirmed by historians of accepted authority,
Et cum in manu et potestate regis omniajam essent a rege solum petiit^
ne in compedibus et manias ferrets permitteret etim poni . . . Rex vero
petitionem ejus audiens ait, Quia nobilis est et nolunms eum mori,
sed ut vivat innoxius, cathenis argenteis astringatur. Col. 1200.
Catrou tells us that the 'fetters and handcuffs' with which Murad
Bakhsh was secured (p. 68) were of silver, and that his brother
(Aurangzeb) had caused them to be made a long time previously,
' and which he often showed to his son Mahamud, to keep him to
his duty. As for the eunuch [Shahbaz], he was secured without
difficulty and loaded with iron fetters.'

106 HISTORY OF THE STATES

had permission to be present, concealed behind a lattice-
work, and were also greatly moved. Aureng-Zebe, too,
affected to deplore the fate of his nephew, and spoke to
him with apparent kindness. ' Be comforted/ the King
told him ; ' 110 harm shall befall you. You shall be
treated with tenderness. God is great, and you should
put your trust in him. Dam, your father, was not per-
mitted to live only because he had become a Kafer, a man
devoid of all religion.' Whereupon the Prince made the
salaam, or sign of grateful acknowledgment, lowering his
hands to the ground, and lifting them, as well as he was
able, to his head, according to the custom of the country.
He then told the King, with much self-possession, that if
it were intended to give him the poust to drink, he begged
he might be immediately put to death. Aureng-Zebe
promised in a solemn manner, and in a loud voice, that
this drink should most certainly not be administered, and
that his mind might be perfectly easy. The Prince was
then required to make a second salaam ; and when a few
questions had been put to him, by the King's desire,
concerning the elephant laden with golden roupies, which
had been taken from him during his retreat to Serenagucr,
he was taken out of the chamber, and conducted on the
following day to Goualeor, with the others.

This poust is nothing but poppy-heads crushed, and
allowed to soak for a night in water. This is the potion
generally given to Princes confined in the fortress of
Goualeor, whose heads the Monarch is deterred by pru-
dential reasons from taking off.1 A large cup of this

1 Johannes de Laet, at p. 40 of his book De Imperio Magni Mogolis>
sive India Vera, Lugd. Bat. Elzevir, 1631 (first issue), gives an inter-
esting description of the Mogul state prisons in Hindostan. In his
account of the fort at Gwalior, he says : ' Above the fourth and highest
gate stands the figure of an elephant skilfully cut out of stone. [This is
the well-known Hathipul, or " Elephant's Gateway, "and de Laet also
describes, in a previous passage, the vast staircase leading to it, so
familiar to all visitors to this celebrated fortress.] This gate is
most sumptuously built of green and blue stone ; on the top are

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 107

beverage is brought to them early in the morning, and
they are not given anything to eat until it be swallowed ;
they would sooner let the prisoner die of hunger. This
drink emaciates the wretched victims ; who lose their
strength and intellect by slow degrees, become torpid and
senseless, and at length die. It is said that it was by
this means, that Sepe-Chekouh, the grandchild of Morad-
Bakche and Soliman-Chekouh^ were sent out of the world.

Morad-Bakche was put to death in a more violent and
open manner. Though in prison, he was yet very popular,
and verses were continually composed in praise of his
courage and conduct. Aureng-Ze.be, therefore, did not
deem it safe to make away with him in secret, by the
poust as the others were ; fearing that there would always

several gilded turrets that shine brilliantly. Here the Governor of the
place dwells ; and here also State prisoners are confined. The King
is said to have three prisons of this kind. The second is at Rantipore
[Ranthambhor or Rintimbur, the picturesque ancient rock- fortress in
the Jey pore State, formerly a stronghold of the Raja of Biindi who trans-
ferred it to the Emperor Akbar], forty coss from this place, whither
the King sends those whom he has condemned to death. They are
for the most part kept here for two months, after which the Governor
brings them out, places them on the top of the wall, and having caused
them to drink some milk, casts them down headlong on the recks
beneath. [Praefecttts arcis eos producit, et in fastigio mnri constitu-
tes et lacte potatos, praecipites agit in siibjectas mpes, thus in the
original. The "milk " being a decoction of the milky juice of the poppy
given to the prisoners to render them insensible. The poust, a slow
poison (pusta, from piist, a poppy, also called kokndr, which, like some
of the preparations of mudduk, sold in the opium dens of Lucknow,
had the effect of emaciating those who partook of it by taking away
an appetite for solid food) of Bemier's description being reserved for
members of the Royal family, as being a more secret death, free from
the outward signs of laying violent hands upon one of the Blood RoyaL
See in this connection pp. 97, 100, and 180]. The third prison fortress
is in the fort of Rotas [Rohtasgarh, about 30 miles south of the town of
Sasseram, in Bengal, overlooking the junction of the Koel and Soane
rivers, an ancient site, the top of the plateau, on which the remains of
the fort stand, being 1490 feet above the level of the adjacent country],
in the province of Bengal, whither are sent those who are condemned
to imprisonment for life ; they very seldom manage to escape.'

108 HISTORY OF THE STATES

be some doubt whether he had been really put to dea
or not, and that this uncertainty might some day be used
as a pretext for an uprising, the following charge, they
say, was brought up against him.

At the period when Morad-Bakche was making extensive
preparations for war, in his government of Guzarate, he
put to death a certain Sayed at Amed-Abad, that he might
obtain possession of his great wealth. The children of
the murdered Sayed now presented themselves in open
court, calling loudly for justice, and demanding the head
of Morad-Bakche. No Omrah would venture to reprove
or silence this procedure ; both because the person
whose innocent blood had been shed was a Sayed, or
descendant of the prophet Mahomet, to whom unbounded
veneration is due, and because it could not but be evident
to every person that this was a mode designed by the
King to rid himself of a dangerous rival under the cloak of
justice. The demand of the sons1 was granted, and with-
out any other form of process, an order for the head of
the murderer was given, with which they immediately
repaired to Goualeor.

There now existed only one member of his family who
created anxiety or apprehension in the mind of Aureng-
Zebe, and this was Sultan Sujah. Hitherto he had dis-
played much resolution and vigour, but now felt the
necessity of yielding to the power and fortune of his

1 Khafi Khan's (who states that his father was one of Murad Bakhsh's
confidential servants) account of this mock trial does not quite agree with
Bernier's. He says that the eldest son refused to demand satisfaction
for his father's death, but that the second son complied with the ex-
pressed wish of some of the Emperor's friends, viz., that the two sons
of AH Nakf , whom Murad Bakhsh had put to death, should bring a
charge of murder against him. Also that after the death of Murad
Bakhsh, Aurangzeb rewarded the eldest son for not enforcing his
claim of blood. Catrou states that Aurangzeb compassed his brother's
death by ordering some soldiers of his guard to proceed to Gwalior,
and there sting him ' by one of those adders whose poison is quick and
mortal.'

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 109

brother. Reinforcements continued to be sent to Emir-
Jemla, until the Prince, encompassed on all sides, was
compelled to fly for his personal safety to Dake,1 which is
the last town in Bengale, on the borders of the sea ; and
this ends the whole tragedy.

The Prince being destitute of ships to put to sea, and
not knowing whither to fly for refuge, sent his eldest son,
Sultan Banque, to the King of Racan, or Mog^ a Gentile or
idolater, to ascertain if he would grant him a temporary
asylum, and a passage to Moka, when the favourable
season arrived ; 3 it being his wish to proceed thence to
Meca, and afterward take up his residence in Turkey or
Persia. The King's answer was in the affirmative, and
expressed in the kindest terms. Sultan Banque returned
to Dake with a large number of galeasses* (as they call
the half galleys of this King) manned by Franks, for so
I would designate those fugitive Portuguese, and other
wandering Christians, who had entered into the King's
service, and whose chief occupation was to ravage this
part of Lower Bengale. On board these vessels, Sultan
Sujah embarked with his family, consisting of his wife, his
three sons and his daughters. The King [of Arakan] gave
them a tolerable reception, and supplied them with every
necessary of life. Month after month passed ; the favour-
able season arrived, but no mention was made of vessels
to convey them to Moka, although Sultan Sujah required
them on no other terms than the payment of the hire ; for
he yet wanted not roupies of gold and silver, or gems. He
had indeed too great a plenty of them : his great wealth

1 Dacca, on the Bun'ganga river, formerly the main stieam of the
Ganges.

2 Arakan or Magh, the Rakhang of Khafi Khan.

8 ' La moisson du vent ' in the original. Moisson is for the
Arabic word mausim) a season, which the Portuguese corrupted into
nwnfao ; our monsoon, the French mousson.

4 From the early Portuguese word geluas, which was the name for
a kind of half-decked craft used on the shores of the Red Sea, called
in Arabic jalba, from which is derived our English word jolly-boat.

110 HISTORY OF THE STATES

being probably the cause of, or at least very much con-
tributing to, his ruin. These barbarous kings are devoid of
true generosity, and little restrained by any promises which
they have made. Seldom guided by considerations of
good faith, their present interest is the sole guide of their
conduct, and they appear insensible of the mischief which
may accrue to themselves from their perfidiousness and
cruelty. To escape out of their hands, either you must
have nothing to tempt their avarice, or you must be
possessed of superior strength. It was in vain that Sultan
Sujah evinced the utmost solicitude to depart for Moka ;
the King turned a deaf ear to his entreaties ; became cool
and uncivil, and reproached the Prince for not visiting him.
I know not whether Sultan Sujah considered it beneath
his dignity to associate with him, or whether he appre-
hended that his person would be seized, and his treasure
plundered, if he ventured into the palace. Emir-Jemla
had offered the King, in the name of Aure?ig-Zebe, large
sums of money, and other considerable advantages, on
condition of his delivering up the Prince. Though Sultan
Sujah would not himself venture into the royal residence,
yet he sent his son, Sultan Banque, who, as he approached
the palace, bestowed largesse to the people, throwing
among them half roupies, and also whole roupies, both of
gold and silver; and, when he came before the King,
presented him with various rich brocades and rare pieces
of goldsmith's work, set with precious stones of great
value ; and apologising for the unavoidable absence of
his father, who was indisposed, entreated the King to
remember the vessel and the promise which he had
made.

This visit proved as unavailing as every preceding effort
to induce the barbarian to fulfil his engagements ; and to
add to the mortification and perplexity of the illustrious
fugitive, the King, five or six days after this interview,
made a formal demand of one of his daughters in marriage.
Sultan Sujah' s refusal to accede to this request exasperated

Ill

him to such a degree that the Prince's situation became
quite desperate. What then ought he to do ? To remain
inactive was only quietly to await destruction. The season
for departure was passing away ; it was therefore necessary
to come to a decision of some kind. He meditated, at
length, an enterprise which never was exceeded in ex-
travagance, and which proves the hopelessness of the
situation to which he was reduced.

Although the King of Rakan be a Gentile, yet there are
many Mahometans mixed with the people, who have either
chosen to retire among them, or have been enslaved by
the Portuguese before mentioned, in their expeditions to
the neighbouring coasts. Sultan Sujah secretly gained
over these Mahometans, whom he joined with two or three
hundred of his own people, the remnant of those who
followed him from Bengale ; and with this force re-
solved to surprise the house of the King, put his family
to the sword, and make himself sovereign of the country.
This bold attempt, which resembled more the enterprise
of a desperado than that of a prudent man, had neverthe-
less a certain feasibility in it, as I was informed by several
Mahometans, Portuguese, and Hollanders, who were then on
the spot. But the day before the blow was to be struck,
a discovery was made of the design, which altogether
ruined the affairs of Sultan Sujah, and involved in it the
destruction of his family.

The Prince endeavoured to escape into Pegu ; a purpose
scarcely possible to be effected, by reason of the vast
mountains and forests that lay in the route ; for there is
not now, as formerly, a regular road in that direction.
He was pursued and overtaken, within twenty-four hours
after his flight : he defended himself with an obstinacy of
courage such as might have been expected, and the
number of barbarians that fell under his sword was
incredible ; but at length, overpowered by the increasing
host of his assailants, he was compelled to give up the
unequal combat. Sultan Banque, who had not advanced

112 HISTORY OF THE STATES

so far as his father, fought also like a lion, until covered
with the blood of the wounds he received from the stones
that had been showered upon him from all sides, he was
seized, and carried away, with his two young brothers,
his sisters, and his mother.

No other particulars, on which much dependence may
be placed, are known of Sultan Sujah. It is said that he
reached the hills, accompanied by an eunuch, a woman,
and two other persons ; that he received a wound on the
head from a stone, which brought him to the ground ;
that the eunuch having bound up the Prince's head with
his own turban he arose again, and escaped into the
woods.

I have heard three or four totally different accounts of
the fate of the Prince, from those even who were on the
spot. Some assured me that he was found among the
slain, though it was difficult to recognise his body; and I
have seen a letter from a person at the head of the Factory
which the Hollanders maintain in that region, mentioning
the same thing. Great uncertainty prevails, however,
upon the subject, which is the reason why we have had
so many alarming rumours at Dehli. It was reported, at
one time, that he was arrived at Massipatam,1 and that

1 Masulipatam, the modern rendering of the vernacular name
Machhli-patnam or ' Fish Town,' the generally received etymology of
the name, which, however, Colonel Yule considered erroneous.
That distinguished historical-geographer held that the coast was the
Masolia of the Greek geographers, and believed the name to be a
relic of that word. Bernier's version of the name seems to me to
support Colonel Yule's contention. It may, however, be intended
for ' Machipatam,' a local, clipped, colloquial way of pronouncing
the name ; similar to ' Machhishahr ' for Machhlishahr, a town in the
Jaunpur District of the North-Western Provinces which is a modern
name, meaning 'City of Fishes,' given to it owing to its liability
to floods in the rainy season, its ancient name being Chiswa. The
Dutch established a factory at Masulipatam about 1615, the English
in 1622, the French in 1669, and the site of their factory, a patch
of ground about three hundred yards square, is still claimed by France.
Sterne's ' Eliza ' was at one time a resident at Masulipatam, where her

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 113

the Kings of Golkonda and Visapour engaged to support
his cause with all their forces. It was confidently said,
at another period, that he had passed within sight of
Sourate, with two ships flying red colours, with which he
had been presented either by the King of Pegu or of
Siam. Again, we were told that the Prince was in Persia ;
that he had been seen in Schiras, and soon afterwards in
Kandahar, ready to invade the kingdom of Caboul.
Aureng-Zebe once observed, perhaps by way of joke, that
Sultan Sujah was become at last an Agy l or pilgrim ;
insinuating that he had visited Meca ; and even at this
day, there are a great many persons fully persuaded that
he is returned to Persia from Constantinople, having ob-
tained large supplies of money in that city. But in my
opinion there never existed ground for any of these reports.
I attach great importance to the letter from the Dutch
gentleman, which states that the Prince was killed in his
attempt to escape ; and one of Sultan Sujah's eunuchs,
with whom I travelled from Bengale to Massipalam, and
his former commandant of artillery, now in the service
of the King of Golkonda, both assured me that their master
was dead, although they were reluctant to communicate
any further information. The French merchants whom I
saw at Dehli,2 and who came direct from Ispahan, had never
heard a syllable of Sultan Sujah's being in Persia. It seems

husband Mr. Daniel Draper was stationed in the service of the Honour-
able East India Company, and ' Eliza's Tree ' was to be seen there,
until it was unfortunately washed away in the cyclone of 1864. See
Round about Bombay, by James Douglas, and Sir George Birdwood's
article, illustrated, in The Journal of Indian Art, for January 1891,
entitled 'Eliza Draper's Letter.'

1 For Hajji, the incorrect form used by Turks and Persians of the
Arabic word Hdjj, a pilgrim to Mecca.

2 Although Bernier does not mention his name, I believe one of
the French merchants to have been Tavernier, who had left Ispahan
on the 24th February 1665, an^ travelling via Bandar Abbas reached
Surat on the 5th May. He remained in Surat for some time, and
travelling most probably by Burhanpur, Gwalior, and Agra, reached
Jahanabad (Delhi) in September, where he halted for a few weeks. On

114

also that his sword and dagger were found soon after his
defeat : and if he reached the woods, as some people
pretend, it can scarcely be hoped that he escaped ; as it
is probable he must have fallen into the hands of robbers,
or have become a prey to the tigers or elephants which
very greatly infest the forests of that country.

But whatever doubts may be entertained of the fate of
Sultan Sujah, there are none as to the catastrophe which
befell his family.1 When brought back, men, women, and
children were all thrown into prison, and treated with the
utmost harshness. Some time after, however, they were
set at liberty, and used more kindly : the King then
married the eldest Princess, and the Queen-mother evinced
a strong desire to be united to Sultan Banque.

While these events were happening, some servants of
Sultan Banque joined the Mahometans, of whom I have
spoken, in a plot similar to the last. The indiscreet zeal
of one of the conspirators, who was probably heated with
wine, led to the discovery of the design on the day on
which it was to be executed. In regard to this affair, too,
I have heard a thousand different tales ; and the only fact
I can relate with confidence is, that the King felt so
exasperated against the family of Sujah as to give orders
for its total extermination. Even the Princess whom he
had himself espoused, and who, it is said, was advanced in

the loth November he was shown the Emperor's jewels, including the
great Mogul diamond (see p. 22, footnote 4). Shortly afterwards
he left for Agra, and on the 25th November 1665 he, in company with
Bernier, started for Bengal. Tavernier had with him a young nephew,
son of his brother Maurice Tavernier, four attendants of different
professions, and a surgeon. — Travels, Introduction to vol. i. and
generally (transl. V. Ball, 1889).

1 Catrou states that ' the subjects of the King of Arracan invested
on all sides the palace in which the Mogol Prince was residing. The
unfortunate Cha-chuia found no longer any security but was compelled
to fly to the forests. He made his escape to their depths, but these
tigers pursued him ; and after having massacred, without pity, his wives
and his children, they deprived him of life on the 7th of February in
the year 1658.'

OF THE GREAT MOGOL 115

pregnancy, was sacrificed according to his brutal mandate.
Sultan Banque and his brothers were decapitated with
gruesome-looking axes,1 quite blunt, and the female
members of this ill-fated family w»,-re closely confined in
their apartments, and left to die of hunger.

In this manner terminated the war which the lust of
domination had kindled among these four brothers. It
lasted between five and six years; that is to say, from
about the year 1655 to the year 1660 or l66l ; and it left
Aureng-Zebe the undisputed master of this mighty Empire.

1 'Avec de malheureuses baches toutes emoussees ' in the original,
probably intended to denote the well-known dao or hill-knife, which
has a blade about eighteen inches long, narrow at the haft, square and
broad at the top, pointless and sharpened on one side only, set in a
handle of wood, a bamboo root being considered the best ; a common
weapon at the present day among the Arakan hill tribes, and others
on the north-east frontier of India.

REMARKABLE

OCCURRENCES

Or an account of the most important events after the war
during Jive years or thereby, in the Stales of the Great

Mogol.

HE war being ended, the Tartars of Usbec eagerly
v despatched ambassadors to Aureng-Zebe. These
9 people had been witnesses of his conduct and
valour in many battles, when in command of the corps
which Chah-Jehan sent to the assistance of the Kan of
Samarcande, then engaged in hostilities with him of Balk ;
and they had reason to apprehend that Aureng-Zebe did
not forget the treachery of which they had been guilty
when he was on the point of capturing Balk, the capital
city of the enemy. Upon that occasion, the two Kans
made up their differences, and united in one common
effort to drive him back, lest he should seize upon both
their territories, in the same manner as Ekbar had obtained
possession of the kingdom of Kachemire. The Usbec
Tartars were not ignorant of the occurrences which had
taken place in Hindoustan, of the victories gained by
Aureng-Zebe, and of the total discomfiture and death of
the other competitors for the crown. They were aware
that although Chah-Jehan still lived, yet his son was, in
reality, the recognised and established King of the Indies.
Whether, then, they dreaded his just resentment, or
hoped, in their inbred avarice and sordidness, to obtain

116

REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

117

some considerable present, the two Kans sent ambassadors,
with a proffer of their services, and with injunctions to
perform the ceremony of the Mobarek : that is, to express
in a solemn manner their wishes that his reign might
be long and auspicious. Aureng-Zebe knew how to value
an offer of service made at the conclusion of a war : he
knew the fear of punishment,, or the expectation of advan-
tage, had induced the Kans to send their ambassadors.
They were received, however, with due form and polite-

FlG. 6. — The Emperor Alamgir (Aurangzeb).

ness, and as I happened to be present at the audience, I
can relate the particulars with accuracy.

The ambassadors, when at a distance, made the Salam,
or Indian act of obeisance, placing the hand thrice upon
the head, and as often dropping it down to the ground.
They then approached so near that Aureng-Zebe might
easily have taken the letters from their own hands ; but
this ceremony was performed by an Omrah : the letters

118 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

were received and opened by him, and then presented to
the King, who, after having perused the contents with a
grave countenance, commanded that there should be given
to each of the ambassadors a Ser-apah or vesture from head
to foot ; namely, a vest of brocade, a turban, and a sash
or girdle, of embroidered silk. This done, the presents
from the Kans were brought before the King, consisting
of some boxes of Lapis-lazuli or the choicest Azure l ; a
few long-haired camels ; several horses of great beauty,
although the Tartar horses2 are generally something
better than merely beautiful : some camel-loads of fresh
fruit, such as apples, pears, grapes, and melons ; Usbec
being the country which principally supplies Dehli with
these fruits, which are there eaten all the winter, and
many loads of dry fruit, as Bokara prunes,3 apricots,

1 Used, pounded up, by the calligraphers of Persia, Kashmir, and
Delhi as the basis for that ' azure blue ' colour, in their choice illumi-
nated MSS. , which is unsurpassable, and cannot even be approached by
any modern artificial chemical substitute. Lapis-lazuli was largely
used in the pietra dura work in the Taj ; and these Tartar ambas-
sadors may have been bringing some of it as a tribute or offering
to the Mogul Court for this very purpose. This tomb, although
finished in 1648 as far as the mere structure is concerned, was
probably worked at for many years afterwards ('built by Titans,
finished by jewellers'), as much of the exquisite detail of its decora-
tions could not have been carried out in any other way. In a transla-
tion of a Persian MS., published at Lahore in 1869, at the Victoria
Press, by Azeezoodeen, giving an account of the building of the Taj,
particulars are given of the source of supply and cost of the various
stones used. In this account lapis-lazuli is said to have been brought from
Ceylon, but I believe that this mineral is never found there. We are also
informed that ' most of these [stones] were received in lieu of tribute
from different nations under the Emperor's rule, or were made presents
voluntarily, or otherwise, by the different Rajahs and Nawabs.'

2 * The fine up-standing Turkoman horse ' of the everyday Calcutta
horse-dealers' sale-catalogues. Moorcroft's journey to Tibet, in 1819,
was chiefly undertaken with the object of obtaining Turkoman horses
of the choicest breed, which it was his great ambition to domesticate
in India.

3 The Alii Bokhara* imported largely into India at the present day,
and most excellent simply stewed, or in a tart.

AFTER THE WAR 119

kickmiches,1 or raisins,, apparently without stones, and two
other kinds of raisins, black and white, extremely large
and delicious.

Aureng-Zebe expressed himself well pleased with the
liberality of the Kans ; extolling in exaggerated strains
the beauty and rareness of the fruits, horses, and camels ;
and when he had spoken a few words on the fertility of
their country, and asked two or three questions concern-
ing the College at Samarcande? he desired the ambassadors
to go and repose themselves, intimating that he should be
happy to see them often.

They came away from the audience delighted with their
reception, without any feeling of mortification on account of
the salam a Vlndien, which certainly savours of servility,
and not at all displeased that the King had refused to re-
ceive the letters from their own hands. If they had been
required to kiss the ground, or to perform any act of still
deeper humiliation, I verily believe they would have com-
plied without a murmur. It should indeed be observed
that it would have been unreasonable to insist upon
saluting Aureng-Zebe according to the custom of their own

1 Kishmish, the stoneless raisins of the modern dried-fruit sellers.

2 The present city of Samarkand, at one time the capital of Timur,
is but a wreck of its former self, but time brings round strange changes,
and this Holy city may have a renascence. 'The central part of
Samarkand is the Righistan, a square limited by the three madrasahs
(colleges) of Ulug-beg, Shir-dar, and Tilla-kari ; in its architectural
symmetry and beauty this is rivalled only by some of the squares of
Italian cities. . . . The college of Shir-dar (built in 1601) takes its
name from the two lions, or rather tigers, figured on the top of its
doorway, which is richly decorated with green, blue, red, and white
enamelled bricks. It is the most spacious of the three, and 128
Mollahs inhabit its sixty-four apartments. The Tilla-kari ('dressed in
gold ') built in 1618, has fifty-six rooms. But the most renowned of
the three madrasahs is that of Ulug-beg, built in 1420 or 1434, by
Timur, the grandson of the great conqueror. It is smaller than the
others, but it was to its school of mathematics and astronomy J^at
Samarkand owed its wide renown in the fifteenth century.' P. A,
K.[KOPOTKINE], Encyc. Brit, ninth ed. iS§6,

120 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

country, or to expect that the letters would be delivered
without the intervention of an Omrah: these privileges
belong exclusively to Persian ambassadors ; nor are they
granted, even to them, without much hesitation and
difficulty.

These people remained more than four months at Dehli,
notwithstanding all their endeavours to obtain their conge.
This long detention proved extremely injurious to their
health ; they and their suite sickened, and many of them
died. It is doubtful whether they suffered more from the
heat of Hindoustan, to which they are unaccustomed, or
from the filthiness of their persons, and the insufficiency
of their diet. There are probably no people more narrow-
minded, sordid, or uncleanly, than the Usbec Tartars. The
individuals who composed this embassy hoarded the
money allowed them by Aureng-Zebe for their expenses,
and lived on a miserable pittance, in a style quite unsuit-
able to their station. Yet they were dismissed with great
form and parade. The King, in the presence of all his
Omrahs, invested each of them with two rich Serapahs, and
commanded that eight thousand roupies should be carried to
their respective houses. He also sent by them, as presents
to the two Kans, their masters, very handsome Serapahs,
a large number of the richest and most exquisitely wrought
brocades, a quantity of fine linens, alachas^ or silk stuffs

1 Generally in pieces about five yards long, with a wavy line pattern
running in the length on either side. The name alchah or aldchah,
was also applied to any corded stuff. At p. 135 the markings of a
zebra are compared to this fabric. Sivaji, the Mahratta chief, in his
portrait (Fig. 8), which was taken from life evidently by a Dutch artist,
reproduced at p. 187 of this book, is therein depicted as clothed in alchah.
In the words of Valentyn, ' we represent this Signior . . . from life,
anayed in a golden alcha, as well as a turban on his head' (Wy ver-
toonen dien Heer . . . na't leven, met een goude Alegia bekleed, en
met zoo een tulbant op't hoofd. — Beschrying, p. 265). In this portrait
the pattern of the fabric is well shown ; and it was from authentic
pictures such as these, the work of Indian artists as a rule, that our
manufacturers, and those of oilier nations, took their first Oriental
designs,

AFTER THE WAR 121

interwoven with gold and silver, a few carpets, and two
daggers set with precious stones.

During their stay I paid them three visits, having been
introduced as a physician by one of my friends, the son of
an Usbec, who has amassed a fortune at this court. It was
my design to collect such useful particulars concerning
their country as they might be able to supply, but I found
them ignorant beyond all conception. They were un-
acquainted even with the boundaries of Usbec, and could
give no information respecting the Tartars who a few
years ago subjugated China.1 In short, I could elicit by
my conversation with the ambassadors scarcely one new
fact. Once I was desirous of dining with them,, and as
they were persons of very little ceremony, I did not find
it difficult to be admitted at their table. The meal ap-
peared to me very strange ; it consisted only of horse-
flesh. I contrived, however, to dine. There was a
ragout which I thought eatable, and I should have
considered myself guilty of a breach of good manners
if I had not praised a dish so pleasing to their palate.
Not a word was uttered during dinner; my elegant hosts
were fully employed in cramming their mouths with as
much pelau2 as they could contain; for with the use of
spoons these people are unacquainted. But when their

1 The first Tartar (correctly Tatar) partial conquest of China was
in about noo. The invaders were expelled, but reconquered China
in 1644, when Shun-chee, or, as it is sometimes written, Chun-chee,
was declared Emperor. It is to this conquest that Bernier here refers,
the Manchoo Tartar dynasty then established continuing until 1912.

2 A corruption of the Persian word/z'/#<7, that favourite dish among
the Muhammadans in the East. Ovington, in A Voyage to Suratt, in
the Year 1689, p. 397 (Lond. 1696), tells us that ' Palau, that is, Rice
boiled so artificially, that every grain lies singly without being added
together, with Spices intermixt, and a boil'd Fowl in the middle, is
the most common Indian Dish ; and a dumpoked Fowl, that is, boil'd
with butter in any small Vessel, and sluft with Raisons and Almonds,
is another.' 'Dumpoked' is meant for dampukht> from the Persian,
meaning 'steam-cooked.' For achieving a dampukht fowl to perfec-
tion, a bain-marie pan must be used.

122 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

stomachs were sated with the dainty repast, they re-
covered their speech, and would fain have persuaded me
that the Usbecs surpass all other men in bodily strength,
and that no nation equals them in the dexterous manage-
ment of the bow. This observation was no sooner made
than they called for bows and arrows, which were of a
much larger size than those of Hindoustan, and offered to
lay a wager that they would pierce an ox or a horse
through and through. They proceeded to extol the
strength and valour of their country-women, in com-
parison with whom the Amazons were soft and timorous.
The tales they related of female feats were endless :
one especially excited my wonder and admiration ;
would that I could relate it with genuine Tartar
eloquence. It seems that when Aureng-Zebe was pro-
secuting the war in their country, a party of five-and-
twenty or thirty horsemen entered a small village ; and
while employed in pillaging the houses, and binding the
inhabitants, whom they intended to carry away as slaves,
a good old woman said to them : ' Children, listen to my
counsel, and cease to act in this mischievous manner. My
daughter happens just now to be absent, but she will soon
return. Withdraw from this place, if you are prudent ;
should she light upon you, you are undone.' They made
contemptuous sport of the good lady, continuing to
plunder the property, and to secure the persons, of in-
dividuals, until, having fully laden their beasts, they
quitted the village, taking with them many of the in-
habitants and the old woman herself. They had not
gone half a league, however, before the aged mother,
who never ceased to look behind, cried out in an ecstasy
of joy, ' My daughter ! My daughter ! ' Her person was
indeed hid from view ; but the extraordinary clouds of
dust, and the loud trampling of a horse, left no doubt
on the mind of the anxious parent, that her heroic child
was at hand to rescue her and her friends from the power
of their cruel enemies, Presently the Tartar maiden v

AFTER THE WAR 123

seen mounted on a fiery steed, a bow and quiver hanging at
her side ; and, while yet at a considerable distance, she
cried out that she was still willing to spare their lives, on
condition that they restored the plunder, released their
captives, and retired peaceably to their own country. The
Mogols turned as deaf an ear to the words of the young
heroine as to the entreaties of her aged parent ; but were
astonished when they saw her in a moment let fly three
or four arrows, which brought to the ground the same
number of men. They had instant recourse to their own
bows, but the damsel was much beyond the reach of their
arrows, and laughed at such impotent efforts to avenge
the death of their companions. She continued to per-
form dreadful execution among them, with an accuracy of
aim, and strength of arm, which was quite different to
theirs ; until having killed half of their number with V*'
arrows, she fell sword in hand upon the remainder, arid
cut them in pieces.1

The ambassadors from Tartary were still in Dehli, when
Aureng-Zebe was seized with a dangerous illness.2 He was
frequently delirious from the violence of the fever, and his
tongue became so palsied that he could scarcely articulate.
The physicians despaired of his recovery, and it was
generally believed he was dead, though the event was
concealed by Rauchenara-Begum from interested motives.
It was even rumoured that the Raja Jessomseingue, governor
of Guzarate, was advancing to release Chah-Jehan from

1 In the Dutch edition of Bernier, Amsterdam, 1672, at p. 10 of
the section, Remarkable Occurrences (Bysondere Uytkomsten), there is a
very quaint illustration to this passage. A copperplate engraving after
a mere fancy sketch, in which the Tartar maiden is shown as dealing
great execution among the ranks of the Moguls, their arrows falling
short of her, a burning village indicated in the background. The
consternation among the Moguls is very cleverly depicted, and the
action of the Amazon's horse charging down on their ranks is ex-
ceedingly well expressed. See Bibliography, entry No. 5.

2 The date of this illness varies in the various annals of the time.
The correct date is May-August 1662 (Irvine. Ind, Anf., 1911, p. 76),

124 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

captivity ; that Mohabet-kan, who had at length acknow-
ledged Aureng-Zebe s authority, had quitted the govern-
ment of Kaboul, passed already through Lahor, and was
rapidly marching on Agra, at the head of three or four
thousand horse, with the same intention ; and that the
eunuch Etbar-kan, under whose custody the aged monarch
was placed, felt impatient for the honour of opening the
door of his prison.

On the one hand, Sultan Mazum intrigued with the
Omrahs, and endeavoured by bribes and promises to attach
them to his interest. He even went one night in disguise
to the Raja Jesseinguc, and entreated him, in the most
respectful and humble language, to declare in his favour.
On the other hand, a party formed by Rauchenara-Begum
was supported by several Omrahs and Fcday-kan} grand
master of the artillery, in behalf of the young Prince,
Sultan Ekbar, the third son of Aureng-Zebe, a boy only seven
or eight years of age.

It was pretended by both these parties, and believed
by the people, that the sole object they had in view was
to set Chah-Jehan at liberty ; but this was merely for the
sake of gaining popularity, and to save appearances, in
case he should be liberated by Etbar, or by means of any
secret intrigues on the part of other grandees. There
was in fact scarcely a person of rank or influence who
entertained the wish of seeing Chah-Jehan restored to the
throne. With the exception, perhaps, of Jessomseingue,
Mohabet-kan, and a few others who had hitherto refrained
from acting flagrantly against him, there was no Omrah
who had not basely abandoned the cause of the legitimate
Monarch, and taken an active part in favour of Aureng-
Zebe. They were aware that to open his prison door
would be to unchain an enraged lion. The possibility of
such an event appalled the courtiers, and no one dreaded

1 Fidai Khan, foster-brother to Aurangzeb. About 1676 he was
honoured with the title of Azim Khan, and appointed Governor of
Bengal, where he died in 1678.

AFTER THE WAR 125

it more than Etbar, who had behaved to his wretched
victim with unnecessary rudeness and severity.

But Aureng-Zebe, notwithstanding his serious indisposi-
tion, continued to occupy his mind with the affairs of
government, and the safe custody of his father. He
earnestly advised Sultan Mazum, in the event of his
death, to release the King from confinement ; but he was
constantly dictating letters to Etbar-kan, urging him to the
faithful and rigid discharge of his duty ; and 011 the fifth
day of his illness, during the crisis of the disorder, he
caused himself to be carried into the assembly of the
Omrahs, for the purpose of undeceiving those who might
believe he was dead, and of preventing a public tumult,
or any accident by which Chah-Jehan might effect his
escape. The same reasons induced him to visit that
assembly on the seventh, ninth, and tenth days ; and,
what appears almost incredible, on the thirteenth day,
when scarcely recovered from a swoon so deep and long
that his death was generally reported, he sent for the
Raja Jesseingue, and two or three of the principal Omrahs,
for the purpose of verifying his existence. He then
desired the attendants to raise him in the bed ; called
for paper and ink that he might write to Etbar-kan, and de-
spatched a messenger for the Great Seal, which was placed
under Rauchenara-Begum's care enclosed in a small bag,
which was impressed with a signet which he always kept
fastened to his arm ; l wishing to satisfy himself that
the Princess had not made use of this instrument to pro-
mote any sinister design. I was present when my Agah
became acquainted with all these particulars, and heard
him exclaim, ' What strength of mind ! What invincible

1 I have seen contemporary portraits of the Mogul Emperors, the
work of Indian artists, in which is shown this counter-seal (not to be
confounded with an amulet, which would be worn on the left arm),
fastened underneath the right armpit. An engraving from such a
portrait ' which was taken from a picture of his, drawn to the life '
will be found between folios 346-7 of Edward Terry's A Voyage to
East India. London, 1771 ; a reprint of the edition of 1655.

126 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

courage ! Heaven reserve thee, Aureng-Zebe, for greater
achievements ! Thou art not yet destined to die.' And
indeed after this fit the King improved gradually in
health.

As soon as Aureng-Zebe became convalescent, he en-
deavoured to withdraw Dara's daughter from the hands
of Chah-Jehan and Begum-Saheb, with the design of giving
her in marriage to his third son. Sultan Ekbar. This is
the son, whom, it is supposed, he intends for his successor,
and such an alliance would strengthen Ekbar s authority
and ensure his right to the throne. He is very young,
but has several near and powerful relations at court,
and being born of Chah-Navaze-kan s daughter, is de-
scended from the ancient sovereigns of Ma\s\chate.1 The
mothers of Sultan Mahmoud and Sultan Mazum were only
Ragipoutnys, or daughters of Rajas ; for although these
Kings are Mahometans, they do not scruple to marry into
heathen families, when such a measure may promote their
interests, or when they may thus obtain a beautiful wife.2

But Aureng-Zebe was frustrated in his intention. Chah-
Jehan and Begum-Saheb rejected the proposition with
disdain, and the young Princess herself manifested the
utmost repugnance to the marriage. She remained in-
consolable during many days from an apprehension that
she might be forcibly taken away, declaring it was her

1 See p. 73-

2 In the Ma-asir-i'A lamgiri( Elliot, vol. vii. pp. 195, 196) it is stated
that Muhammad Sultan the eldest, and Sultan Mu'azzam the second
son, were both by the same mother, Nawab Bai ; also that the mother
of Muhammad Kara Bakhsh, the fifth and last son, was Bai Udaipuri;
a statement which, if correct, hardly bears out the truth of the boast
of the Udaipur family, that their house never gave a daughter to the
Mogul zenana. Bernier has probably confused the eldest and the
youngest son, although he correctly states that Aurangzeb had two
Hindoo wives, daughters of Rajputs, or Rajputnis as he correctly calls
them. Prince Muhammad Akbar was Aurangzeb's fourth son. His
mother was a Muhammadan, the daughter of Shahnawaz Khan, and
it was mainly on this account that Aurangzeb desired to make him
his successor to the throne.

AFTER THE WAR 127

firm purpose to die by her own hand, rather than be
united to the son of him who murdered her father.1

He was equally unsuccessful in his demand on Chah-
Jehan for certain jewels, with which he was desirous of
completing a piece of workmanship that he was adding to
the celebrated throne, so universally the object of admira-
tion.2 The captive Monarch indignantly answered that
Aureng-Zebe should be careful only to govern the kingdom
with more wisdom and equity : he commanded him not
to meddle with the throne ; and declared that he would
be 110 more plagued about these jewels, for that hammers
were provided to beat them into powder the next time he
should be importuned upon the subject.

The Hollanders would not be the last to present Aureng-
Zebe with the Mohbarec. They determined to send an
ambassador to him, and made choice of Monsieur Adrican,3
chief of their factory at Sourate. This individual possesses
integrity, abilities, and sound judgment; and as he does
not disdain the advice offered by the wise and experienced,
it is not surprising that he acquitted himself to the satis-
faction of his countrymen. Although in his general de-
portment Aureng-Zebe be remarkably high and unbending,
affects the appearance of a zealous Mahometan, and con-
sequently despises Franks or Christians, yet upon the
occasion of this embassy, his behaviour was most courteous
and condescending. He even expressed a desire that
Monsieur Adrican, after that gentleman had performed
the Indian ceremony of the Salaam, should approach and
salute him a la Frank. The King, it is true, received the

1 See p. 1 66.

2 The celebrated ' Peacock Throne,' see p. 269, which Shah Jahan
designed and caused to be made.

3 Dirk van Adrichem, who was chief, or director, of the Dutch
factory at Surat from 1662 to 1665. He succeeded in obtaining a ' con-
cession ' (Firmaan, ofgunsl-brief'vn. the Dutch original), dated Delhi,
29th October 1662, from Aurangzeb, which conferred valuable privi-
leges upon the Dutch in Bengal and Orissa. — Valentyn, Bcschryving,
p. 261.

128

/etters through the medium of an Omrah. but this could
not be considered a mark of disrespect, since he had done
the same thing in regard to the letters brought by the
Usbec ambassadors.

The preliminary observances being over, Aureng-Zebe
intimated that the ambassador might produce his presents ;
at the same time investing him, and a few gentlemen in
his suite, with a Ser-Apah of brocade. The presents con-
sisted of a quantity of very fine broad cloths, scarlet and
green ; some large looking-glasses ; and several articles of
Chinese and Japan workmanship ;l among which were a
paleky and a Tack-ravan? or travelling throne, of exquisite
beauty, and much admired.

The Great Mogol is in the habit of detaining all ambas-
sadors as long as can reasonably be done, from an idea
that it is becoming his grandeur and power, to receive the
homage of foreigners, and to number them among the
attendants of his court. Monsieur Adrican was not dis-
missed, therefore, so expeditiously as he wished, though
much sooner than the ambassadors from Tarlary. His
secretary died, and the other individuals in his retinue
were falling sick, when Aureng-Zebe granted him per-
mission to depart. On taking leave the King again
presented him with a Ser-Apah of brocade for his own use,
and another very rich one for the governor of Baiavia,B
together with a dagger set with jewels; the whole
accompanied by a very gracious letter.

The chief aim of the Hollanders in this embassy was to
ingratiate themselves with the Mogol, and to impart to

1 I possess contemporary pictures, of Mogul court-life, by Indian
artists, in which Japanese hangings and Chinese vases are very correctly
and artistically shown.

2 Takht-i rawdn, from takht, a seat or throne, and rawdn, the pre-
sent participle of the verb raftan, to go, to move, to proceed. The
takht-i rawan was carried on men's shoulders, and was used by royalty
alone. See p. 370.

8 Who was the chief of all the Dutch factories and possessions in
the East Indies, the Governor-General of the Dutch Indies in fact.

AFTER THE WAR 129

him some knowledge of their nation, in order that a
beneficial influence might thus be produced upon the
minds of the governors of sea-ports, and other places,
where they have established factories.1 They hoped that
those governors would be restrained from offering insult,
and obstructing their commerce, by the consideration that
they belonged to a powerful State, that they could obtain
immediate access to the King of the Indies to induce
him to listen to their complaints, and to redress their
grievances. They endeavoured also to impress the
government with an opinion that their traffic with
Hindoustan was most advantageous to that kingdom;
exhibiting a long list of articles purchased by their
countrymen, from which they showed that the gold and
silver brought by them every year into the Indies
amounted to a considerable sum : but they kept out of
sight the amount of those precious metals extracted by
their constant importations of copper, lead, cinnamon,
clove, nutmeg, pepper, aloes-wood, elephants, and other
merchandise.2

It was about this period that one of the most dis-
tinguished Omrahs ventured to express to Aureng-Zebe his
fears lest his incessant occupations should be productive
of injury to his health, and even impair the soundness and
vigour of his mind. The King, affecting not to hear,
turned from his sage adviser, and advancing slowly toward
another of the principal Omrahs, a man of good sense and
literary acquirements, addressed him in the following
terms. The speech was reported to me by the son of
that Omrah, a young physician, and my intimate friend.

' There can surely be but one opinion among you learned
men, as to the obligation imposed upon a sovereign, in
seasons of difficulty and danger, to hazard his life, and, if

1 Thefarmdn (lit. an order, a ' patent ' or commission) obtained by
Dirk van Adrichem, see p. 127, footnote 3, is here very accurately
summarised by Bernier.

2 In this connection see Bernier's letter to Colbert, pp. 200 et scq.

J30 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

necessary, to die sword in hand in defence of the people
committed to his care. And yet this good and considerate
man would fain persuade me that the public weal ought
to cause me no solicitude ; that, in devising means to
promote it, I should never pass a sleepless night, nor spare
a single day from the pursuit of some low and sensual
gratification. According to him, I am to be swayed by
considerations of my own bodily health, and chiefly to
study what may best minister to my personal ease and
enjoyment. No doubt he would have me abandon the
government of this vast kingdom to some vizier : he seems
not to consider that, being born the son of a King, and
placed on a throne, I was sent into the world by Provi-
dence to live and labour, not for myself, but for others ;
that it is my duty not to think of my own happiness,
except so far as it is inseparably connected with the
happiness of my people. It is the repose and prosperity
of my subjects that it behoves me to consult ; nor are
these to be sacrificed to anything besides the demands of
justice, the maintenance of the royal authority, and the
security of the State. This man cannot penetrate into the
consequences of the inertness he recommends, and he is
ignorant of the evils that attend upon delegated power.
It was not without reason that our great Sadi emphatically
exclaimed " Cease to be Kings ! Oh, cease to be Kings ! or
determine that your dominions shall be governed only
by yourselves." Go, tell thy friend, that if he be desirous
of my applause, he must acquit himself well of the trust
reposed in him ; but let him have a care how he again
obtrudes such counsel as it would be unworthy of a King
to receive. Alas ! we are sufficiently disposed by nature
to seek ease and indulgence, we need no such officious
counsellors. Our wives, too, are sure to assist us in
treading the flowery path of rest and luxury/

A melancholy circumstance happened at this time which
excited a great deal of interest in Dehli, particularly in
the Seraglio, and which proved the fallacy of an opinion

AFTER THE WAR 131

entertained by myself, as well as by others, that he who
is entirely deprived of virility cannot feel the passion of
love.

Didar-Kan, one of the principal eunuchs of the Seraglio,
had built a house, to which he sometimes resorted for
entertainment, and where he often slept. He became
enamoured of a beautiful woman, the sister of a neighbour,
a Gentile,1 and a scrivener by profession. An illicit inter-
course continued for some time between them, without
creating much suspicion. After all, it was but an eunuch,
privileged to enter anywhere, and a woman !

The familiarity between the two lovers became at
length so remarkable, that the neighbours began to sus-
pect something, and chaffed the scrivener on the subject.
He felt so stung by these taunts that he threatened to put
both his sister and the eunuch to death if the suspicions
of their guilt should be verified. Proof was not long
wanting: they were one night discovered in the same
bed, by the brother, who stabbed Didar-Kan through the
body, and left his sister for dead.

Nothing could exceed the horror and indignation of the
whole Seraglio. Women and eunuchs entered into a
solemn league to kill the scrivener ; but their machina-
tions excited the displeasure of Aureng-Zebe, who contented
himself by compelling the man to become a Mahometan.

It seems nevertheless to be the general opinion that he
cannot long escape the power and malice of the eunuchs.
Emasculation, say the Indians, produces a different effect
upon men than upon the brute creation ; it renders the

1 In the original ' un Ecrivain Gentil,' or, in other words, a Hindoo
writer or clerk. At this period the collection of the revenue, the
keeping of the accounts, the conduct of the official correspondence of
the Court was all in the hands of Hindoo clerks, well versed in Persian.
As Professor Blochmann tells us in his Calciitta Review article already
quoted (p. 40, footnote J), 'the Hindus from the i6th century took so
zealously to Persian education, that, before another century had elapsed,
they had fully come up to the Muhammadans in point of literary
acquirements.'

132 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

latter gentle and tractable ; but who is the eunuch, they
ask, that is not vicious, arrogant and cruel ? It is in vain
to deny, however, that many among them are exceedingly
faithful, generous, and brave.

Much about the same time, Rauchetiara-Begum incurred
the displeasure of Aureng-Zebe, the Princess having been
suspected of admitting two men into the seraglio. As it
was only suspicion, however, the King was soon reconciled
to his sister. Nor did he exercise the same cruelty toward
the two men, who were caught and dragged into his
presence, as Chah-Jehan had done upon a similar occasion
toward the unhappy gallant concealed in the cauldron.1
I shall relate the whole story exactly as I heard it from
the mouth of an old woman, a half-caste Portuguese? who
has been many years a slave in the seraglio, and possesses
the privilege of going in and out at pleasure. From her
I learnt that Rauchenara-Begum, after having for several
days enjoyed the company of one of these young nun,
whom she kept hidden, committed him to the care of her
female attendants, who promised to conduct their charge
out of the Seraglio under cover of the night. But whether
they were detected, or only dreaded a discovery, or what-
ever else was the reason, the women fled, and left the
terrified youth to wander alone about the gardens : here
he was found, and taken before Aureng-Zebe ; who, when
he had interrogated him very closely, without being able
to draw any other confession of guilt from him than that
he had scaled the walls, decided that he should be com-
pelled to leave the seraglio in the same manner. But the
eunuchs, it is probable, exceeded their master's instruc-
tions, for they threw the culprit from the top of the wall
to the bottom. As for the second paramour, the old
Portuguese informed me that he too was seen roving about
the gardens, and that having told the King he had entered

1 See p. 12.

2 ' Une vieille Mestice de Portugais,' in the original ; from mestizo,
the Portuguese word for one of mixed parentage.

AFTER THE WAR 133

into the Seraglio by the regular gate, he was commanded
to quit the place through that same gate. Aureng-Zebe
determined, however, to inflict a severe and exemplary
punishment upon the eunuchs ; because it was essential,
not only to the honour of his house, but even to his
personal safety, that the entrance into the seraglio should
be vigilantly guarded.

Some months after this occurrence five ambassadors
arrived at Dekli, nearly at the same time. The first was
from the Cherif * of Meca, and the presents that accom-
panied this embassage consisted of a small number of
Arabian horses and a besom which had been used for
sweeping out 2 the small chapel situated in the centre of
the Great Mosque at Meca ; a chapel held in great venera-
tion by Mahometans, and called by them Beit-Allah., or the
House of God, They believe this was the first temple
dedicated to the true God, and that it was erected by
Abraham.

The second ambassador was sent by the King of
Hyeman, or Arabia Felix ; 3 and the third by the
Prince of Bassora ; both of whom also brought presents
of Arabian horses.

The two other ambassadors came from the King of
Ebeche, or Ethiopia.4

Little or no respect was paid to the first three of these
diplomatists. Their equipage was so miserable that every

1 The Grand Shereef (from the Arabic sharif, noble) of Mecca, who
has control over the Holy Places, claims to be a lineal descendant of
the Prophet Muhammad. The name of the present (1891) Grand
Shereef is 'Ann er-Rafiq, and he succeeded to this dignity in 1882.

2 Similar to the small hand-brushes, generally made of leaves of the
date-palm, used in the mosques of India for a like purpose. The
1 small chapel ' being the Ka'bah, or Cube-house, in which is placed
the Black Stone, in the centre of 'The Sacred Mosque' (Masjidu '1-
Haram) at Mecca. The term Baitrfllah or ' House of God ' is applied
to the whole enclosure, although it more specially denotes the
Ka'bah itself.

3 Yemen, the territory of al- Yamen, to the south-east of Mecca.

4 Abyssinia, see p. 2 text, and footnote 2.

134 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

one suspected they came merely for the sake of obtaining
money in return for their presents, and of gaining still
more considerable sums by means of the numerous horses,
and different articles of merchandise, which they intro-
duced into the kingdom free of all duty, as property
belonging to ambassadors. With the produce of these
horses and merchandise, they purchased the manufactures
of Hindoustan, which they also claimed the privilege of
taking out of the kingdom without payment of the impost
charged on all commodities exported.

The embassy from the King of Ethiopia may deserve a
little more consideration. He was well informed on the
subject of the revolution in the Indies, and determined to
spread his fame throughout this vast region by despatching
an embassy that should be worthy of his great power and
magnificence. The whispers of slander, indeed, if not
rather the voice of truth, will have it that in sending these
ambassadors this Monarch had an eye only to the valuable
presents which might be received from the liberal hand of
Aureng-Zebe.

Now let us examine the personnel of this admirable
Embassy. He chose as his Envoys two personages who
doubtless enjoyed the greatest distinction at court, and
were best qualified to attain the important ends he had
in view. One of these was a Mahometan merchant, whom
I met a few years before at Moka, when on my way from
Egypt up the Red Sea.1 He had been sent thither by his
august sovereign for the purpose of selling a large number
of slaves, and of purchasing Indian goods with the money
thus commendably obtained.

Such is the honourable traffic ol this Great Christian
King of Africa !

The other ambassador was an Armenian and Christian
merchant ; born and married at Alep [Aleppo], and known
in Ethiopia by the name of Murat.2 I saw him also at Moka,
where he not only accommodated me with half his apart-

1 See p. 2. 2 The Chodja Moraad of Valentyn.

AFTER THE WAR 135

ment, but gave me such advice as deterred me from visit-
ing Ethiopia, as was observed at the commencement of
this history.1 Murat is likewise sent every year to Moka
for the same object as the Mahometan merchant, and
always takes with him the annual presents from his
master to the English and Dutch East-India Companies,
and conveys those which they give in return to Gonder.

The African Monarch, anxious that his ambassador
should appear in a style suitable to the occasion, contri-
buted liberally toward the expenses of the embassy. He
presented them with thirty-two young slaves, boys and
girls, to be sold at Moka ; and the money raised by this
happy expedient was to supply the expenses of the mis-
sion. A noble largess indeed ! for let it be recollected
that young slaves sell at Moka, one with another, at five-
and-twenty or thirty crowns per head.- Besides these,
the Ethiopian King sent to the Great Mogol twenty-five
choice slaves, nine or ten of whom were of a tender age
and in a state to be made eunuchs. This was, to be sure,
an appropriate donation from a Christian to a Prince ! but
then the Christianity of the Ethiopians differs greatly from
ours. The ambassadors also took charge of other presents
for the Great Mogol; fifteen horses, esteemed equal to those
of Arabia, and a small species of mule, whose skin I have
seen : no tiger is so beautifully marked, and no alachd 3 of
the Indies, or striped silken stuff, is more finely and vari-
ously streaked;4 a couple of elephants' teeth, of a size
so prodigious that it required, it seems, the utmost exer-
tion of a strong man to lift either of them from the
ground ; and lastly, the horn of an ox, filled with civet,
which was indeed enormously large, for I measured the

1 See p. 2.

z £cus, or ' white crowns ' as they were then called, worth 45. 6d.
each. 3 See p. 120, footnote.

4 A zebra, which is still considered a great curiosity in India, as
evidenced by the admiring crowds to be seen round the specimen in
the Calcutta Zoological Gardens.

136 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

mouth of it at Dehly, and found that it exceeded half a
foot1 in diameter.

The ambassadors, thus royally and munificently pro-
vided, departed from Gonder, the capital city of Ethiopia,
situated in the province of Dumbia. They traversed a
desolate country, and were more than two months travel-
ling to Beiloul, an out-of-the-way seaport, near Bab-el-
Mandel and opposite to Moka. For reasons, which I shall
perhaps disclose in the course of my narrative, they dared
not take the usual and caravan road from Gonder to
Arkiko, a journey easily performed in forty clays. From
Arkiko it is necessary to pass over to the island of Masouva,
where the Grand Seigneur'2' has a garrison.

While waiting at Beiloul for a Moka vessel to cross the
Red Sea, the party were in want of many of the neces-
saries of life, and some of the slaves died.

On arriving at Moka, the ambassadors found that the
market had been that year overstocked with slaves. The
boys and girls, therefore, sold at a reduced price. As
soon as their sale was effected, they pursued their voyage,
embarking on board an Indian vessel bound to Sourate,
where they arrived after a tolerable passage of five-and-
twenty days. Several slaves, however, and many horses
died ; probably from want of proper nourishment, the
funds of this pompous embassy being evidently insufficient
to supply all its wants. The mule also died, but the skin
was preserved.

They had not been many hours on shore at Sourate when
a certain rebel of Visapour, named Seva-Gi,5 entered the

1 The French ' pied de Ville ' most probably, equal to I2f inches
English.

2 That is, the Sultan of Turkey.

8 Sivajf, the founder of the Maratha power, born 1627, died on
the 5th April 1680 (which is the correct date, but the 1st June is the
date given in Valentyn's narrative). Of him it has been well said by
Elphinstone {History of India, p. 647, ed. of 1874), 'Though the son
of a powerful chief, he had begun life as a daring and artful captain of
banditti, had ripened into a skilful general and an able statesman, and

AFTER THE WAR 137

town, which he pillaged and burnt. The house of the
ambassadors did not escape the general conflagration ; and
all their effects that they succeeded in rescuing from the
flames, or the ravages of the enemy, were their credentials ;
a few slaves that Seva-Gi could not lay hold of, or whom
he spared because they happened to be ill ; their Ethiopian
apparel, which he did not covet ; the mule's skin, for
which, I expect, he had no particular fancy ; and the ox's
horn that had already been emptied of its civet.

These exalted individuals spoke in exaggerated terms
of their sad misfortunes ; but it was insinuated by the
malicious Indians, who witnessed their deplorable condi-
tion on landing — without decent clothing, destitute of
money or bills of exchange, and half famished — that the
two ambassadors were, in fact, lucky people, who ought to
number the ransacking of Sourate1 among the happiest
events of their lives, since it saved them from the mortifi-
cation of conducting their wretched presents as far as
Dehli. Seva-Gi, the Indians said, had furnished these
worthy representatives of the Ethiopian King with an
admirable pretext for appearing like a couple of mendi-
cants, and for soliciting the governor of Sourate to supply
them with the means of living, and with money and carts
to enable them to proceed to the capital. The attack
upon Sourate had also covered their misdeeds, in disposing,
for their own benefit, of the civet, and many of the
slaves.

left a character which has never since been equalled or approached by
any of his countrymen. The distracted state of the neighbouring countries
presented openings by which an inferior leader might have profited ;
but it required a genius like his to avail himself as he did of the
mistakes of Aurangzib by kindling a zeal for religion and, through
that, a national spirit among the Marattas. It was by these feelings
that his government was upheld after it passed into feeble hands, and
was kept together, in spite of numerous internal disorders, until it had
established its supremacy over the greater part of India.'

1 This took place in January 1664. The Dutch account of the sack,
as given by Valentyn, confirms Bernier's narrative very remarkably.

138 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

My excellent friend Monsieur Adrican,1 chief of the
Dutch factory, gave Mural, the Armenian, a letter of in-
troduction to me, which he delivered into my hands at
Dehli, without being aware that I had been his guest at
Moka.2 It was an agreeable surprise to meet thus unex-
pectedly, after an absence of five or six years. I embraced
my old friend with affection, and promised to render him
all the service in my power. Yet, though my acquain-
tance among the courtiers was pretty extensive, I found
it difficult to be useful to these empty-handed ambassa-
dors. The mule's skin, and the ox's horn, wherein was
kept arrack, or brandy extracted from raw sugar, of which
they are excessively fond, constituted the whole of their
presents ; and the contempt which the absence of valu-
able presents would alone inspire was increased by their
miserable appearance. They were seen about the streets
without a paleky, clad in true Bedouin fashion, and followed
by seven or eight bare-footed and bare-headed slaves,
who had no raiment but a nasty strip of cloth passed
between their buttocks, and the half of a ragged sheet
over the left shoulder, which was carried under the right
arm, in the manner of a summer cloak. Nor had the
ambassadors any other carriage than a hired and brokeii-
dowii cart ; and they were without any horse except
one belonging to our Missionary Father, and one of
mine that they sometimes borrowed, and which they
nearly killed.

In vain did I for a long time exert myself in behalf of
these despised personages ; they were regarded as beggars,
and could excite no interest. One day, however, when
closeted with my Agah Da?iechmend-kan, who is minister
for foreign affairs, I expatiated so successfully upon the
grandeur of the Ethiopian Monarch, that Aureng-Zebe was
induced to grant the ambassadors an audience, and to
receive their letters. He presented both with a Scr-apah,
or vest of brocade, a silken and embroidered girdle, and a
1 See p. 127. 2 See p. 134.

AFTER THE WAR 139

turban of the same materials and workmanship ; gave
orders for their maintenance, and at an audience, when
the Emperor gave them their conge, which soon took place,
he invested each with another Ser-apah, and made them a
present of six thousand roupies, equal at present to nearly
three thousand crowns : 1 but this money was unequally
divided, the Mahometan receiving four thousand roupies,
and Mural, because a Christian, only two thousand.

Aureng-Zebe sent by them, as presents to their royal
master, an extremely rich Ser-apah; two large cornets,
or trumpets, of silver gilt; two silver kettle-drums;2 a
poniard studded with rubies ; and gold and silver roupies
to the amount of about twenty thousand francs : hoping,
as he kindly expressed it, that this last gift would be
peculiarly acceptable, and considered a rarity ; the King
of Ethiopia not having any coined money in his country.

The Mogol was well aware that not one of these roupies
would be taken out of Hindoustan, and that the ambassa-
dors would employ them in the purchase of useful com-
modities. It turned out just as he foresaw. They bought
spices, fine cotton cloths, for shirts for the King and
Queen, and for the King's only legitimate son, who is to
succeed to the throne, alachas or silken stuffs striped,
some with gold and some with silver, for vests and
summer trousers ; English broadcloths, scarlet and green,
for a couple of abbs,3 or Arabian vests, for their King;
and lastly, quantities of cloth less fine in their texture
for several ladies of the seraglio and their children. All

1 This agrees with Tavernier's value (2s. 3d.) of the rupee. See also
p. 135, footnote 2, and p. 200, note.

2 Karnds, trumpets with a bend, somewhat of the type of a cornet,
and nakdrahs, drums in shape like the modern kettle-drum, but beaten
resting on the ground by a man who either stands or squats behind them,
according to their size, were part of the insignia of Mogul royalty.

8 Abd, the well-known short coat or vest. English broadcloths were
highly esteemed at the Mogul court, and the early travellers make
frequent mention of them. Also see the chapter (32 of the first book)
in the Atn-i-Akbari, in which details of their price are given.

140 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

these goods they were privileged, as ambassadors,
export without payment of duty. |

Notwithstanding all my friendship for Murat, there
were three reasons why I almost repented of having
exercised my influence in his behalf. The first was, that
after he had promised to sell me his boy for fifty roupies,
he sent word he would not part with the boy for less than
three hundred. I felt almost disposed to give him his
price, that I might have it in my power to say a father
had sold me his own child. The lad was remarkably
well made, and his skin of the clearest black ; the nose
was not flat, nor the lips thick, as is commonly the case
among the Ethiopians. I was certainly angry with Mitral
for having violated his engagement.

I had, in the next place, ascertained that my friend,
as well as his Mahometan companion, had solemnly pro-
mised Aureng-Zebe to urge his King to permit the repair
of a mosque in Ethiopia, which had been in ruins since
the time of the Portuguese. The Mogol gave the am-
bassadors two thousand roupies in anticipation of this
service. The mosque, erected as the mausoleum of a
certain Cheik, or derviche, who left Meca for the purpose
of propagating Mahornetanism in Ethiopia, and had made
great progress there, was demolished by the Portuguese,
when they entered the country with troops from Goa,
as allies of the lawful sovereign, who had embraced
Christianity, and been driven from the throne by a
Mahometan prince.

My third objection to Murat's conduct arose from the
part he took in entreating Aureng-Zebe, in the name of
the Ethiopian King, to send the latter an Alcoran and
eight other books, with the names of which I am familiar,
and which are of the first repute among the treatises
written in defence of the Mahometan creed.

There seemed to me something extremely base and
wicked in these proceedings, on the part of a Christian
ambassador, acting in the name of a Christian King. They

AFTER THE WAR 141

afforded but too satisfactory a confirmation of the account
I had received at Moka of the low ebb to which Chris-
tianity is reduced in the kingdom of Ethiopia. Indeed,
all the measures of its government, and the character
of the people, savour strongly of Mahometanism, and it
cannot be doubted that the number, even of nominal
Christians, has been on the decline since the death of
the King, who was maintained on the throne by the troops
from Goa. Soon after that event, the Portuguese, in con-
sequence of the intrigues of the Queen-mother, were either
killed or driven out of the country. The Jesuit Patriarch,
whom his countrymen had brought from Goa, was com-
pelled to fly for his life.

During the stay of the ambassadors at Dehli, my Agah,
ever eager in search of knowledge, invited them frequently
to his house. He asked many questions concerning the
condition of their country and the nature of its govern-
ment ; but his principal object was to obtain information
respecting the source of the Nile, which they call Abbabile,1
and concerning which they talked to us as so well ascer-
tained that no one need question it. Murat and a Mogol,
who travelled with him from Ethiopia, have visited the
source, and the particulars given by them both are sub-
stantially the same as those I had learnt at Moka. They
informed us that the Nile has its origin in the country of
the Agans, rising from two bubbling and contiguous
springs, which form a small lake of about thirty or forty
paces in length ; that the water running out of this lake
is already a pretty considerable river; which continues,
however, to increase in size by reason of the small tributary
streams which, from here and there, flow into it. They
added that the river went on in a circuitous course,
forming, as it were, a large island ; and that after falling
from several steep rocks, it entered into a great lake
wherein are several fertile islands, quantities of crocodiles,
and, what would be much more remarkable, if true,

1 Clearly a corruption of An-Nil% * the Nile.' In Arabic characters
the words are almost identical.

142 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

numbers of sea-calves which have no other means of
ejecting their excrement than the mouth. This lake
is in the country of Dumbia, three short stages from
Gonder, and four or five from the source of the Nile.
The river, they continued, when it leaves the great lake,
is much augmented by the numerous rivers and torrents
which fall into that lake, especially in the rainy season ;
which is as periodical as in the Indies, commencing towards
the end of July. This, by the way, is an important con-
sideration, and accounts for the overflowing of the Nile.
From the lake just mentioned the river runs by Sonnar,
the capital city of the King of Fungi (tributary to the
King of Ethiopia), and continues its course until it reaches
the plains of Mesra or Egypt.

The two ambassadors dilated more copiously than was
agreeable either to my Agah or myself on the magnificence
of their sovereign, and the strength of his army ; but their
travelling companion, the Mogol, never joined in these
panegyrics, and told us, during their absence, that he had
twice seen this army in the field, commanded by the King
in person, and that it is impossible to conceive troops
more wretched and worse disciplined.

The Mogol gave us a great deal of information about
Ethiopia, the whole of which is noted in my journal, and
may one day be given to the public. At present I shall
content myself with noticing three or four facts related by
Mural, and which, considering that they occurred in a
Christian land, will be deemed sufficiently remarkable.

He said that in Ethiopia there are few men who do not
keep several wives ; nor was he ashamed to confess that
he himself had two, besides the wife to whom he was
legally married, and who resided in Aleppo. The Ethiopian
women, he observed, do not hide themselves as in the
Indies among the Mahometans and even the Gentiles; and
nothing is more common than to see females of the lower
ranks, whether single or married, bond or free, mingled
together, day and night, in the same apartment ; the

AFTER THE WAR 143

whole of them perfectly unacquainted with those feelings
of jealousy so prevalent in other nations. The women, or
wives of grandees, are at 110 great pains to conceal their
attachment to any handsome cavalier, whose house they
enter without fear or scruple.

If I had visited Ethiopia, I should have been compelled,
they told me, to marry. A few years ago, a wife was
forced upon an European, a Padry,1 who passed for a Greek
physician ; and it is curious enough that the woman whom
they obliged him to wed was the same that he designed
for one of his sons.

A man, eighty years of age, having presented to the
King four-and- twenty sons, all of mature age, and able to
carry arms, was asked by His Majesty whether those were
the only children he could exhibit ? The old gentleman
answered that they were indeed the whole of the male
part of his family, but that he was also the father of a few
daughters. ' Out then from my presence, thoti old calf! '
was the King's rejoinder. ' I am astonished that instead
of feeling shame, thou presumest to appear before me.
Is there a lack of women in my dominions that thou, a
man well stricken in years, canst boast of only two dozen
sons?' The Ethiopian King himself has at least eighty
children, who are met running about indiscriminately in all
parts [qui couroient pele mele] of the seraglio. They are
known by a round stick varnished, resembling a small
mace, which the King had made for them, and which
they carry about with great delight, as a sceptre, to
distinguish them from those who are the children of
certain slaves or other people of the seraglio.

Aureng-Zebe sent twice for the ambassadors. He hoped,
like my Agak, to increase his stock of knowledge by their
conversation ; but his chief anxiety was to be made
acquainted with the state of Mahometanism in their
country. He expressed a desire to see the mule's skin,
which somehow or other remained afterward in the
1 A Roman priest, see p. 323, footnote *.

144 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

fortress, in possession of the officers; much to my dis-
appointment/ for it was promised me in return for my
good services, and I had counted upon one day presenting
it to one of our Virtuosi in Europe. I strongly recom-
mended the ambassadors to show the great horn to the
King, as well as the skin : but this might have subjected
them to the very embarrassing question : how it happened,
that in the ransacking of Sourate they lost the civet, and
yet retained the horn ?

The Ethiopian embassy was still in Dehli, when Aureng-
Zebe assembled his privy-council, together with the
learned men of his court, for the purpose of selecting a
suitable preceptor for his third son, Sultan Ekbar,1 whom
he designs for his successor. He evinced upon this
occasion the utmost solicitude that this young Prince
should receive such an education as might justify the
hope of his becoming a great man. No person can be
more alive than Aureng-Zebe to the necessity of storing
the minds of Princes, destined to rule nations, with useful
knowledge. As they surpass others in power and eleva-
tion, so ought they, he says, to be pre-eminent in wisdom
and virtue. He is very sensible that the cause of the
misery which afflicts the empires of Asia, of their misrule,
and consequent decay, should be sought, and will be
found, in the deficient and pernicious mode of instructing
the children of their Kings. Intrusted from infancy to the
care of women and eunuchs, slaves from Russia, Circassia,
Mingrelia, Gurgistan? or Ethiopia, whose minds are debased
by the very nature of their occupation ; servile and mean
to superiors, proud and oppressive to dependants; —
these Princes, when called to the throne, leave the walls of
the Seraglio quite ignorant of the duties imposed upon
them by their new situation. They appear on the stage
of life, as if they came from another world, or emerged,

1 Muhammad Akbar, his fourth son, but the third then alive, revolted
against his father, and took refuge in Persia, where he died.

2 Georgia.

AFTER THE WAR 145

for the first time, from a subterraneous cavern, astonished,
like simpletons, at all around them. Either, like children,
they are credulous in everything, and in dread of every-
thing ; or, with the obstinacy and heedlessness of folly,
they are deaf to every sage counsel, and rash in every
stupid enterprise. According to their natural tempera-
ment, or the first ideas impressed upon their minds, such
Princes, on succeeding to a crown, affect to be dignified
and grave, though it be easy to discern that gravity and
dignity form no part of their character, that the appear-
ance of those qualities is the effect of some ill-studied
lesson, and that they are in fact only other names for
savageness and vanity ; or else they affect a childish
politeness in their demeanour, childish because un-
natural and constrained. Who, that is conversant with
the history of Asia, can deny the faithfulness of this
delineation ? Have not her Sovereigns been blindly
and brutally cruel, — cruel without judgment or mercy?
Have they not been addicted to the mean and gross
vice of drunkenness, and abandoned to an excessive
and shameless luxury ; ruining their bodily health,
and impairing their understanding, in the society of
concubines ? Or, instead of attending to the concerns of
the kingdom, have not their days been consumed in the
pleasures of the chase ? A pack of dogs will engage
their thoughts and affection, although indifferent to the
sufferings of so many poor people who, compelled to
follow the unfeeling Monarch in the pursuit of game, are
left to die of hunger, heat, cold, and fatigue. In a word,
the Kings of Asia are constantly living in the indulgence
of monstrous vices, those vices varying, indeed, as I said
before, according to their natural propensities, or to the
ideas early instilled into their minds. It is indeed a rare
exception when the Sovereign is not profoundly ignorant
of the domestic and political condition of his empire. The
reins of government are often committed to the hands of
some Vizier, who. that he many reign lord absolute, with

146 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

security and without contradiction, considers it an essential
part of his plan to encourage his master in all his low
pursuits, and divert him from every avenue of knowledge.
If the sceptre be not firmly grasped by the first minister,
then the country is governed by the King's mother,
originally a wretched slave, and by a set of eunuchs,
persons who possess no enlarged and liberal views of
policy, and who employ their time in barbarous intrigues ;
banishing, imprisoning, and strangling each other, and
frequently the Grandees and the Vizier himself. Indeed,
under their disgraceful domination, no man of any pro-
perty is sure of his life for a single day.

When Aureng-Zebe had received the different embassies
I have described, news at length reached the court that
one from Persia had arrived on the frontier. The Persian
Omrahs, and others of that nation, in the service of the
Mogol, spread a report that affairs of the utmost moment
brought the ambassador to Hindoustan. Intelligent per-
sons, however, gave no credence to the rumour: the
period for great events was gone by, and it was clear that
the Persians had no other reason for saying their country-
man was intrusted with an important commission, than a
vain and overweening desire to exalt their nation. It was
also pretended by the same individuals, that the Omrah
appointed to meet the ambassador on the frontier, and to
provide for his honourable treatment during his journey
to the capital, was strictly enjoined to spare no pains to
discover the principal object of the embassy. He was
instructed, they said, to prepare, by degrees, the haughty
Persian for the ceremony of the Salam, which was to be
represented, as well as that of delivering all letters
through the medium of a third person, as a custom that
has invariably obtained from time immemorial. It is
sufficiently evident, however, from what we witnessed,
that these were idle tales, and that Aureng-Zebe is raised
much above the necessity of recurring to such ex-
pedients.

AFTER THE WAR 147

On his entry into the capital, the ambassador was
received with every demonstration of respect. The
Bazars through which he passed were all newly
decorated, and the cavalry lining both sides of the way
extended beyond a league. Many Omrahs, accompanied
with instruments of music, attended the procession, and
a salute of artillery was fired upon his entering the gate
of the fortress, or royal palace. Aureng-Zebe welcomed
him with the greatest politeness ; manifested no displea-
sure at his making the salam in the Persian manner, and
unhesitatingly received from his hands the letters of which
he was the bearer; raising them, in token of peculiar
respect, nearly to the crown of his head. An eunuch
having assisted him to unseal the letters, the King per-
used the contents with a serious and solemn countenance,
and then commanded that the ambassador should be clad,
in his presence, with a vest of brocade, a turban, and a
silken sash, embroidered with gold and silver, called a ser-
apahj as I have before explained. This part of the cere-
mony over, the Persian was informed that the moment
was come for the display of his presents ; which con-
sisted of five-and-twenty horses, as beautiful as I ever
beheld, with housings of embroidered brocade ; twenty
highly bred camels, that might have been mistakee
for small elephants, such was their size and strength ; a
considerable number of cases 1 containing excellent rose-
water, and another sort of distilled water called Beidmichk?
a cordial held in the highest estimation and very scarce ;
five or six carpets of extraordinary size and beauty ; a few
pieces of brocade extremely rich, wrought in small flowers,

1 Caisses in the original. Ros e water and bedtnushk were enclosed in
glass bottles, holding about 2| gallons each, called in Persian kardbas
(hence the English word carboy} covered with wicker-work. Case is
therefore a better rendering than box, as used by former translators of
these Travels,

Bedmushk, a cordial still highly esteemed in Northern India, dis-
tilled from a species of willow, bed in Persian.

148 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

in so fine and delicate a style that I doubt if anything so
elegant was ever seen in Europe ; four Damascus cutlasses,
and the same number of poniards., the whole covered with
precious stones ; and lastly, five or six sets of horse-furniture,
which were particularly admired. The last were indeed
very handsome and of superior richness ; ornamented with
superb embroidery and with small pearls, and very beauti-
ful turquoises, of the old rock.1

It was remarked that Aureng-Zebe seemed unusually
pleased with this splendid present; he examined every
item minutely, noticed its elegance and rarity, and fre-
quently extolled the munificence of the King of Persia.
He assigned the ambassador a place among the principal
Omrahs ; and after speaking about his long and fatiguing
journey, and several times expressing his desire to see
him every day, he dismissed him.

He remained at Dehli four or five months, living
sumptuously at Aureng-Zebe s expense, and partaking of

1 In the original, 'de la vieille Roche,' which means that they
were, so to speak, of the finest water. This phrase was used to denote
those precious stones in general that exhibited more or less perfect
crystalline forms, being considered more developed than those with
amorphous forms. Tavernier's (Travels, vol. ii. pp. 103, 104) descrip-
tion of the turquoise is valuable, as elucidating Bernier's account of
the presents. ' Turquoise is only found in PERSIA, and is obtained in
two mines. The one, which is called " the old rock," is three days'
journey from MESHED towards the north-west and near to a large to*n
called NICHABOURG [Nishapur in Meshed is the classic locality for
the true turquoise] ; the other, which is called " the new," is five days'
journey from it. Those of the new are of an inferior blue, tending to
white, and are little esteemed, and one may purchase as many of them
as he likes at small cost. But for many years the King of PERSIA has
prohibited mil ing in the "olJ rock" for any one but himself, because
having no gold workers in the country besides those who work in
thread, who are ignorant of the art of enamelling on gold, and with-
out knowledge of design and engraving, he uses for the decoration ot
swords, daggers, and other work, these turquoises of the old rock
instead of enamel, which are cut and arranged in patterns like flowers
and other figures which the (jewellers) make. This catches the eye
and passes as a laborious work. It is wanting in design.'

AFTER THE WAR 149

the hospitality of the chief Omrahs, who invited him
by turns to grand entertainments. When permitted to
return to his country, the King again invested him with a
rich Ser-apah, and put him in possession of other valuable
gifts, reserving the presents intended for the Persian
Monarch for the embassy that he determined to send, and
which was very soon appointed.

Notwithstanding the strong and unequivocal marks of
respect conferred by Aureng-Zebe upon this last ambassador,
the Persians at the court of Dehli insinuated that the
King of Persia, in his letters, reproached him keenly
with the death of Dam, and the incarceration of Chah-
Jehan, representing such actions as unworthy a brother,
a son, and a faithful Musulman. He also, they said,
reproved him for having assumed the name of Alem-Guire,
or Conqueror of the World, and for causing it to be
inscribed on the coins of Hindoustan. They went so far
as to affirm that these words formed part of the letters :
' Since then thou art this Alem-Guire, Besm-Illah, in the
name of God, I send thee a sword and horses. Let us
now, therefore, confront each other.' This would indeed
have been throwing down the gauntlet. I give the story
as I received it : to contradict it is not in my power ; easy
as any person finds it in this court to come to the know-
ledge of every secret, provided he be acquainted with the
language, possess good friends, and be as profuse of money
as myself for the sake of gratifying his curiosity. But I
cannot be easily persuaded that the King of Persia made
use of the language ascribed to him : it would savour too
much of empty bluster and menace, though it cannot be
denied that the Persians are apt to assume a lofty tone
when they wish to impress an idea of their power and
influence. I rather incline to the opinion entertained by
the best informed, that Persia is not in a condition to act
aggressively against such an empire as Hindoustan. She
will have enough to do to retain Kan-dahcr, in the direction
of Hindoustan, and preserve the integrity of her frontier

150 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

towards Turkey. The wealth and strength of that nation
are accurately estimated. Her throne is not always filled
by a Chah-Abas,1 a Sovereign intrepid, enlightened, and
politic; capable of turning every occurrence to his benefit,
and of accomplishing great designs with small means. If
her government meditate any enterprise against Hindoustan,
and be animated, as is given out, by these sentiments of
regard for Chah-Jehan and the Musubnan faith, who can
explain why, during the late civil wars, which lasted so
long in Hindoustan, she remained a quiet and apparently
an unconcerned spectator of the scene ? She was unmoved
by the entreaties of Dara, of Chah-Jehan, of Sultan Sujah,
and perhaps of the Governor of Caboul ; although she might,
with a comparative^ small army, and at an inconsider-
able expense, have gained possession of the fairest part of
Hindoustan, from the kingdom of Caboul to the banks of
the Indus, and even beyond that river ; thus constituting
herself the arbitress of every dispute.

The King of Persia's letters, however, either contained
some offensive expressions, or Aureng-Zebe took umbrage

i Shah 'Abbas I., surnamed the Great, who ascended the throne in
1588, and died in 1629. ' He was the first who made Isfahan the
capital of Persia, was brave and active, and enlarged the boundaries of
his dominions. He took conjointly with the English forces, in 1622,
the island of Ormus, which had been in the possession of the Portuguese
for 122 years.' — Beale. I have been told by learned natives of India
that the Indian exclamation, Shahbash (Persian Shah-bash], meaning,
' Well done ! ' ' Bravo ! ' ' REX FIAS,' takes its origin from the name of
this Persian monarch, or as Ovington, in his Voyage to Suratt in the
year 1689 (London, 1696), p. 169, so quaintly puts it, 'The mighty
Deeds and renown'd Exploits of Schah Abbas, the Persian Emperor,
have likewise imprinted Eternal Characters of Fame and Honour upon
his Name, which is now by vulgar use made the signification of any
thing extraordinary or Miraculous ; so that when any thing surpassing
Excellent, or wonderful, is either done or spoken, the Indians presently
say of it, Schah- Abbas /' Compare Horace,

... At pueri ludentes, Rex eris, aiunt
Si recte facies.

I Epist. i. 59, 60.

AFTER THE WAR 151

at the conduct or language of the ambassador; because
the King complained, two or three days after the embassy
had quitted Dehli, that the horses presented in the name
of the Persian Monarch had been hamstrung by order of
the ambassador. He commanded, therefore, that he
should be intercepted on the frontier, and deprived of all
the Indian slaves he was taking away. It is certain that
the number of these slaves was most unreasonable ; he had
purchased them extremely cheap on account of the famine,
and it is also said that his servants had stolen a great
many children.

Aureng-Zebe, during the stay of this embassy at Dehli,
was careful to demean himself with strict propriety ;
unlike his father, Chah-Jehan, who, upon a similar
occasion, either provoked the anger of the ambassador
of the celebrated Chah-Abas, by an ill-timed haughti-
ness, or excited his contempt by an unbecoming
familiarity.

A Persian, who wishes to indulge in any satirical merri-
ment at the expense of the Indians, relates a few such
anecdotes as the following.

When Chah-Jehan had made several iruitless attempts
to subdue the arrogance of the ambassador, whom no
arguments or caresses could induce to salute the Great
Mogol according to the Indian mode, he devised this
artifice to gain his end. He commanded that the grand
entrance of the court leading to the Am-Kas, where he
intended to receive the ambassador, should be closed, and
the wicket only left open ; a wicket so low that a man
could not pass through without stooping, and holding
down the head as is customary in doing reverence a
I'Indien. Chah-Jehan hoped by this expedient to have it
in his power to say that the ambassador, in approaching
the royal presence, bowed the head even nearer to the
ground than is usual in his court ; but the proud and
quick-sighted Persian, penetrating into the Mogol' s design,
entered the wicket with his back turned toward the

152 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

King. Chah-Jehan, vexed to see himself overcome by
the ambassador's stratagem, said indignantly, ' Eh-bed-bakt
(Ah, wretch !) l didst thou imagine thou wast entering a
stable of asses like thyself?' ' I did imagine it/ was the
answer. ' Who, on going through such a door, can believe
he is visiting any but asses ? '

Another story is this: — Chah-Jehan, displeased with some
rude and coarse answer made by the Persian ambassador,
was provoked to say, ' Eh-bed-bakt \ has then Chah-Abas no
gentleman in his court that he sends me such a fool ? '
' O, yes ! the court of my Sovereign abounds with men far
more polite and accomplished than I am ; but he adapts
the Ambassador to the King.'

One day, Chah-Jehan having invited the ambassador to
dine in his presence, and seeking, as usual, an occasion to
discompose and vex him ; while the Persian was busily
employed in picking a great many bones, the King said
coolly, ( Eh Eltchy-Gy (Well, My Lord Ambassador), what
shall the dogs eat ? ' ' Kichery,' was the prompt answer ;
a favourite dish with Chah-Jehan, which he was then in-
dulging in, — Kichery being a mess of vegetables, the
general food of the common people.2

The Mogol inquiring what he thought of his new Dehli,
then building, as compared to Ispahan ; he answered aloud,

1 Ill-conditioned or ill-bred fellow, literally.

2 The dish 'kedgeree,' formerly a favourite dish in Anglo-Indian
families, but now going somewhat out of fashion. The word is derived
from the Hindoo khichri, a mess of rice cooked with ghee and dal (Caja-
nus Indicus, Spreng.) and flavoured with a little spice, stewed onions,
and the like. Ovington, op. cit., p. 310, has the following pleasant
description of this dish: — ' Kitcherie is another Dish very common
among them, made of Dol, that is, a small round Pea and Rice boiled
together, and is very strengthening, tho' not very savoury. Of this the
European Sailers feed in these parts once or twice a Week, and are
forc'd at those times to a Pagan Abstinence from Flesh, which creates
in them a perfect Dislike and utter Detestation to those Bannian Days,
as they commonly call them.' Bannian is a rendering of the word
Banyan, a Hindoo trader, Bunya being the familiar name among
Anglo-Indians in Upper India for a grain-dealer.

AFTER THE WAR 153

and with an oath, ' Bill ah ! bill ah ! l Ispahan cannot be com-
pared to the dust of your Dehli : ' which reply the King
took as a high encomium upon his favourite city, though
the ambassador intended it in sportive derision, the dust
being intolerable in Dehli.

Lastly, the Persians gave out that their countryman,
being pressed by Chah-Jehan to tell him candidly how he
estimated the relative power of the Kings of Hindoustan
and Persia, observed that he likened the Kings of the
Indies to a full moon fifteen or sixteen days old, and those
of Persia to a young moon of two or three days. This
ingenious answer was at first very flattering to the Great
Mogol's pride, but became a source of deep mortification
when he had rightly interpreted the ambassador's mean-
ing ; which was, that the kingdom of Hindoustan is now on
the decline, and that of Persia advancing, like the crescent
moon, in splendour and magnitude.

Such are the witticisms so much vaunted by the
Persians in the Indies, and which they seem never tired
of repeating. For my part, I think a dignified gravity
and respectful demeanour would better become an am-
bassador than the assumption of a supercilious and un-
bending carriage, or the indulgence of a taunting and
sarcastic spirit. Even if he possessed no higher principle
to regulate his conduct, it is surprising that Chah-Abas's
ambassador was not constrained by common considerations
of prudence ; and how much he had to fear from the re-
sentment of a despot, whom he foolishly and un-
necessarily provoked, was seen by the danger he narrowly

1 Colloquial for Bi-'lldhi equivalent to ' By God.' This word forms
part of the expression so constantly on the lips of Moslems, La haula wet
Id quwwata ilia bi-lldhi Taltyi 'l-lazlm, 'There is no power and
strength but in God, the High One, the Great.' The Prophet
Muhammad ordered his followers to recite it very frequently, 'for
these words are one of the treasures of Paradise. For there is no
escape from God but with God. And God will open for the reciter
thereof seventy doors of escape from evil, the least of which is poverty.
—Afiskkdtu'l-Afasabih) Book x. ch. ii.

154- REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

escaped. Chah-Jehans malignity grew so violent and un-
disguised that he addressed him only in the most oppro-
brious terms, and gave secret orders that when the
ambassador entered a long and narrow street in the
fortress, leading to the Hall of Assembly, an elephant
must,1 and in a very dangerous state, should be let loose
upon him. A less active and courageous man must have
been killed ; but the Persian was so nimble in jump-
ing out of his paleky, and, together with his attendants,
so prompt and dexterous in shooting arrows into the
elephant's trunk, that the animal was scared away.

It was at the time of the return of the Persian am-
bassadors that Aureng-Zebe accorded that memorable re-
ception to his quondam teacher Mullah Sale.2 It is an
uncommonly good story. This old man had resided for
several years near Kaboul in retirement on an estate pre-
sented to him by Chah-Jehan, when he was made ac-
quainted with the termination of the civil war, and the
complete success which had attended the ambitious
projects of his former pupil. He hastened to Dehli,
sanguine in his expectation of being immediately ad-
vanced to the rank of Omrah ; and there was no person
of influence, up to Rauchenara-Begum, whom he did not
engage in his favour. Three months elapsed before
Aureng-Zebe would even appear to know that such a
person was within the purlieus of the court; but weary
at last with seeing him constantly in his presence, the

1 Thus I render ' qui etoient en humeur.'

2 Mulla Shah, a native of Badakshan, was the Murshid or spiritual
guide of Dara Shikoh, and was highly respected by Shah Jahan. He
died in Kashmir about the year 1660. He may be the Mullah Sale of
Bernier's narrative, and have taught Aurangzeb also. I possess a
very fine contemporary portrait, by a Delhi artist, of Dara's teacher,
who was one of the disciples of Mian Shah Mir of Lahore, after whom
part of the area now occupied as the Cantonment of Mian Mir (Meean
Meer), near the capital of the Punjab, was named ; the Mian Sahib's
tomb, with a mosque and land attached, being included within its
boundaries.

AFTER THE WAR 155

Mos;ol commanded that he should come to him in a

secluded apartment, where only Hakim-ul-Mouluk
Danech-mend-kan, and three or four other grandees,
who pride themselves upon their accomplishments,
were present. He then spoke in nearly the follow-
ing words. I say nearly, because it is impossible to
transcribe so long a discourse precisely in the terms in
which it was delivered. Had I been present myself,
instead of my Agah, from whom I received a report of
the speech, I could not hope to be verbally correct.
There can be no doubt, however, that what Aureng-Zebe
said was substantially as follows : — ' Pray what is your
pleasure with me, Mullah-gy — [Mulla-Ji] Monsieur the
Doctor ? — Do you pretend that I ought to exalt you to
the first honours of the State ? Let us then examine your
title to any mark of distinction. I do not deny you would
possess such a title if you had filled my young mind with
suitable instruction. Show me a well-educated youth, and
I will say that it is doubtful who has the stronger claim to
his gratitude, his father or his tutor. But what was the
knowledge I derived under your tuition ? You taught me
that the whole of Franguistan 1 was no more than some in-
considerable island, of which the most powerful Monarch
was formerly the King of Portugal, then he of Holland,
and afterward the King of England. In regard to the
other sovereigns of Franguistan, such as the King of France^
and him of Andalusia, you told me they resembled our petty
Rajas, and that the potentates of Hindoustan eclipsed the
glory of all other kings ; that they alone were Humayons,
Ekbars, Jehan-Guyres, or Chah-Jehans ; the Happy, the
Great, the Conquerors of the World, and the Kings of the
World ; and that Persia, Usbec}Kachguer, Tartary, and Catay,B

1 Europe. 2 Fran$a, in the original.

3 Here Catay (Cathay) is used as if the name of a distinct country
other than China, whereas Khitai was the name for all China, from
Khitan, the dynasty that ruled its Northern Provinces for 200 years,
See p. 427, footnote 4.

156 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

Pegu, Slam, China and Mate/line,1 trembled at the name o
the Kings of the Indies. Admirable geographer ! deeply
read historian ! Was it not incumbent upon my preceptor
to make me acquainted with the distinguishing features of
every nation of the earth ; its resources and strength ; its
mode of warfare, its manners, religion, form of government,
and wherein its interests principally consist ; and, by a
regular course of historical reading, to render me familiar
with the origin of States, their progress and decline ; the
events, accidents, or errors, owing to which such great
changes and mighty revolutions, have been effected ? Far
from having imparted to me a profound and comprehensive
knowledge of the history of mankind, scarcely did I learn
from you the names of my ancestors, the renowned founders
of this empire. You kept me in total ignorance of their
lives, of the events which preceded, and the extraordinary
talents that enabled them to achieve, their extensive con-
quests. A familiarity with the languages of surrounding
nations may be indispensable in a King ; but you would
teach me to read and write Arabic ; doubtless conceiving
that you placed me under an everlasting obligation for
sacrificing so large a portion of time to the study of a
language wherein no one can hope to become proficient
without ten or twelve years of close application. For-
getting how many important subjects ought to be em-
braced in the education of a Prince, you acted as if it were
chiefly necessary that he should possess great skill in
grammar, and such knowledge as belongs to a Doctor of
law; and thus did you waste the precious hours of my youth

1 In the original ' Tchine et Matchine,' a rotund way of saying China.
In olden times the more intelligent Muhammadans used the term Mdchin
(a contraction for Mdhdchinat ' Great China,' the ancient Hindoo name
for China) when talking of the Chinese Empire. Chin Machin, which
occurs in many of the narratives of the old travellers, is, as Colonel Yule
has pointed out (Cathay and the Way Thither), an instance of the use of
a double assonant name, to express a single idea, a favourite Oriental
practice ; just as in Herodotus we have Crophi and Mophi, Thyni and
Bithyni, and at the present day Thurn and Taxis.

AFTER THE WAR 157

in the dry, unprofitable, and never-ending task of learn-
ing words ! ' l

Such was the language in which Aureng-Zebe expressed
his resentment ; but some of the learned men, either wish-
ing to flatter the Monarch and add energy to his speech,
or actuated by jealousy of the Mullah, affirm that the King's
reproof did not end here, but that, when he had spoken

1 It is but seldom that an Emperor takes the world into his confi-
dence, and proclaims aloud what he thinks of his schools and school-
masters. Just this is what the Emperor Aurangzeb did in the speech
reported by Bernier, and the utterances on the same subject made by
the German Emperor at Berlin on the 4th December 1890, bear such a
remarkable resemblance to those of the Mogul Emperor, constituting
an interesting historical parallel, that it seems advisable to reproduce
them here, from the report in The Times of the 5th December : —

BERLIN, Dec. 4.

To-day a special conference on educational reform in the higher schools and
gymnasia of Prussia was opened, under the presidency of the Emperor himself in
the Ministry of Public Worship. Herr von Gossler, the Minister, began by thank-
ing the Emperor for the warm personal interest he displayed in such matters. The
time had now come, he said, to consider whether Prussian schools were to continue
on the same old classical path, or whether they should not now rather endeavour to
adapt themselves to the spirit and practice and needs of modern life. All tha
learned professions were now filled to excess, and Germany was producing too many
University men, for whom there seemed to be but scanty prospects in the growing
struggle for existence.

The Emperor then followed with a long and well-thought-out address. He
tabled a series of queries on the subject under discussion, and proceeded to argue at
elaborate length that the gymnasia or higher public schools no longer answered the
requirements of the nation and the necessities of the time. They produced crammed
youths, but not men, wasting on Latin and classical lore the time which should be
devoted to the German language and to German history— a knowledge which was
of infinitely more value to a German than all the chronicles of antiquity. . . . He
had himself sat on the various forms of a Gymnasium at Cassel, and knew all about
their ways and methods, and the sooner these were mended the better it would be
for every one. . . . Since 1870, the philologists, as beati possidentes, had been
sitting enthroned in the gymnasia, devoting their attention more to increasing the
book-learning of their pupils than to forming their characters and training them for
the n-eeds of practical life. This evil had gone so far that it could go no further.
Much more stress was laid on cramming young men's heads with knowledge than
on teaching them how to apply it.

He had frequently been described as a fanatical foe of the gymnasial system, but
that was not so. He had an open eye to its crying defects, and of these perhaps the
chief was its preposterous partiality for classical education. The basis of instruction
in all such schools ought to be German, and their principal aim should be to turn
out young Germans instead of youthful Greeks and Romans. They must courage-
ously break with the mediaeval and monkish habit of mumbling away at much Latin
and a little Greek, and take to the German language as the basis of all their scholastic

158 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

for a short time on indifferent subjects, he resumed his
discourse in this strain : ' Were you not aware that it is
during the period of infancy, when the memory is commonly
so retentive, that the mind may receive a thousand wise
precepts, and be easily furnished with such valuable in-
struction as will elevate it with lofty conceptions, and
render the individual capable of glorious deeds ? Can we

studies. The same remark applied to history as to language. Preference should be
given in all schools to German history, geographical and legendary. It was only
when they knew all the ins and outs of their own house that they could afford to
moon about in a museum. When he was at school the Great Elector was to him
but a nebulous personage. As for the Seven Years' War, it lay outside the region
of study altogether, and history ended with the French Revolution at the close of
the last century. The Liberation wars, however, which were extremely important
for the young, were not included, and it was only, thank God, by means of supple-
mentary and very interesting lectures which he received from his private tutor, Dr.
Hinzpeter, whom he was now glad to see before him, that he got to know anything
at all about modern history. . . . His Majesty then proceeded to discuss what
ought to be the relations between the classical and commercial education, even in
the schools which had hitherto been devoted to one of these directions only, his
remarks being listened to with the keenest interest, and regarded as a masterpiece
of practical wisdom. — Our Own Correspondent.

The German Emperor's speech has naturally given rise to a great
deal of discussion, and the opinions expressed by Scholars and Educa-
tional Experts all over Europe, as to his views on * classical education '
differ very widely. As it will be my constant aim throughout Constable's
Oriental Miscellany to impartially present both sides of any question
on which there may be a difference of opinion among competent
authorities, I now quote the opinions on the educational utility of the
study of Greek, recently enunciated by a great Englishman (using this
word in its widest signification), and one of the leading Educational
Experts of the day.

On the I4th March 1891, Mr. Gladstone paid a visit to Eton, the
school where, seventy years ago, he had been taught, and delivered a
Saturday lecture to the boys now being educated there, on The
character and attribtites of the goddess Artemis in the Iliad and Odyssey.

At the conclusion of his lecture, Mr. Gladstone said (I quote from
the report in The Times newspaper of the l6th March) : —

When I was a boy I cared nothing at all about the Homeric gods. I did not enter
into the subject until thirty or forty years afterwards, when, in a conversation with
Dr. Pusey, who, like me, had been an Eton boy, he told me, having more sense and
brains than I had, that he took the deepest interest and had the greatest curiosity
about these Homeric gods. They are of the greatest interest, and you cannot really
study the text of Homer without gathering fruits ; and the more you study him th«
more you will be astonished at the multitude of lessons and the completeness of the
picture which he gives you. There is a perfect encyclopaedia of human charact

AFTER THE WAR 159

repeat our prayers, or acquire a knowledge of law and oi
the sciences, only through the medium of Arabic ? May
not our devotions be offered up as acceptably,, and solid
information communicated as easily, in our mother tongue ?
You gave my father, Chah-Jehan, to understand that you
instructed me in philosophy ; and, indeed, I have a perfect
remembrance of your having, during several years, harassed

and human experience in the poems of Homer, more complete in every detail than is
elsewhere furnished to us of Achaian life. (The right hon. gentleman resumed his
seat amid hearty cheers.)

The Rev. Dr. Hornby, the Provost of Eton College, then proposed
a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Gladstone for his kindness in coming
among them, and the great honour he did to the present generation of
his old school in thus addressing them in a lecture so full of matter for
careful after-study, and also stated that it would be difficult, at once,
to single out any special points for notice. The Provost then ended by
saying : —

But I am sure we shall all have felt great pleasure and some comfort in knowing
that a man so able, so laborious, so full of ideas as Mr. Gladstone, should still return
in his leisure time to the old subjects which formed so large a portion of his school
days. I hope I shall not be abusing his kindness by attributing to him an excessive
educational conservatism which perhaps he would repudiate. But I cannot but
think he intends to encourage us to hold fast to the old studies, as to which, though
they cannot keep the exclusive place which was formerly theirs, we have Mr. Glad-
stone's authority for saying that there is no better foundation for the highest culture
than the old Greek literature, and that in that literature there is nothing more
healthy, more noble and splendid, than the early part of it, which Mr. Gladstone
has done so much to illustrate and recommend to this generation. I propose a vote
of thanks to Mr. Gladstone, to which, I am sure, you will accord a hearty recep-
tion. (Cheers.)

Mr. Gladstone, in thanking his audience for the manner in which he
had been received, and telling them how refreshing it was for an old
man to come back among young ones, standing more or less in the
position he once stood himself, concluded with these word? : —

' I have mentioned a subject which is of such profound and vast extent, that were
I to allow myself to be tempted, it would lead me to make another infliction upon
you, but I answer the Provost by saying he has understood me rightly. I have not
the smallest desire that all boys should be put upon the bed of Procrustes, and either
contracted or expanded to the possession of Greek and Latin, especially of Greek,
culture. I may say it would probably be a case of expansion rather than contrac-
tion. But the object is to find right and sufficient openings for all characters and
all capacities. But this, Mr. Provost, I say with confidence, that my conviction
and experience of life leads me to the belief that if the purpose of education be to fit
the human mind for the efficient performance of the greatest functions, the ancient
culture, and, above all, Greek culture, is by far the best, the highest, the most
lasting, and the most elastic instrument that can possibly be applied to it.' (Loud
cheers.)

160 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

my brain with idle and foolish propositions, the solution
of which yield no satisfaction to the mind — propositions
that seldom enter into the business of life ; wild and ex-
travagant reveries conceived with great labour, and
forgotten as soon as conceived ; whose only effect is to
fatigue and ruin the intellect, and to render a man head-
strong and insufferable [their Philosophy abounds with even
more absurd and obscure notions than our own. — Bernier].
O yes, you caused me to devote the most valuable years
of my life to your favourite hypotheses, or systems, and
when I left you, I could boast of no greater attainment in
the sciences than the use of many obscure and uncouth
terms, calculated to discourage, confound, and appal a
youth of the most masculine understanding [their Philo-
sophers employ even more gibberish than ours do. — Bernier] :
terms invented to cover the vanity and ignorance of pre-
tenders to philosophy ; of men who, like yourself, would
impose the belief that they transcend others of their
species in wisdom, and that their dark and ambiguous
jargon conceals many profound mysteries known only to
themselves. If you had taught me that philosophy which
adapts the mind to reason, and will not suffer it to rest
satisfied with anything short of the most solid arguments ;
if you had inculcated lessons which elevate the soul
and fortify it against the assaults of fortune, tending
to produce that enviable equanimity which is neither in-
solently elated by prosperity, nor basely depressed by ad-
versity ; if you had made me acquainted with the nature
of man ; accustomed me always to refer to first principles,
and given me a sublime and adequate conception of the
universe, and of the order and regular motion of its
parts; — if such, I say, had been the nature of the philo-
sophy imbibed under your tuition, I should be more
indebted to you than Alexander was to Aristotle, and
should consider it my duty to bestow a very different
reward on you than Aristotle received from that Prince.
Answer me, sycophant, ought you not to have instructed

AFTER THE WAR 161

me on one point at least, so essential to be known by
a King ; namely, on the reciprocal duties between the
sovereign and his subjects ? Ought you not also to
have foreseen that I might, at some future period,
be compelled to contend with my brothers, sword in
hand, for the crown, and for my very existence? Such,
as you must well know, has been the fate of the
children of almost every King of Hindoustan. Did
you ever instruct me in the art of war, how to besiege
a town, or draw up an army in battle array? Happy
for me that I consulted wiser heads than thine on these
subjects ! Go ! withdraw to thy village. Henceforth let
no person know either who thou art, or what is become
ofthee.'

At that time a slight disturbance arose against the
astrologers, which I did not find unpleasing. The ma-
jority of Asiatics are so infatuated in favour of being
guided by the signs of the heavens,1 that, according to
their phraseology, no circumstance can happen below,
which is not written above. In every enterprise they
consult their astrologers. When two armies have com-
pleted every preparation for battle, no consideration can
induce the generals to commence the engagement until
the Sahet 2 be performed ; that is, until the propitious
moment for attack be ascertained. In like manner no
commanding officer is nominated, no marriage takes place,
and no journey is undertaken, without consulting Monsieur
the Astrologer. Their advice is considered absolutely
necessary even on the most trifling occasions; as the pro-
posed purchase of a slave, or the first wearing of new
clothes. This silly superstition is so general an annoy-
ance, and attended with such important and disagreeable
consequences, that I am astonished it has continued so
long : the astrologer is necessarily made acquainted with

1 In the original Astrologie Judiciaire.

2 The Arabic word sd'at, meaning 'moment' or 'hour.' See
p. 244.

162 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

every transaction public and private, with every projec
common and extraordinary.

Now it happened that the Kings principal astrologer
fell into the water and was drowned. This melancholy
accident caused a great sensation at court, and proved in-
jurious to the reputation of these professors in divination.
The man who had thus lost his life always performed the
Sahet for the King and the Omrahs ; and the people natur-
ally wondered that an astrologer of such extensive experi-
ence,, and who had for many years predicted happy inci-
dents for others, should have been incapable of foreseeing
the sad catastrophe by which he was himself overwhelmed.
It was insinuated that in Franguistan, where the sciences
flourish, professors in astrology are considered little better
than cheats and jugglers, that it is there much doubted
whether the science be founded on good and solid prin-
ciples, and whether it be not used by designing men as a
means of gaining access to the great, of making them feel
their dependence, and their absolute need of these pre-
tended soothsayers.

The astrologers were much displeased with these and
similar observations, and particularly with the following
anecdote, which was universally known and repeated :—
Chah-Abas, the great King of Persia, having given orders
that a small piece of ground within the seraglio should be
prepared for a garden, the master-gardener intended to
plant there several fruit-trees on a given day; but the
astrologer, assuming an air of vast consequence, declared
that unless the time of planting were regulated by the
^aket, it was impossible that the trees should thrive.
Chah-Abas having acquiesced in the propriety of the
remark, the astrologer took his instruments ; turned over
the pages of his books, made his calculations and con-
cluded that, by reason of this or that conjunction of the
planets, it was necessary to plant the trees before the
expiration of another hour. The gardener, who thought
of nothing less than an appeal to the stars, was absent

AFTER THE WAR 163

when this wise determination was formed ; but persons
were soon procured to accomplish the work : holes were
dug, and all the trees put into the ground, the King
placing them himself, that it might be said they were all
planted by the hand of Chah-Abas. The gardener, return-
ing at his usual hour in the afternoon, was greatly sur-
prised to see his labour anticipated ; but observing that
the trees were not ranged according to the order he had
originally designed — that an apricot, for example, was
placed in the soil intended for an apple-tree, and a pear-
tree in that prepared for an almond — he pulled up the
premature plantation, and laid down the trees for that
night on the ground, covering the roots with earth. In
an instant the astrologer was apprised of the gardener's
proceedings, and he was equally expeditious in complain-
ing to Chah-Abas, who, on his part, sent immediately for
the culprit. ' How is it/ cried the Monarch indignantly,
' that you have presumed to tear up trees planted by
my own hands ; trees put into the ground after the solemn
performance of the Sahet ? We cannot now hope to re-
pair the mischief. The stars had marked the hour for
planting, and no fruit can henceforth grow in the garden/
The honest rustic had taken liberal potations of Schiras
wine, and looking askance at the astrologer, observed
after an oath or two, ' Billah, Billah, an admirable Sahet
certainly ! thou augur of evil ! Trees planted under thy
direction at noon, are in the evening torn up by the
roots!' Chah-Abas} hearing this unexpected piece of
satirical drollery, laughed heartily, turned his back upon
the astrologer, and walked away in silence.

I shall mention two other circumstances, although they
happened during the reign of Chah-Jehan. The narration
will be useful in showing that the barbarous and ancient
custom obtains in this country, of the King's constituting
himself sole heir of the property of those who die in his
service.

Neik-nam-Kan was one of the most distinguished Omrahs

164 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

at court, and during forty or fifty years while he held
important offices had amassed an immense treasure. This
lord always viewed with disgust the odious and tyrannical
custom above mentioned, a custom in consequence of
which the widows of so many great Omrahs are plunged
suddenly into a state of wretchedness and destitution,
compelled to solicit the Monarch for a scanty pittance,
while their sons are driven to the necessity of enlisting as
private soldiers under the command of some Omrah.
Finding his end approaching, the old man secretly dis-
tributed the whole of his treasure among distressed
widows and poor cavaliers, and afterwards filled the coffers
with old iron, bones, worn-out shoes, and tattered clothes.
When he had securely closed and sealed them, he observed
that those coffers contained property belonging exclusively
to Chah-Jehan. On the death of Neik-nam-Kan, they were
conveyed to the King, who happened to be sitting in
durbar, and who, inflamed with eager cupidity, com-
manded them to be instantly opened in the presence of
all his Omrahs. His disappointment and vexation may
easily be conceived ; he started abruptly from his seat and
hurried from the hall.

The second is but the record of the ready wit of a
woman. Some years after the death of a wealthy banyane,1
or Gentile merchant, who had always been employed in
the King's service, and, like the generality of his country-
men, had been a notorious usurer, the son became
clamorous for a certain portion of the money. The widow
refusing to comply with the young man's request, on
account of his profligacy and extravagance, he had the
baseness and folly to make Chah-Jehan acquainted with
the real amount of the property left by his father, about
two hundred thousand crowns. The Mogol immediately

1 In Bernier's time Banyan was the name generally applied by
foreigners to Hindoo traders generally. It is now, at least in Bengal,
the name for a native broker attached to a house of business. See
p. 152, footnote \

AFTER THE WAR 165

summoned the old lady, and, in presence of the assembled
Omrahsj commanded her to send him immediately one
hundred thousand roupies, and to put her son in possession
of fifty thousand. Having issued this peremptory injunc-
tion, he ordered the attendants to turn the widow out of
the hall.

Although surprised by so sudden a request, and some-
what offended at being rudely forced from the chamber
without an opportunity of assigning the reasons of her
conduct, yet this courageous woman did not lose her
presence of mind ; she struggled with the servants,
exclaiming that she had something further to divulge
to the King. 'Let us hear what she has to say/ cried
Chah-Jehan. ' Hazret-Salamet ! (Heaven preserve your
Majesty !) It is not perhaps without some reason that
my son claims the property of his father ; he is our son,
and consequently our heir. But I would humbly inquire
what kinship there may have been between your Majesty
and my deceased husband to warrant the demand of one
hundred thousand roupies ? ' Chah-Jehan was so well
pleased with this short and artless harangue, and so
amused with the idea of a bamjane, or Gentile tradesman,
having been related to the Sovereign of the Indies, that
he burst into a fit of laughter, and commanded that the
widow should be left in the undisturbed enjoyment of
the money of her deceased husband.

I shall not now relate all the more important events which
took place, from the conclusion of the war in or about the
year 1660, to the period of my departure, more than six
years afterwards. I doubt not that the account would very
much promote the object I had in view in recording some of
them : namely, an acquaintance with the manners and genius
of the MogoLf and Indians, and I may, therefore, notice the
whole of those events in another place. At present, how-
ever, I shall confine my narration to a few important
circumstances which regard personages with whom my
readers have become familiar ; beginning with Chah-Jehan.

16*6 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

Although Aureng-Zebe kept his father closely confined
in the fortress of Agra and neglected no precaution to
prevent his escape, yet the deposed monarch was other-
wise treated with indulgence and respect. He was per-
mitted to occupy his former apartments,, and to enjoy the
society of Begum-Saheb and the whole of his female
establishment, including the singing and dancing women,
cooks, and others. In these respects no request was ever
denied him ; and as the old man became wondrously
devout, certain Mullahs were allowed to enter .his apart-
ment and read the Koran. He possessed also the
privilege of sending for all kinds of animals, horses of
state, hawks of different kinds, and tame antelopes, which
last were made to fight before him. Indeed, Aureng-
Zebe 's behaviour was throughout kind and respectful, and
he paid attention to his aged parent in every possible
way. He loaded him with presents, consulted him as an
oracle, and the frequent letters of the son to the father
were expressive of duty and submission. By these means
Chah-Jehan's anger and haughtiness were at length sub-
dued, insomuch that he frequently wrote to Aureng-Zebe
on political affairs, sent Dara's daughter to him, and begged
his acceptance of some of those precious stones, which he
had threatened to grind to powder if again importuned
to resign them.1 He even granted to his rebellious son
the paternal pardon and benediction which he had often
with vehement importunity in vain solicited.2

It should not be inferred from what I have said, that
Chah-Jehan was always soothed with compliant submission.

1 See p. 127.

2 See Elliot's History, vol. vii. pp. 251, 252, for Khafi Khan's account
of these transactions. Khafi Khan states that ' many letters passed
between the Emperor Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb full of complaints
and reproaches on one side, and of irritating excuses on the other.
The historian gives three letters from Aurangzeb in extenso, the third
being an answer to one written by Shah Jahan to Aurangzeb, pardon-
ing his offences and sending some jewels and clothes, belonging to
Dara Shikoh which had been left in his palace.

AFTER THE WAR 167

I was convinced by one of Aureng-Zebes letters, that he
could address his father with energy and decision, when
provoked by the arrogant and authoritative tone some-
times assumed by the aged monarch. I obtained a sight
of a portion of the letter, which ran in these words : —
( It is your wish that I should adhere rigidly to the old
custom, and declare myself heir to every person who dies
in my service. We have been accustomed, as soon as an
Omrah or a rich merchant has ceased to breathe, nay
sometimes before the vital spark has fled, to place seals
on his coffers, to imprison and beat the servants or officers
of his household, until they made a full disclosure of the
whole property, even of the most inconsiderable jewel.
This practice is advantageous, no doubt ; but can we deny
its injustice and cruelty ? and should we not be rightly
served if every Omrah acted as Neik-nam-Kan, and if like
the Hindoo1 merchant's widow, every woman concealed
her wealth ?

1 1 wish to avoid your censure, and cannot endure that
you should form a wrong estimate of my character. My
elevation to the throne has not, as you imagine, filled me
with insolence and pride. You know by more than forty
years' experience, how burthensome an ornament a crown
is, and with how sad and aching a heart a monarch retires
from the public gaze. Our great ancestor E/cbar, anxious
that his successors should exercise their power with mild-
ness, discretion and wisdom, recommended to their serious
attention in the excellent memoirs left behind him, a fine
characteristic of Mir-Timur. He recounts that on the day
on which Bajazefi was made prisoner, when he was
brought into the presence of Timur, the latter, after
attentively fixing his eyes upon the haughty captive,

1 Indou in the original.

2 The ' popular ' and time-honoured form of the name of the Turkish
Sultan Baiazid I., taken prisoner by Timur Lang on the 2ist July 1402,
then confined in an iron cage and carried about in this manner with
the conqueror's camp, till he died on the 8th March 1403.

168 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

laughed in his face. Bajazet, much offended at this rude-
ness, told the conqueror not to exult too extravagantly in
his good fortune ; " It is God," said he, " who exalts or
debases Kings, and though you are victorious to-day, you
may be in chains to-morrow." " I am very sensible,"
answered Timur, " of the vanity and mutability of earthly
possessions, and Heaven forbid that I should insult a
fallen enemy. My laughter proceeded not from any wish
to wound thy feelings, Bajazet ; it escaped involuntarily,
while I was indulging a series of ideas suggested by the
uncomeliness of both our persons. I looked at thy
countenance, rendered unsightly by the loss of an eye ;
and then considering that I am myself a miserable cripple,
was led into a train of reflections, which provoked me to
laughter. What can there be within the circle of a
crown," I asked, " which ought to inspire Kings with in-
ordinate self-esteem, since Heaven bestows the bauble
upon such ill-favoured mortals ? "

1 You seem to think, that I ought to devote less time
and attention to measures which I conceive essential to
the consolidation and security of the kingdom, and that it
would better become me to devise and execute plans of
aggrandisement. I am indeed far from denying that con-
quests ought to distinguish the reign of a great Monarch,
and that I should disgrace the blood of the great Timur, our
honoured progenitor, if I did not seek to extend the bounds
of my present territories. At the same time, I cannot be
justly reproached with inglorious inaction, and you cannot
with truth assert that my armies are unprofitably employed
in the Decan and in Bengale. I wish you to recollect that
the greatest conquerors are not always the greatest Kings.
The nations of the earth have often been subjugated by mere
uncivilised barbarians, and the most extensive conquests
have in a few short years crumbled to pieces. He is the
truly great King who makes it the chief business of his
life to govern his subjects with equity/ and so forth. The
remainder of this letter did not fall into my hands.

AFTER THE WAR 169

SECONDLY. I shall now say a few words regarding the
celebrated Emir-Jemla, recur to some of the incidents
wherein he was concerned after the termination of the
civil war, and mention the manner in which he closed
his brilliant career.

In effecting the subjugation of Bengale that great man
did not behave to Sultan Sujah with the cruelty and breach
of faith practised by Gion-Kan,ihai infamous Paian, towards
Dam, or by the Raja of Serenaguer towards Soliman-
Chekouh. He obtained possession of the country like a
skilful captain, and disdaining any unworthy stratagem to
secure Sujah' s person, contented himself with driving the
discomfited Prince to the sea, and compelling him to leave
the kingdom.1 Emir-Jemfa then sent an eunuch to
Aureng-Zebe with a letter, supplicating the King to permit
his family to repair to Bengale under the eunuch's care.
' The war is happily at an end/ he said, ' and as I am
enfeebled and broken down by age, you will not, you
surely cannot, refuse me the consolation of passing the
remainder of my days with my wife and children/ But
Aureng-Zebe penetrated at once into the design of this
expert politician; he knew that if his son Mahmet Emir-
kan were permitted to visit Bengale, the father, Jemla,
would aspire to the independent sovereignty of that
kingdom, if indeed such an acquisition would have
satisfied the pretensions of that extraordinary man. He
was intelligent, enterprising, brave, and wealthy ; at the
head of a victorious army; beloved and feared by his
soldiers, and in possession of the finest province in
Hindoustan. The transactions in which he had been
engaged in Golkonda proved his impatient and daring
spirit, and directly to refuse compliance with his request
would unquestionably have been attended with danger.
Aureng-Zebe acted upon this occasion with his wonted
prudence and address. He sent to the Emir his wife and
daughter, together with his son's children ; created him

1 See p. 109.

170

REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

AuXwA,AX X A XX A >

FIG. 7.— Amir Jumla amuting himself in his Zenana.

AFTER THE WAR 171

Mir-ul-omrah,1 the highest rank that can be conferred
by the King upon a favourite ; and appointed the son,
Mahmet Emir-Khan, Grand Bakchis? or Grand Master of
the Horse, the second or third situation in the state,
which, however, confines the possessor to the court,
rendering it difficult, if not impossible, for him to remain
at a distance from the King's person. Jemla was also
confirmed in the Government of Bengale.

Foiled in his object, the Emir felt that a second demand
for his son could not be made without offending the King,
and that his wisest course was to express gratitude for all
these marks of royal favour.

Affairs had remained in this state nearly a twelve-
month, when the Mogol offered to Jemla the management
of a war against the rich and powerful Raja of Acham,9
whose territories lie north of Dake, on the Gulf of Bengale.
Aureng-Zebe justly apprehended that an ambitious soldier
could not long remain in a state of repose, and that, if
disengaged from foreign war, he would seek occasion to
excite internal commotions.

The Emir himself had been long meditating this enter-
prise, which he hoped would enable him to carry his arms
to the confines of China, and secure to himself immortal
fame. At/reng-Zebe s messenger found him perfectly pre-
pared for the expedition. A powerful army was soon
embarked at Dakef on a river flowing from the dominions

1 Amir-ul-Umara, the Amir of the Amirs, principal Amfr.

2 Mir Bakshi, Commander-in-Chief ; literally, principal paymaster
(Bakshi), as at that period commanding officers were at the same time
paymasters, and collectors of the rents of the lands assigned to them
for the payment of their contingents.

8 Assam.

4 Islam Khan, Shaikh, in 1608, had made Dacca the capital of the
Province of Bengal. This city is on the Burhiganga River, formerly
no doubt, as its name (Old Ganges] implies, the main stream of the
Ganges. This river falls into the Megna, a branch of the Brahmaputra,
the river referred to by Bernier. The expedition to conquer Assam
started from Dacca in 1661.

172 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

about to be invaded, and Jemla and his troops ascended
the stream in a north-east direction, until they reached a
fortress named Azo, distant about one hundred leagues
from Dake, which the Raja of Acham had wrested from a
former Governor of Bengale. Azo was besieged and taken
in less than a fortnight. The Emir then proceeded to-
ward Chamdara, the key of the Rajas dominions, which
he reached after a long march of eight-and-twenty days.
Here a battle was fought to the Rajas disadvantage,
who retired to Guerguon,1 his capital city, forty leagues
from Chamdara ; but being closely and vigorously pressed
by Jemla, he had not time to fortify himself in that place,
and was therefore compelled to continue his retreat to
the mountains of the kingdom of Lassa. Chamdara and
Guerguon were given up to pillage. The latter contained
an infinite booty for the captors. It is a large and well-
built city, very commercial, and celebrated for the beauty
of its women.

The progress of the invaders was checked by the rains
which fell sooner than is customary, and which in this
country are very heavy, inundating every spot of ground,
with the exception of villages built on eminences. In
the mean time, the Raja cleared the whole country, round
the Emir's position, of cattle and every kind of provision,
so that ere the rains ceased the army was reduced to
great and urgent distress, notwithstanding the immense
riches which it had accumulated. Jemla found it equally
difficult to advance or to recede. The mountains in front
presented impracticable barriers, while a retreat was pre-
vented not only by the waters and deep mud, but also
by the precaution taken by the Raja to break down the
dike which forms the road to Chamdara. The Emir there-
fore, was confined to his camp during the whole of the
rainy season, and, on the return of dry weather, his men
were so dispirited by their incessant fatigue and long
privations, that he abandoned the idea of conquering
1 Ghar-ganw of Khafi Khan.

AFTER THE WAR 173

Acham. Under a less able commander, the army could
not have hoped to reach Bengale : the want of provisions
was severely felt ; the mud, being still thick, greatly im-
peded the motions of the troops, and the Raja was active
and indefatigable in pursuit ; but Jemla conducted the
movements of his army with his usual skill, and by his
admirable retreat added greatly to his reputation. He
returned laden with wealth.

The Emir, having improved the fortifications of Azo,
left a strong garrison in that fortress, intending to renew,
early in the following year, the invasion of Acham ; but
how far is it possible for the body, worn out by old
age, to withstand the effects of fatigue ? He, as well
as others under his command, was not made of brass,
and this illustrious man fell a victim to the dysentery
which attacked the army soon after their arrival in
Bengale.1

His death produced, as might be expected, a great
sensation throughout the Indies. ' It is now/ observed
many intelligent persons, ' that Aureng-Zebe is king of
Bengale.' Though not insensible of his obligations of
gratitude, the Mogol was perhaps not sorry to have lost
a vicegerent whose power and mental resources had
excited so much pain and uneasiness. * You mourn,' he
publicly said to Mahmet Emir-kan, ' you mourn the death
of an affectionate parent, and I the loss of the most
powerful and most dangerous of my friends.' He be-
haved, however, with the utmost kindness and liberality
to Mahmet ; assured the young man that in himself he
should always find a second father; and instead of
diminishing his pay, or seizing upon Jemla 's treasures,
Aureng-Zebe confirmed Mahmet in his office of Bakchis,
increased his allowance by one thousand roupies per
month, and constituted him sole heir to his father's
property.

THIRDLY. I shall now bring before the notice of my

1 He died on the 3ist March 1663 at Kliizarpur in Kuch Behar.

174 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

readers Aureng-Zebe's uncle, Chah-hestkan} who, as I have
already said, contributed in an essential degree by his
eloquence and intrigues to the exaltation of his nephew.
He was appointed, as we have seen,2 Governor of Agra, a
short time before the battle of Kadjoiie, when Aureng-Zebe
quitted the capital to meet Sultan Sujah. He was after-
wards 3 nominated Governor of the Decan, and commander-
in-chief of the forces in that province ; and, upon Emir-
Jemla's decease, was transferred to the government of
Bengale* appointed General of the army in that kingdom,
and elevated to the rank of Mir-ul-Omrah, which had
become vacant by the death of Jemla.

I owe it to his reputation to relate the important
enterprise in which he was engaged, soon after his arrival
in Bengale ; an enterprise rendered the more interesting
by the fact that it was never undertaken by his great
predecessor, for reasons which remain unknown. The
narrative will elucidate the past and present state of the
kingdoms of Bengale and Rakan, which have hitherto been
left in much obscurity, and will throw light on other
circumstances which are deserving of attention.

To comprehend the nature of the expedition meditated
by Chah-hestkan, and form a correct idea of the occurrences
in the Gulf of Bengale, it should be mentioned that the
Kingdom of Rakan, or Mog, has harboured during many
years several Portuguese settlers, a great number of
Christian slaves, or half-caste Portuguese, and other Franks
collected from various parts of the world. That kingdom
was the place cf retreat for fugitives from Goa, Ceylon,
Cochin, Malacca, and other settlements in the Indies, held
formerly by the Portuguese ; and no persons were better
received than those who had deserted their monasteries,
married two or three wives, or committed other great
crimes. These people were Christians only in name ; the
lives led by them were most detestable, massacring or

1 Shaista Khan, Amfr-ul-Umara. 2 See p. 66.

9 In 1659. 4 In 1666.

AFTER THE WAR 175

poisoning one another without compunction or remorse,
and sometimes assassinating even their priests, who, to
confess the truth, were too often no better than their
murderers.

The King of Rakan, who lived in perpetual dread of the
Mogol, kept these foreigners, as a species of advanced
guard, for the protection of his frontier, permitting them
to occupy a seaport called Chatigon,1 and making them
grants of land. As they were unawed and unrestrained
by the government, it was not surprising that these
renegades pursued no other trade than that of rapine and
piracy. They scoured the neighbouring seas in light
galleys, called galleasses, entered the numerous arms and
branches of the Ganges, ravaged the islands of Lower
Bengale, and, often penetrating forty or fifty leagues tip
the country, surprised and carried away the entire popula-
tion of villages on market days, and at times when the
inhabitants were assembled for the celebration of a
marriage, or some other festival. The marauders made
slaves of their unhappy captives, and burnt whatever
could not be removed. It is owing to these repeated
depredations that we see so many fine islands at the mouth
of the Ganges, formerly thickly peopled, now entirely de-
serted by human beings, and become the desolate lairs
of tigers and other wild beasts.2

Their treatment of the slaves thus obtained was most
cruel ; and they had the audacity to offer for sale, in the
places which they had but recently ravaged, the aged
people whom they could turn to no better account. It
was usual to see young persons, who had saved themselves

1 Chittagong, re-named in 1666 by the Moslems, Isldmdbdd, com-
manding the mouth of the Megna, a port which played a very important
part in the early history of European adventure in India.

2 In Rennell's Map of the Simderbund and Baliagot Passages, pub-
lished in 1780, a note is entered across part of the territory referred to
by Bernier : Country depopulated by the Muggs. Changes in the course
of the Ganges had also much to do with the desertion of this tract
of country.

176 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

by timely flight, endeavouring to-day to redeem the parent
who had been made captive yesterday. Those who were
not disabled by age the pirates either kept in their service,
training them up to the love of robbery and practice of
assassination, or sold to the Portuguese of Goa, Ceylon,
San Thome, and other places. Even the Portuguese of
Ogouli,1 in Bengale, purchased without scruple these
wretched captives, and the horrid traffic was transacted
in the vicinity of the island of Galles, near Cape das
Palmas.2 The pirates, by a mutual understanding, waited
for the arrival of the Portuguese, who bought whole cargoes
at a cheap rate ; and it is lamentable to reflect that other
Europeans, since the decline of the Portuguese power,
have pursued the same flagitious commerce with these
pirates, who boast, the infamous scoundrels, that they
make more Christians in a twelvemonth than all the mis-
sionaries of the Indies do in ten years. A strange mode
this of propagating our holy religion by the constant
violation of its most sacred precepts, and by the open
contempt and defiance of its most awful sanctions !

The Portuguese established themselves at Ogouli under
the auspices of Jehan-Guyre, the grandfather of Aureng-
Zebe. That Prince was free from all prejudice against
Christians, and hoped to reap great benefit from their
commerce. The new settlers also engaged to keep the
Gulf of Bengale clear of pirates.

Chah-Jehan, a more rigid Mahometan than his father,
visited the Portuguese at Ogouli with a terrible punish-
ment. They provoked his displeasure by the encourage-
ment afforded to the depredators of Ra/can, and by their
refusal to release the numerous slaves in their service, who
had all of them been subjects of the MogoL He first

1 Hugh', where the East India Company established a factory in
1640. Shaista Khan's punitive expedition against the Arakan Raja
was undertaken in 1664-65 (Stewart, History of Bengal, p. 297).

2 Now called Palmyras Point, the well-known headland on the
Orissa coast.

AFTER THE WAR 177

exacted, by threats or persuasion, large sums of money
from them, and when they refused to comply with his
ultimate demands, he besieged and took possession of the
town, and commanded that the whole population should
be transferred as slaves to Agra.1

The misery of these people is unparalleled in the
history of modern times : it nearly resembled the grievous
captivity of Babylon ; for even the children, priests, and
monks shared the universal doom. The handsome women,
as well married as single, became inmates of the seraglio ;
those of a more advanced age, or of inferior beauty, were
distributed among the Omrahs ; little children underwent
the rite of circumcision, and were made pages ; and the
men of adult age, allured, for the most part, by fair
promises, or terrified by the daily threat of throwing them
under the feet of elephants, renounced the Christian faith.
Some of the monks, however, remained faithful to their
creed, and were conveyed to Goa, and other Portuguese
settlements, by the kind exertions of the Jesuits and
missionaries at Agra, who, notwithstanding all this
calamity, continued in their dwelling, and were enabled
to accomplish their benevolent purpose by the powerful
aid of money, and the warm intercession of their friends.

Before the catastrophe at Ogouli, the missionaries had
not escaped the resentment of Chah-Jehan : he ordered
the large and handsome church at Agra, which, together
with one at Lahor, had been erected during the reign of
Jehan-Guyre, to be demolished. A high steeple stood
upon this church, with a bell whose sound was heard in
every part of the city.

Some time before the capture of Ogouli, the pirates

1 This was in 1629-30, and other reasons than- those given by
Bernier led to the action taken by Shah Jahan ; such as the refusal of
all aid to him, when in 1621, as Prince Khurram, he had revolted
against his father, the Emperor Jahangfr, and applied to the Portu-
guese at Hugli for assistance in the shape of soldiers and munitions
of war.

178 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

made a formal offer to the Viceroy of Goa, to deliver the
whole kingdom of llakan into his hands. Bastian Consalve l
was then chief of the pirates, and so celebrated and
powerful was he, that he married the King of Rakan's
daughter. It is said that the Viceroy was too arrogant
and envious to listen to this proposal, and felt unwilling
that the King of Portugal should be indebted to a man of
low origin for so important an acquisition. There was
nothing, however, in the proposal to excite surprise ; it
was quite in keeping with the general conduct of the
Portuguese in Japan, Pegu, Ethiopia, and other places.
The decay of their power in the Indies is fairly ascribable
to their misdeeds,, and may be considered, as they candidly
allow, a proof of the divine displeasure. Formerly their
name was a tower of strength; all the Indian princes courted
their friendship, and the Portuguese were distinguished
for courage, generosity, zeal for religion, immensity of
wealth, and the splendour of their exploits : but they were
not then, like the Portuguese of the present day, addicted
to every vice, and to every low and grovelling enjoyment.
The pirates, about the time of which I am speaking,
made themselves masters of the island of Sondiva? an

1 Sebastian Gonzales Tibao,who had been a common sailor. Accord-
ing to Stewart (History of Bengal, Lond. 1813, p. 210), he married the
Mugh's sister who had become a Christian, and this historian states
that it was Anaporam, a brother of the King of Aracan, who, having
been guilty of some misdemeanour when Governor of a province of
that country, fled for refuge to Sundeep where he met Gonzales, whom
he enlisted in his cause. They invaded Aracan and were able to save
the family of Anaporam and bring away a good deal of treasure.
Anaporam then gave Gonzales a large sum of money and his sister in
marriage, but shortly after that died, poisoned it is believed, and all
his wealth fell into the hands of the pirate.

8 Sundeep (Sandwip), off the coast of Chittagong, at the mouth of the
Meghna, and described by the Venetian traveller Cesare de Federici
(circa 1565), as being one of the most fertile places in the country, and
that such was the abundance of materials for shipbuilding in the neigh-
bourhood that the Sultan of Constantinople found it cheaper to have
his vessels built there than elsewhere.

AFTER THE WAR 179

advantageous post,, commanding part of the mouth of the
Ganges. On this spot, the notorious Fra-Joan, an Augustine
monk, reigned, as a petty Sovereign, during many years ;
having contrived, God knows how, to rid himself of the
Governor of the island.

These also are the identical freebooters who, as we have
seen,1 repaired in their galleasses to Daka, for the purpose
of conveying Sultan Sujah to Rakan. They found means
of opening some of his chests, and robbing him of many
precious stones, which were offered secretly for sale in
Rakan and disposed of for a mere trifle. The diamonds
all got into the hands of the Dutch and others, who easily
persuaded the ignorant thieves that the stones were soft,
and that they would pay for them only according to their
hardness.

I have said enough to give an idea of the trouble, vexa-
tion and expense, to which the Mogol was for many years
exposed by the unjust and violent proceedings of the
pirates established in Rakan. He had always been under
the necessity of guarding the inlets of the kingdom of
Bengale, of keeping large bodies of troops and a fleet
of galleasses on the alert. All these precautions, how-
ever, did not prevent the ravaging of his territories;
the pirates were become so bold and skilful that with
four or five galleasses they would attack, and generally
capture or destroy, fourteen or fifteen of the Mogol's
galleys.

The deliverance of Bengale from the cruel and incessant
devastations of these barbarians was the immediate object
of the expedition contemplated by Chah-hestkan upon his
appointment to the government of that Kingdom. But
he had an ulterior design, — that of attacking the King of
Rakan, and punishing him for his cruelty to Sultan Sujah
and his family, Aureng-Zebe having determined to avenge
the murder of those illustrious personages, and, by a signal
example, to teach his neighbours, that Princes of the

See pp. 58, 109.

180 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

Blood Royal, in all situations and under all circumstances,
must be treated with humanity and reverence.1

Chah-hestkan has accomplished his first plan with
consummate address. It was scarcely practicable to
march an army from Bengale into the kingdom of Kakan
owing to the great number of rivers and channels that
intersect the frontiers ; and the naval superiority of the
pirates rendered it still more difficult to transport an
invading force by sea. It therefore occurred to him to
apply to the Dutch for their co-operation, and with this
view he sent an envoy to Batavia, with power to negotiate,
on certain conditions, with the general commandant of
that colony, for the joint occupation of the kingdom of
Rakan ; in the same manner as Chah-Abas treated formerly
with the English in regard to Ormuz?

The Governor of Batavia was easily persuaded to enter
into a scheme that offered an opportunity of still further
depressing the Portuguese influence in the Indies, and from
the success of which the Dutch company would derive
important advantages. He despatched two ships of war
to Bengale for the purpose of facilitating the conveyance
of the Mogol's troops to Chatigon ; but Chah-hest, in the
meantime, had collected a large number of galleasses and
other vessels of considerable tonnage, and threatened to
overwhelm the pirates in irremediable ruin if they did not
immediately submit to the Mogol's authority, ( Anreng-
Zebe is fixed in the resolution/ said he to them, fof
chastising the King of Rakan, and a Dutch fleet, too
powerful to be resisted, is near at hand. If you are wise,
your personal safety and the care of your families will now
engross all your attention ; you will quit the service of the

1 See p. 106, footnote *.

2 The officers of Shah Abba's, who looked with a covetous and
resentful eye on the Portuguese occupation of Ormus, invoked the aid
of the English Council at Surat, and on the i8th February 1622 the
combined Persian and English forces laid siege to Ormus. The Portu-
guese, after a gallant resistance of five weeks, surrendered on the
1st May.

AFTER THE WAR 181

King of Rakan, and enter into that of Aureng-Zcbe. In
Bengale you shall have as much land allotted as you may
deem necessary, and your pay shall be double that which
you at present receive.'

The pirates about this period had assassinated one of
the King of Rakan s principal officers, .and it is not known
whether they were more struck with terror by the punish-
ment awaiting them for that crime, or moved by the
promises and threats contained in Chah-hest's communica-
tion. Certain it is, however, that these unworthy Portu-
guese were one day seized with so strange a panic as to
embark in forty or fifty galleasses and sail over to Bengale,
and they adopted this measure with so much precipitation
that they had scarcely time to take their families and
valuable effects on board.

Chah-hestkan received these extraordinary visitors with
open arms ; gave them large sums of money ; provided
the women and children with excellent accommodation in
the town of Daka,1 and after he had thus gained their
confidence, the pirates evinced an eagerness to act in con-
cert with the Mogol's troops, shared in the attack and
capture of Sondiva, which island had fallen into the hands
of the King of Rakan, and accompanied the Indian army
from Sondiva to Chatigon. Meanwhile the two Dutch ships
of war made their appearance, and Chah-hestkan having
thanked the commanders for their kind intentions, in-
formed them that he had now no need of their services.
I saw these vessels in Bengale, and was in company with
the officers, who considered the Indian's thanks a poor
compensation for the violation of his engagements. In
regard to the Portuguese, Chah-hest treats them, not per-
haps as he ought, but certainly as they deserve. He has
drawn them from Chatigon ; they and their families are in

1 According to Stewart (History of Bengal, p. 299) at a place about
twelve miles below Dacca, hence called Feringhee Bazar, where some
of their descendants yet reside. The Fringybazar of Rennell's Plan of
the Environs of the City of Dacca, published in 1780,

(82

his power ; an occasion for their services no longer exists ;
he considers it,, therefore, quite unnecessary to fulfil a
single promise. He suffers month after month to elapse
without giving them any pay ; declaring that they are
traitors, in whom it is folly to confide ; wretches who have
basely betrayed the Prince whose salt they had eaten for
many years.

In this manner has Chah-heslkan extinguished the power
of these scoundrels in Chatigon ; 1 who, as I have already
said, had depopulated and ruined the whole of Lower
Bcngale. Time will show whether his enterprise against
the King of Rakan will be crowned with similar success.2

FOURTHLY. Respecting the two sons of Aureng-Zebe,
Sultan Mahmoud and Sultan Mazum, the former is still
confined in Go'ualeor ; but, if we are to believe the general
report, without being made to drink poust, the beverage
usually given to the inmates of that fortress.3 Sultan
Mazum appears to comport himself with his accustomed
prudence and moderation, although the transaction I am
about to relate is perhaps an evidence that this Prince
during the dangerous illness of his father had carried on
secret intrigues, or that the displeasure of Aureng-Zebe was
excited by some other circumstance unknown to the public.
It may be, however, that, without any reference to the
past, the King was only anxious to obtain authentic proof
both of his son's obedience and of his courage, when he
commanded him, in a full assembly of Omrahs, to kill a
lion which had descended from the mountains and was
then laying waste the surrounding country. The Grand
Master of the Hunt4 ventured to hope that Sultan Mazum

1 For an exceedingly valuable account of the Feringhees of Chitta-
gong and their present state, and what has led to their decline, s
pp. 57-89 of The Calcutta Review, vol. liii., 1871.

2 The enterprise was eventually successful, and the Province of
Aracan annexed to the Kingdom of Bengal.

8 See p. 106, footnote 1.
4 The Mir Shikar, an important officer at the Mogul Court, corre
spending to our Chief Ranger of old days.

AFTER THE WAR 183

might be permitted to avail himself of those capacious nets
which are ordinarily made use of in so perilous a chase.1
' He shall attack the lion without nets/ sternly replied
the King. * When I was Prince I thought not of such pre-
cautions.' An order given in so decisive a tone could not
be disobeyed. The Prince declined not the fearful under-
taking; he encountered and overcame the tremendous
beast with the loss of only two or three men ; some horses
were mangled, and the wounded lion bounded on the head
of the Sultan's elephant. Since this strange adventure,
Aureng-Zebe has behaved to his son with the utmost affection,
and has even raised him to the government of the Decan.
It must be owned, however, that Sultan Mazum is so
limited in authority2 and circumscribed in pecuniary means,
that he cannot occasion much uneasiness to his father.

FIFTHLY. The next personage I would recall to the
recollection of my readers is Mohabet-Kan, the governor of
Kaboulf He was induced at length to resign the govern-
ment of that province, and Aureng-Zebe generously refused
to punish him, declaring that the life of such a soldier was
invaluable, and that he deserved commendation for his
fidelity to his benefactor Chah-Jehan. The King even nom-
inated him Governor of Guzarate instead of Jessomseingue,
who was sent to the seat of war in the Decan. It is true
that a few costly presents may have disposed the Mogol's
mind in Mohabet's favour ; for besides what he gave to
Rauchenara-Begum, he sent the King fifteen or sixteen
thousand golden roupies and a considerable number of
Persian horses and camels.4

The mention of Kaboul reminds me of the adjacent
kingdom of Kandahar, at present tributary to Persia ; to

1 See pp. 378, 379.

2 It was in 1663 that Prince Muhammad Muazzam was made
Subadar of the Deccan and given the command of the troops thea
being employed against Sivaji. 3 See p. 70.

4 Mahabat Khan was the second son of the celebrated Mahabat
Khan of Jahangir's reign, and is said to have died in 1674 when on
his way from Kabul to the presence.

184 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

the subject of which I ought to devote one or two pages.
Much ignorance prevails concerning that country, as well
as 011 the political feeling which it creates between the
governments of Persia and Hmdoustan. The name of the
capital is also Kandahar, which is the stronghold of this
rich and fine kingdom. The desire of possessing the
capital has been, for some ages, the cause of sanguinary
wars between the Mogoh and Persians. The great Ekbar
wrested it from the latter,1 and kept it during the
remainder of his reign. Chah-Abas the celebrated King
of Persia took the city from Jekan-Guyre,* the son of Ekbar;
and the treachery of the Governor Aly MerdankanB de-
livered it into the hands of Chah-Jehan the son of Jehan-
Guyre. Aly Merdan immediately placed himself under the
protection of his new Sovereign ; he had many enemies
in his own country, and was too prudent to obey the
summons of the Persian monarch, who called upon him
to give an account of his government. Kandahar was
again besieged and captured by the son of Chah-Abas^
and afterwards twice unsuccessfully attacked by Chah-
Jehan. The first failure was owing to the bad conduct
or the perfidy of the Persian omrahs in the Great Mogul's
service, the most powerful noblemen of his court, and
strongly attached to their native country. They betrayed
a shameful lukewarmness during the siege, refusing to
follow the Raja Roup who had already planted his stan-

1 In 1594. 2 In 1622.

3 AH Mardan Khan, a Persian, was governor of Kandahar under
Shah Safi, who it is said, treated him so cruelly that in despair he gave
up the place in 1637 to Shah Jahan, who received him well at Delhi,
to which city he had returned. Ali Mardan Khan was a most capable
administrator, and was at various times made Governor of Kabul and
Kashmir, and has left behind him various monuments of his skill as a
constructor of public works, notably the canal at Delhi, which bears
his name, and, somewhat remodelled, is in use at the present day. It is
said that he introduced the Chenar (Oriental plane-tree) into Kashmir.
He died in 1657 when on his way to Kashmir, and was buried at
Lahore. 4 In 1648.

AFTER THE WAR 185

dard on the wall nearest to the mountain. Aureng-Zebe's
jealousy occasioned the second failure. He would not storm
the breach which the cannon of the Franks — English,
Portuguese, Germans, and French — had rendered suffi-
ciently practicable ; because the enterprise had originated
with Dara, at that time with his father in the city
of Kaboul, and he felt unwilling that his brother should
have the credit of so valuable an acquisition. Chah-
Jehan, a few years before the late troubles, seemed on
the point of besieging Kandahar for the third time, but
was deterred from the enterprise by Emir-Jemla, who, as
we have stated, advised the Mogol to send his army to
the Decan.1 Aly Merdankan seconded with great earnest-
ness the Emirs arguments, and addressed the King in
these extraordinary words: — 'Your Majesty will never
succeed in taking Kandahar, unless her gates be opened
by such a traitor as myself; or unless you determine to
exclude all Persians from the besieging army, and issue
a proclamation promising entire freedom to the bazaars ;
that is, exempting them from the payment of any duty
on provisions brought for the use of the army/ A few
years ago Aureng-Zebe, following the example of his pre-
decessors, made preparations for the attack of this cele-
brated city, being offended with the letter written by
the King of Persia, or with the ungracious reception ex-
perienced by his ambassador, Tarbiet-Kan,2 at the Persian
court : but he heard of the King's death, and abandoned
the project; feeling reluctant, as he pretended, to act
with hostility against a child just seated on the throne;
although Chah-SoUman, who succeeded his father, cannot,
I think, be less than five-and-twenty years of age.

SIXTHLY. I would now say something of the warm par-

1 See pp. 22, 23.

2 Probably Shafi-ullah Khan, who had had conferred upon him the
title of Tarbiat Khan Barlas, a native of Persia who came to India
and served under Shah Jahan and Aurengzeb. He died at Jaunpur?
of which he was Governor, in 1685.

186 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

tisans of Aureng-Zebe, most of whom have been promoted
to situations of high trust and dignity. His uncle Chah-
hestkan was made, as we have mentioned, Governor and
Commander-in-chief in the Decan ; subsequently this noble-
man was made governor of Bengale. Mir-Kan obtained the
government of Kaboul ; Kalilullah-Kan that of Lahor ; Mir-
baba, of Elabas ; Laskerkan, of Patna ; and the son1 of that
Allah-verdi-Kan, whose advice cost Sultan Siijah the battle
of Kadjoile, was made Governor of Scimdy. Fazelkan, whose
counsels and address had been essentially useful to Aureng-
Zebe, was invested with the office of Kane-saman? or Grand
Chamberlain of the royal household. Danechmend-Kan
was appointed Governor of Dehli; and, in consideration
of his studious habits, and the time which he necessarily
devotes to the affairs of the foreign department, he is
exempted from the ancient ceremony of repairing twice
a day to the assembly, for the purpose of saluting the
King; the omission of which, subjects other Omrahs to
a pecuniary penalty. To Dianet-Kan, Aureng-Zebe has
intrusted the government of Kachmire, a little kingdom
nearly inaccessible, and considered the terrestrial paradise
of the Indies. Ekbar became possessed of that delightful
country by stratagem. It boasts of authentic histories,
in its own vernacular tongue, containing an interesting
account of a long succession of ancient kings ; sometimes
so powerful as to have reduced to subjection the whole
of Hindoustan, as far as the island of Ceylon. Of these
histories Jehan-Guyre caused an abridgment to be made
in the Persian language ; and of this I procured a copy. —
It is proper to mention in this place that Aureng-Zebe
cashiered Nejabatkan, who greatly distinguished himself
in the battles of Samonguer and Kadjoile; but he seems

1 Jafar Khan, appointed Subadar of Allahabad, where he died in
1669 (Beale).

2 Properly Khansaman, a Persian word meaning a house steward.
Now applied, in Northern India, to the chief table-servant and pur-
veyor in Anglo-Indian households.

AFTER THE WAR

187

to have brought that disgrace upon himself by continually
dwelling upon the services he had rendered the King.
As to those infamous individuals, Gionkan and Nazer, the
well-deserved fate of the former has been recounted ; but
what subsequently became of Nazer is not ascertained.

In regard to Jessomseingue and Jesseingue, there is some
obscurity which I shall endeavour to clear up. A revolt
had taken place, headed
by a gentile of Visapour,
who made himself master
of several important for-
tresses and one or two
seaports belonging to the
King of that country.
The name of this bold
adventurer is Seva-Gi, or
Lord Seva.1 He is vigi-
lant, enterprising, and
wholly regardless of per-
sonal safety. Chah-hestkan, ^ A ^,T
' Den Heer SEYA.GI.

isaf

FIG. 8.— Sivaji.

when in the Deccm, found
in him an enemy more
formidable than the King
of Visapour at the head
of his whole army and
joined by those Rajas
who usually unite with
that prince for their com-
mon defence. Some idea may be formed of Seva-Gi 's
intrepidity by his attempt to seize Chah-hestkan s person,
together with all his treasures, in the midst of his troops,
and surrounded by the walls of Aureng-Abad. Attended by
a few soldiers he one night penetrated into Ctiah-hestkan s
apartment, and would have succeeded in his object had
he remained undetected a short time longer. Chah-hest
was severely wounded, and his son was killed in the act of
1 See pp. 136-37 text, and footnote 3 on p. 135.

188 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

drawing his sword. Seva-Gi soon engaged in another daring
expedition, which proved more successful. Placing him-
self at the head of two or three thousand men, the flower
of his army, he silently withdrew from his camp, and
pretended during the inarch to be a Raja going to the
Mogol's court. When within a short distance of Sourate,
he met the Grand Provost of the country,1 on whom he
imposed the belief that he intended to prosecute his
journey without entering the town : but the plunder of
that famous and wealthy port was the principal object of
the expedition ; he rushed into the place sword in hand,
and remained nearly three days, torturing the population
to compel a discovery of their concealed riches. Burning
what he could not take away, Seva-Gi returned without
the least opposition, laden with gold and silver to the
amount of several millions ; with pearls, silken stuffs, fine
cloths, and a variety of other costly merchandise. A
secret understanding, it was suspected, existed between
Jessomseingue and Seva-Gi, and the former was supposed to
have been accessory to the attempt on Chah-hest as well as
the attack of Sourate. The Raja was therefore recalled
from the Decan, but instead of going to Dehli, he returned
to his own territories.

I forgot to mention that during the pillage of Sourate,
Seva-Gi, the Holy Seva-Gi ! respected the habitation of the
Reverend Father Ambrose, the Capuchin missionary. ' The
Franldsh Padrys are good men,' he said, ' and shall not be
molested/ He spared also the house of a deceased Delate
or Gentile broker,1 of the Dutch, because assured that he

1 In the original 'grand Prevost de la campagne.' Valentyn calls
him the ' Stadsvoogd ' and says that they met at ' Utena, a village
about one and a half miles from the town.' The official was most
likely the Kotual or commandant of the fort, and this rendering agrees
with Bernier's narrative (see p. 369) where he talks of the Cotoiial,
qui est comme le grand Prevost (of the Mogul's camp).

2 The appointment of Broker (liindostanee dalltil] was an ex-
ceedingly important one. Tavernier, in chapter xiv. of his Travels^
vol. ii, pp. 33, 71, entitled 'Concerning the Methods to be observed for

AFTER THE WAR 189

had been very charitable while alive. The dwellings of
the English and Dutch likewise escaped his visits, not in
consequence of any reverential feeling on his part, but
because those people had displayed a great deal of
resolution, and defended themselves well. The English
especially, assisted by the crews of their vessels, per-
formed wonders, and saved not only their own houses
but those of their neighbours.1 The pertinacity of a Jew,

establishing a new Commercial Company in the EAST INDIES,' insists
upon the importance of securing for this post the services of one 'who
should be a native of the country, an idolater and not a Muhammadan,
because all the workmen with whom he will have to do are idolaters.
Good manners and probity are above all things necessary in order to
acquire confidence at first among these people.'

Tavernier also gives some interesting details regarding the Dallal
whose house was spared by Sivaji (Travels, vol. ii. p. 204), where he
tells us that ' in the month of January of the year 1661 the Shroff or
money-changer of the Dutch Company, named MONDAS PAREK, died
at SURAT. He was a rich man and very charitable, having bestowed
much alms during his life on the Christians as well as on the idolaters ;
the Rev. Capuchin Fathers of SURAT living for a part of the year on
the rice, butter, and vegetables which he sent them.

In the first English translation of this book, the passage about the
dalldl is translated as follows : ' He had also regard to the House
of the Deceased De LaleJ a rendering which has been followed in other
editions.

1 Sir George Oxindon (thus he signed his name, as may be seen
from records in the India Office, not Oxendon, or Oxendine, or Oxen-
din, or Oxenden, as frequently printed) was then Chief Factor or
President, ' In whose time Seva Gi plunder'd Swat ; but he defended
himself and the Merchants so bravely, that he had a Collat or Set-paw,
a Robe of Honour from Head to Foot, offered him from the Great
Mogul, with an Abatement of Customs to Two and a half per cent.
granted to the Company : for which his Masters, as a token of the
high Sense they had of his Valour, presented him a Medal of Gold
with this Device :

Non minor est virtus quam quaerere parta ttteri.'
Fryer's A New Account of East India, etc., ed. Crooke (Hakluyt
Soc. ), i. 223.

Oxindon was appointed chief of the English Factory at Surat, on the
l8th September 1662, and he died there on the I4th July 1669, aged
fifty. His elaborate mausoleum forms the most prominent object in the
old English cemetery at Surat.

190 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

a native of Constantinople, astonished everybody. Seva-Gi
knew that he was in possession of most valuable rubies,
which he intended to sell to Aureng-Zebe ; but he per-
severed in stoutly denying the fact, although three times
placed on his knees to receive the stroke of a sword
flourished over his head. This conduct was worthy of a Jew,
whose love of money generally exceeds his love of life.

Aureng-Zebe prevailed with Jesseingue to take the
command of the army in the Decan, attended by Sultan
Mazum, who, however, was not invested with any
authority. The Raja's first operation was vigorously to
attack Seva-Gi' 's principal fortress ; but he had recourse,
at the same time, to his favourite art, negotiation, which
he brought to a favourable issue, as the place surrendered
by capitulation long before it was reduced to extremity.
Seva-Gi having consented to make common cause with
the Mogol against Visapour, Aureng-Zebe proclaimed him
a Raja, took him under his protection, and granted an
omrah's pension to his son. Some time afterwards, the
King meditating a war against Persia, wrote to Seva-Gi in
such kind and flattering terms, and extolled his generosity,
talents and conduct so highly, as to induce him to meet
the Mogol at Dehli, Jesseingue having plighted his faith for
the chieftain's security. Chah-hestkari s wife, a relation of
Aureng-Zebe' s, happened to be then at court, and never
ceased to urge the arrest of a man who had killed her son,
wounded her husband, and sacked Sourate.1 The result
was that Seva-Gi, observing that his tents were watched
by three or four omrahs, effected his escape in disguise
under favour of night. This circumstance caused great
uneasiness in the palace, and Jesseingue' s eldest son, being
strongly suspected of having assisted Seva-Gi in his flight,
was forbidden to appear at court. Aureng-Zebe felt, or

1 Surat in those days being the place of embarkation of pilgrims
to Mecca was looked upon as a sacred place by the Moslems of
India. It was then sometimes called Bab ul Makkah, or the Gate of
Mecca.

AFTER THE WAft 191

Seemed to feel, equally irritated against the father and
the son, and Jesseingue, apprehending that he might avail
himself of this pretext to seize his territories, abandoned
his command in the Decan and hastened to the defence of
his dominions, but he died on his arrival at Brampour.1
The kindness shown by the Mogol to the Raja's son,2
when apprised of this melancholy event ; his tender
condolences, and the grant to him of the pension enjoyed
by the father, confirm many persons in the opinion that
Seva-Gi did not escape without the connivance of Aureng-
Zebe himself. His presence at court must indeed have
greatly embarrassed the King, since the hatred of the
women was most fierce and rancorous against him : they
considered him as a monster who had imbued his hands
in the blood of friends and kinsmen.3

But here let us take a cursory review of the history of
the Decan, a kingdom that, during more than forty years,
has constantly been the theatre of war, and owing to
which the Mogol is so frequently embroiled with the
King of Golkonda, the King of Visapour, and several other
less powerful sovereigns. The nature of the quarrels in
that part of Hindoustan cannot be well understood while
we remain ignorant of the chief occurrences and have
only an imperfect knowledge of the condition of the
Princes by whom the country is governed.

1 Burhanpur. 2 Ram Singh.

3 Fryer's account (op. at. vol. ii. p. 65) of these transactions agrees
with Bernier's narrative in many particulars, and with regard to Sivdji's
escape from Dehli (Agra according to Fryer), he says that Aurangzeb,
'desirous to try if by Kindness he could reclaim this famous Rebel,
allures him to Court (Faith being plighted for his Safety), where shortly
after, the Outcries of the Women in whose Kindred's Blood his hands
were imbrued, made him shift for himself in an Hamper on a Porter's
Back, which passed the Guards among many others, which were forced
to be sent as Piscashes ' [Peshcush, Persian pesh-kash, a present to a
great man, etc.] 'to his Friends, as the manner is when under Con-
finement : With this Slight he got away (not without the MoguFs
Privity), and 'tis believed will hardly venture to Agra again, unless
better guarded.'

192 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

Two centuries have scarcely elapsed since the great
peninsula of India, stretching from the Gulf of Cambaye
on the west to the Gulf of Bengale near Jagannate on the
east, and extending southerly to Cape Comori,1 was, with
the exception perhaps of a few mountainous tracts, under
the domination of one arbitrary despot. The indiscretion
of Raja, or King, Ram-ras, the last Prince under whom
it was united, caused the dismemberment of this vast
monarchy., and this is the reason why it is now divided
among many sovereigns professing different religions.
Ram-ras had three Georgian slaves in his service, whom
he distinguished by every mark of favour, and at length
nominated to the Government of three considerable
districts. One was appointed governor of nearly the
whole of the territory in the Decan which is now in the
possession of the Mogol; Daulet-Abad was the capital of
that government, which extended from Eider, Para?ida2
and Sourale as far as Narbadar. The territory now forming
the kingdom of Visapour was the portion of the second
favourite; and the third obtained the country compre-
hended in the present kingdom of Golkonda. These three
slaves became extremely rich and powerful, and as they
professed the Mahometan faith and declared themselves
of the Chyas sect, which is that of the Persians, they
received the countenance and support of a great number
of Mogols in the service of Ram-ras. They could not,
even if so disposed, have embraced the religion of the
Gentiles, because the gentiles of India admit no stranger
to the participation of their mysteries. A rebellion, in
which the three Georgian slaves united, terminated in the
murder of Ram-ras, after which they returned to their
respective governments, and usurped the title of Chah, or
King. Ram-ras' s children, incapable of contending with
these men, remained quietly in the country known

1 The old and correct form for Comorin ; see p. 23, footnote x.

2 Purandhar, 20 miles south-east of Poona city, now a sanitarium for
European troops.

AFTER THE WAR 193

commonly by the name of the Karnateck, and called on
our maps Bisnaguer,1 where their posterity are Rajas to
this day. The remainder of the Peninsula was split at
the same time into all those smaller states still existing,
governed by Rajas, Naiques? and other Kinglets. While the
three Slaves and their successors preserved a good under-
standing with each other, they were able to defend their
kingdoms, and to wage wars on a large scale against the
Mogols ; but when the seeds of jealousy were sown among
them, and they chose to act as independent sovereigns
who stood in no need of foreign assistance, they ex-
perienced the fatal effects of disunion. Thirty-five or
forty years ago, the Mogol, availing himself of their
differences, invaded the dominions of Nejam-Chah, or King
Nejam, the fifth or sixth in succession from the first Slave
and made himself master of the whole country.3 Nejam
died a prisoner in Daulet-Abad, his former capital.4

Since that period, the Kings of Golkonda have been
preserved from invasion, not in consequence of their
great strength, but of the employment given to the
Mogol by the two sister kingdoms, and of the necessity
he was under to capture their strong places, such as
Amber, Paranda, Bider and others, before Golkonda could be
prudently attacked. The safety of those Kings may also
be ascribed to the wisdom of their policy. Possessing
great wealth, they have always secretly supplied the
monarch of Visapour with money, to enable him to defend
his country ; so that whenever the latter is threatened,

1 Vijayanagar (Bijianuggur). The site of the ancient capital of this
kingdom, whose ruins cover nine square miles, is Hampi in the Bellary
District of the Madras Presidency, thirty-six miles north-west of
Bellary.

2 Naik, from the Sanskrit ndyaka, a leader or chief. The title was
given to provincial rulers or governors under the kings of Vijayanagar.
See 'The History of the Naik Kingdom of Madura' (Ind. Ant.,
1914, pp. I foil.).

3 Daulatabad was captured in 1632.

4 It is stated in the Bddshdh-ndma of Abdul Hamid Lahori, that
Nizam Shah was confined in the fort of Gwalior.

194- REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

the King of Golkonda invariably marches an army to the
frontiers, to show the Mogol not only that preparations
are made for internal defence, but that an ally is at hand
to assist Visapour, if driven to extremity. It appears like-
wise that the government of Golkonda employs large sums
as bribes to the generals of the Mogol 's army, who there-
fore constantly give it as their opinion that Visapour
ought to be attacked rather than Golkonda, on account of
its greater proximity to Daulet-Abad. Indeed, after the
convention concluded, as we have seen, between Aureng-
Zebe and the present King of Golkonda, the former has no
great inducement to march troops into that kingdom,
which he probably considers as his own. It has been long
tributary to the Mogol, to whom it presents annually a
considerable quantity of hard cash, home-manufactured
articles of exquisite workmanship, and elephants imported
from Pegu, Siam, and Ceylon. There is now no fortress
between Daulet-Abad and Golkonda capable of offering any
resistance, and Aureng-Zebe feels confident, therefore, that
a single campaign would suffice to conquer the country.
In my own opinion, nothing has restrained him from
attempting that conquest but the apprehension of having
the Decan overrun by the King of Visapour, who knows
that if he permits his neighbour to fall, his own destruc-
tion must be the necessary consequence.

From what I have said, some idea may be formed of
the present state of the King of Golkonda in relation to the
Mogol. There can be no doubt that his power is held
by a most uncertain tenure. Since the nefarious transac-
tion in Golkonda? planned by Emir-Jemla and executed
by Aureng-Zebe, the King has lost all mental energy, and
has ceased to hold the reins of government. He never
appears in public to give audience and administer justice
according to the custom of the country ; nor does he
venture outside the walls of the fortress of Golkonda.
Confusion and misrule are the natural and unavoidable

1 See p. 1 6, et seqt

AFTER THE WAR 195

of this state of things. The grandees,
totally disregarding the commands of a Monarch for whom
they no longer feel either affection or respect, exercise a
disgusting tyranny ; and the people, impatient to throw
off the galling yoke, would gladly submit to the more
equitable government of Aureng-Zebe.

I shall advert to five or six facts that prove the low
state of degradation to which this wretched King is re-
duced.

First. — When I was at Golkonda, in the year 1667, an
ambassador extraordinary arrived from Aureng-Zebe, for
the purpose of declaring war, unless the King supplied
the Mogol with ten thousand cavalry to act against
Visapour. This force was not indeed granted ; but, what
pleased Aureng-Zebe still better, as much money was given
as is considered sufficient for the maintenance of such a
body of cavalry. The King paid extravagant honours to
this ambassador and loaded him with valuable presents,
both for himself and the Mogol his master.

Second. — Aureng-Zebe' s ordinary ambassador at the court
of Golkonda issues his commands, grants passports, menaces
and ill-treats the people, and in short, speaks and acts
with the uncontrolled authority of an absolute sovereign.

Third. — Emir-Jemla's son, Mahmet-Emir-Kan, although
nothing more than one of Aureng-Zebe' s Omrahs, is so much
respected in Golkonda, and chiefly in Maslipatam 1 that the
taptapa, his agent or broker, virtually acts as master of the
port. He buys and sells, admits and clears out cargoes,
free of every impost and without any person's intervention.
So boundless was the father's influence formerly in this
country, that it has descended to the son as a matter of
right or necessity.

Fourth. — Sometimes the Dutch presume to lay an em-
bargo on all the Golkonda merchant-vessels in the port,
nor will they suffer them to depart until the King comply
with their demands. I have known them even protest
1 Masulipatam (Machlipatnam), see p. 112, footnote *.

196 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

against the King because the Governor of Maslipatam
prevented them from taking forcible possession of an
English ship in the port, by arming the whole population,
threatening to burn the Dutch factory, and to put all
these insolent foreigners to the sword.

Fifth. — Another symptom of decay in this kingdom is
the debased state of the current coin ; which is extremely
prejudicial to the commerce of the country.

Sixth. — A sixth instance I would adduce of the fallen
power of the King of Golkonda is, that the Portuguese,
wretched, poor, and despised as they are become, scruple
not to menace him with war, and with the capture and
pillage of Maslipatam and other towns if he refuse to cede
San Thome,1 a place which these same Portuguese, a few
years ago, voluntarily resigned into his hands to avoid
the disgrace of yielding it to the superior power of the
Dutch.

Many intelligent persons, however, assured me, when I
was in Golkonda, that the King is by no means devoid of
understanding ; that this appearance of weakness and
indecision and of indifference to the affairs of government
is assumed for the purpose of deceiving his enemies ; that
he has a son concealed from the public eye, of an ardent
and aspiring spirit, whom he intends to place on the
throne at a favourable juncture, and then to violate his
treaty with Aureng-Zebe. Leaving it to time to decide
upon the soundness of these opinions, we shall proceed to
say a few words about Visapour.

That country, though it has to contend frequently with
the Mogol, still preserves the name of an independent
kingdom. The truth is, that the generals employed
against Visapour, like commanders employed in every
other service, are delighted to be at the head of an army,
ruling at a distance from the court with the authority of
kings. They conduct every operation, therefore, with

1 St. Thomas' Mount, which still contains several remains of t
Portuguese settlement.

AFTER THE WAR 1.Q7

languor, and avail themselves of any pretext for the pro-
longation of war which is alike the source of their emo-
lument and dignity. It is become a proverbial saying,
that the Decan is the bread and support of the soldiers of
Hindoustan.1 It should also be observed, that the king-
dom of Visapour abounds with almost impregnable for-
tresses in mountainous situations, and that the country on
the side of the Great Mogol's territories is of a peculiarly
difficult access, owing to the scarcity both of forage and
of good wholesome water. The capital is extremely
strong ; situated in an arid and sterile soil, and pure and
palatable water is found only within the gates.

Visapour, however, is verging toward dissolution. The
Mogol has made himself master of Paranda? the key of
the kingdom ; of Bider? a strong and handsome town,
and of other important places. The death of the King
without male issue must also operate unfavourably oil the
future concerns of this country. The throne is filled by
a young man, educated, and adopted as her son, by the
Queen, sister of the King of Golkonda, who, by the by,
has been ill requited for her kindness. She returned re-
cently from Mecca, and experienced a cold and insulting
reception ; the young monarch pretending that her con-
duct on board the Dutch vessel which conveyed her to
Moka was unbecoming both her sex and rank. It is even
said that she was criminally connected with two or three
of the crew, who abandoned the vessel at Moka for the
purpose of accompanying the Queen to Mecca.

Seva-Gi, the gentile leader lately spoken of, profiting
by the distracted state of the kingdom, has seized upon
many strongholds, situated for the most part in the moun-

1 Or, as Fryer puts it (ii. 51), ' frustrated chiefly by the means of the
Soldiery and great Ombrahs, who live Lazily and in Pay, whereupon
they term Duccan, The Bread of the Military Men.'

54 The fort was treacherously surrendered to the Mogul about the
year 1635.

3 Bidar was captured in 1653.

198 REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

tains.1 This man is exercising all the powers of an inde-
pendent sovereign ; laughs at the threats both of the
Mogol and of the King at Visapour ; makes frequent in-
cursions, and ravages the country on every side, from
Sourale to the gates of Goa. Yet it cannot be doubted
that, notwithstanding the deep wounds which from time
to time he inflicts upon Visapour, the kingdom finds in
this daring chieftain a seasonable and powerful coadjutor.
He distracts the attention of Aureng-Zebe by his bold and
never-ceasing enterprises, and affords so much employment
to the Indian armies, that the Mogol cannot find the
opportunity of achieving the conquest of Visapour. How
to put down Seva-Gi is become the object of chief import-
ance. We have seen his success at Sourale ; he after-
wards captured the Portuguese settlement of Bardes, an
island contiguous to Goa.

SEVENTHLY. It was after I had left Dehli, on my return
[to France], that I heard, at Golkonda, of the death of Chah-
Jekan,2 and that Aureng-Zebe seemed much affected by the
event, and discovered all the marks of grief which a son
can express for the loss of his father. He set out imme-
diately for Agra} where Begum-Sakeb received him with
distinguished honour. She hung the mosque with tapes-
tries of rich brocades, and in the same manner decorated
the place where the Mogol intended to alight before he
entered the fortress. On arriving at the women's apart-

1 "Tis undeniable he hath taken and maintains against the Moguls
Sixty odd strong Hills : But the Cause is, the Moguls are unacquainted
with, and their Bodies unfit for such barren and uneasy Places ; so that
they rather chuse to desert than defend them : Whereby it is suffici-
ently evident SEVA Gi is unable in the Plain to do anything but Rob,
Spoil, and return with all the speed imaginable : And on that account
it is Aurengzeeb calls him his Mountain-Rat, with which the greatest
Systems of Monarchy in the World, though continued by an unin-
terrupted Descent of Imperial Ancestry, have ever been infested, finding
it more hard to fight with Mountains than Men.' — Fryer, ii. 58.

2 He died on the 22d January 1666, and lies buried in the Taj, close
by the grave of his wife, the ' Lady of the Taj.'

AFTER THE WAR 199

ment in the seraglio, the princess presented him with a
large golden basin, full of precious stones — her own jewels,
and those which belonged to Chah-Jehan. Moved by the
magnificence of his reception, and the affectionate pro
testations of his sister, Aureng-Zebe forgave her formei
conduct and has since treated her with kindness and
liberality.

I have now brought this history to a close. My readers
have no doubt condemned the means by which the reigning
Mogol attained the summit of power. These means were
indeed unjust and cruel ; but it is not perhaps fair to
judge him by the rigid rules which we apply to the
character of European princes. In our quarter of the
globe, the succession to the crown is settled in favour of
the eldest by wise and fixed laws ; but in Hmdoustan the
right of governing is usually disputed by all the sons of
the deceased monarch, each of whom is reduced to the
cruel alternative of sacrificing his brothers, that he himself
may reign, or of suffering his own life to be forfeited for
the security and stability of the dominion of another.
Yet even those who may maintain that the circumstances
of country, birth and education afford no palliation of the
conduct pursued by Aureng-Zebe, must admit that this
Prince is endowed with a versatile and rare genius, that
he is a consummate statesman, and a great King.

LETTER

TO MONSEIGNEUR

COLBERT

Concerning the Extent of Hindoustan, the Currency torva

and final absorption of gold and silver in that country ;
its Resources, Armies, the administration of Justice, and
the principal Cause of the Decline of the States of Asia.

LORD,

In Asia, the great are never approached empty-handed.
When I had the honour to kiss the garment of the great
Mogol Aureng-Zebe (Ornament of the Throne), I presented
him with eight roupies,1 as a mark of respect ; and I offered
a knife-case, a fork and a pen-knife mounted in amber to
the illustrious Fazel-Kan (The Accomplished Knight), a
Minister charged with the weightiest concerns of the
empire, on whose decision depended the amount of
my salary as physician. Though I presume not, My Lord,
to introduce new customs into France, yet I cannot be
expected, so soon after my return from Hindoustan, to
lose all remembrance of the practice just mentioned,
and hope I shall be pardoned for hesitating to appear

1 One roupie is worth about thirty sols. — Bernier. [Taking the sol
as equal to 0.9 of a penny English, in 1670, one 'roupie' equalled
2s. 3d., which agrees with Tavernier's value.]

200

LETTER TO COLBERT 201

in the presence of a King who inspires me with very
different feelings than did AurengZebe ; or before you, My
Lord,1 who deserve my respect much more than Fazel-
kan, without some small offering, which may derive value
from its novelty, if not from the hand that bestows it.
The late revolution in Hindoustan, so full of extraordinary
events, may be deemed worthy the attention of our great
Monarch; and this letter,, considering the importance of
its matter, may not be unsuitable to the rank you bear in
his Majesty's council. It seems, indeed, addressed with
propriety to one whose measures have so admirably
restored order in many departments which, before my
departure from France, I feared were irremediably con-
fused ; to one who has evinced so much anxiety to make
known to the ends of the earth the character of our
sovereign, and of what the French people are capable in
the execution of whatever you project for their benefit
and glory.

It was in Hindoustan, My Lord, whither your fame
extends, and from which country I am lately returned
after an absence of twelve years, that I first became
acquainted with the happiness of France, and with the
share which you have had in promoting it, by your
unwearied attention and brilliant abilities. This is a
theme on which I could fondly dwell ; but why should I
expatiate on facts already and universally admitted, when
my present purpose is to treat of those which are new and
unknown ? It will be more agreeable to you if I proceed,
according to my promise, to furnish such materials as may
enable your lordship to form some idea of the actual state
of the Indies.

The maps of Asia point out the mighty extent of the
Great Mogol's empire, known commonly by the name of
the Indies, or Hindoustan. I have not measured it with
mathematical exactness ; but judging from the ordinary

1 Jean Baptiste Colbert, born in 1619 and died in 1683, Finance
Minister to Louis xiv. of France, who is the king referred to.

202 LETTER TO COLBERT

rate of travel, and considering that it is a journey of three
months from the frontier of the kingdom of Golkonda to
Kazni,1 or rather beyond it, near to Kandahar, which is
the first town in Persia, the distance between those two
extreme points cannot be less than five hundred French
leagues, or five times as far as from Pans to Lyons.

It is important to observe, that of this vast tract of
country, a large portion is extremely fertile ; the large
kingdom of Bengale, for instance, surpassing Egypt itself,
not only in the production of rice, corn, and other
necessaries of life, but of innumerable articles of commerce
which are not cultivated in Egypt ; such as silks, cotton,
and indigo. There are also many parts of the Indies,
where the population is sufficiently abundant, and the
land pretty well tilled ; and where the artisan, although
naturally indolent, is yet compelled by necessity or other-
wise to employ himself in manufacturing carpets, brocades,
embroideries, gold and silver cloths., and the various sorts
of silk and cotton goods, which are used in the country or
exported abroad.

It should not escape notice that gold and silver, after cir-
culating in every other quarter of the globe, come at length
to be swallowed up, lost in some measure, in Hindoustan.
Of the quantity drawn from America, and dispersed among
the different European states, a part finds its way, through
various channels, to Turkey, for the payment of commodities
imported from that country ; and a part passes into Persia,
by way of Smyrna, for the silks laden at that port. Turkey
cannot dispense with the coffee,2 which she receives from
Yemen, or Arabia Felix ; and the productions of the Indies
are equally necessary to Turkey, Yemen, and Persia. Thus it
happens that these countries are under the necessity of
sending a portion of their gold and silver to Moka, on the
Red Sea, near Babel-mandel ; to Bassora, at the top of the
Persian Gulf] and to Bander Abassi or Gomeron, near

1 Ghazni.

2 Cauve in the original, from the Arabic kahwa, see p. 364, footnote 2.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 203

Ormus ; which gold and silver is exported to Hindoustan
by the vessels that arrive every year, in the mamem, or
the season of the winds, at those three celebrated ports,
laden with goods from that country. Let it also be borne
in mind that all the Indian vessels, whether they belong
to the Indians themselves, or to the Dutch, or English, or
Portuguese, which every year carry cargoes of merchandise
from Hindousian to Pegu, Tanasseri,1 Siam, Ceylon, Achem?
Macassar, the Maldives, to Mozambic, and other places,
bring back to Hindoustan from those countries a large
quantity of the precious metals, which share the fate of
those brought from Moka, Bassora, and Bander- Abassi.
And in regard to the gold and silver which the Dutch
draw from Japan, where there are mines, a part is, sooner
or later, introduced into Hindoustan ; and whatever is
brought directly by sea, either from Portugal or from
France, seldom leaves the country, returns being made in
merchandise.

I am aware it may be said, that Hindoustan is in want of
copper, cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, elephants, and other
things, with which she is supplied by the Dutch from
Japan, the Moluccas, Ceylon, and Europe-, — that she obtains
lead from abroad, in part from England ; broadcloths and
other articles from France; — that she is in need of a con-
siderable number of foreign horses, receiving annually
more than five-and-twenty thousand from Usbec, a great
many from Persia by way of Kandahar, and several from
Ethiopia, Arabia, and Persia, by sea, through the ports of
Moka, Bassora, and Bander-Abassi. It may also be observed
that Hindousian consumes an immense quantity of fresh
fruit from Samarkand, Bali,5 Bocara, and Persia ; such
as melons, apples, pears and grapes, eaten at Dehli and

1 For Tenasserim, now the southern division of the Province of
Lower Burmah, the Burmese name is Ta-neng-tha-ri.

* Acheen, the celebrated emporium at the north of the island of
Sumatra.

8 Thus in original ; probably a misprint for Balk (Balkh).

204 LETTER TO COLBERT

purchased at a very high price nearly the whole wint
— and likewise dried fruit, such as almonds, pistachio
and various other small nuts, plums, apricots, and raisins,
which may be procured the whole year round j — that she
imports a small sea- shell from the Maldives, used in
Bengale, and other places, as a species of small money ;
ambergris from the Maldives and Mozambic ; rhinoceros'
horns, elephants' teeth, and slaves from Ethiopia ; musk
and porcelain from China, and pearls from Beharen,1 and
Tutucoury? near Ceylon ; and I know not what quantity of
other similar wares, which she might well do without.

The importation of all these articles into Hindoustan
does not, however, occasion the export of gold and silver ;
because the merchants who bring them find it advantageous
to take back, in exchange, the productions of the country.

Supplying itself with articles of foreign growth or
manufacture, does not, therefore, prevent Hindoustan from
absorbing a large portion of the gold and silver of the
world, admitted through a variety of channels, while there
is scarcely an opening for its rQturn.

It should also be borne in mind, that the Great Mogol
constitutes himself heir of all the Omrahs, or lords, and
likewise of the Ma?isebdars, or inferior lords, who are in
his pay ; and, what is of the utmost importance, that he is
proprietor of every acre of land in the kingdom, except-
ing, perhaps, some houses and gardens which he sometimes
permits his subjects to buy, sell, and otherwise dispose
of, among themselves.

1 The island of El-Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, still the site of a
great pearl-fishery. The name, literally the Two Seas, probably owes
its origin to the notion that the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman
meet there. It is used in the sense of TOTTOS 8i6aXa<r<ros in Acts xxvii.
41, 'And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship
aground.'

8 Tuticorin, the seaport in the Tinnevelli District, Madras Presidency,
formerly in the hands of the Portuguese, then of the Dutch, has still
a considerable foreign trade, the value of which ranks next to that of
Madras, and the sixth in all India.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 205

I think I have shown that the precious metals must
abound in Hindoustan, although the country be destitute
of mines ; and that the Great Mogol, lord and master of
the greater part, must necessarily be in the receipt of an
immense revenue, and possess incalculable wealth.

But there are many circumstances to be considered, as
forming a counterpoise to these riches.

First. — Of the vast tracts of country constituting the
empire of Hindoustan, many are little more than sand, or
barren mountains, badly cultivated, and thinly peopled;
and even a considerable portion of the good land remains
untilled from want of labourers ; many of whom perish in
consequence of the bad treatment they experience from
the Governors. These poor people, when incapable of
discharging the demands of their rapacious lords, are not
only often deprived of the means of subsistence, but are
bereft of their children, who are carried away as slaves.
Thus it happens that many of the peasantry, driven to
despair by so execrable a tyranny, abandon the country,
and seek a more tolerable mode of existence, either in
the towns, or camps ; as bearers of burdens, carriers of
water, or servants to horsemen. Sometimes they fly to
the territories of a Raja, because there they find less
oppression, and are allowed a greater degree of comfort.

Second. — The empire of the Great Mogol comprehends
several nations, over which he is not absolute master. Most
of them still retain their own peculiar chiefs or sovereigns,
who obey the Mogol or pay him tribute only by compulsion.
In many instances this tribute is of trifling amount;
in others none is paid ; and I shall adduce instances of
nations which, instead of paying, receive tribute.

The petty sovereignties bordering the Persian frontiers,
for example, seldom pay tribute either to the Mogol or to
the King of Persia. Nor can the former be said to receive
anything considerable from the Balouches, Augans, and
other mountaineers, who indeed seem to feel nearly in-
dependent of him, as was proved by their conduct when

206

LETTER TO COLBERT

the Mogol marched from Aleck on the Indus to Kaboul; for
the purpose of besieging Kandahar.1 By stopping the
supply of water from the mountains, and preventing its
descent into the fields contiguous to the public road, they
completely arrested the army on its march, until the

FIG. 9.—' Gunga Din.'
• 'E would dot an" carry one,
Till the longest day was done,
An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o fear.

mountaineers received from the Mogol the presents which
they had solicited in the way of alms.

The Palans also are an intractable race. They are
Mahometans, who formerly inhabited a country in the
vicinity of the Ganges, toward Bengale. Before the in-

1 In 1651-52.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 207

vasion of India by the Mogols, the Patans had rendered
themselves formidable in several places. Their power
was felt principally at Dehli,1 many of the neighbouring
Rajas being their tributaries. Even the menials and
carriers of water belonging to that nation are high-spirited
and warlike.2 * If it be not so, may I never ascend the
throne of Dehli,' is the usual phraseology of a Patan, when
wishing to enforce the truth of any assertion. They hold
the Indians, both Gentiles and Mogols, in the utmost con-
tempt ; and, recollecting the consideration in which they
were formerly held in India, they mortally hate the Mogols,
by whom their fathers were dispossessed of great princi-
palities, and driven to the mountains far from Dehli and
Agra. In these mountains some Patans established them-
selves as petty sovereigns or Rajas; but without any
great power.

The King of Visapour, so far from paying tribute to the
Mogol, is engaged in perpetual war with him, and contrives
to defend his dominions. He owes his preservation less
to the strength of his arms than to many peculiar circum-
stances.3 His kingdom is at a great distance from Agra
and Dehli, the Mogol 's usual places of residence ; the
capital city, called also Visapour^ is strong, and not easily
accessible to an invading army, because of the bad water

1 The Pathan Sultans of Dehli may be said to have reigned from
1192-1554, somewhat more than three centuries and a half, during
which time six dynasties, numbering in all forty kings, succeeded to
the throne of Dehli. The boundaries of their Empire, at all times
uncertain in extent, varying from the extreme limits of Eastern Bengal
on one side to Kabul and Kandahar on the west, with Sind and the
Southern Peninsula to complete the circle ; occasionally reduced to a
few districts around the capital and in one instance confined to the
single spot enclosed within the walls of the metropolis itself. See
Thomas's Chronicles of the Pathan King of Dehli, 1877.

2 How true this is at the present day. The regimental bihsthi or
water-carrier, generally a Pathan, is still a universal favourite, and his
prowess has lately been sung in spirited verse by Rudyard Kipling in
his barrack-room ballad of GUNGA DIN (7/fo Scots Observer, 7th June
1890). 3 See p. 196. 4 Bijapur.

208 LETTER TO COLBERT

and scarcity of forage in the surrounding country ; and
several Rajas for the sake of mutual security join him,
when attacked, with their forces. The celebrated Seva-Gi
not long ago made a seasonable diversion in his favour, by
plundering and burning the rich seaport of Sourate.1

There is again the wealthy and powerful King of Gol-
konda, who secretly supplies the King of Visapour with
money, and constantly keeps an army on the frontiers,
with the double object of defending his own territories and
aiding Visapour in the event of that country being closely
pressed.

Similarly, among those not paying tribute may be num-
bered more than a hundred Rajas, or Gentile sovereigns of
considerable strength, dispersed over the whole empire,
some near and some at a distance from Agra and Dehli.
Fifteen or sixteen of these Rajas are rich and formidable,
particularly Rana,2 formerly considered Emperor of the
Rajas, and supposed to be descended from King Porus,
Jesseinoue 3 and Jessonweingue.* If these three chose to

o o

enter into an offensive league, they would prove dangerous
opponents to the Mogol, each of them having at all times
the means of taking the field with twenty thousand cavalry;
better than any that could be opposed to them. These
horsemen are called Ragipous, or sons of Rajas. Their
military occupation, as I have stated elsewhere,5 descends
from father to son ; and every man receives a grant of land
on condition that he be always prepared to mount his
horse and follow the Raja, whither he shall command.
These men endure a great deal of fatigue, and require only
discipline to become excellent soldiers.

Third. — It is material to remark that the Great Mogol is
a Mahometan, of the sect of the Sounnys, who, believing
with the Turks that Osman was the true successor of
Mahomet, are distinguished by the name of Osmanlys. The

1 See p. 188. 2 The ruler of Chitor (Mewar or Udaipur).

3 See p. 34 text, and footnote2. 4 See p. 37 4tep t, and footnote8
6 See p. 39.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 209

majority of his courtiers, however, being Persians, are of
the party known by the appellation of Chias, believers in
the real succession of Aly. Moreover, the Great Mogol is a
foreigner in Hindoustan, a descendant of Tamerlan, chief of
those Mogols from Tartary who, about the year 1401, over-
ran and conquered the Indies. Consequently he finds him-
self in an hostile country, or nearly so ; a country containing
hundreds of Gentiles to one Mogol, or even to one
Mahometan. To maintain himself in such a country, in the
midst of domestic and powerful enemies, and to be always
prepared against any hostile movement on the side of
Persia or Usbec, he is under the necessity of keeping up
numerous armies,, even in the time of peace. These armies
are composed either of natives, such as Ragipous and
Palans, or of genuine Mogols and people who, though less
esteemed, are called Mogols because white men, foreigners,
and Mahometans. The court itself does not now consist,
as originally, of real Mogols ; but is a medley of Usbecs,
Persians, Arabs, and Turks, or descendants from all these
people ; known, as I said before, by the general appellation
of Mogols. It should be added, however, that children of
the third and fourth generation, who have the brown
complexion, and the languid manner of this country of
their nativity, are held in much less respect than new
comers, and are seldom invested with official situations :
they consider themselves happy, if permitted to serve as
private soldiers in the infantry or cavalry. — But it is time
to give your lordship some idea of the armies of the Great
Mogol, in order that you may judge, by the vast expendi-
ture to which they subject him, what are really his effec-
tive means and resources.

I shall first speak of the native army,1 which he must
perforce entertain.

Under this head are comprehended the ragipous of

Jesseingue and of Jessomseingue ; to whom, and to several

other Rajas, the Mogol grants large sums for the service

1 In the original, ' Milice du pais. '

210 LETTER TO COLBERT

of a certain number of their ragipous, to be kept always
ready and at his disposal. Rajas bear an equal rank with
the foreign and Mahometan Omrahs, whether employed in
the army which the King retains at all times near his
person, or in those stationed in the provinces. They are
also generally subjected to the same regulations as the
Omrahs, even to mounting guard ; with this difference,
however, that the Rajas never mount within a fortress,
but invariably without the walls, under their own tents,
not enduring the idea of being confined during four-and-
twenty hours, and always refusing to enter any fortress
unless well attended, and by men determined to sacrifice
their lives for their leaders. This self-devotion has been
sufficiently proved when attempts have been made to deal
treacherously with a Raja.

There are many reasons why the Mogol is obliged to
retain Rajas in his service.

First. Ragipous are not only excellent soldiers, but, as I
have said, some Rajas can in any one day bring more than
twenty thousand to the field.

Second. They are necessary to keep in check such Rajas
as are not in the Mogol' s pay ; to reduce to submission
those who take up arms rather than pay tribute, or refuse
to join the army when summoned by the Mogol.

Third. It is the King's policy to foment jealousy and
discord amongst the Rajas, and by caressing and favouring
some more than others, he often succeeds, when desirous
of doing so, in kindling wars among them.

Fourth. They are always at hand to be employed against
the Patans, or against any rebellious Omrah or governor.

Fifth. Whenever the King of Golkonda withholds his
tribute, or evinces an inclination to defend the King of Vis-
apour or any neighbouring Raja whom the Mogol wishes
to despoil or render tributary, Rajas are sent against him
in preference to Omrahs, who being for the most part
Persians, are not of the same religion as the Mogol, to wit
Sounnys, but Chias, as are the Kings of Persia and Golkonda.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 211

Sixth. The Mogol never finds the Rajas more useful
than when he is engaged in hostility with the Persians.
His Omralis, as I have just remarked, are generally of
that nation, and shudder at the idea of fighting against
their natural King ; especially because they acknowledge
him as their Imam, their Calife or sovereign pontiff, and
the descendant of Aly, to bear arms against whom they
therefore consider a great crime.

The Mogol is also compelled to engage Patans in his
service by reasons very similar to those I have assigned
for employing ragipous.

In fine, he is reduced to the necessity of supporting
those troops of foreigners, or Mogols, which we have
noticed ; and as they form the principal force of the king-
dom, and are maintained at an incredible expense, a de-
tailed description of this force may not be unacceptable.

These troops, both cavalry and infantry, may be con-
sidered under two heads : one part as always near the
MogoVs person ; the other, as dispersed in the several
provinces. In regard to the cavalry retained near the
King, I shall speak first of the Omrahs, then of the
Mansebdars, next of the Rouzindars-, and, last of all, of
the common troopers. I shall then proceed to the in-
fantry, and describe the musketeers and all the foot-men
who serve in the artillery, saying a word in passing on the
horse artillery.

It must not be imagined that the Omrahs or Lords of
the Mogol' s court are members of ancient families, as our
nobility in France. The King being proprietor of all the
lands in the empire, there can exist neither Dukedoms
nor Marquisates ; nor can any family be found possessed
of wealth arising from a domain, and living upon its own
patrimony. The courtiers are often not even descendants
of Omrahs, because, the King being heir of all their posses-
sions, no family can long maintain its distinction, but,
after the Omrah's death, is soon extinguished, and the
sons, or at least the grandsons, reduced generally, we

212 LETTER TO COLBERT

might almost say, to beggary, and compelled to enlist as
mere troopers in the cavalry of some Omrah. The King,
however, usually bestows a small pension on the widow,
and often on the family ; and if the Omrah' s life be suf-
ficiently prolonged, he may obtain the advancement of
his children by royal favour, particularly if their persons
be well formed, and their complexions sufficiently fair to
enable them to pass for genuine Mogols.1 But this ad-
vancement through special favour proceeds slowly, for it
is an almost invariable custom to pass gradually from
small salaries, and inconsiderable offices, to situations of
greater trust and emolument. The Omrahs, therefore,
mostly consist of adventurers from different nations who
entice one another to the court ; and are generally per-
sons of low descent, some having been originally slaves,
and the majority being destitute of education. The
Mogol raises them to dignities, or degrades them to
obscurity, according to his own pleasure and caprice.

Some of the Omrahs have the title of Hazary, or lord of
a thousand horse ; some, of Don Hazary, lord of two thou-
sand horse ; some, of Penge, lord of five thousand horse ;
some, of Hecht, lord of seven thousand horse ; some, of
Deh Hazary, lord of ten thousand horse ; and sometimes an
Omrah has the title of Douazdeh Hazary, lord of twelve
thousand horse ; as was the case with the King's eldest
son. Their pay is proportionate, not to the number of
men, but to the number of horses, and two horses are
generally allowed to one trooper, in order that the ser-
vice may be better performed ; for in those hot countries
it is usual to say that a soldier with a single horse has one
foot on the ground. But let it not be supposed that an
Omrah is expected to keep, or indeed that the King would
pay for, such a body of horse as is implied by the titles of
Douazdeh or Hecht Hazary ; high-sounding names intended
to impose on the credulous, and deceive Foreigners. The
King himself regulates as well the effective number

1 See pp. 3, 404.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 213

that each Omrah is to maintain, as the nominal number
which he need not keep, but which is also paid for, and
usually forms the principal part of his salary. This salary
is increased by the money that the Omrah retains out of
every man's pay, and by what accrues from his false re-
turns of the horses he is supposed to provide : all which
renders the Omrah' s income very considerable, particularly
when he is so fortunate as to have some good Jah-ghirs, or
suitable lands, assigned to him for the payment of his
salary : for I perceived that the Omrah under whom I
served, a Penge-Hazary, or lord of five thousand, whose
quota was fixed at five hundred horses, had yet a balance
over after the payment of all expenses, of nearly five
thousand crowns a month, although, like all those who
have no Jah-ghirs, he was a Nagdy?- that is to say, one who
drew his pay in cash from the treasury. Notwithstanding
these large incomes, I was acquainted with very few
wealthy Omrahs ; on the contrary, most of them are in
embarrassed circumstances, and deeply in debt ; not that
they are ruined, like the nobility of other countries, by
the extravagance of their table, but by the costly presents
made to the King at certain annual festivals, and by their
large establishments of wives, servants, camels, and horses.

The Omrahs in the provinces, in the armies, and at
court, are very numerous ; but it was not in my power to
ascertain their number, which is not fixed. I never saw
less than five-and-twenty to thirty at court, all of whom
were in the receipt of the large incomes already mentioned,
dependent for the amount upon their number of horses,
from one to twelve thousand.

It is these Omrahs who attain to the highest honours
and situations of the State, — at court, in the provinces,
and in the armies ; and who are, as they call themselves,
the Pillars of the Empire. Tney maintain the splendour
of the court, and are never seen out-of-doors but in the

1 From the Persian word naqdt meaning silver, used in the sense of
ready money.

214 LETTER TO COLBERT

most superb apparel ; mounted sometimes on an elephant,
sometimes on horseback, and not unfrequently in a Paleky
attended by many of their cavalry, and by a large body ol
servants on foot, who take their station in front, and at
either side, of their lord, not only to clear the way, but to
flap the flies and brush off the dust with tails of peacocks ;
to carry the picquedent1 or spitoon, water to allay the
Omrah's thirst, and sometimes account-books, and other
papers. Every Omrah at court is obliged, under a certain
penalty, to repair twice a day to the assembly, for the
purpose of paying his respects to the King, at ten or
eleven o'clock in the morning, when he is there seated to
dispense justice, and at six in the evening. An Omrah
must also, in rotation, keep guard in the fortress once
every week, during four-and-twenty hours. He sends
thither his bed, carpet, and other furniture; the King
supplying him with nothing but his meals. These are
received with peculiar ceremony. Thrice the Omrah per-
forms the taslim, or reverence, the face turned toward the
royal apartment; first dropping the hand down to the
ground, and then lifting it up to the head.2

Whenever the King takes an excursion in his Paleky,
on an elephant, or in a Tad-Ravan (or travelling throne,
carried upon the shoulders of eight men, who are cleverly
relieved from time to time when on the march by eight
others), all the Omrahs who are not prevented by illness,
disabled by age, or exempted by a peculiar office, are
bound to accompany him on horseback, exposed to the

1 A capital transliteration of the Hindostanee word pik-ddn, spit-
box. The * pigdaun ' of modern Anglo-Indian colloquial. In another
English translation of this book the word picquedent has been rendered
' tooth-pick,' a mistake that has been copied by others.

2 'The salutation called taslim consists in placing the back of the
right hand on the ground, and then raising it gently till the person
stands erect, when he puts the palm of his hand upon the crown of
his head, which pleasing manner of saluting signifies that he is ready
to give himself as an offering.' — Ain-i-Akbarit Blochmann's trans
lation, vol. i. p. 158. See p. 258 text, and footnote 2.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 215

inclemency of the weather and to suffocating clouds of
dust. On every occasion the King is completely sheltered,
whether taking the diversion of hunting, marching at the
head of his troops, or making his progresses from one city
to another. When, however, he confines his hunting to
the neighbourhood of the city, visits his country house or
repairs to the mosque, he sometimes dispenses with so
large a retinue, and prefers being attended by such
Omrahs only as are that day on guard.

Mansebdars l are horsemen with manseb pay, which is a
peculiar pay, both honourable and considerable ; not equal
to that of the Omrahs, but much greater than the common
pay. Hence they are looked on as petty Omrahs, and as
being of the rank from which the Omrahs are taken.
They acknowledge no other chief but the King, and have
much the same duties imposed upon them as the Omrahs,
to whom they would be equal if they had horsemen under
them, as formerly was sometimes the case ; but now they
have only two, four, or six service horses, that is, such
as bear the King's mark ; and their pay is, in some in-
stances, as low as one hundred and fifty roupies per month,
and never exceeds seven hundred. Their number is not
fixed,2 but they are much more numerous than the Omrahs :
besides those in the provinces and armies, there are never
less than two or three hundred at court.

Rouzindars are also cavaliers, who receive their pay daily,
as the word imports ; but their pay is greater, in some
instances, than that of many of the mansebdars. It is,
however, of a different kind, and not thought so honour-
able, but the Rouzindars are not subject, like the Manseb-
dars, to the Agenas ; that is, are not bound to take, at a
valuation, carpets, and other pieces of furniture, that have

1 Mansab means in Arabic and Persian an office, hence Mansabdar
an officer, but the word was generally restricted to high officials.

2 Akbar fixed the number of Mansabs at sixty-six, to correspond
with the value of the letters in the name of Allah. See Blochmann's
<4in, vol. i. p. 327.

216 LETTER TO COLBERT

been used in the King's palace, and on which an un-
reasonable value is sometimes set. Their number is very
great. They fill the inferior offices ; many being clerks
and under-clerks ; while some are employed to affix the
King's signet to Barattes,1 or orders for the payment of
money ; and they scruple not to receive bribes for the
quick issuing of these documents.

The common horsemen serve under the Omrahs : they
are of two classes ; the first consists of those who keep a
pair of horses which the Omrah is bound to maintain for
the King's service, and which bear the Omrah' s mark on the
thigh, and the second of those who keep only one horse.
The former are the more esteemed, and receive the greater
pay. The pay of the troopers depends, in a great measure,

1 A bardt corresponded somewhat to the modern cheque ; it was a
statement of account which contained details of the service or work
for which it was issued, a pay order. It had to pass through many
hands for ' countersignature ' before being actually cashed. 'The
receipts and expenditure of the Imperial workshops, the deposits and
payments of salaries to the workmen (of whom some draw their pay
on [military] descriptive rolls, and others according to the services
performed by them, as the men engaged in the Imperial elephant and
horse stables, and in the wagon department) are all made by bardts
(Ain, p. 262).

The Emperor Akbar who organised in a very thorough manner all
the various departments of State, being desirous of avoiding delay,
'and from motives of kindness' ordered that certain classes of state
papers, among others bardts, then all included in the term sanad,
need not be placed before him personally. This practice appears
from Bernier's statement to have been continued by succeeding
Emperors, but apparently with not altogether satisfactory results.

At the present day the word berat is applied to certain documents of
state in Turkey, and in The Standard newspaper, London, October 1st,
1890, we read with reference to the doings of Monsignor Senessi
the Bulgarian Archbishop, in Macedonia, that . . . ' There can be
little doubt, however, that, by the terms of his Berat, he is strictly with-
in his right in visiting all villages where the Exarchist population is in
marked majority, and in consecrating churches for them. Further-
more, besides the written authority, which might count for very little,
he seems to enjoy if not the countenance, at least the tolerance of the
Turkish authorities. .

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 21?

on the generosity of the Omrah, who may favour whom
he pleases ; although it is understood by the Mogol that
he that keeps only one horse shall not receive less than
five-and-twenty roupies a month, and on that footing he
calculates his accounts with the Omrahs.1

The foot-soldiers receive the smallest pay ; and, to be
sure, the musketeers cut a sorry figure at the best of times,
which may be said to be when squatting on the ground,
and resting their muskets on a kind of wooden fork which
hangs to them. Even then, they are terribly afraid of
burning their eyes or their long beards, and above all lest
some Dgen,2 or evil spirit, should cause the bursting of
their musket. Some have twenty roupies a month, some
fifteen, some ten ; but their artillerymen who receive great
pay, particularly all iheFranguis or Christians, — Portuguese,
English, Dutch., Germans, and French; fugitives from Goa,
and from the Dutch and English companies. Formerly,
when the Mogols were little skilled in the management of
artillery, the pay of the Europeans was more liberal, and
there are still some remaining who receive two hundred
roupies a month : but now the King admits them with
difficulty into the service, and limits their pay to thirty-
two roupies.

The artillery is of two sorts, the heavy and the light,
or, as they call the latter, the artillery of the stirrup. With
respect to the heavy artillery, I recollect that when the
King, after his illness, went with his army to Lahor and
Kachemire to pass the summer in that dear little ' paradise of
the Indies,' it consisted of seventy pieces of cannon, mostly
of brass, without reckoning from two to three hundred
light camels, each of which carried a small field-piece of
the size of a double musket, attached on the back of the

1 In the time of the Emperor Akbar, a yakaspah (one horse)
trooper was paid according to the kind of horse he maintained, and
the amount varied from Rs. 30 per mensem for an Iraqi (Arabian) to
Rs. 12 for a Janglah, or what would now be called a * country bred,'

* The Arabic jinn.

218 LETTER TO COLBERT

animal, much in the same manner as swivels are fixed in
our barks. I shall relate elsewhere this expedition to
Kachemire, and describe how the King, during that long
journey, amused himself almost every day, with the sports
of the field, sometimes letting his birds of prey loose
against cranes ; sometimes hunting the nilsgaus, or grey
oxen (a species of elk) ; another day hunting antelopes
with tame leopards ; and then indulging in the exclu-
sively royal hunt of the lion.

The artillery of the stirrup, which also accompanied the
Mogol in the journey to Lahor and Kachemire, appeared to
me extremely well appointed. It consisted of fifty or sixty
small field-pieces, all of brass; each piece mounted on a well-
made and handsomely painted carriage, containing two
ammunition chests, one behind and another in front, and
ornamented with a variety of small red streamers. The
carriage, with the driver, was drawn by two fine horses,
and attended by a third horse, led by an assistant driver as
a relay. The heavy artillery did not always follow the
King, who was in the habit of diverging from the highroad,
in search of hunting-ground, or for the purpose of keeping
near the rivers and other waters. It could not move along
difficult passes, or cross the bridges of boats thrown over
the rivers. But the light artillery is always intended to be
near the King's person and on that account takes the name
of artillery of the stirrup. When he resumes his journey
in the morning, and is disposed to shoot or hunt in game
preserves, the avenues to which are guarded, it moves
straight forward, and reaches with all possible speed the
next place of encampment, where the royal tents and those
of the principal Omrahs have been pitched since the pre-
ceding day. The guns are then ranged in front of the
King's quarters, and by way of signal to the army, fire a
volley the moment he arrives.

The army stationed in the provinces differs in nothing
from that about the King's person, except in its superior
numbers. In every district there are Omrahs, Mansebdars^

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 219

Rouzindars, common troopers, infantry and artillery. In
the Decan alone the cavalry amounts to twenty or five-and-
twenty, and sometimes to thirty thousand ; a force not
more than sufficient to overawe the powerful King of
Golkonda, and to maintain the war against the King of
Fisapourand the Rajas who, for the sake of mutual protec-
tion, join their forces with his. The number of troops in
the kingdom of Kaboul, which it is necessary to quarter in
that country to guard against any hostile movement on the
part of the Persians, Augans, Balouchees, and I know not how
many other mountaineers, cannot be less than twelve or
fifteen thousand. In the kingdom of Kachemire there are
more than four thousand. In Bengale, so frequently the
seat of war, the number is much greater ; and as there is
no province which can dispense with a military force, more
or less numerous, according to its extent and particular
situation, the total amount of troops in Hindoustan is almost
incredible.

Leaving out of our present calculation the infantry, which
is of small amount, and the number of horses, which is
merely nominal, and is apt to deceive a superficial observer,
I should think, with many persons well conversant with
this matter, that the effective cavalry, commonly about the
King's person, including that of the Rajas and Patans,
amount to thirty-five or forty thousand ; which, added to
those in the provinces, forms a total of more than two
hundred thousand horse.

I have said that the infantry was inconsiderable. I do
not think that in the army immediately about the King,
the number can exceed fifteen thousand, including mus-
keteers, foot artillery, and generally, every person con-
nected with that artillery. From this, an estimate may
be formed of the number of infantry in the provinces.
I cannot account for the prodigious amount of infantry
with which some people swell the armies of the Great
Mogol, otherwise than by supposing that with the fighting
men, they confound servants, sutlers, tradesmen, and all

220 LETTER TO COLBERT

those individuals belonging to bazars, or markets, who
accompany the troops.1 Including these followers, I can
well conceive that the army immediately about the King's
person, particularly when it is known that he intends to
absent himself for some time from his capital, may amount
to two, or even three hundred thousand infantry. This
will not be deemed an extravagant computation, if we
bear in mind the immense quantity of tents., kitchens,
baggage, furniture, and even women, usually attendant on
the army. For the conveyance of all these are again
required many elephants, camels, oxen, horses, and porters.
Your Lordship will bear in mind that, from the nature and
government of this country, where the King is sole pro-
prietor of all the land in the empire, a capital city, such as
Dehly or Agra, derives its chief support from the presence
of the army, and that the population is reduced to the
necessity of following the Mogol whenever he undertakes
a journey of long continuance.2 Those cities resemble any
place rather than Paris ; they might more fitly be com-
pared to a camp, if the lodgings and accommodations were
not a little superior to those found in the tents of armies.
It is also important to remark the absolute necessity
which exists of paying the whole of this army every two
months, from the omrah to the private soldier ; for the
King's pay is their only means of sustenance. In France^
when the exigencies of the times prevent the government
from immediately discharging an arrear of debt, an officer,
or even a private soldier, may contrive to live for some
time by means of his own private income ; but in the
Indies, any unusual delay in the payment of the troops is
sure to be attended with fatal consequences ; after selling
whatever trifling articles they may possess, the soldiers
disband and die of hunger. Toward the close of the late
civil war, I discovered a growing disposition in the

1 In the time of the Emperor Akbar, porters, dak runners or post-
men, gladiators (shamshtrbdz), wrestlers, palki bearers, and water-
carriers, were all classed as infantry. 3 See p. 381.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 2dl

troopers to sell their horses, which they would, no doubt,
soon have done if the war had been prolonged. And no
wonder ; for consider, My Lord, that it is difficult to find in
the Mogol's army, a soldier who is not married, who has not
wife, children, servants, and slaves, all depending upon him
for support. I have known many persons lost in amazement
while contemplating the number of persons, amounting to
millions, who depend for support solely on the King's pay.
Is it possible, they have asked, that any revenue can
suffice for such incredible expenditure ? seeming to forget
the riches of the Great Mogol, and the peculiar manner in
which Hindoustan is governed.

But I have not enumerated all the expenses incurred
by the Great Mogol. He keeps in Dehly and Agra from
two to three thousand fine horses, always at hand in case
of emergency : eight or nine hundred elephants, and a
large number of baggage horses, mules, and porters,
intended to carry the numerous and capacious tents, with
their fittings, his wives and women, furniture, kitchen
apparatus, Ganges '-water ,l and all the other articles neces-

1 The Mogul Emperors were great connoisseurs in the matter of
good water, and the following extract from the Ain-i-Akbari>
vol. i. p. 55, regarding the department of state, the Abdar Khanah,
which had to do with the supply and cooling of drinking water,
also with the supply of ice, then brought in the form of frozen
snow from the Himalayas, is interesting. ' His Majesty calls this
source of life "the water of immortality," and has committed the
care of this department to proper persons. He does not drink much
but pays much attention to this matter. Both at home and on travels
he drinks Ganges water. Some trustworthy persons are stationed on
the banks of that river, who despatch the water in sealed jars. When
the Court was at the capital Agra and in Fathpur [-Si'krf], the
water came from the district of Sarun,1 but now that his Majesty is in
the Panjab, the water is brought from Hardwar. For the cooking of
the food, rain water or water taken from the Jamnah and Chenab is
used, mixed with a little Ganges water. On journeys and hunting
parties his Majesty, from his predilection for good water, appoints
experienced men as water-tasters.'

1 Blochmann, transl. A In, i. 55. Sdriin is a clerical error for Soron, in the Etah District, the
nearest point on the old bed of the Ganges to Agra.

222 LETTER TO COLBERT

sary for the camp, which the Mogol has always about him,
as in his capital, things which are not considered necessary
in our kingdoms in Europe.

Add to this, if you will, the enormous expenses of the
Seraglio, where the consumption of fine cloths of gold, and
brocades, silks, embroideries, pearls, musk, amber and sweet
essences, is greater than can be conceived.

Thus, although the Great Mogol be in the receipt of an
immense revenue, his expenditure being much in the same
proportion, he cannot possess the vast surplus of wealth
that most people seem to imagine. I admit that his
income exceeds probably the joint revenues of the Grand
Seignior and of the King of Persia ; but if I were to call
him a wealthy monarch, it would be in the sense that a
treasurer is to be considered wealthy who pays with one
hand the large sums which he receives with the other.
I should call that King effectively rich who, without
oppressing or impoverishing his people, possessed revenues
sufficient to support the expenses of a numerous and
magnificent court — to erect grand and useful edifices — to
indulge a liberal and kind disposition — to maintain a
military force for the defence of his dominions — and,
besides all this, to reserve an accumulating fund that
would provide against any unforeseen rupture with his
neighbours, although it should prove of some years' dura-
tion. The Sovereign of the Indies is doubtless possessed
of many of these advantages, but not to the degree
generally supposed. What I have said on the subject of
the great expenses to which he is unavoidably exposed,
has perhaps inclined you to this opinion ; and the two
facts I am about to relate, of which I had an opportunity
to ascertain the correctness, will convince your lordship
that the pecuniary resources of the Great Mogol himself
may be exaggerated.

First. — Toward the conclusion of the late war, Aureng-
Zebe was perplexed how to pay and supply his armies,
notwithstanding that the war had continued but five

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN

years, that the pay of the troops was less than usual, that,
with the exception of Bengale where Sultan Sujah still held
out, a profound tranquillity reigned in every part of Hin-
dousian, and that he had so lately appropriated to himself
a large portion of the treasures of his father Chah-Jehan.

Second. — Chah-Jehan, who was a great economist, and
reigned more than forty years without being involved in
any great wars, never amassed six kourours of roupies.1
But I do not include in this sum a great abundance
of gold and silver articles, of various descriptions,
curiously wrought, and covered with precious stones; or
a prodigious quantity of pearls and gems of all kinds,
of great size and value. I doubt whether any other
Monarch possesses more of this species of wealth ; a
throne of the great Mogol, covered with pearls and
diamonds, being alone valued, if my memory be correct,
at three kourours of roupies. But all these precious
stones, and valuable articles, are the spoils of ancient
princes, Patans and Rajas, collected during a long course
of years, and, increasing regularly under every reign, by
presents which the Omrahs are compelled to make on
certain annual festivals. The whole of this treasure is
considered the property of the crown, which it is criminal
to touch, and upon the security of which the King, in a
time of pressing necessity, would find it extremely difficult
to raise the smallest sum.

Before I conclude, I wish to explain how it happens that,
although this Empire of the Mogol is such an abyss for gold
and silver, as I said before, these precious metals are not
in greater plenty here than elsewhere ; on the contrary,
the inhabitants have less the appearance of a moneyed
people than those of many other parts of the globe.

In the first place, a large quantity is melted, re-melted,
and wasted, in fabricating women's bracelets, both for

1 I have already stated [see p. 200, footnote] that a roupie is worth
about twenty-nine sols. One hundred thousand make a lecque, and
one hundred lecques one kourour. — Bernier.

224 LETTER TO COLBERT

the hands and feet, chains, ear-rings, nose and finger rings,
and a still larger quantity is consumed in manufacturing
embroideries ; alachas, or striped silken stuffs ; touras} or
fringes of gold lace, worn on turbans ; gold and silver
cloths; scarfs, turbans, and brocades.2 The quantity of
these articles made in India is incredible. All the troops,
from the Omrah to the man in the ranks, will wear gilt
ornaments ; nor will a private soldier refuse them to his
wife and children, though the whole family should die of
hunger ; which indeed is a common occurrence.

In the second place, the King, as proprietor of the
land, makes over a certain quantity to military men, as
an equivalent for their pay ; and this grant is called
jah-ghir, or, as in Turkey, timar ; the word jah-ghir signify-
ing the spot from which to draw, or the place of salary.
Similar grants are made to governors, in lieu of their
salary, and also for the support of their troops, on con-
dition that they pay a certain sum annually to the King out
of any surplus revenue that the land may yield. The lands
not so granted are retained by the King as the peculiar
domains of his house, and are seldom, if ever, given in the
way of jah-ghir ; and upon these domains he keeps con-
tractors,3 who are also bound to pay him an annual rent.

1 From the Persian word turreh, a lock of hair. Fringes, with
which the ends of turban cloths are finished off.

2 Recent travellers have remarked upon this ' abyss for gold and
silver,' to use Bernier's forcible language, in the East generally, and in
an interesting special article in The Tin'ies of March I3th, 1891, de-
scribing the cutting of the top-knot (a ' coming of age ' ceremony) of the
heir-apparent to the Crown of Siam which took place on the ipth of
January, we read, h propos of the grand procession :—

' But a Siamese procession is in itself a marvel, compared with which the most
ambitious Lord Mayor's Show is a very one-horse affair. The Royal crown alone
worn by the King in his palanquin, would, if converted into pounds sterling, pay for a
great many such shows. So would his jewelled uniform, and so would the crown of
the small Prince. Many thousands of pounds' worth of pure gold is carried along on
the belts and Court uniforms of the grandees ; and an inventory of the other "pro-
perties" displayed would rather astonish a manager of stage processions in Europe.'

In this connection see Appendix IV.
* In the original, Fenniers.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 225

The persons thus put in possession of the land, whether
as timariots, governors, or contractors, have an authority
almost absolute over the peasantry, and nearly as much
over the artisans and merchants of the towns and villages
within their district ; and nothing can be imagined more
cruel and oppressive than the manner in which it is
exercised. There is no one before whom the injured
peasant, artisan, or tradesman can pour out his just corn-
plaints ; no great lords, parliaments, or judges of local
courts, exist, as in France, to restrain the wickedness of
those merciless oppressors, and the Kadis, or judges, are
not invested with sufficient power to redress the wrongs
of these unhappy people. This sad abuse of the royal
authority may not be felt in the same degree near capital
cities such as Dehly and Agra, or in the vicinity of large
towns and seaports, because in those places acts of gross
injustice cannot easily be concealed from the court.

This debasing state of slavery obstructs the progress of
trade and influences the manners and mode of life of every
individual. There can be little encouragement to engage
in commercial pursuits, when the success with which they
may be attended, instead of adding to the enjoyments
of life, provokes the cupidity of a neighbouring tyrant
possessing both power and inclination to deprive any man
of the fruits of his industry. When wealth is acquired, as
must sometimes be the case, the possessor, so far from
living with increased comfort and assuming an air of inde-
pendence, studies the means by which he may appear
indigent : his dress, lodging, and furniture, continue to
be mean, and he is careful, above all things, never to in-
dulge in the pleasures of the table. In the meantime,
his gold and silver remain buried at a great depth in the
ground ; agreeable to the general practice among the
peasantry, artisans and merchants, whether Mahometans
or Gentiles, but especially among the latter, who possess
almost exclusively the trade and wealth of the country,
and who believe that the money concealed during life

226 LETTER TO COLBERT

will prove beneficial to them after death. A few indi-
viduals alone who derive their income from the King or

from the Omrahs, or who are protected by a powerful
patron, are at no pains to counterfeit poverty, but partake
of the comforts and luxuries of life.

I have no doubt that this habit of secretly burying the
precious metals, and thus withdrawing them from circula-
tion, is the principal cause of their apparent scarcity in
Hindoustan.

From what I have said, a question will naturally arise,
whether it would not be more advantageous for the King \
as well as for the people, if the former ceased to be sole ;
possessor of the land, and the right of private property 11
were recognised in the Indies as it is with us ? I have
carefully compared the condition of European states, where
that right is acknowledged, with the condition of those
countries where it is not known, and am persuaded that
the absence of it among the people is injurious to the best
interests of the Sovereign himself. We have seen how in
the Indies the gold and silver disappear in consequence
of the tyranny of Timariots, Governors, and Revenue
contractors — a tyranny which even the monarch, if so
disposed, has no means of controlling in provinces not
contiguous to his capital — a tyranny often so excessive as
to deprive the peasant and artisan of the necessaries of
life, and leave them to die of misery and exhaustion — a
tyranny owing to which those wretched people either
have no children at all, or have them only to endure the
agonies of starvation, and to die at a tender age — a
tyranny, in fine, that drives the cultivator of the soil from
his wretched home to some neighbouring state, in hopes
of finding milder treatment, or to the army, where he
becomes the servant of some trooper. As the ground
is seldom tilled otherwise than by compulsion, and as
no person is found willing and able to repair the ditches
and canals for the conveyance of water, it happens that

1 In the original, ce Mien et ce Tien.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 22?

the whole country is badly cultivated, and a great part
rendered unproductive from the want of irrigation. The
houses, too, are left in a dilapidated condition, there
being few people who will either build new ones, or repair
those which are tumbling down. The peasant cannot
avoid asking himself this question : ' Why should I toil
for a tyrant who may come to-morrow and lay his rapacious
hands upon all I possess and value, without leaving me, if
such should be his humour, the means to drag on my
miserable existence ? ' — The Timariots, Governors, and
Revenue contractors, on their part reason in this manner :
' Why should the neglected state of this land create un-
easiness in our minds ? and why should we expend our
own money and time to render it fruitful ? We may be
deprived of it in a single moment, and our exertions would
benefit neither ourselves nor our children. Let us draw
from the soil all the money we can, though the peasant
should starve or abscond, and we should leave it, when
commanded to quit, a dreary wilderness.'

The facts I have mentioned are sufficient to account for
the rapid decline of the Asiatic states. It is owing to
this miserable system of government that most towns in ;
Hindoustan are made up of earth, mud, and other wretched
materials ; that there is no city or town which, if it be
not already ruined and deserted, does not bear evident
marks of approaching decay. Without confining our
remarks to so distant a kingdom, we may judge of the
effects of despotic power unrelentingly exercised, by the
present condition of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Palestine, the
once wonderful plains of Antioch, and so many other
regions anciently well cultivated, fertile, and populous,
but now desolate, and in many parts marshy, pestiferous,
and unfit for human habitation. Egypt also exhibits a sad
picture of an enslaved country. More than one-tenth
part of that incomparable territory has been lost within
the last eighty years, because no one will be at the
expense of repairing the irrigation channels, and confining

228 LETTER TO COLBERT

the Nile within its banks. The low lands are thus
violently inundated, and covered with sand, which cannot
be removed without much labour and expense. Can it
excite wonder, that under these circumstances, the arts
do not flourish here as they would do under a better
government, or as they flourish in our happier France ?
No artist can be expected to give his mind to his calling
in the midst of a people who are either wretchedly poor,
or who, if rich, assume an appearance of poverty, and who
regard not the beauty and excellence, but the cheapness
of an article : a people whose grandees pay for a work of
art considerably under its value, and according to their
own caprice, and who do not hesitate to punish an im-
portunate artist, or tradesman, with the korrah, that long
and terrible whip hanging at every Omrah's gate. Is it
not enough also to damp the ardour of any artist,
when he feels that he can never hope to attain to any
distinction ; that he shall not be permitted to purchase
either office or land for the benefit of himself and family ;
that he must at no time make it appear he is the owner
of the most trifling sum ; and that he may never venture
to indulge in good fare, or to dress in fine apparel, lest he
should create a suspicion of his possessing money ? x The
arts in the Indies would long ago have lost their beauty
and delicacy, if the Monarch and principal Omrahs did not
keep in their pay a number of artists who work in their
houses,2 teach the children, and are stimulated to exertion
by the hope of reward and the fear of the korrah. The
protection afforded by powerful patrons to rich merchants
and tradesmen who pay the workmen rather higher
wages, tends also to preserve the arts. I say rather

1 In 1882 on the occasion of the formation of a Loan Collection of
arts and manufactures in connection with an Agricultural Exhibition
at Lucknow, many of the possessors of various ancient family jewels,
amulets, and other works of art, were at first unwilling to lend them,
lest by their doing so they should acquire the reputation of being
wealthy and be assessed at a high rate for Income-tax.

* See p. 258 text, and footnote 3.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 229

higher wages, for it should not be inferred from the good-
ness of the manufactures, that the workman is held in
esteem, or arrives at a state of independence. Nothing
but sheer necessity or blows from a cudgel keeps him
employed ; he never can become rich, and he feels it no
trifling matter if he have the means of satisfying the
cravings of hunger, and of covering his body with the
coarsest raiment. If money oe gained, it does not in any
measure go into his pocket, but only serves to increase
the wealth of the merchant who, in his turn, is not a
little perplexed how to guard against some act of outrage
and extortion on the part of his superiors.

A profound and universal ignorance is the natural con-
sequence of such a state of society as I have endeavoured
to describe. Is it possible to establish in Hindoustan
academies and colleges properly endowed ? Where shall
we seek for founders ? or, should they be found, where are
the scholars? Where the individuals whose property is
sufficient to support their children at college ? or, if such
individuals exist, who would venture to display so clear a
proof of wealth ? Lastly, if any persons snould be tempted
to commit this great imprudence, yet where are the
benefices,, the employments, the offices of trust and dignity,
that require ability and science and are calculated to ex-
cite the emulation and the hopes of the young student ?

Nor can the commerce of a country so governed be
conducted with the activity and success that we witness in
Europe ; few are the men who will voluntarily endure
labour and anxiety, and incur danger, for another person's
benefit, — for a governor who may appropriate to his own
use the profit of any speculation. Let that profit be ever
so great, the man by whom it has been made must still
wear the garb of indigence, and fare no better, in regard
to eating and drinking, than his poorer neighbours. In
cases, indeed, where the merchant is protected by a
military man of rank, he may be induced to embark in
commercial enterprises ; but still he must be the slave of

230 LETTER TO COLBERT

his patron, who will exact whatever terms he pleases as
the price of his protection.

The Great Mogol cannot select for his service, princes,
noblemen and gentlemen of opulent and ancient families ;
nor the sons of his citizens, merchants and manufacturers ;
men of education, possessing a high sense of propriety,
affectionately attached to their Sovereign, ready to sup-
port, by acts of valour, the reputation of their family, and,
as the occasion may arise, able and willing to maintain
themselves, either at court or in the army, by means of
their own patrimony ; animated by the hope of better
times, and satisfied with the approbation and smile of their
Sovereign. Instead of men of this description, he is sur-
rounded by slaves, ignorant and brutal ; by parasites raised
from the dregs of society ; strangers to loyalty and
patriotism ; full of insufferable pride, and destitute of
courage, of honour, and of decency.

The country is ruined by the necessity of defraying the
enormous charges required to maintain the splendour of
a numerous court, and to pay a large army maintained for
the purpose of keeping the people in subjection. No
adequate idea can be conveyed of the sufferings of that
people. The cudgel and the whip compel them to in-
cessant labour for the benefit of others ; and driven to
despair by every kind of cruel treatment, their revolt or
their flight is only prevented by the presence of a military
force.

The misery of this ill-fated country is increased by the
practice which prevails too much at all times, but especially
on the breaking out of an important war, of selling the
different governments for immense sums in hard cash.
Hence it naturally becomes the principal object of the
individual thus appointed Governor, to obtain repayment
of the purchase-money, which he borrowed as he could at
a ruinous rate of interest. Indeed whether the govern-
ment of a province has or has not been bought, the
Governor, as well as the limariot and the farmer of the

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 231

revenue, must find the means of making valuable presents,
every year, to a Fisir, a Eunuch, a lady of the Seraglio,
and to any other person whose influence at court he con-
siders indispensable. The Governor must also enforce the
payment of the regular tribute to the King ; and although
he was originally a wretched slave, involved in debt, and
without the smallest patrimony, he yet becomes a great
and opulent lord.

Thus do ruin and desolation overspread the land. The
provincial governors, as before observed, are so many petty
tyrants, possessing a boundless authority ; and as there is
no one to whom the oppressed subject may appeal, he
cannot hope for redress, let his injuries be ever so grievous
or ever so frequently repeated.

It is true that the Great Mogol sends a Fakca-Nevis 1 to
the various provinces ; that is, persons whose business it is
to communicate every event that takes place ; but there
is generally a disgraceful collusion between these officers
and the governor, so that their presence seldom restrains
the tyranny exercised over the unhappy people.

Governments also are not so often and so openly sold
in Hindoustan as in Turkey. I say ' so openly,' because the
costly presents, made occasionally by the governors, are
nearly equivalent to purchase-money. The same persons,
too, generally remain longer in their respective govern-
ments than in Turkey, and the people are gradually less
oppressed by governors of some standing than when, in-
digent and greedy, they first take possession of their
province. The tyranny of these men is also somewhat

1 A corruption of the Persian word Wdktahna-wis, a newswriter, an
ancient institution in India. Fryer partly attributed Aurangzeb's
non-success in the Deccan, although he had large armies there, to the
false reports sent by his newswriters, stating: — 'Notwithstanding all
these formidable Numbers, while the Generals and Vocanovices con-
sult to deceive the Emperor, on whom he depends for a true state of
things, it can never be otherwise but that they must be misrepre-
sented, when the Judgment he makes must be by a false Perspective '
(ed. Crooke, Hakluyl Soc., ii. 52).

232 LETTER to COLBERT

mitigated by the apprehension that the people, if used
with excessive cruelty, may abandon the country, and seek
an asylum in the territory of some Raja, as indeed happens
very often.

In Persia likewise are governments neither so frequently
nor so publicly sold as in Turkey ; for it is not uncommon
for the children of governors to succeed their fathers. The
consequence of this better state of things is seen in the
superior condition of the people, as compared to those of
Turkey. The Persians also are more polite, and there are
even instances of their devoting themselves to study.

Those three countries, Turkey, Persia, and Hindoustan,
have no idea of the principle of meum and tuum, relatively
to land or other real possessions ; and having lost that
respect for the right of property, which is the basis of all
that is good and useful in the world, necessarily resemble
each other in essential points : they fall into the same
pernicious errors, and must, sooner or later, experience
the natural consequences of those errors — tyranny, ruin,
and misery

How happy and thankful should we feel, My Lord, that
in our quarter of the globe, Kings are not the sole pro-
prietors of the soil ! Were they so, we should seek in vain
for countries well cultivated and populous, for well-built
and opulent cities, for a polite, contented, and flourish-
ing people. If this exclusive and baneful right prevailed,
far different would be the real riches of the sovereigns of
Europe, and the loyalty and fidelity with which they are
served. They would soon reign over solitudes and deserts,
over mendicants and barbarians.

Actuated by a blind and wicked ambition to be more
absolute than is warranted by the laws of God and of
nature, the Kings of Asia grasp at everything, until at
length they lose everything ; or, if they do not always
find themselves without pecuniary resources, they are in-
variably disappointed in the expectation of acquiring the
riches which they covet. If the same system of government

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 233

existed with us, where, I must again ask, should we find
Princes, Prelates, Nobles, opulent Citizens, and thriving
Tradesmen, ingenious Artisans and Manufacturers?
Where should we look for such cities as Paris, Lyons,
Toulouse, Rouen, or, if you will, London, and so many
others ? Where should we see that infinite number of
towns and villages ; all those beautiful country houses,
those fine plains, hills and valleys, cultivated with so much
care, art and labour ? and what would become of the ample
revenues derived from so much industry, an industry
beneficial alike to the sovereign and the subject ? The
reverse of this smiling picture would, alas ! be exhibited.
Our large towns would become uninhabitable in conse-
quence of the unwholesome air, and fall into ruins without
exciting in any person a thought of preventing or repair-
ing the decay; our fertile hills would be abandoned, and
the plains would be overrun with thorns and weeds, or
covered with pestilential morasses. The excellent ac-
commodation for travellers would disappear ; the good
inns, for example, between Paris and Lyons, would
dwindle into ten or twelve wretched caravansaries, and
travellers be reduced to the necessity of moving, like the
Gypsies, with everything about them. The Eastern
Karavans-Serrah resemble large barns, raised and paved all
round, in the same manner as our Pont-neitf. Hundreds of
human beings are seen in them, mingled with their horses,
mules, and camels. In summer these buildings are hot and
suffocating, and in winter nothing but the breath of so
many animals prevents the inmates from dying of cold.

But there are countries, I shall be told, such for instance
as the Grand Seignior s dominions, which we know better
than any without going as far as the Indies, where the
principle of meum and tuum is unknown, which not only
preserve their existence, but maintain a great and in-
creasing power.

An empire so prodigiously extensive as that of the
Grand Seignior, comprising countries whose soil is so

234. LETTER TO COLBERT

deep and excellent that even without due cultivation it
will continue fertile for many years, cannot be otherwise
than rich and powerful. Yet how insignificant is the
wealth and strength of Turkey in comparison to its extent
and natural advantages ! Let us only suppose that country
as populous and as carefully cultivated as it would become
if the right of private property were recognised and acted
upon, and we cannot doubt that it could raise and support
armies as numerous and well-appointed as formerly : but
even at Constantinople three months are now required to
raise five or six thousand men. I have travelled through
nearly every part of the empire, and witnessed how
lamentably it is ruined and depopulated. Some support
it undoubtedly derives from the Christian slaves brought
from all quarters ; but if that country continue many
years under the present system of government, it must
necessarily fall and perish from innate weakness, though,
to all appearance, it is now preserved by that weakness
itself; for there is no longer a governor, or any other
person, possessed of pecuniary means to undertake the
least enterprise, or who could find the men he would re-
quire to accomplish his purpose. Strange means of pre-
servation ! Turkey seems to owe its transient existence to
the seeds of destruction in its own bosom ! To remove
the danger of commotion and put an end to all fears on
that subject, nothing more appears necessary than the
measure adopted by a Brama1 of Pegu, who actually

1 Thus in the original. Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, who travelled in
Pegu about 1542-45, styles the then king of that country Bramaa. It
is probable that Bernier uses the term to denote the Supreme King of
Pegu, who in 1593 caused many of his most loyal officers to be put to
death, and by other deeds of cruelty so alarmed his subjects that thou-
sands abandoned the country and fled, which thus became depopulated
and uncultivated. See chapter Ixiii. of The Voyages and Advenhtres of
Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, a Portugal ; During his travels for the space
of one-and-twenty years in the Kingdoms oj Ethiopia, China, . . Pegu
. . London 1663, which is entitled That which the King of Bramaa did
after his arrival at the city of Pegu, together with his besieging ofSa.vs.dy.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 235

caused the death of half the population by famine, con-
verted the country into forests, and prevented for many
years the tillage of the land. But all this did not suffice :
even this plan was unsuccessful ; a division of the kingdom
took place, and Ava, the capital, was very lately on the
point of being captured by a handful of fugitives from
China.1 We must confess, however, that there seems
little probability of the total ruin and destruction of the
Turkish empire in our day — it will be happy if we see
nothing worse ! — because the neighbouring states, so far
from being able to attack it, are not in a condition to
defend themselves effectually, without foreign aid, which
remoteness and jealousy will always render tardy, in-
efficient, and liable to suspicion.

If it be observed that there is no reason why eastern
states should not have the benefit of good laws, or why
the people in the provinces may not complain of their
grievances to a grand Visir, or to the King himself; I
shall admit that they are not altogether destitute of good
laws, which, if properly administered, would render Asia
as eligible a residence as any other part of the world.
But of what advantage are good laws when not observed,
and when there is no possibility of enforcing their
observance ? Have not the provincial tyrants been
nominated by the same grand Visir and by the same
King, who alone have power to redress the people's
wrongs ? and is it not a fact that they have no means
of appointing any but tyrants to rule over the provinces ?
either the Visir or the King has sold the place to the
Governor. And even admitting that there existed a
disposition to listen to a complaint, how is a poor peasant
or a ruined artisan to defray the expenses of a journey
to the capital, and to seek justice at one hundred and
fifty or two hundred leagues from home ? He would

1 This happened in May 1659, and it is said that the repulse of the
Chinese was mainly due to the skill and bravery of native Christian
gunners, descendants of Portuguese captives (Phayre, nisi, of Burma}.

LETTER TO COLBERT

be waylaid and murdered, as frequently happens, or
sooner or later fall into the Governor's hands, and be
at his mercy. Should he chance to reach the royal
residence, he would find the friends of his oppressor
busy in distorting the truth, and misrepresenting the
whole affair to the King. In short, the Governor is
absolute lord, in the strictest sense of the word. He
is in his own person the intendant of justice, the parlia-
ment, the presidial court, and the assessor and receiver
of the King's taxes. A Persian, in speaking of these
greedy Governors, Timariots, and Farmers of Revenue,
aptly describes them as men who extract oil out of sand.
No income appears adequate to maintain them, with
their crowds of harpies, women, children, and slaves.

If it be remarked that the lands which our Kings hold
as domains are as well cultivated, and as thickly peopled
as other lands, my answer is that there can be no analogy
between a kingdom whose monarch is proprietor of a few
domains, and a kingdom where the monarch possesses, in
his own right, every acre of the soil. In France the laws
are so reasonable, that the King is the first to obey them :
his domains are held without the violation of any right ;
his farmers or stewards may be sued at law, and the
aggrieved artisan or peasant is sure to find redress against
injustice and oppression. But in eastern countries, the
weak and the injured are without any refuge whatever;
and the only law that decides all controversies is the cane
and the caprice of a governor.

There certainly however, some may say, are some ad-
vantages peculiar to despotic governments : they have
fewer lawyers, and fewer law-suits, and those few are
more speedily decided. We cannot, indeed, too greatly
admire the old Persian proverb, Na-hac Koula Belter-Ez
liac Deraz:1 ' Speedy injustice is preferable to tardy
justice.' Protracted law-suits are, I admit, insupportable

1 Or, as more correctly transliterated, Nd-haqqi kotah bihlar az
haqqidardz,.

CONCERNING HINDOUSTAN 237

evils in any state, and it is incumbent upon a Sovereign
to provide a remedy against them. It is certain that no
remedy would be so efficacious as the destruction of the
right of private property. Do away with this meum and
luum, and the necessity for an infinite number of legal
proceedings will at once cease,, especially for those which
are important, long, and intricate : the larger portion of
magistrates employed by the King to administer justice to
his subjects will also become useless, as will those swarms
of attorneys and counsellors who live by judicial contests.
But it is equally certain that the remedy would be
infinitely worse than the disease, and that there is no
estimating the misery that would afflict the country.
Instead of magistrates on whose probity the monarch can
depend, we should be at the mercy of such rulers as I
have described. In Asia, if justice be ever administered,
it is among the lower classes, among persons who, being
equally poor, have no means of corrupting the judges, and
of buying false witnesses ; witnesses always to be had
in great numbers, at a cheap rate, and never punished.
I am speaking the language of several years' experience ;
my information was obtained from various quarters, and is
the result of many careful inquiries among the natives,
European merchants long settled in the country, ambassa-
dors, consuls, and interpreters.1 My testimony is, I
know, at variance with the account given by most of our
travellers. They happened, perhaps, in passing through
a town, to see two poor men, the dregs of the people, in
the presence of a Kadi. Our countryman may have seen
them hurried out of court to receive, either the one or
the other, if not both, hard blows 011 the soles of the feet,
unless the parties were immediately dismissed with a
' Maybale-Baba,' 2 or a few soft words which the magistrate
sometimes utters when he finds that no bribe can be

1 Truchemens in the original, our ' dragoman ' (Arabic tarjumdn).

2 Misprinted for nnisdliha Bdbd, ' Be at peace, my children,' equiva-
lent to advising them to settle their case out of court.

238 LETTER TO COLBERT

expected. No doubt, this summary mode of proceeding
excited the admiration of our travellers, and they returned
to France, exclaiming, ' O, what an excellent and quick
administration of justice ! O, the upright Kadis \ Models
for the imitation of French magistrates ! ' not considering
that if the party really in the wrong had possessed the
means of putting a couple of crowns into the hands of the
Kadi or his clerks, and of buying with the same sum two
false witnesses, he would indisputably have gained his
cause, or prolonged it as long as he pleased.

Yes, My Lord, to conclude briefly I must repeat it ; take
away the right of private property in land, and you intro-
duce, as a sure and necessary consequence, tyranny, slavery,
injustice, beggary and barbarism : the ground will cease to
be cultivated and become a dreary wilderness ; in a word,
the road will be opened to the ruin of Kings and the de-
struction of Nations. It is the hope by which a man is
animated, that he shall retain the fruits of his industry, and
transmit them to his descendants, that forms the main
foundation of everything excellent and beneficial in this
sublunary state ; and if we take a review of the different
kingdoms in the world, we shall find that they prosper
or decline according as this principle is acknowledged or
contemned : in a word, it is the prevalence or neglect
of this principle which changes and diversifies the face
of the earth.

LETTER

TO MONSIEUR

DE LA

MOT HE LE VAYER

Written at Dehli the first of July 1663.

Containing a description of Dehli and Agra, the Capital Cities
of the Empire of the Great Mogol, together with various
details illustrative of the Court Life and the Civilisation
of the Mogols and the People of the Indies.

O N S I E U R,

I know that your1 first inquiries on my return to
France will be respecting the capital cities of this empire.
You will be anxious to learn if Dehli and Agra rival

i Francois de la Mothe le Vayer, 1588-1672, was a very voluminous
and able writer on ethnological, geographical, and historical subjects.
He succeeded his father Felix, who died on the 25th September 1625,
in a parliamentary office, but soon abandoned law for letters. Bernier
was one of his most intimate friends, and when he came to see him
as he lay on his death-bed, almost his last utterance was the greeting,
'Eh bien ! quelles nouvelles avez-vous du grand Mogol?' (Well!
what news have you of the Great Mogul?)

280

240 DESCRIPTION OF

Paris in beauty, extent, and number of inhabitants. I
hasten, therefore, to gratify your curiosity upon these
points, and I may perhaps intersperse a few other matters
which you will not find altogether uninteresting.

In treating of the beauty of these towns, I must premise
that I have sometimes been astonished to hear the con-
temptuous manner in which Europeans in the Indies speak
of these and other places. They complain that the
buildings are inferior in beauty to those of the Western
world, forgetting that different climates require different
styles of architecture ; that what is useful and proper at
Paris, London, or Amsterdam, would be entirely out of
place at Dehli ; insomuch that if it were possible for any
one of those great capitals to change place with the
metropolis of the Indies, it would become necessary to
throw down the greater part of the city, and to rebuild it
on a totally different plan. Without doubt, the cities of
Europe may boast great beauties ; these, however, aj^ of
an appropriate character, suited to a cold climate, i Thus\
Dehli also may possess beauties adapted to a warm climate.
The heat is so intense in Hindoustan, that no one, not
even the King, wears stockings ; the only cover for the \ .
feet being babouches,1 or slippers, while the head is pro- y^y
tected by a small turban, of the finest and most delicate
materials. The other garments are proportionably light.
During the summer season, it is scarcely possible to keep
the hand on the wall of an apartment, or the head on a
pillow. For more than six successive months, everybody
lies in the open air without covering — the common people
in the streets, the merchants and persons of condition
sometimes in their courts or gardens, and sometimes,
their terraces, which are first carefully wateredX^ Now,
only suppose the streets of S. Jaqucs or S. Dems trans-
ported hither, with their close houses and endless stories ;
would they be habitable ? or would it be possible to sleep
in them during the night, when the absence of wind

1 Pdposh ; literally foot-cover.

DEHLI AND AGRA 241

increases the heat almost to suffocation ? Suppose one
just returned on horseback, half dead with heat and
dust, and drenched, as usual, in perspiration ; and then
imagine the luxury of squeezing up a narrow dark stair-
case to the fourth or fifth story, there to remain almost
choked with heat. In the Indies, there is no such trouble-
some task to perform. You have only to swallow quickly
a draught of fresh water, or lemonade ; to undress ; wash
face, hands, and feet, and then immediately drop upon a
sofa in some shady place, where one or two servants fan
you with their great panhas l or fans. But I shall now
endeavour to give you an accurate description of Dehli,
that you may judge for yourselves how far it has a claim
to the appellation of a beautiful city.

It is about forty years ago that Chah-Jehan, father of the
present Great Mogol, Aureng-Zebe, conceived the design of
immortalising his name by the erection of a city near the
site of the ancient Dehli. This new capital he called after
his own name, Chah-Jehan- Abad, or, for brevity, Jehan-
Abad ; that is to say, the colony of Chah-Jehan. Here he
resolved to fix his court, alleging as the reason for its
removal from Agra, that the excessive heat to which that
city is exposed during summer rendered it unfit for the
residence of a monarch. Owing to their being so near at
hand, the ruins of old Dehli have served to build the new
city, and in the Indies they scarce speak any more of Dehli,
but only of Jehan-Abad ; however, as the city of Jehan-
Abad is not yet known to us, I intend to speak of it under
the old name of Dehli, with which we are familiar.

Dehli, then, is an entirely new city, situated in a flat
country, on the banks of the Gemna, a river which may be
compared to the Loire, and built on one bank only in such
a manner that it terminates in this place very much in the
form of a crescent, having but one bridge of boats to cross
to the country. Excepting the side where it is defended
by the river, the city is encompassed by walls of brick.
1 Thus in original ; a misprint for pankhas.

DESCRIPTION OF

The fortifications, however, are very incomplete,, as ther6
are neither ditches nor any other kind of additional
defence, if we except flanking towers of antique shape,
at intervals of about one hundred paces, and a bank
of earth forming a platform behind the walls, four or five
feet in thickness. Although these works encompass not
only the city but the citadel, yet their extent is less than
is generally supposed. I have accomplished the circuit
with ease in the space of three hours, and notwithstanding
I rode on horseback, I do not think my progress exceeded
a league per hour. In this computation I do not however
include the suburbs, which are considerable, comprising a
long chain of buildings on the side of Lahor, the extensive
remains of the old city, and three or four smaller suburbs.
By these additions the extent of the city is so much
increased that a straight line may be traced in it of more
than a league and a half; and though I cannot undertake
to define exactly the circumference, because these suburbs
are interspersed with extensive gardens and open spaces,
yet you must see that it is very great.

The citadel, which contains the Mehalle or Seraglio, and
the other royal apartments of which I shall have occasion
to speak hereafter, is round, or rather semicircular. It
commands a prospect of the river, from which it is
separated by a sandy space of considerable length and
width. On these sands are exhibited the combats of
elephants, and there the corps belonging to the Omrahs
or lords, and those of the Rajas or gentile princes, pass in
review before the Sovereign, who witnesses the spectacle
from the windows of the palace. The walls of the citadel,
as to their antique and round towers, resemble those of
the city, but being partly of brick, and partly of a red stone
which resembles marble, they have a better appearance.
The walls of the fortress likewise excel those of the town
in height, strength, and thickness, being capable of
admitting small field-pieces, which are pointed toward
the city. Except on the side of the river, the citadel

DEHLI AND AGRA 243

is defended by a deep ditch faced with hewn stone,
filled with water, and stocked with fish. Considerable
as these works may appear, their real strength is by
no means great, and in my opinion a battery of moderate
force would soon level them with the ground.

Adjoining the ditch is a large garden, filled at all times
with flowers and green shrubs, which, contrasted with the
stupendous red walls, produce a beautiful effect.

Next to the garden is the great royal square, faced on
one side by the gates of the fortress, and on the opposite
side of which terminate the two most considerable streets
of the city.

The tents of such Rajas as are in the King's pay, and
whose weekly turn it is to mount guard, are pitched in
this square ; those petty sovereigns having an insuperable
objection to be enclosed within walls.1 The guard within
the fortress is mounted by the Omrahs and Mansebdars.

In this place also at break of day they exercise the royal
horses, which are kept in a spacious stable not far distant ;
and here the Kobat-ka?i, or grand Muster-master of the
cavalry, examines carefully the horses of those who have
been received into the service. If they are found to be
Turld horses, that is, from Turkislan or Tartary^ and of a
proper size and adequate strength, they are branded
on the thigh with the King's mark and with the mark
of the Omrah under whom the horseman is enlisted. This
is well contrived, to prevent the loan of the same horses
for different review days.3

Here too is held a bazar or market for an endless variety
of things ; which like the Pont-neuf at Paris, is the rendez-
vous for all sorts of mountebanks and jugglers. Hither,
likewise, the astrologers resort, both Mahometan and Gentile.
These wise doctors remain seated in the sun, on a dusty

1 See p. 210.

* Called Turk! horses, and reckoned by Akbar as third class.
8 Akbar introduced, or rather revived, very elaborate regulations
for branding the royal horses. See Aint vol. i. p. 139 et seq.

244 DESCRIPTION OF

piece of carpet, handling some old mathematical instru-
ments, and having open before them a large book which
represents the signs of the zodiac. In this way they attract
the attention of the passengers, and impose upon the
people, by whom they are considered as so many infallible
oracles. They tell a poor person his fortune for a payssa
(which is worth about one sol) ; and after examining the
hand and face of the applicant, turning over the leaves of
the large book, and pretending to make certain calcula-
tions, these impostors decide upon the Sahet l or propitious
moment of commencing the business he may have in hand.
Silly women, wrapping themselves in a white cloth from
head to foot, flock to the astrologers, whisper to them all
the transactions of their lives, and disclose every secret
with no more reserve than is practised by a scrupulous
penitent in the presence of her confessor. The ignorant
and infatuated people really believe that the stars have
an influence which the astrologers can control.

The most ridiculous of these pretenders to divination
was a half-caste Portuguese, a fugitive from Goa. This
fellow sat on his carpet as gravely as the rest, and had
many customers notwithstanding he could neither read
nor write. His only instrument was an old mariner's com-
pass,2 and his books of astrology a couple of old Romish
prayer-books in the Portuguese language, the pictures of
which he pointed out as the signs of the European zodiac.
A tal Bestias, tal Astrologuo,3 he unblushingly observed to
the Jesuit, the Reverend Father Buze, who saw him at his
work.

1 Read S£att see p. 161.

2 The Chinese used a modified form of the mariner's compass for
purposes of divination from an early period. Seep. 169 et seq. of a
Letter to Baron Humboldt^ on the Invention of the Mariners Compass,
by M. /. Klaproth. Paris, Dondey-Dupre, 1834. Other Oriental
nations appear to have done the same.

8 ' For such brutes, such an astrologer,' equivalent to Like master 9
like wan, or the Hindostanee proverb, Such a country t such a dress
(Jaisa dls waisdhi bhts).

DEHLI AND AGRA 245

I am speaking only of the poor bazar -astrologers.
Those who frequent the court of the grandees are con-
sidered by them eminent doctors, and become wealthy.
The whole of Asia is degraded by the same superstition.
Kings and nobles grant large salaries to these crafty
diviners, and never engage in the most trifling transaction
without consulting them. They read whatever is written
in heaven ; fix upon the Sahet, and solve every doubt by
opening the Koran.

The two principal streets of the city, already mentioned
as leading into the square, may be five-and-twenty or thirty
ordinary paces in width. They run in a straight line
nearly as far as the eye can reach ; but the one leading to
the Lahor gate is much the longer. In regard to houses
the two streets are exactly alike. As in our Place Royale,
there are arcades on both sides ; with this difference, how-
ever, that they are only brick, and that the top serves for
a terrace and has no additional building. They also diffe^V
from the Place Royale in not having an uninterrupted 1
opening from one to the other, but are generally separated \
by partitions, in the spaces between which are open shops, 1
where, during the day, artisans work, bankers sit for the \
despatch of their business, and merchants exhibit their \
wares. Within the arch is a small door, opening into a ware-
house, in which these wares are deposited for the night. ^ I

The houses of the merchants are built over these ware-
houses, at the back of the arcades : they look handsome
enough from the street, and appear tolerably commodious
within ; they are airy, at a distance from the dust, and
communicate with the terrace-roofs over the shops, on
which the inhabitants sleep at night ; the houses, however,
are not continued the whole length of the streets. A few,
and only a few, other parts of the city riave good houses
raised on terraces, the buildings over the shops being
often too low to be seen from the street. The rich
merchants have their dwellings elsewhere, to which tHey
retire after the hours of business.

246 DESCRIPTION OF

There are five streets, not so long nor so straight as
the two principal ones, but resembling them in every other
respect. Of the numberless streets which cross each
other, many have arcades ; but having been built at
different periods by individuals who paid no regard to
symmetry, very few are so well built, so wide, or so straight
as those I have described.

Amid these streets are dispersed the habitations of

\Mansebdars, or petty Omrahs, officers of justice, rich

• merchants, and others ; many of which have a tolerable

I appearance. < Very few are built entirely of brick or stone,

/ and several are made only of clay and straw, yet they

are airy and pleasant, most of them having courts and

gardens, being commodious inside and containing good

furniture. The thatched roof is supported by a layer of

long, handsome, and strong canes, and the clay walls are

covered with a fine white lime.

Intermixed with these different houses is an immense
number of small ones, built of mud and thatched with
straw, in which lodge the common troopers, and all that
vast multitude of servants and camp-followers who follow
the court and the army.

It is owing to these thatched ™+iflgf** that rWifi is
subject to such frequent conflagrations. More than sixty
thousand roofs were consumed this last year by three fires,
during the prevalence of certain impetuous winds which
blow generally in summer. So rapid were the flames that
several camels and horses were burnt. Many of the in-
mates of the seraglio also fell victims to the devouring
element ; for these poor women are so bashful and help-
less that they can do nothing but hide their faces at the
sight of strangers, and those who perished possessed not
sufficient energy to fly from the danger.

It is because of these wretched mud and thatch houses
that I always represent to myself Dehli as a collection
of many villages, or as a military encampment with
a few more conveniences than are usually found in such

DEHLI AND AGRA 247

places. The dwellings of the Omrahs, though mostly
situated on the banks of the river and in the suburbs, are
yet scattered in every direction. In these hot countries
a house is considered beautiful if it be capacious, and if
the situation be airy and exposed on all sides to the wind,
especially to the northern breezes. A good house has its
courtyards, gardens, trees, basins of water, small jets
d'eau in the hall or at the entrance, and handsome sub-
terraneous apartments which are furnished with large fans,
and on account of their coolness are fit places for repose
from noon until four or five o'clock, when the air becomes
suffocatingly warm. Instead of these cellars many persons
prefer Kas-kanays,1 that is, small and neat houses made of
straw or odoriferous roots placed commonly in the middle
of a parterre, so near to a reservoir of water that the
servants may easily moisten the outside by means of water
brought in skins. They consider that a house to be greatly
admired ought to be situated in the middle of a large
flower-garden, and should have four large divan-apart-
mertts raised the height of a man from the ground, and
exposed to the four winds, so that the coolness may
be felt from any quarter. Indeed, no handsome dwelling
is ever seen without terraces on which the family may
sleep during the night. They always open into a large
chamber into which the bedstead is easily moved in case
of rain, when thick clouds of dust arise, when the cold air
is felt at break of day, or when it is found necessary to
guard against those light but penetrating dews which
frequently cause a numbness in the limbs and induce a
species of paralysis.

The interior of a good house has the whole floor covered

the roots of a plant, Andropogon mnricattts (Retz. ),
used for the well-known screens which are placed in the doorways of
houses in India during the hot winds, and kept constantly wetted, so
that the external air enters the house cool and fragrant. Rooms or
khanahs, the kanays of Bernier, are sometimes made of these
khas mat?,

248 DESCRIPTION OF

with a cotton mattress four inches in thickness, over which
a fine white cloth is spread during the summer, and a silk
carpet in the winter. At the most conspicuous side of the
chamber are one or two mattresses, with fine coverings
quilted in the form of flowers and ornamented with delicate
silk embroidery, interspersed with gold and silver. These
are intended for the master of the house, or any person
of quality who may happen to call. Each mattress has a
large cushion of brocade to lean upon, and there are
other cushions placed round the room, covered with
brocade, velvet or flowered satin, for the rest of the
company. Five or six feet from the floor, the sides of
the room are full of niches, cut in a variety of shapes,
tasteful and well proportioned, in which are seen porcelain
vases and flower-pots. The ceiling is gilt and painted,
but without pictures of man or beast, such representations
being forbidden by the religion of the country.

This is a pretty fair description of a fine house in these
parts, and as there are many in Dehli possessing all the
properties above mentioned, I think it may be safely
asserted, without disparagement to the towns
quarter of the globe, that the capital of Hindoustan
destitute of handsome buildings, although they bear
resemblance to those in Europe.

That which so much contributes to the beauty of
European towns, the brilliant appearance of the shops, is
wanting in Dehli. For though this city be the seat of a
powerful and magnificent court, where an infinite quantity
of the richest commodities is necessarily collected, yet
there are no streets like ours of S. Denis, which has not
perhaps its equal in any part of Asia. Here the costly
merchandise is generally kept in warehouses, and the
shops are seldom decked with rich or showy articles. For
one that makes a display of beautiful and fine cloths, silk,
and other stuffs striped with gold and silver, turbans
embroidered with gold, and brocades, there are at least
five-and-twenty where nothing is seen but pots of oil or

DEHLI AND AGRA 249

butter, piles of baskets filled with rice, barley, chick-peas,
wheat, and an endless variety of other grain and pulse, the
ordinary aliment not only of the Gentiles, who never eat
meat, but of the lower class of Mahometans, and a con-
siderable portion of the military.

There is, indeed, a fruit-market that makes some show.
It contains many shops which during the summer are well
supplied with dry fruit from Persia, Balk, Bokara, and
Samarkande ; such as almonds, pistachios, and walnuts,
raisins, prunes, and apricots ; and in winter with excellent
fresh grapes, black and white, brought from the same
countries, wrapped in cotton ;a pears and apples of three
or four sorts, and those admirable melons which last the
whole winter. These fruits are, however, very dear;
single melon selling for a crown and a half. But nothing
is considered so great a treat : it forms the chief expense
of the Omrahs, and I have frequently known my Agali
spend twenty crowns on fruit for his breakfast.

In summer the melons of the country are cheap, but
they are of an inferior kind : there are no means of pro-
curing good ones but by sending to Persia for seed, and
sowing it in ground prepared with extraordinary care, in
the manner practised by the grandees. Good melons,
however, are scarce, the soil being so little congenial that
the seed degenerates after the first year.

Ainbas? or Mangues, are in season during two months
in summer, and are plentiful and cheap ; but those grown
at Dehli are indifferent. The best come from Bengale,
Golkonda, and Goa, and these are indeed excellent. I do
not know any sweetmeat more agreeable.

1 A common practice to the present day, the round wooden boxes
filled with grapes imbedded in cotton wool arriving in India about
November, brought by Afghan traders.

2 Am or ambd (from the Sanskrit antm), is the Northern Indian
name for this well-known fruit. From the Tamil name, mdnkdy, was
derived the Portuguese manga, Anglicized as mangoe. The places
named by Bernier are still renowned for the excellent quality of their
mangoes.

250 DESCRIPTION OF

Pateques,1 or water-melons,, are in great abundance nearly
the whole year round ; but those of Dehli are soft, without
colour or sweetness. If this fruit be ever found good, it
is among the wealthy people, who import the seed and
cultivate it with much care and expense.

There are many confectioners' shops in the town, but
the sweatmeats are badly made, and full of dust and flies.

Bakers also are numerous, but the ovens are unlike our
own, and very defective. The bread, therefore, is neither
well made nor properly baked. That jsold ^irj^JJLi&JFort
is tolerably good, and the Omrahs bake atJiQm&r-se-4bat

hrpfl.fl is jnucKj superior. In its composition they
are not sparing of fresh butter, milk, and eggs ; but
though it be raised, it has a burnt taste, and is too much
like cake, and never to be compared to the Pain de
Go?iesse,2 and other delicious kinds, to be met with in Paris.

In the bazars there are shops where meat is sold
roasted and dressed in a variety of ways. But there is no
trusting to their dishes, composed, for aught I know, of
the flesh of camels, horses, or perhaps oxen which have
died of disease. Indeed no food can be considered whole-
some which is not dressed at home.

Meat is sold in every part of the city ; but instead of
goats' flesh that of mutton is often palmed upon the
buyer ; an imposition which ought to be guarded against,
because mutton and beef, but particularly the former,
though not unpleasant to the taste, are heating, flatulent,
and difficult of digestion.3 Kid is the best food, but being

1 Paleca is the word used by the Portuguese in India for a water
melon (derived from the Arabic al-battikK), whence the French
pasteque.

2 So called from the small town of Gonesse, about 9^ miles to the
north-east of Paris, in the midst of a fine agricultural country, now
and anciently celebrated for its corn, flour, and bread. It was the
head -quarters of the British army on the 2d July 1815.

3 At the present time in Northern India the complaint of the Anglo-
Indian housewife is that goats' flesh is palmed off upon the buyer as
mutton,

DEHLI AND AGRA 251

rarely sold in quarters, it must be purchased alive,, which
is very inconvenient, as the meat will not keep from
morning to night, and is generally lean and without
flavour. The goats' flesh found in quarters at the
butchers' shops is frequently that of the she-goat, which
is lean and tough.

But it would be unreasonable in me to complain ; be-
cause since I have been familiarised with the manners of
the people, it seldom happens that I find fault either with
my meat or my bread. I send my servant to the King's
purveyors in the Fort, who are glad to sell wholesome
food, which costs them very little, at the high price I am
willing to pay. My Agah smiled when I remarked that I
had -been for years in the habit of living by stealth and
artifice, and that the one hundred and fifty crowns which
he gave me monthly would not otherwise keep me from
starving, although in France I could for half a roupie eat
every day as good meat as the King.

As to capons, there are none to be had ; the people being
tender-hearted toward animals of every description, men
only excepted ; these being wanted for their Seraglios.
The markets, however, are amply supplied with fowls,
tolerably good and cheap. Among others, there is a
small hen, delicate and tender, which I call Ethiopian, the
skin being quite black.1

Pigeons are exposed for sale, but not young ones, the
Indians considering them too small, and saying that it
would be cruel to deprive them of life at so tender an age.

1 This is a curious instance of the acute observation of Bernier.
It is, as he tells us, the skin of certain fowls that is black, not the
flesh as asserted by other travellers. Linschoten relates of the fowls
of Mozambique, which he visited in August 1583, remaining theie
for two weeks, that ' There are certain hennes that are so blacke
both of feathers, flesh, and bones, that being sodden they seeme as
black as inke ; yet of very sweet taste, and are accounted better than
the other ; whereof some are likewise found in India, but not so
many as in Mossambique. ' — Voyage tQ East Indies, pp. 25, 26, vol. \,
Hakluyt Soc. Ed., 1885.

252 DESCRIPTION OF

There are partridges, which are smaller than ours, bu
being caught with nets, and brought alive from a distance,
are not so good as fowls. The same thing may be re-
marked of ducks and hares, which are brought alive in
crowded cages.

The people of this neighbourhood are indifferent fisher-
men ; yet good fish may sometimes be bought, particularly
two sorts, called sing-ala and raw.1 The former resembles
our pike ; the latter our carp. When the weather is cold,
the people will not fish at all if they can avoid it ; for
they have a much greater dread of cold than Europeans
have of heat. Should any fish then happen to be seen in
the market, it is immediately bought up by the eunuchs
who are particularly fond of it ; why, I cannot tell. The
Omrahs alone contrive to force the fishermen out at all

times by means of the korrah, the long whip always

suspended at their door.

You may judge from what I have said, whether a lover
of good cheer ought to quit Paris for the sake of visiting
Dehli. I Unquestionably the great are in the enjoyment of
everything ; but it is by dint of the numbers in their
service, by dint of the korrah^nd. by dint of money. In __
Dehli there isjrio_jinddle_jtajte^]_^A_jnan must either be of
4h*> Kighfrct rank or liyje^jiuserablvT My pay i^consider-
able, nor am I sparing of money ; yet does it often happen
that I have not wherewithal to satisfy the cravings of
hunger, the bazars being so ill supplied, and frequently
containing nothing but the refuse of the grandees. Wine,
that essential part of every entertainment, can be obtained
in none of the shops at Dehli, although it might be made
from the native grape, were not the use of tliat liquor
prohibited equally by the Gentile and Mahometan law. I
drank some at Amed-abad and Golkonda, in Dutch and
English houses, which was not ill-tasted. If wine be

1 Sing-ala is the singi (Siliirus pungentissimus, Buch.), and rau the
well-known rohii (Cyprinus dend'cu/atns Buch.), still considered the
test ordinary river fish in Northern India.

DEHLI AND AGRA 253

sometimes found in the Mogol empire, it is either Chiraz
or Canary. The former is sent by land from Persia to
Bander Abasy, where it is embarked for Sourate, from
which port it reaches Dehli in forty-six days. The Canary
wine is brought by the Dutch to Sourate; but both
these wines are so dear that, as we say at home, the
taste is destroyed by the cost. A bottle containing
about three Paris pints J cannot be purchased under six
or seven crowns. The liquor peculiar to this country
is Arac, a spirit drawn by distillation from unrefined
sugar ; the sale of which is also strictly forbidden, and
none but Christians dare openly to drink it. Arac is
a spirit as harsh and burning as that made from corn in
Poland, and the use of it to the least excess occasions
nervous and incurable disorders.2 A wise man will here
accustom himself to the pure and fine water, or to the
excellent lemonade,3 which costs little and may be drunk
without injury. To say the truth, few persons in these
hot climates feel a strong desire for wine, and I have no
doubt that the happy ignorance which prevails of many
distempers is fairly ascribable to the general habits of
sobriety among the people, and to the profuse perspiration
to which they are perpetually subject.4 The gout, the

1 About three imperial quarts, English.

2 See p. 441.

3 Made ordinarily of squeezed limes and water, the nimbd (lime)
pdni (water) of the present day. For those who could afford it, there
were various sherbets ; rose water and sugar being added to the juice
of limes, pomegranates, and the like.

4 Fryer, writing of the mortality among the English at Bombay and
the parts adjacent, says : ' Notwithstanding this Mortality to the
English, the Country People and naturalised Portugals live to a good
Old Age, supposed to be the Reward of their Temperance ; indulging
themselves neither in Strong Drinks, nor devouring Flesh as we do.
But I believe rather we are here, as Exotick Plants brought home to
us, not agreeable to the Soil : For to the Lustier and Fresher, and
oftentimes the Temperatest, the Clime more unkind ; but to Old Men
and Women it seems to be move suitable.' — A new account of East
India and Persia (ed. Crooke, Hakluyt Society, 1909 ; vol. i. p. 180).

254 DESCRIPTION OF

stone, complaints in the kidneys, catarrhs and quartan
agues are nearly unknown ; and persons who arrive in the
country afflicted with any of these disorders, as was the
case with me, soon experience a complete cure. Even the
venereal disease,, common as it is in Hindoustan, is not of
so virulent a character, or attended with such injurious
consequences, as in other parts of the world. But although
there is a greater enjoyment of health, yet there is less
vigour among the people than in our colder climates ; and
the feebleness and languor both of body and mind, conse-
quent upon excessive heat, may be considered a species of
unremitting malady, which attacks all persons indiscrimin-
ately, and among the rest Europeans not yet inured to
the heat.

Workshops, occupied by skilful artisans, would be vainly
J*\ sought for in Dehli, which has very little to boast of in
ft /that respect. This is not owing to any inability in the
/V / people to cultivate the arts, for there are ingenious men in
\j* / every part of the Indies. Numerous are the instances
of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons
destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have
received instruction from a master. Sometimes they
imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture
that the diiference between the original and copy can
hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians
make excellent muskets, and fowling-pieces, and such
beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the
exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded
by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the
beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings and
miniatures, and was particularly struck with the exploits
of Ekbar, painted on a shield x by a celebrated artist, who

1 In the Times newspaper of the 2Oth March 1891, will be found an
interesting account of a shield, called the Ramayana shield, then just
completed, the work of the premier Jeypore state workman, Ganga
Baksh, Khati, who executed the work under the direction of Surgeon-
Major T. H. Hendley, C.I.E., the Residency Surgeon, and Honorary

DEHLI AND AGRA 255

is said to have been seven years in completing the pic-
ture. I thought it a wonderful performance. The Indian
painters are chiefly deficient in just proportions,, and in
the expression of the face ; but these defects would soon
be corrected if they possessed good masters, and were
instructed in the rules of art.1

Want of genius, therefore, is not the reason why works

*^*r

of superior art are not exhibited in the capital. If the <F
artists and manufacturers were encouraged, the useful
and fine arts would flourish ; but these unhappy men are
contemned, treated with harshness, and inadequately
remunerated for their labour. The rich will have ^e^ej^ \

Secretary, Jeypore Museum. On this shield the story of the Ramayana
is told in a series of plaques, ' nearly all of which are faithful reproduc-
tions in relief, in silver-plated brass, of paintings by the most celebrated
artists who flourished in Akbar's time.' It is further stated that Dr.
Ilendley has arranged for the production of two more large shields. One
of these will be a companion to the Ramayana shield, the story of the
Mahabharata being taken as thesecond great epic poem of the Hindoos.
Here, again, the paintings of Akbar's time will be copied. The other
shield will be known as the Ashwameda (horse sacrifice) shield, and
will contain seven plaques, illustrating the sacrifice which Yudhishthira
performed, an incident in i\iQMakdbhdrata, the drawings being taken
from Akbar's own copy of the Razmnamah, or Persian version of the
great Hindoo epic. Jeypore will thus eventually possess three specimens
of metal- work in relief unrivalled throughout India. In this connec-
tion, see p. 258, footnote 3.

1 ' I have to notice that the observing of the figures of objects and
the making of likeness of them, which are often looked upon as an
idle occupation, are, for a well-regulated mind, a source of wisdom,
and an antidote against the poison of ignorance. Bigoted followers
of the letter of the law are hostile to the art of painting ; but their
eyes now see the truth. One day at a private party of friends, His
Majesty [the Emperor Akbar], who had conferred on several the
pleasure of drawing near him, remarked, " There are many that hate
painting ; but such men I dislike. It appears to me as if a painter
had quite peculiar means of recognising God ; for a painter in sketch-
ing anything that has life, and in devising its limbs, one after the other,
must come to feel that he cannot bestow individuality upon his work,
and is thus forced to think of God, the giver of life, and will thus in-
crease in knowledge." ' — Ain> vol. i. p. 108.

256 DESCRIPTION OF

article at a cheap rate. When an Omrah or Mam-ebdat
requires the services of an artisan, he sends to the bazar
for him, employing force, if necessary, to make the poor
man work ; and after the task is finished, the unfeeling
lord pays, not according to the value of the labour, but
agreeably to his own standard of fair remuneration ; the
artisan having reason to congratulate himself if the korrah
has not been given in part payment. How then can it be
expected that any spirit of emulation should animate the
artist or manufacturer? Instead of contending for a
superiority of reputation, his only anxiety is to finish his
work, and to earn tke-pittance that shall supply him with
a piece of bread. {JThe artists, therefore, who arrive at
any eminence in their art are those only who are in the
service of the King or of some powerful Omrah, and who
work exclusively for their patron.

The citadel contains the Seraglio and other royal
edifices ; but you are not to imagine that they are such
buildings as the Louvre or the Escurial.1 The edifices in
the Fort have nothing European in their structure ; nor
ought they, as I have already observed, to resemble the
architecture of France and Spain. It is sufficient if they
have that magnificence which is suited to the climate.

The entrance of the fortress presents nothing remarkable
except two large elephants of stone, placed at either side
of one of the principal gates. On one of the elephants is
seated the statue of Jemel, the renowned Raja of Chitor ;
on the other is the statue of Polta, his brother. These
are the brave heroes who, with their still braver mother,

1 'The palace at Delhi is, or rather was, the most magnificent
palace in the East, perhaps in the world, and the only one, at least in
India, which enables us to understand what the arrangements of a
complete palace were when deliberately undertaken, and carried out
in one uniform plan.' — Fergusson, History of Indian Architecture^
edition of 1876. The harem and other private apartments of the
palace alone covered more than twice the area of the Escurial, or, in
fact, of any palace in Europe.

DEHLI AND AGRA 257

immortalised their names by the extraordinary resistance
which they opposed to the celebrated Ekbar; who de-
fended the towns besieged by that great Emperor with
unshaken resolution ; and who, at length reduced to
extremity, devoted themselves to their country, and chose
rather to perish with their mother in sallies against the
enemy than submit to an insolent invader. It is owing
to this extraordinary devotion on their part, that their
enemies have thought them deserving of the statues here
erected to their memory. These two large elephants,
mounted by the two heroes, have an air of grandeur, and
inspire me with an awe and respect which I cannot
describe.1

After passing into the citadel through this gate, there
is seen a long and spacious street,2 divided in the midst
by a canal of running water. The street has a long divan,
or raised way, on both sides, in the manner of the Ponl-
neiif, five or six feet high and four broad. Bordering the
divan are closed arcades, which run up the whole way in
the form of gates. Itjs upon this long divan that all the
collectors of market-dues and other petty officers exercise
their functions without being incommoded by the horses
and people that pass in the street below. The Mansebdars
or inferior Omrahs mount guard on this raised way during
the night. The water of the canal runs into the Seraglio,
divides and intersects every part, and then falls into the
ditches of the fortification. This water is brought from

1 Rajas Jaimal and Patta or Fatta. Chittor was besieged and taken
by Akbar in 1568. Foi an interesting note on these statues, and a
discussion of many vexed points in connection therewith, see Appen-
dix A. of A Handbook for Visitors to Delhi and its Neighbourhood^
H. G. Keene, M.L.A.S., Fourth edition : Calcutta; Thacker, Spink
& Co., 1882.

The two figures are now in the Museum at Delhi, and one of the
elephants is in the public gardens there. The other elephant seem? to
have totally disappeared. The statues themselves were discovered
about 1863, buried among some rubbish inside the Fort.

2 The well-known Chandni Chouk, or 'Silver Street.'

258 DESCRIPTION OF

the river Gemna by means of a canal opened at a distance
of five or six leagues above Dehly, and cut with great
labour through fields and rocky ground.1

The other principal gate of the fortress also conducts to
a long and tolerably wide street, which has a divan on
both sides bordered by shops instead of arcades. Properly
speaking, this street is a bazar, rendered very convenient
in the summer and the rainy season by the long and high
arched roof with which it is covered. Air and light are
admitted by several large round apertures in the roof.

Besides these two streets, the citadel contains many
smaller ones, both to the right and to the left, leading to
the quarters where the Omrahs mount guard, during four-
and-twenty hours, in regular rotation, once a week. The
places where this duty is performed may be called splendid,
the Omrahs making it a point to adorn them at their own
expense. In general they are spacious divans or alcoves
facing a flower-garden, embellished by small canals of
running water, reservoirs, and fountains. The Omrahs on
guard have their table supplied by the King. Every meal
is sent ready dressed, and is received by them with all
suitable ceremony, they three times performing the taslim,
or salute of grateful acknowledgment, by turning the
face toward the King's residence, and then raising the
hand to the head and lowering it to the ground.2

There are, besides, many divans and tents in different
parts of the fortress, which serve as offices for public
business.

Large halls are seen in many places, called Kar-kanayss

1 The canal was made by AH Marddn Khan ; see p. 184, footnote 3.

2 ' Before taking leave, or presentation, or upon receiving a mansab,
a jdgfr or a dress of honour, or an elephant, or a horse, the rule is to
make three tasllms ; but only one on all other occasions, when salaries
are paid, or presents made.' — Ain, vol. i. p. 158. See p. 214, footnote 2.

3 Kdrkhdnas. In the palace of the Maharaja of Benares, at
Ramnagar, may still be seen excellent examples of such ' palace
workshops,' which have served not a little to maintain a high standard
of workmanship, or many of the specialities of the district. See p. 228.

DEHLI AND AGRA 259

or workshops for the artisans. In one hall embroiderers
are busily employed, superintended by a master. In an-
other you see the goldsmiths ; in a third, painters ; in a
fourth, varnishers in lacquer-work; in a fifth, joiners,
turners, tailors, and shoemakers ; in a sixth, manufac-
turers of silk, brocade, and those fine muslins of which
are made turbans, girdles with golden flowers, and
drawers worn by females, so delicately fine as fre-
quently to wear out in one night. This article of dress,
which lasts only a few hours, may cost ten or twelve
crowns, and even more, when beautifully embroidered
witTTheedlework.

£The artisans repair every morning to their respective
Kar-kanays, where they remain employed the whole day ;
and in the evening return to their homes. In this quiet
and regular manner their time glides away ; no one aspir-
ing after any improvement in the condition of life wherein
he happens to be born. The embroiderer brings up his
son as an embroiderer, the son of a goldsmith becomes a
goldsmith, and a physician of the city educates his son for
a physician. No one marries but in his own trade or pro-
fession ; and this custom is observed almost as rigidly by
Mahometans as by the Gentiles, to whom it is expressly
enjoined by their law. Many are the beautiful girls thus
doomed to live singly, girls who might marry ad-
vantageously if their parents would connect them with a
family less noble than their own. *|

I must not forget the Am-Kas^to which you at length
arrive, after passing the places just mentioned. This is
really a noble edifice : it consists of a large square court
of arcades, not unlike our Place lloyale, with this difference,
however, that the arcades of the Am-Kas have no buildings

over them. Each arcade is separated by a wall, yet in
such a manner that there is a small door to pass from one
to the other. Over the grand gate, situated in the middle
of one side of this court, is a capacious divan, quite open

1 Am-Khas, place of audience. See p. 261.

260 DESCRIPTION OF

on the side of the court,, called the Nagar-Kanay.1
this place, which thence derives its name, are kept the
trumpets, or rather the hautboys and cymbals, which play
in concert at certain hours of the day and night. To the
ears of an European recently arrived,, this music sounds
very strangely, for there are ten or twelve hautboys, and
as many cymbals, which play together. One of the haut-
boys, called Kama, is a fathom and a half in length,
and its lower aperture cannot be less than a foot. The
cymbals of brass or iron are some of them at least a
fathom in diameter. You may judge, therefore, of the
roaring sound which issues from the Nagar-Kanay. On
my first arrival it stunned me so as to be insupportable :
but such is the power of habit that this same noise is now
heard by me with pleasure ; in the night, particularly,
when in bed and afar, on my terrace this music sounds in
my ears as solemn, grand, and melodious. This is not
altogether to be wondered at, since it is played by persons
instructed from infancy in the rules of melody, and possess-
ing the skill of modulating and turning the harsh sounds
of the hautboy and cymbal so as to produce a symphony
far from disagreeable when heard at a certain distance.
The Nagar-Kanay is placed in an elevated situation, and
remote from the royal apartments, that the King may not
be annoyed by the proximity of this music.

Opposite to the grand gate, which supports the Nagar-
Kanay, as you cross the court, is a large and magnificent
hall, decorated with several rows of pillars, which, as well
as the ceiling, are all painted and overlaid with gold. The
hall is raised considerably from the ground, and very airy,
being open on the three sides that look into the court.
In the centre of the wall that separates the hall from the

1 Nakdrahkhanah, from nakdrah a drum, and khanah a room or
turret chamber. The nakdrah resembled a kettle-drum, and twenty
pairs were used in the royal nakarahkhanah, of karnas, * they never
blow less than four' (Ain\ and three pairs of cymbals, called
tanj.

DEHLI AND AGRA 26l

Seraglio, and higher from the floor than a man can reach,
is a wide and lofty opening, or large window,1 where the
Monarch every day, about noon, sits upon his throne, with
some of his sons at his right and left ; while eunuchs stand-
ing about the royal person flap away the flies with
peacocks' tails, agitate the air with large fans, or wait
with undivided attention and profound humility to per-
form the different services allotted to each. Immediately
under the throne is an enclosure, surrounded by silver rails,
in which are assembled the whole body of Omralis, the
Rajas, and the Ambassadors, all standing, their eyes bent
downward, and their hands crossed. At a greater distance
from the throne are the Mansebdars or inferior Omrahs, also
standing in the same posture of profound reverence. The
remainder of the spacious room, and indeed the whole
courtyard, is filled with persons of all ranks, high and
low, rich and poor ; because it is in this extensive hall that
the King gives audience indiscriminately to all his sub-
jects : hence it is called Am-Kas, or audience-chamber of
high and low.

During the hour and a half, or two hcurs, that this
ceremony continues, a certain number of tho royal horses
pass before the throne, that the King may see whether
they are well used and in a proper condition. The
elephants come next, their filthy hides having been well
washed and painted as black as ink, with two large red
streaks from the top of the head down to the trunk, where
they meet. The elephants are covered with embroidered
cloth ; a couple of silver bells are suspended to the two
ends of a massive silver chain placed over their back, and
white cow-tails2 from Great Tibet, of large value, hang
from the ears like immense whiskers. Two small
elephants, superbly caparisoned, walk close to these
colossal creatures, like slaves appointed to their service.

1 The celebrated Jharokkd, still to be seen at Delhi.
8 The tails of the Tibetan ox or yak, called chowries, still in common
use in India.

262 DESCRIPTION OF

As if proud of his gorgeous attire and of the magnificence
that surrounds him, every elephant moves with a solemn
and dignified step ; and when in front of the throne, the
driver, who is seated on his shoulder, pricks him with a
pointed iron, animates and speaks to him, until the animal
bends one knee, lifts his trunk on high and roars aloud,
which the people consider as the elephant's mode of per-
forming the taslim or usual reverence.

Other animals are next introduced; — tame antelopes,
kept for the purpose of fighting with each other;1 Nilgaux*
or grey oxen, that appear to me to be a species of elk ;
rhinoceroses ; large Bengale buffaloes with prodigious horns
which enable them to contend against lions and tigers ;
tame leopards, or panthers, employed in hunting ante-
lopes ; some of the fine sporting dogs from Usbec, of every
kind, and each dog with a small red covering; lastly,
every species of the birds of prey used in field sports for
catching patridges, cranes, hares, and even, it is said, for
hunting antelopes, on which they pounce with violence,
beating their heads and blinding them with their wings
and claws.3

Besides this procession of animals, the cavalry of one or
two Omrahs frequently pass in review before the King ;
the horsemen being better dressed than usual, the horses
furnished with iron armour, and decorated with an endless
variety of fantastic trappings.

The King takes pleasure also in having the blades of
cutlasses tried on dead sheep, brought before him without

1 The Emperor Akbar was very fond of this sport, and in the Ain
(pp. 218-222) will be found full details regarding the kinds of righting
deer, how they were fought, together with elaborate regulations as to
the betting allowed on such encounters.

2 Literally 'blue cows,' the Hindostanee name being Nilgau. See
page 364, footnote 3, also page 377.

8 See the illustration of a Barkut eagle attacking a deer, from
Atkinson's Siberia^ at p. 385, vol. i. of Yule's Marco Polo, second ed.,
1875, and the chapter (xviii. same vol.) on the animals and birds kept
by the Kaan for the chase.

DEHLI AND AGRA 263

the entrails and neatly bound up. Young Omrahs, Manseb-
dars, and Gourze-bcrdars,1 or mace-bearers, exercise their
skill, and put forth all their strength to cut through the
four feet, which are fastened together, and the body of
the sheep at one blow.

But all these things are so many interludes to more
serious matters. The King not only reviews his cavalry
with peculiar attention, but there is not, since the war has
been ended, a single trooper or other soldier whom he
has not inspected, and made himself personally acquainted
with, increasing or reducing the pay of some, and dis-
missing others from the service. All the petitions held
up in the crowd assembled in the Am-Kas are brought to
the King and read in his hearing ; and the persons con-
cerned being ordered to approach are examined by the
Monarch himself, who often redresses on the spot the
wrongs of the aggrieved party. On another day of the
week he devotes two hours to hear in private the petitions
of ten persons selected from the lower orders, and pre-
sented to the King by a good and rich old man. Nor does
he fail to attend the justice-chamber, called Adalet-Kanay ,
on another day of the week, attended by the two principal
Kadis? or chief justices. It is evident, therefore, that
barbarous as we are apt to consider the sovereigns of Asia,
they are not always unmindful of the justice that is due to
their subjects.

What I have stated in the proceedings of the assembly
of the Am-Kas appears sufficiently rational and even noble ;
but I must not conceal from you the base and disgusting
adulation which is invariably witnessed there. Whenever
a word escapes the lips of the King, if at all to the purpose,
how trifling soever may be its import, it is immediately
caught by the surrounding throng ; and the chief Omrahs.
extending their arms towards heaven, as if to receive some

1 Gurz- bardar, from gurz, a Persian word, signifying a mace or war-
club.

2 Kadi,the Arabic word for a judge, colloquially Kazf.

264 DESCRIPTION OF

benediction, exclaim Karamat ! Karamat ! wonderfu
wonderful ! he has spoken wonders ! Indeed there is no
Mogol who does not know and does not glory in repeating
this proverb in Persian verse :

Aguer chah ronzra Goyed cheb est in
Bubayed Gouft inck mah ou peruin. l

[If the monarch says that day is night,

Reply : — 'The moon and stars shine bright/]

(Lit. ' I see the moon and Pleiades.' — Inc/cis corrupt)

The vice of flattery pervades all ranks. When a Mogol,
for instance, has occasion for my services, he comes to tell
me by way of preamble, and as matter of course, that I am
the Aristotalis, the Bocrate, and the Aboiiysma-Ulzaman?
the Aristotle, the Hippocrates, and the Avicenna of the age.
At first I endeavoured to prevent this fulsome mode of
address by assuring my visitors that I was very far from
possessing the merit they seemed to imagine, and that no
comparison ought to be made between such great men and
me ; but finding that my modesty only increased their
praise, I determined to accustom my ears to their flattery
as I had done to their music. I shall here relate an
anecdote which I consider quite characteristic. A Brahmen
Pendet or Gentile doctor, whom I introduced into my
Agah's service, would fain pronounce this panegyric ;
and after comparing him to the greatest Conquerors the
world has ever known, and making for the purpose of
flattery a hundred nauseous and impertinent observations,
he concluded his harangue in these words, uttered with all
conceivable seriousness : f When, my Lord, you place your
foot in the stirrup, marching at the head of your cavalry,
the earth trembles under your footsteps ; the eight
elephants, on whose heads it is borne, finding it impossible
to support the extraordinary pressure.' The conclusion of
this speech produced the effect that might be expected.

Agar Shdh rozrd goyad shab ast /«,
Bibdyad guft, blnam mdh u Parvtn.
2 Bu-Avisinna ut-zmndn.

DEHLI AND AGRA 265

I could not avoid laughing, but I endeavoured, with
a grave countenance, to tell my Agah, whose risibility
was just as much excited, that it behoved him to be
cautious how he mounted on horseback and created
earthquakes, which often caused so much mischief.
' Yes, my friend/ he answered without hesitation, f and
that is the reason why I generally choose to be carried in
a Paleky.'1

The grand hall of the Am-Kas opens into a more retired
chamber, called the Gosel-Kane,2 or the place to wash in.
Few persons are permitted to enter this room, the court of
which is not so large as that of the Am-Kas. The hall is,
however, very handsome, spacious, gilt and painted, and
raised four or five French feet from the pavement, like a
large platform. It is in this place that the King, seated
in a chair, his Omralis standing around him, grants more
private audiences to his officers, receives their reports, and
deliberates on important affairs of state. Every Omrah
incurs the same pecuniary penalty for omitting to attend
this assembly in the evening as for failing to be present
at the Am-Kas in the morning. The only grandee whose
daily attendance is dispensed with is my Agah, Danech-
mcnd-Kan, who enjoys this exemption in consequence of his
being a man of letters, and of the time he necessarily
devotes to his studies or to foreign affairs ; but on
Wednesdays, the day of the week on which he mounts
guard, he attends in the same manner as other Omrahs.
This custom of meeting twice a day is very ancient; and
no Omrah can reasonably complain that it is binding, since
the King seems to consider it as obligatory upon himself

1 Sir William Jones quotes approvingly this passage from BERNIER
in his dissertation on Eastern poetry, in that portion of chapter I.,
Asiaticos fer& omnes Poeticae impensius esse deditos, devoted to a con-
sideration of Indian verse, p. 352, vol. ii. of the quarto edition of his
works in six vols. London, 1799.

* Ghusl khanah, although strictly meaning a bath-room, was the
name applied to the more private apartments in a Mogul palace.

266 DESCRIPTION OF

as upon his courtiers to be present ; l nothing but urgent
business, or serious bodily affliction, preventing him from
appearing at the two assemblies. In his late alarming
illness Aureng-Zebe was carried every day to the one or
the other, if not to both. He felt the necessity of show-
ing himself at least once during the twenty-four hours ;
for his disorder was of so dangerous a character that his
absence, though only for one day, might have thrown the
whole kingdom into trouble and insurrection and caused
the closing of every shop.2

Although the King, when seated in the hall of Gosel-
Kanay, is engaged about such affairs as I have mentioned,
yet the same state is maintained for the most part as
in the Am-Kas ; but being late in the day, and the
adjoining court being small, the cavalry of the Omrahs
does not pass in review. There is this peculiar cere-
mony in the evening assembly, that all the Manseb-
dars who are on guard pass before the King to salute
him with much form. Before them are borne with
great ceremony that which they call the Kours,3 to wit,
many figures of silver, beautifully made, and mounted
on large silver sticks : two of them represent large
fish;4 two others a horrible and fantastic animal called
Eiedeha ; 5 others are the figures of two lions ; 6 others of

1 ' His Majesty generally receives twice in the course of twenty-four
hours, when people of all classes can satisfy their eyes and hearts
with the light of his countenance.' — Ain, vol. i. p. 157. The first public
appearance of the Emperor was called Darsan, from the Sanskrit
darfana, sight, Greek StpKOfJia.1.

2 See pp. 123-126.

8 Kur was the name given to the collection of flags, arms, and
other insignia of royalty.

4 Mdht-mardtibj or insignia of the fish, one of the ensigns of
Mogul royalty.

5 Azhdaha, a dragon.

'The royal standard of the great Mogul, which is a couchant
lion shadowing part of the body of the sun.' — Terry's Voyage to East
India. London, ed. 1777, p. 347, with plate.

DEHLI AND AGRA 267

two hands,1 and others of scales ;2 and several more which
I cannot here enumerate, to which the Indians attach a
certain mystic meaning. Among the Kours and the Man-
sebdars are mixed many Gourze-herdars, or mace-bearers
chosen for their tall and handsome persons, and whose
business it is to preserve order in assemblies, and to carry
the King's orders, and execute his commands with the
utmost speed.

It would afford me pleasure to conduct you to the
Seraglio, as I have introduced you into other parts of the
fortress. But who is the traveller that can describe from
ocular observation the interior of that building ? I have
sometimes gone into it when the King was absent from
Dehli, and once pretty far I thought, for the purpose of
giving my professional advice in the case of a great lady
so extremely ill that she could not be moved to the out-
ward gate, according to the customs observed upon similar
occasions ; but a Kachcmire shawl covered my head, hanging
like a large scarf down to my feet, and an eunuch led me
by the hand, as if I had been a blind man. You must be ,,
content, therefore, with such a general description as I
have received from some of the eunuchs. They inform me'j
that the Seraglio contains beautiful apartments, separated,
and more or less spacious and splendid, according to the
rank and income of the females. Nearly every chamber
has its reservoir of running water at the door ; on every
side are gardens, delightful alleys, shady retreats, streams,
fountains, grottoes, deep excavations that afford shelter
from the sun by day, lofty divans and terraces, on which
to sleep coolly at night. Within the walls of this enchant-
ing place, in fine, no oppressive or inconvenient heat is
felt. The eunuchs speak with extravagant praise of a
small tower, facing the river, which is covered with plates

1 Panja.

2 The symbol of a pair of scales, in gold and colours, can still be
seen in the middle of the screen of marble tracery-work separating the
Divdn-i khdss from the private rooms in the palace at Delhi.

268 DESCRIPTION OF

of gold, in the same manner as the two towers of Agra;
and its apartments are decorated with gold and azure
exquisite paintings and magnificent mirrors.1

Before taking our final leave of the fortress, I wish to
recall your attention to the Am-Kas, which I am desirous
to describe as I saw it during certain annual festivals ;
especially on the occasion of the rejoicings that took place
after the termination of the war. Never did I witness a
more extraordinary scene.

The King appeared seated upon his throne, at the end
of the great hall, in the most magnificent attire. His vest
was of white and delicately flowered satin, with a silk and
gold embroidery of the finest texture. The turban, of
gold cloth, had an aigrette whose base was composed of
diamonds of an extraordinary size and value, besides an
Oriental topaz,2 which may be pronounced unparalleled,
exhibiting a lustre like the sun. A necklace of immense
pearls, suspended from his neck, reached to the stomach,
in the same manner as many of the Gentiles wear their
strings of beads. The throne was supported by six massy
feet, said to be of solid gold, sprinkled over with rubies,
emeralds, and diamonds. I cannot tell you with accuracy
the number or value of this vast collection of precious
stones, because no person may approach sufficiently near
to reckon them, or judge of their water and clearness;
but I can assure you that there is a confusion of diamonds,
as well as other jewels, and that the throne, to the best
of my recollection, is valued at four Kourours of Eoupies.
I observed elsewhere that a Lecque is one hundred thousand

one of the wonders of the world, and visited
by travellers from far and wide.

5 This was probably the jewel shown to Tavernier, on the
2d November 1665 ( Travels, vol. i. p. 400), and described by him as
* of very high colour, cut in eight panels.' He gives its weight as 158^
Florentine carats, or 152/5- English carats, and states that 'it was
bought at Goa for the Great Mogul for the sum of 181,000 rupees or
271,500 livres [£20,412, ios.] of our money.' It is figured by
Tavernier.

DEHLI AND AGRA 269

roupies, and that a Kourour is a hundred Lccques ; so that
the throne is estimated at forty millions of roupies,1 worth
sixty millions of pounds [livres] or thereabouts. It was
constructed by Chah-Jehan, the father of Aureng-Zebe, for
the purpose of displaying the immense quantity of precious
stones accumulated successively in the treasury from the
spoils of ancient Rajas and Patans, and the annual presents
to the Monarch, which every Omrah is bound to make
on certain festivals. The construction and workmanship
of the throne are not worthy of the materials ; but two
peacocks, covered with jewels and pearls, are well con-
ceived and executed.2 They were made by a workman of

astonishing powers, a Frenchman by birth, named 3

who, after defrauding several of the Princes of Europe, by
means of false gems, which he fabricated with peculiar
skill, sought refuge in the Great Mogol's court, where he
made his fortune.

At the foot of the throne were assembled all the
Omraht, in splendid apparel, upon a platform surrounded
by a silver railing, and covered by a spacious canopy of
brocade with deep fringes of gold. The pillars of the hall
were hung with brocades of a gold ground, and flowered
satin canopies were raised over the whole expanse of the
extensive apartment fastened with red silken cords, from
which were suspended large tassels of silk and gold. The

1 Which, at 2s. 3d. to the rupee, would amount to ,£4, 500,000.
Tavernier's corrected valuation was (see Appendix in.) ^"12,037,500.

2 See Appendix in. p. 474, for Tavernier's account of this throne
(Travels, vol. i. pp. 381-385) the remains of which, now in the Shah of
Persia's possession in the Treasury at Teheran, have been valued at
about £2, 600,000 (S. G. W. Benjamin in the volume on 'Persia' in
the Story of the Nations series) ; and truly styled, although but a mere
wreck of the throne as seen by Tavernier and Bernier, ' the grandest
object of sumptuary art ever devised by man.' The throne was part
of the plunder which Nadir Shah took with him to Persia when he
sacked Delhi in 1739.

3 Bernier does not tell us his name, but Steuart, in his edition of part
of this book, Calcutta, 1826 (see Bibliography, No. 18), gives it as La
Grange. I have not been able to verify this.

270 DESCRIPTION OF

floor was covered entirely with carpets of the richest silk,
of immense length and breadth. A tent, called the aspek,
was pitched outside, larger than the hall, to which it
joined by the top. It spread over half the court, and was
completely enclosed by a great balustrade, covered with
plates of silver. Its supporters were pillars overlaid with
silver, three of which were as thick and as high as the
mast of a barque, the others smaller. The outside of this
magnificent tent was red, and the inside lined with elegant
Maslipatam chintzes,1 figured expressly for that very pur-
pose with flowers so natural and colours so vivid, that the
tent seemed to be encompassed with real parterres.

As to the arcade galleries round the court, every Omrah
had received orders to decorate one of them at his own
expense, and there appeared a spirit of emulation who
should best acquit himself to the Monarch's satisfaction.
Consequently all the arcades and galleries were covered
from top to bottom with brocade, and the pavement with
rich carpets.

On the third day of the festival, the King, and after
him several Omrahs,2 were weighed with a great deal of
ceremony in large scales, which, as well as the weights,
are, they say, of solid gold. I recollect that all the
courtiers expressed much joy when it was found that
Aureng-Zebe weighed two pounds more than the year
preceding.

Similar festivals are held every year, but never before
were they celebrated with equal splendour and expense.
It is thought that the principal inducement with the King
for the extraordinary magnificence displayed on this
occasion was to afford to the merchants an opportunity of
disposing of the quantities of brocades, which the war had

1 Chittes in the original, a corruption of the word chtnt, the Indian
name, whence chintz. The best came from Masulipatam (Maslipatam)
on the Madras coast. See p. 362.

2 Many curious details concerning this ceremony are to be found in
the Aint vol. i. pp. 266, 267.

DEHLI AND AGRA 271

for four or five years prevented them from selling.1 The
expense incurred by the Omrahs was considerable, but
a portion of it fell ultimately on the common troopers,
whom the Omrahs obliged to purchase the brocades to
be made up into vests.

An ancient custom attends these anniversary days of
rejoicing, not at all agreeable to the Omrahs. They are
expected to make a handsome present to the King, more
or less valuable according to the amount of their pay.2
Some of them, indeed, take that opportunity of presenting
gifts of extraordinary magnificence, sometimes for the sake
of an ostentatious display, sometimes to divert the King
from instituting an inquiry into the exactions committed
in their official situations or governments, and sometimes
to gain the favour of the King, and by that means obtain
an increase of salary. Some present fine pearls, diamonds,
emeralds, or rubies ; others offer vessels of gold set with
precious stones ; others again give a quantity of gold coins,
each worth about a pistole and a half.3 During a festival
of this kind Aureng-Zebe having paid a visit to Jafer-kan*
not as his Vizir but as a kinsman, on the pretext that
he wished to see a house which he lately erected, the
Vizir made a present to the King of gold coins to the
amount of one hundred thousand crowns, some handsome
pearls, and a ruby, which was estimated at forty thousand
crowns, but which Chah-Jehan, who understood better than
any man the value of every kind of precious stone, dis-

1 See p. 459.

2 This payment was called Pesh-kash, and corresponded somewhat
to the modern income-tax. See p. 191, footnote 3.

8 A single pistole was worth about i6s. 9d., which would give about
253. as the value of these coins. Or the double pistole, worth about
;£i, 133. 3d. may be meant, in which case the coins referred to were
probably specially minted gold mohurs prepared for the purpose.

4 Jafar Khan, entitled Umdat-ul-Mulk, was appointed Prime Minister
by Aurangzeb (Alamgir) in 1662, and died in 1670 at Dehli. He was
the son of Sadfk Khan, a cousin of Nur Jahan's, who had married one
of her sisters ; hence his kinship to Aurangzeb.

272 DESCRIPTION OF

covered 1 to be worth less than five hundred, to the great
confusion of the principal jewellers, who in this instance
had been completely deceived.2

A whimsical kind of fair 3 is sometimes held during these
festivities in the Mehale, or royal seraglio : it is conducted
by the handsomest and most engaging of the wives of the
Omrahs and principal Mamebdars. The articles exhibited
are beautiful brocades, rich embroideries of the newest
fashion, turbans elegantly worked on cloth of gold, fine
muslins worn by women of quality, and other articles of
high price. These bewitching females act the part of
traders, while the purchasers are the King, the Begums or
Princesses, and other distinguished ladies of the Seraglio.
If any Omrah's wife happens to have a handsome daughter,
she never fails to accompany her mother, that she may
be seen by the King and become known to the Begums.
The charm of this fair is the most ludicrous manner in
which the King makes his bargains, frequently disputing
for the value of a penny. He pretends that the good lady
cannot possibly be in earnest, that the article is much too
dear, that it is not equal to that he can find elsewhere, and
that positively he will give no more than such a price.
The woman, on the other hand, endeavours to sell to the

1 When the question was referred to him as an expert, by Aurang-
zeb, as we learn from Tavernier's narrative.

2 Tavernier figures this ruby, and gives a full account of the incident
narrated by Bernier, in his Travels , vol. ii. pp. 127, 128.

3 ' On the third feast clay of every month, His Majesty holds a large
assembly, for the purpose of inquiring into the many wonderful things
found in this world. The merchants of the age are eager to attend,
and lay out articles from all countries. The people of His Majesty's
harem come, and the women of other men also are invited, and buy-
ing and selling is quite general. His Majesty uses such days to select
any articles which he wishes to buy, or to fix the prices of things, and
thus add to his knowledge. The secrets of the Empire, the character
of the people, the good and bad qualities of each office and workshop
will then appear. His Majesty gives to such days the name of Khush-
roz, or the joyful day, as they are a source of much enjoyment.' — Aint
vol. i. pp. 276, 277.

t)EHLI AND AGRA 273

best advantage, and when the King perseveres in offering
what she considers too little money, high words frequently
ensue, and she fearlessly tells him that he is a worthless
trader,1 a person ignorant of the value of merchandise ;
that her articles are too good for him, and that he had
better go where he can suit himself better, and similar
jocular expressions.2 The Begums betray, if possible, a
still greater anxiety to be served cheaply ; high words are
heard on every side, and the loud and scurrilous quarrels
of the sellers and buyers create a complete farce. But
sooner or later they agree upon the price, the Princesses, as
well as the King, buy right and left, pay in ready money,
and often slip out of their hands, as if by accident, a few
gold instead of silver roupies, intended as a compliment to
the fair merchant or her pretty daughter. The present is
received in the same unconscious manner, and the whole
ends amidst witty jests and good-humour.

Chah-Jehan was fond of the sex and introduced fairs at
every festival, though not always to the satisfaction of some
of the Omrahs.3 He certainly transgressed the bounds of
decency in admitting at those times into the seraglio sing-
ing and dancing girls called Kenchens (the gilded, the
blooming), and in keeping them there for that purpose

1 In the original, 'un Marchand deneige.'

2 In the original, 'et ainsi de ces autres raisons de Dame Jeanne.'
Similar badinage was indulged in at like fairs (meena bazar) held at
Lucknow, during the reigns of some of the kings of Oudh, notably
Nuseer-ood-deen Hyder and Wajid Ali.

3 The orthodox Moslems at the Mogul Court were always opposed
to these fairs. Badaonf, the fearless historian of Akbar's reign (circa
1 596)> who was bitterly opposed to the Emperor's religious policy,
records of these fairs that, * In order to direct another blow at the
honour of our religion, His Majesty ordered that the stalls of the fancy
bazars, which are held on New Year's Day, should, for a stated time,
be given up for the enjoyment of the Begums and the women of the
harem, and also for any other married ladies. On such occasions,
His Majesty spent much money ; and the important affairs of harem
people, marriage contracts, and betrothals of boys and girls, were
arranged at such meetings.'

£74 DESCRIPTION OP

the whole night ; they were not indeed the prostitutes
seen in bazaars,, but those of a more private and respect-
able class, who attend the grand weddings of Omrahs and
Mansebdars, for the purpose of singing and dancing. Most
of these Kenchens are handsome and well dressed, and sing
to perfection ; and their limbs being extremely supple,
they dance with wonderful agility, and are always correct
in regard to time ; after all, however, they were but com-
mon women. It was not enough for Chah-Jehan that the
Kenchens visited the fairs ; when they came to him on the
Wednesdays to pay their reverence at the Am-Kas, accord-
ing to an ancient custom, he often detained them the whole
night, and amused himself with their antics and follies.
Aureng-Zebe is more serious than his father; he forbids the
Kenchens to enter the seraglio ; but, complying with long
established usage, does not object to their coming every
Wednesday to the Am-Kas, where they make the salam
from a certain distance, and then immediately retire.

While on the subject of festivals, fairs, and Kenchens, or
Kenchenys, I am tempted to relate an anecdote of one of
our countrymen, named Bernard. 1 agree writh Plutarch,
that trifling incidents ought not to be concealed, and that
they often enable us to form more accurate opinions of the
manners and genius of a people than events of great im-
portance. Viewed in this light, the story, ridiculous as it
is in itself, may be acceptable. Bernard resided at the
court of Jehan-Guyre, during the latter years of that King's
reign, and was reputed, with apparent justice, to be an
excellent physician and a skilful surgeon. He enjoyed the
favour of the Mogol, and became his companion at table,
where they often drank together to excess.1 The King

1 Catrou says of Jahangfr that 'All the Franks in Agra, that is, all
Europeans of whatsoever nation, were allowed free access to the palace.
He continued drinking in their company till the return of day, and he
abandoned himself especially to these midnight debaucheries at the
season which the Mahomedans observe as a fast with the most scrupu-
lous exactness.'

DEHLI AND AGRA 275

and his physician possessed congenial tastes ; the former
thought only of his pleasures, and left the management
of public affairs to his wife, the celebrated Nour-Mehale
or Nour-Jehan-Begum, a woman, he used to say, whose
transcendent abilities rendered her competent to govern
the Empire without the interference of her husband.
Bernard's daily and regular pay was ten crowns [ecus] ;
but this was greatly increased by his attendance on the
high ladies of the Seraglio and on all the OmraJis, who
seemed to vie with each other in making him the most
liberal presents, not only because of the cures he effected,
but on account of his influence at court. This man, how-
ever, disregarded the value of money ; what he received
with one hand he gave with the other ; so that he was
much beloved by everybody, especially by the Kenchens,
on whom he lavished vast sums. Among the females of
this description who nightly filled his house, was a young
and beautiful damsel, remarkable for the elegance of her
dancing, with whom our countryman fell violently in
love j but the mother, apprehending that the girl would
lose her health and bodily vigour with her virginity,
never for a moment lost sight of her, and she resisted
all the overtures and incessant solicitations of the court
physician. While in despair of obtaining the object of
his affections, Jchan-Guyre, at the Am-Kas, once offered
him a present before all the Omrahs by way of re-
muneration for an extraordinary cure which he had
effected in the seraglio. 'Your Majesty/ said Bernard,
'will not be offended if I refuse the gift so munificently
offered, and implore that in lieu thereof your Majesty
would bestow on me the young Kencheny now waiting
with others of her company to make the customaiy salavt.'
The whole assembly smiled at this refusal of the present,
and at a request so little likely to be granted, he being
a Christian and the girl a Mahometan and a Kencheny;
but Jehan-Guyre, who never felt any religious scruples, was
thrown into a violent fit of laughter, and commanded the

276

DESCRIPTION OF

girl to be given to him, 'Lift her on the physician's
shoulders/ he said, ' and let him carry the Kenchen away/
No sooner said than done. In the midst of a crowded
assembly the girl was placed on Bernard's back, who with-
drew triumphantly with his prize and took her to his
house.

The festivals generally conclude with an amusement
unknown in Europe — a combat between two elephants ;
which takes place in the presence of all the people on the

FIG. 10. — An elephant fight at Lucknow during the Nawabi.

sandy space near the river : the King, the principal ladies
of the court, and the Omrahs viewing the spectacle from
different apartments in the fortress.

A wall of earth is raised three or four feet wide and
five or six high. The two ponderous beasts meet one
another face to face, on opposite sides of the wall, each
having a couple of riders, that the place of the man wh
sits on the shoulders, for the purpose of guiding th
elephant with a large iron hook, may immediately be sup-
plied if he should be thrown down. The riders animate

DEHLI AND AGRA 277

the elephants either by soothing words, or by chiding them
as cowards, and urge them on with their heels, until the
poor creatures approach the wall and are brought to the
attack. The shock is tremendous, and it appears surpris-
ing that they ever survive the dreadful wounds and blows
inflicted with their teeth, their heads, and their trunks.
There are frequent pauses during the fight ; it is suspended
and renewed ; and the mud wall being at length thrown
down, the stronger or more courageous elephant passes on
and attacks his opponent, and, putting him to flight, pursues
and fastens upon him with so much obstinacy, that the
animals can be separated only by means of cherkys} or
fireworks, which are made to explode between them ; for
they are naturally timid, and have a particular dread of
fire, which is the reason why elephants have been used
with so very little advantage in armies since the use of
fire-arms. The boldest come from Ceylon, but none are
employed in war which have not been regularly trained,
and accustomed for years to the discharge of muskets close
to their heads, and the bursting of crackers between their
legs.

The fight of these noble creatures is attended with much
cruelty. It frequently happens that some of the riders
are trodden underfoot, and killed on the spot, the
elephant having always cunning enough to feel the im-
portance of dismounting the rider of his adversary, whom
he therefore endeavours to strike down with his trunk.
So imminent is the danger considered, that on the day of
combat the unhappy men take the same formal leave of
their wives and children as if condemned to death. They
are somewhat consoled by the reflection that if their lives
should be preserved, and the King be pleased with their
conduct, not only will their pay be augmented, but a sack
of Peyssas (equal to fifty francs) will be presented to them

1 Charkhl or wheel, Catherine wheels on the end of a stick, a
common firework in Northern India at the present day. For the mode
of using them in elephant fights, see Fig. 10, opposite.

278 DESCRIPTION OF

the moment they alight from the elephant.1 They have
also the satisfaction of knowing that in the event of their
death the pay will be continued to their widows, and that
their sons will be appointed to the same situation. The mis-
chief with which this amusement is attended does not always
terminate with the death of the rider : it often happens
that some of the spectators are knocked down and trampled
upon by the elephants, or by the crowd ; for the rush is
terrible when, to avoid the infuriated combatants, men and
horses in confusion take to flight. The second time I
witnessed this exhibition I owed my safety entirely to the
goodness of my horse and the exertions of my two servants.

But it is time we should quit the fortress, and return to
the city, where I omitted to describe two edifices worthy
of notice.

The first is the principal Musquee,2 which is conspicuous
at a great distance, being situated on the top of a rock in
the centre of the town. The surface of the rock was
previously levelled, and around it a space is cleared suffi-
ciently large to form a handsome square, where four fine
long streets terminate, opposite to the four sides of the
Mosquee ; one, opposite to the principal entrance, in front
of the building ; a second, at the back of the building ; and

1 ' Each elephant has his match appointed for fighting : some are
always ready at the palace and engage when the order is given. When
a fight is over if the combatants were khfyah [i.e. for the Emperor's
own use] elephants, the bhois [attendants, of which each elephant had
three in the rutting season, at other times two] receive 250 dams as
a present; but if other elephants the bhois got 2Ood.' — Atnt vol. i.
p. 131. Forty ddms were worth one rupee. The ddm as an actual
coin was usually named paisd. One thousand paisd (dams) = 25
rupees, or something more than 50 francs. It was the custom to keep
bags of looo ddms at hand ready for distribution, as noted by Bernier.

2 The Jam'i Masjid, of which Bernier's is one of the best descriptions
ever written. It was begun in 1650, and finished six years later, not
long before the deposition of its founder, the Emperor Shah Jahan,
Fergusson says of it (Plistory of Indian and Eastern Architecture, 2nd
ed. ii. 318), that it is 'one of the few mosques, either in India or else-
where, that is designed to produce a pleasing effect externally.'

DEHLI AND AGRA 279

the two others, to the gates that are in the middle of the
two sides. The ascent to the three gates is by means of
five-and-twenty or thirty steps of beautiful and large
stones, which are continued the whole length of the front
and sides. The back part is cased over, to the height of
the rock, with large and handsome hewn stone, which hides
its inequalities, and tends to give a noble appearance to
the building. The three entrances, composed of marble,
are magnificent, and their large doors are overlaid with
finely wrought plates of copper. Above the principal
gate, which greatly exceeds the others in grandeur of
appearance, there are several small turrets of white
marble that produce a fine effect ; and at the back part
of the Mosquee are seen three large domes, built also of
white marble, within and without. The middle dome
is much larger and loftier than the other two. The
end of the Mosquee alone is covered : the space between
the three domes and the principal entrance is without any
roof; the extreme heat of the climate rendering such an
opening absolutely necessary. The whole is paved with
large slabs of marble. I grant that this building is not
constructed according to those rules of architecture which
we seem to think ought to be implicitly followed ; yet I can
perceive no fault that offends the taste ; every part appears
well contrived, properly executed, and correctly propor-
tioned. I am satisfied that even in Paris a church erected
after the model of this temple would be admired, were it
only for its singular style of architecture, and its extra-
ordinary appearance. With the exception of the three
great domes, and the numerous turrets, which are all of
white marble, the Mosquee is of a red colour, as if built
with large slabs of red marble : although it consists of a
species of stone, cut with great facility, but apt to peel off
in flakes after a certain time.1 The natives pretend that

1 This is a marked characteristic of the red sandstone of Delhi,
and it is not considered a good building material unless selected with
great care.

280 DESCRIPTION OF

the quarries from which it is taken reproduce the stone by
degrees : this, if true, is very remarkable ; but whether or
not they rightly attribute it to the water which fills the
quarries every year, I cannot decide.

The King repairs to this Mosqnee every Friday, for the
purpose of prayer, that day corresponding in Mahometan
countries to our Sunday. The streets through which he
passes are watered to lay the dust and temper the heat :
two or three hundred musketeers form an avenue from the
gate of the fortress, and as many more line both sides of
a wide street leading directly to the mosque. The muskets
of these soldiers are small but well finished, and have a
sort of large scarlet covering with a little streamer on the
top. Five or six horsemen, well mounted, are also ready
at the fortress gate, and their duty is to clear the way for
the King, keeping, however, at a considerable distance in
advance, lest he should be incommoded by their dust.
These preparations completed, his Majesty leaves the
fortress, sometimes on an elephant, decorated with rich
trappings, and a canopy supported by painted and gilt
pillars ; and sometimes in a throne gleaming with azure
and gold, placed on a litter covered with scarlet or brocade,
which eight chosen men, in handsome attire, carry on their
shoulders. A body of Omrahs follow the King, some on
horseback, and others in Palekys ; and among the Omra/is
are seen a great number of Mansebdars, and the bearers of
silver maces, whom I have elsewhere described. I cannot
say that this train resembles the pompous processions, or
(which is a more appropriate term) the masquerades of
the Grand Seignior, or the martial retinues of European
Monarchs : its magnificence is of a different character ; but
it is not therefore the less royal.

The other edifice in Dehly to which I would draw
your attention is what they call the Karuansara of the
Princess,1 because built by the celebrated Begum-Saheb,
Chah-Jehari *s eldest daughter, of whom I have so often

1 ' Begam Sarai,' levelled to the ground after the mutiny (Stephen,
p. 256).

DEHLI AND AGRA 281

spoken in my history of the late war. Not only this
Princess, but all the Omrahs who wished to gain the favour
of the old Monarch, embellished the new city at their own
expense. The Karuansara is in the form of a large square
with arcades, like our Place Hoyale, except that the arches
are separated from each other by partitions, and have small
chambers at their inner extremities. Above the arcades
runs a gallery all round the building, into which open the
same number of chambers as there are below. This place
is the rendezvous of the rich Persian, Usbek, and other
foreign merchants, who in general may be accommodated
with empty chambers, in which they remain with perfect
security, the gate being closed at night. If in Paris we
had a score of similar structures, distributed in different
parts of the city, strangers on their first arrival would be
less embarrassed than at present to find a safe and reason-
able lodging. They might remain in them a few days
until they had seen their acquaintance, and looked out
at leisure for more convenient apartments. Such places
would become warehouses for all kinds of merchandise,
and the general resort of foreign merchants.1

Before I quit the subject of Dehli, I will answer by
anticipation a question which I am sensible you wish to
ask, namely, What is the extent of the population of that
city, and the number of its respectable inhabitants^ as
conrpared with the capital of France? When I consider
that Paris consists of three or four cities piled upon one
another, all of them containing numerous apartments,
filled, for the most part, from top to bottom, that the
streets are thronged with men and women, on foot and
horseback ; with carts, chaises, and coaches ; and that
there are very few large squares, courts, or gardens ; re-
flecting, I say, upon all these facts, Paris appears to me
the nursery of the world, and I can scarcely persuade
myself that Dehli contains an equal number of people.

1 But see p. 233, where Bernier 4oes not pass such a favourable
judgment on these buildings,

DESCRIPTION OF

On the other hand, if we take a review of this metropolis
of the Indies, and observe its vast extent and its number-
less shops ; if we recollect that; besides the Omrahs, the
city never contains less than thirty-five thousand troopers,
nearly all of whom have wives, children, and a great
Jjiumber of servants, who, as well as their masters, reside
V in separate houses ; that there is no house, by whom-
soever inhabited, which does not swarm with women and
children; that during the hours when the abatement of
the heat permits the inhabitants to walk abroad, the
streets are crowded with people, although many of those
streets are very wide, and, excepting a few carts, unin-
cumbered with wheel carriages ; if we take all these cir-
cumstances into consideration, we shall hesitate before we
give a positive opinion in regard to the comparative popu-
lation of Paris and Dehli ; and I conclude, that if the
number of souls be not as large in the latter city as in our
own capital, it cannot be greatly less. As respects the
better sort of people, there is a striking difference in favour
of Paris, where seven or eight out of ten individuals seen
in the streets are tolerably well clad, and have a certain
air of respectability; but in Dehli, for two or three who
wear decent apparel, there may always be reckoned seven
or eight poor, ragged, and miserable beings, attracted to
the capital by the army. I cannot deny, however, that I
continually meet with persons neat and elegant in their
dress, finely formed, well mounted, and properly attended.
Nothing, for instance, can be conceived much more brilliant
than the great square in front of the fortress at the hours
when the Omrahs, Rajas, and Mansebdars repair to the
citadel to mount guard, or attend the assembly of the
Am-Kas. The Mansebdars flock thither from all parts, well
mounted and equipped, and splendidly accompanied by
four servants, two behind and two before, to clear the
street for their masters. Onimhs and Rajas ride thither,
some on horseback, some on majestic elephants ; but the
greater part are conveyed on the shoulders of six men, in

DEHLI AND AGRA 283

rich Palekys, leaning against a thick cushion of brocade,
and chewing their bet-le, for the double purpose of sweeten-
ing their breath and reddening their lips. On one side
of every paleky is seen a servant bearing the piquedans,1
or spitoon of porcelain or silver; on the other side, two
more servants fan the luxurious lord, and flap away the
flies, or brush off the dust with a peacock's-tail fan ; three
or four footmen march in front to clear the way, and
a chosen number of the best formed and best mounted
hersemen follow in the rear.

The country in the neighbourhood of Dehli is extremely
fertile. It produces corn, sugar, anil or Indigo? rice, millet,
and three or four other kinds of pulse,, the food of the
common people, in great abundance. T" Two leagues from
the city, on the Agra road, in a place which the Mahometans
call Koia Kotnb-eddine? is a very old edifice, formerly a
Deiira, or Temple of idols, containing inscriptions written
in characters different from those of any language spoken
in the Indies, and so ancient that no one understands
them.

In another direction, and at a distance of two or three
leagues from Dehli, is the King's country house, called
Chah-limar, a handsome and noble building, but not to be
compared to Fontainebleau, Saint Germain, or Versailles. 4 I

1 From the Hindi pikddn, very necessary in connection with betel-
chewing. Plk is properly the saliva caused by the lime and spices
and the pan leaf used with the betel-nut. See p. 214, footnote1.

8 Anil was the old Portuguese name for indigo, from the Arabic
al-ntl, pronounced an-nil. Nil is the common name in India, from
the Sanskrit nf/a, blue.

* I.e. Khwaja Kutb-ud-di'n Bakhtyar Kdki of Ush, after whom the
renowned mosque and mfnar are certainly named, not after Sultan
Kutb-ud-dm Ibak. As is well known, this mosque was begun in
A.D. 1196, and to some extent built from the remains of ancient
temples.

4 The Shalihmar gardens were begun about the fourth year of Shah
Jahan's reign, 1632, and Catrou states that their design was the
invention of a Venetian.

284 DESCRIPTION OF

assure you there are no such places in the vicinity of
Dehli, nor seats such as Saint Cloud, Chantilly, Meudon,
Liancour, Vaux, or RueUes, or even the smaller country
houses belonging to private gentlemen, citizens, or mer-
chants ; but this will create no surprise when it is con-
sidered that no subject can hold landed property in his
owiTright. Between Dehli and Agra, a distance of fifty or
sixty leagues, there are no fine towns such as travellers pass
through in France ; the whole road is cheerless and un-
interesting; nothing is worthy observation but Mahiras,1
where an ancient and magnificent temple of idols is still to
be seen ; a few tolerably handsome caravansaries, a day's
journey from each other ; and a double row of trees 2 planted
by order of Jekan-Guyre, and continued for one hundred and
fifty leagues, with small pyramids or turrets,3 erected from
kosse to kosse, for the purpose of pointing out the different
roads. Wells are also frequently met with, affording drink
to travellers, and serving to water the young trees.

What I have said of Dehli may convey a correct idea of
Agra, in regard at least to its situation on the Gemna, to
the fortress or royal residence, and to most of its public
buildings. But Agra having been a favourite and more
frequent abode of the Kings of Hindoustan since the days
>-of Ekbar, by whom it was built and named Akber-abad, it
surpasses Dehli in extent, in the multitude of residences
belonging to Omrahs and Rajas, and of the good stone or
brick houses inhabited by private individuals, and in the
nber and conveniency of its Karuans-Serrahs. Agra has
also to boast of two celebrated mausoleums, of which I shall
speak by-and-by : it is, however, without walls, and inferior
in some respects to the other capital ; for not having been

1 Mathui a, considered by the Moguls one of the most fertile and
agreeable situations in Hindoostan.

2 Which form such a pi eminent feature in all the early maps of the
Mogul Empire, and in some are continued from Dehli to Lahore.

3 The kos-mi'nars, 168 of which, including 105 in Rajputana, have
been traced. Actual measurements between five pair of these kos-
mfnars, near Delhi, gave a mean of 2 miles, 4 fur., 158 yds. to the kos.

DEHLI AND AGRA 285

constructed after any settled design, it wants the uniform
and wide streets that so eminently distinguish Dehli. Four
or five of the streets, where trade is the principal occtipa-
tion, are otl greattength and the housestolerably good ;
nearly all the others are short, narrow, and irregular, ancT
fuTTof windings and corners : the consequence is that when
the court is at Agra there is often a strange confusion. I
believe I have stated the chief particulars wherein the two
capitals differ ; but I may add that Agra has more the
appearance of a country town, especially when viewed from
an eminence. The prospect it presents is rural, varied, and
agreeable ; for the grandees having always made it a
point to plant trees in their gardens and courts for the sake
of shade, the mansions of Omrahs, Rajas, and others are
all interspersed with luxuriant and green foliage, in the
midst of which the lofty stone houses of Banyanes or Gentile
merchants have the appearance of old castles buried in
forests. Such a landscape yields peculiar pleasure in a hot
and parched country, where the eye seeks in verdure for
refreshment and repose.

You need not quit Paris, however, to contemplate the
finest, the most magnificent view in the world ; for
assuredly it may be found on the Pont-neuf. Place yourself
on that bridge during the day, and what can be conceived
more extraordinary than the throngs of people and
carriages, the strange bustle, the various objects by which
you are surrounded ? Visit the same spot at night, and
what, I fearlessly ask, can impress the mind like the scene
you will witness ? The innumerable windows of the lofty
houses seen from the bridge exhibit their chastened and
subdued lights, while the activity and bustle, observable in
the day seem to suffer no diminution until midnight. There
honest citizens and — what never happens in Asia — their
handsome wives and daughters perambulate the streets,
without apprehension of quagmires or of thieves ; and to
complete the picture, you see, in every direction, long lines
of brilliant lamps, burning with equal constancy in foul and

286 DESCRIPTION OF

fair weather. Yes, my friend, when you are on the Pont-neuf
at Paris, you may boldly aver, on my authority, that your
eyes behold the grandest of all the artificial scenes in the
world, excepting possibly some parts of China and Japan,
which I have not visited. What will this view be, what
will be its beauty, when the Louvre is completed ! l when
the Louvre, which it was thought would never be seen but
as a mere design and on paper, shall have actual existence
in fact !

I have purposely introduced the word 'artificial ' ; because
in speaking of fine prospects, according to the common
acceptation of the term, we must always except that view
of Constantinople, as viewed from the middle of the great
strait opposite Seraglio Point. Never shall I forget the
overpowering delight I experienced when first I beheld
that vast, and, as it seemed to me, enchanted amphitheatre.
The view of Constantinople, however, derives its chief beauty
from nature ; whereas in Paris eveiything, or nearly so, is
artificial ; which, to my mind, gives more interest to the
view of the latter ; because the work of man so displayed
indicates the capital of a great empire, the seat of a mighty
monarch. I may indeed say, without partiality, and after
making every allowance for the beauty of Dekli, Agra, and
Constantinople, that Paris is the finest, the richest, and alto-
gether the first city in the world. "

The Jesuits have a church in Agra, and a building which
they call a college, where they privately instruct in the
doctrines of our religion the children of five-and-twenty
or thirty Christian families, collected, I know not how, in
Agra, and induced to settle there by the kind and charit-
able aid which they receive from the Jesuits. This religious
order was invited hither by Ekbar at the period when the
power of the Portuguese in the Indies was at the highest ;
and that Prince not only gave them an annual income f<

1 The Louvre was not completed in accordance with the design
referred to by Bernier until 1857, although portions of the work were
completed in 1665 by Claude Perrault

DEHLI AND AGRA 287

their maintenance, but permitted them to build churches
in the capital cities of Agra and Lahor. The Jesuits found
a still warmer patron in Jehan-Guyre, the son and successor
of Ekbar ; but they were sorely oppressed by Chah-Jehan
the son of Jehan-Guyre, and father of the present King
Aureng-Zebe. That Monarch deprived them of their
pension, and destroyed the church at Lahor and the greater
part of that of Agra, totally demolishing the steeple, which
contained a clock heard in every part of the city.1

The good Fathers during the reign of Jehan-Guyre were
sanguine in their expectation of the progress of Christianity
in Hindoustan. It is certain that this Prince evinced the
utmost contempt for the laws of the Koran, and expressed
his admiration of the doctrines of our creed.2 He permitted
two of his nephews to embrace the Christian faith, and ex-
tended the same indulgence to Mirza-Zulkarmin, who had
undergone the rite of circumcision and been brought up in
the Seraglio. The pretext was that Mirza was born of
Christian parents, his mother having been wife of a rich
Armenian, and having been brought to the Seraglio by
Jehan-Guyre 's desire.

The Jesuits say that this King was so determined to
countenance the Christian religion that he formed the bold
project of clothing the whole court in European costume.
The dresses were all prepared, when the King, having
privately arrayed himself in his new attire, sent for one
of his principal Omrahs whose opinion he required concern-
ing the meditated change. The answer, however, was so

1 See p. 177. Catrou states that it was Taj Mehal, the wife of Shah
Jahan, who was a principal instrument in exasperating the mind of the
Emperor against the Christians in general, and particularly the Portu-
guese, who had given an asylum to two of her daughters converted to
Christianity by the missionaries.

2 ' His Majesty [i.e. Akbar] firmly believed in the truth of the
Christian religion, and wishing to spread the doctrine of Jesus, ordered
Prince Murad [i.e. the second son of Akbar and brother of Jahangir
(Salim)] to take a few lessons in Christianity by way of auspicious*
ness.' — Ain, vol. i. p. 182.

288 DESCRIPTION

appalling that Jehan-Guyre abandoned his design and
affected to pass the whole affair as a joke.1

They also maintain that when on his death-bed he ex-
pressed a wish to die a Christian, and sent for those holy
men, but that the message was never delivered. Many,
however, deny this to have been the case, and affirm that
Jehan-Guyre died, as he had lived, destitute of all religion,
and that he nourished to the last a scheme which he had
formed, after the example of his father Ekbar, of declaring
himself a prophet, and the founder of a new religion.

I am informed by a Mahometan, whose father belonged
to Jehan-Guyre s household, that in one of that King's
drunken frolics he sent for some of the most learned
Mullahs, and for a Florentine priest, whom he named Father
Atech? in allusion to his fiery temper; and that the latter

1 Catrou gives a different version of this story. According to his
account Jahangir, becoming impatient at the reproaches of the Moslem
elders, who had admonished him that the use of certain meats was
forbidden in the Koran, inquired of them ' in what religion the use of
drink and food of every species without distinction was permitted.'
The reply was in that of the Christian religion alone. " We must
then," he rejoined, "all turn Christians." Let there be tailors brought
to us, to converts our robes into close coats, and our turbans into hats.
At these words the doctors trembled for their sect. Fear and interest
made them hold a less severe language. They all declared that the
sovereign was not bound by the precepts of the Koran ; and that the
Monarch might, without scruple, use whatever meats and drink
were most agreeable to him.'

'2 Atash being the Persian for fire. Catrou gives a different version
of this story. According to him it was Father Joseph D'Acosta,
Superior of the Jesuits in Agra, that proposed to Jahangir to carry out
the ordeal. ' " Let a large fire be lighted," said the Father, " and the
chief of the Mahometan religion on one side enter it bearing the Alcoran,
whilst on the other side I will cast myself into it, holding in my hand
the Gospel. It will then be seen in whose favour Heaven will declare,
whether for Jesus Christ or Mahomet." At these \\ords the Emperor
cast his eyes upon the Mahometan, who exhibited great symptoms of
terror lest the challenge should be accepted. He took pity on the Moula,
and refrained exacting him to serve a trial. As for the Jesuit, they
caused him to change his name, and the Emperor no longer called him
by any other than that of Father Ataxe, which means the Fire Father.'

DEHLI AND AGRA 28p

having, by his command, delivered an harangue in which
he exposed the falsehoods of the Mahometan imposture, and
defended the truths of his own persuasion, Jehan-Guyre said
that it was high time something should be done to decide
the controversy between the Jesuits and Mullahs. ' Let a
pit be dug/ he added, ' and a fire kindled. Father Atech,
with the Gospel under his arm, and a Mullah, with the
Koran, shall throw themselves into it, and I will embrace
the religion of him whom the flames shall not consume.'
Father Atech declared his willingness to undergo the ordeal,
but the Mullahs manifested the utmost dread, and the King
felt too much compassion both for the one and the other
to persevere in the experiment.

Whatever credit this story may deserve, it is indisputable
that the Jesuits during the whole of Jehan-Guyre' s reign
were honoured and respected at this court, and that they
entertained what appeared a well-grounded hope of the
progress of the Gospel in Hindoustan. Everything, how-
ever, which has occurred since the death of that Monarch,
excepting perhaps the close intimacy between Dara and
Father Buze,1 forbids us to indulge in any such expectation.
But having entered insensibly upon the subject of missions,
you will perhaps allow me to make a few observations,
introductoiy to the long letter which I intend to write
concerning that important topic.

The design, indeed, meets with my entire approbation ;
nor ought we to withhold the meed of praise from those
excellent missionaries in this part of the world, especially
the Capuchins and Jesuits, who meekly impart religious
instruction to all descriptions of men, without any mixture
of indiscreet and bigoted zeal. To Christians of every
denomination, whether Catholics, Greeks, Armenians, Nes-
torians, Jacobins, or others, the demeanour of these good
pastors is affectionate and charitable. They are the refuge
and consolation of distressed strangers and travellers, and
by their great learning and exemplary lives expose to
1 See p. 6, alco p. 101, footnote \
T

290 DESCRIPTION OF

shame the ignorance and licentious habits of infidels.
Some unhappily there are who disgrace the Christian pro-
fession by notoriously profligate conduct, and who ought,
therefore , to be immured in their convents instead of
being invested with the sacred character of missionaries.
Their religion is. a mere mummery, and so far from aiding
the cause of Christianity, they become stumbling-blocks in
the way of those whom they were sent to enlighten and
reclaim ; but these are merely the exceptions to a general
rule which affect not the main argument. 1 am decidedly
favourable to this establishment of missions, and the
sending forth of learned and pious missionaries. They are
absolutely necessary ; and it is the honour as well as the
peculiar prerogative of Christians to supply every part of
the world with men bearing the same character and
following the same benign object as did the Apostles.
You are not, however, to conclude that I am so deluded
by my love of missions as to expect the same mighty
effects to be produced by the exertions of modern
missionaries as attended the preaching of a single sermon
in the days of the Apostles. I have had too much inter-
course with infidels, and am become too well acquainted
with the blindness of the human heart to believe we shall
hear of the conversion, in one day, of two or three thousand
men. I despair especially of much success among Mahome-
tan Kings or Mahometan subjects. Having visited nearly
all the missionary stations in the East, 1 speak the language
of experience when I say, that whatever progress may be
made among Gentiles by the instruction and alms of the
missionaries, you will be disappointed if you suppose that in
ten years one Mahometan will be converted to Christianity.
True it is that Mahometans respect the religion of the New
Testament : they never speak of Jesus Christ but with great
veneration, or pronounce the word Aysa, which means
Jesus, without adding Azeret^ or majesty. They even
believe with us that he was miraculously begotten and

1 Ilazrat 'Isa.

DEHLI AND AGRA 291

born of a virgin mother, and that he is the Kelum- Allah1
and the Rouh-Allah, the Word of God and the Spirit of
God. It is in vain to hope, however, that they will
renounce the religion wherein they were born, or be
persuaded that Mahomet was a false prophet. The
Christians of Europe ought nevertheless to assist the
missionaries by every possible means : their prayers, power
and wealth, ought to be employed in promoting the glory
of their REDEEMER ; but the expense of the missions should
be borne by Europeans, for it would be impolitic to lay
burthens on the people abroad ; and much care should be
had that want may not drive any missionary to acts of
meanness. Missions ought not only to be liberally pro-
vided, but should be composed of persons of sufficient
integrity, energy, and intelligence always to bear testi-
mony to the truth, to seek with eagerness opportunities of
doing good, — in a word, to labour with unwearied activity
and unabated zeal in their Lord's vineyard whenever and
wherever He may be pleased to give them an opening.
But although it be the duty of every Christian State to act
in this manner, yet there ought to be no delusion ; credence
ought not to be given to every idle tale, and the work
of conversion, which in fact is full of difficulty, should not
be represented as a matter of easy accomplishment. We
do not adequately estimate the strong hold which the
Mahometan superstition has over the minds of its votaries.
to whom it permits the unrestrained indulgence of passions
which the religion we require them to substitute in its
stead declares must be subdued or regulated. Mahometan-
ism is a pernicious code, established by force of arms, and
still imposed upon mankind by the same brutal violence.
To counteract its baneful progress, Christians must display
the zeal, and use the means I have suggested, however
clear it may be that this abominable imposture can be
effectually destroyed only by the special and merciful inter-
position of Divine Providence. We may derive encourage-
1 KalSmullah and Ruhullah.

292 DESCRIPTION OF

ment from the promising appearances lately witnessed in
China, in Japan, and in the case of Jehan-Guyre. Mis-
sionaries have to contend, however, with another sad im-
pediment— the irreverent behaviour of Christians in their
churches, so dissonant from their belief of the peculiar
presence of God upon their altars, and so different from the
conduct of Mahometans, who never venture when engaged in
the service of their mosques even to turn the head, much less
to utter a monosyllable one to the other, but seem to have
the mind impressed with protound and awful veneration.

The Dutch have a factory in Agra, in which they
generally keep four or five persons. Formerly they
carried on a good trade in that city by the sale of broad-
cloths, large and small looking-glasses, plain laces, gold
and silver laces, and iron wares ; likewise by the purchase
of anil l or Indigo, gathered in the neighbourhood of Agra,
particularly at Bianes? two days' journey from the city,
whither they go once every year, having a house in the
place. The Dutch used also to make extensive purchases
of cloths not only at Jelapour, but at Laknau,5 a seven or
eight days' journey from Agra, where they also have a
house, and despatch a few factors every season. It seems,
however, that the trade of this people is not now very
lucrative, owing probably to the competition of the
Armenians, or to the great distance between Agra and
Sourate. Accidents continually befall their caravans,
which, to avoid the bad roads and mountains in the
direct road through Goiialeor and Brampour, travel by

1 See p. 283, footnote 2.

2 Baydnd, where there is still some indigo cultivation,

8 The Feringhi mahal, or Franks' quarter, one of the divisions or
wards of the city of Lucknow, is where this factory stood. The build-
ings were confiscated in the reign of Aurangzeb, and made over to a
Moslem for a Maclrissah or college. An enclosure now used as a place
for washing the Moslem dead is pointed out as part of the old factory.

Jelapour, is most likely Jalalpur-Nahir, in the Fyzabad district of
Oudh, about 52 miles to the south-east of Fyzabad, which is still a
tolerably flourishing weaving town.

DEHLI AND AGRA 293

way of Ahmed-abad, over the territories of different Rajas.
But whatever may be the discouragements, I do not
believe the Dulch will follow the example of the English,
and abandon their factory at Agra; because they still
dispose of their spices to great advantage, and find it
useful to have confidential persons near the court always
ready to prefer a complaint against any governor, or other
officer, who may have committed an act of injustice or
tyranny in any of the Dutch establishments in Bengale,
or at Patna, Sourate, or Ahmed-abad.

I shall finish this letter with a description of the two
wonderful mausoleums which constitute the chief superi-
ority of Agra over Delhi. One was erected by Jehan-Guyre
in honour of his father Ekbar ; and Chah-Jehan raised the
other to the memory of his wife Tage Mehale, that extra-
ordinary and celebrated beauty, of whom her husband was
so enamoured that it is said he was constant to her during
life, and at her death was so affected as nearly to follow
her to the grave.

I shall pass Ekbar s monument1 without further observa-
tion, because all its beauties are found in still greater per-
fection in that of Tage. Mehale, which I shall now endeavour
to describe.

On leaving Agra, toward the east, you enter a long,
wide, or paved street, on a gentle ascent, having on one
side a high and long wall, which forms the side of a square
garden, of much greater extent than our Place Royale, and
on the other side a row of new houses with arcades, re-
sembling those of the principal streets in Dehli, which I
have already described. After walking half the length of
the wall, you find on the right, that is, on the side of the
houses, a large gate, tolerably well made, which is the en-
trance of a Karvan-Serrah, and on the opposite side from

1 Akbar's tomb at Secundra near Agra was commenced by himself,
and it is believed by competent judges that he borrowed the design
from a Buddhist model. It was finished by his son Jah^ngfr, and is
quite unlike any other tomb built in India either before or since.

294 DESCRIPTION OF

that of the wall is seen the magnificent gate of a spacious
and square pavilion, forming the entrance into the garden,
between two reservoirs, faced with hewn stone.

This pavilion is an oblong square, and built of a stone
resembling red marble, but not so hard. The front seems
to me longer, and much more grand in its construction,
than that of S. Louis, in the rue S. Antoine, and it is equally
lofty. The columns, the architraves and the cornices are,
indeed, not formed according to the proportion of the five
orders of architecture so strictly observed in French edifices.
The building I am speaking of is of a different and peculiar
kind ; but not without something pleasing in its whimsical
structure ; and in my opinion it well deserves a place in our
books of architecture. It consists almost wholly of arches
upon arches, and galleries upon galleries, disposed and
contrived in an hundred different ways. Nevertheless
the edifice has a magnificent appearance, and is conceived
and executed effectually. Nothing offends the eye; on
the contrary, it is delighted with every part, and never
tired with looking.1 The last time I visited Tage Mehales

1 ' No building in India has been so often drawn and photographed
as this, or more frequently described ; but with all this it is almost
impossible to convey an idea of it to those who have not seen it, not
only because of its extreme delicacy and beauty of material employed
in its construction, but from the complexity of its design. If the Taj
were only the tomb itself, it might be described, but the platform on
which it stands, with its tall minarets, is a work of art in itself.
Beyond this are the two wings, one of which is a mosque, which any-
where else would be considered an important building. This group
of buildings forms one side of a garden court 880 feet square, and
beyond this again an outer court of the same width but only half the
depth. This is entered by three gateways of its own, and contains in
the centre of its inner wall the great gateway of the garden court, a
worthy pendant to the Taj itself. Beautiful as it is in itself, the Taj
would lose half its charm if it stood alone. It is the combination of
so many beauties, and the perfect manner in which each is subordinate
to the other, that makes up a whole which the world cannot match,
and which never fails to impress even those who are most indifferent
to the effects produced by architectural objects in general.' — Fergusson,
History of Indian Architecture, 2nd ed. (1910), ii. 313.

DEHLI AND AGRA 295

mausoleum I was in the company of a French merchant,1
who, as well as myself, thought that this extraordinary
fabric could not be sufficiently admired. I did not venture
to express my opinion, fearing that my taste might have
become corrupted by my long residence in the Indies ; and
as my companion was come recently from France, it was
quite a relief to my mind to hear him say that he had
seen nothing in Europe so bold and majestic.

When you have entered a little way into the pavilion
approaching toward the garden,, you find yourself under a
lofty cupola, surrounded above with galleries, and having
two divans or platforms below, one on the right, the other
011 the left, both of them raised eight or ten French feet
from the ground. Opposite to the entrance from the
street is a large open arch, by which you enter a walk
which divides nearly the whole of the garden into two
equal parts.

This walk or terrace is wide enough to admit six coaches
abreast ; it is paved with large and hard square stones,
raised about eight French feet above the garden ; and
divided the whole length by a canal faced with hewn
stone and ornamented with fountains placed at certain
intervals.

After advancing twenty-five or thirty paces on this
terrace, it is worth while to turn round and view the back
elevation of the pavilion, which, though not comparable to
the front, is still veiy splendid, being lofty and of a similar
style of architecture. On both sides of the pavilion, along
the garden wall, is a long and wide gallery, raised like a
terrace, and supported by a number of low columns placed
near each other. Into this gall eiy the poor are admitted
three times a week during the rainy season to receive the
alms founded in perpetuity by Chah-Jehan.

Resuming the walk along the main terrace, you see
before you at a distance a large dome, in which is the
sepulchre, and to the right and left of that dome on a
1 Probably Tavernier.

296

DESCRIPTION OF

lower surface you observe several garden walks cover*
with trees and many parterres full of flowers.

When at the end of the principal walk or terrace, be-
sides the dome that faces you, are discovered two large

FlG. ii.— The Empress Taj Mahal.

pavilions, one to the right, another to the left, both built
with the same kind of stone, consequently of the same red
colour as the first pavilion. These are spacious square
edifices, the parts of which are raised over each other in
the form of balconies and terraces; three arches leave

DEHLI AND AGRA 297

openings which have the garden wall for a boundary, and
you walk under these pavilions as if they were lofty and
wide galleries. I shall not stop to speak of the interior
ornaments of the two pavilions, because they scarcely
differ in regard to the walls, ceiling, or pavement from the
dome which I am going to describe. Between the end of
the principal walk and this dome is an open and pretty
large space, which I call a water-parterre, because the
stones on which you walk,1 cut and figured in various
forms, represent the borders of box in our parterres. From
the middle of this space you have a good view of the
building which contains the tomb, and which we are now
to examine.

This building is a vast dome of white marble nearly of
the same height as the Val De Grace 2 of Paris, and en-
circled by a number of turrets, also of white marble,
descending the one below the other in regular succession,

1 They are of black and white marble in alternate rows, supposed
to resemble rippling water.

2 Above the fsujade of the church of the deaf and dumb asylum of
Val-de-Gr&ce, designed by Fr. Mansart, and built in 1645-66, rises
the famous dome, which is a reduced copy of that of St. Peter's at
Rome, 133 feet high and 53 feet in diameter. The principal dome
of the Taj is 74 feet high and 58 feet in diameter, and very much
more gracefully proportioned, and with infinitely finer lines than the
Val-de-Grace dome, which can easily be verified by a comparison
of photographs of the two structures. Tavernier (Travels, vol. i.
p. no, in) was of the opinion that the dome of the Taj is scarcely less
magnificent than that of the Val-de-Grace, and adds that he witnessed
the commencement and accomplishment of the building of the Taj,
' on which they have expended twenty-two years, during which twenty
thousand men worked incessantly ; this is sufficient to enable one to
realise that the cost of it has been enormous. It is said that the
scaffoldings alone cost more than the entire work, because, from want
of wood, they had all to be made of brick, as well as the supports of
the arches ; this has entailed much labour and a heavy expenditure.
Shah Jahan began to build his own tomb on the other side of the
river, but the war which he had with his sons interrupted his plans,
and Aurangzeb, who reigns at present, is not disposed to complete

298 DESCRIPTION OF

The whole fabric is supported by four great arches, three
of which are quite open and the other closed up by the
wall of an apartment with a gallery attached to it. There
the Koran is continually read with apparent devotion in
respectful memoiy of Tage Mehale by certain Mullahs kept
in the mausoleum for that purpose. The centre of every
arch is adorned with white marble slabs whereon are in-
scribed large Arabian characters in black marble, which
produce a fine effect. The interior or concave part of the
dome and generally the whole of the wall from top to
bottom are faced with white marble : no part can be found
that is not skilfully wrought, or that has not its peculiar
beauty. Everywhere are seen the jasper, and jachen} or
jade, as well as other stones similar to those that enrich
the walls of the Grand Dukes chapel at Florence, and
several more of great value and rarity, set in an endless
variety of modes., mixed and enchased in the slabs of
marble which face the body of the wall. Even the squares
of white and black marble which compose the pavement
are inlaid with these precious stones in the most beautiful
and delicate manner imaginable.

Under the dome is a small chamber, wherein is enclosed
the tomb of Tage Mehale. It is opened with much
ceremony once in a year, and once only; and as no
Christian is admitted within, lest its sanctity should be
profaned, I have not seen the interior, but I understand
that nothing can be conceived more rich and magnificent.

It only remains to draw your attention to a walk or
terrace, nearly five-and-twenty paces in breadth and
rather more in height, which runs from the dome to the
extremity of the garden. From this terrace are seen the
Gemna flowing below, a large expanse of luxuriant
gardens, a part of the city of Agra, the fortress, and all
the fine residences of the Omrahs erected on the banks
of the river. When I add that this terrace extends almost
the whole length of one side of the garden, I leave you to
* Yashtn is the Persian name for this mineral.

DEHLI AND AGRA 299

judge whether I had not sufficient ground for asserting
that the mausoleum of Tage Me hale is an astonishing work.
It is possible I may have imbibed an Indian taste ; but I
decidedly think that this monument deserves much more
to be numbered among the wonders of the world than the
pyramids of Egypt, those unshapen masses which when I
had seen them twice yielded me no satisfaction, and
which are nothing on the outside but heaps of large stones
piled in the form of steps one upon another, while within
there is very little that is creditable either to human skill
or to human invention.

LETTER

TO MONSIEUR
CHAPE LAIN,

DESPATCHED FROM CHIRAS IN PERSIA,
the 4th October 1667.

Describing the Superstitions, strange customs, and Doctrines oj
the Indous or Gentiles of Hindoustan ;

From which it will be seen that there is no Doctrine too strange
or too improbable for the Soul of man to conceive.

O N S I E U

I have witnessed two solar eclipses which it is scarcely
possible I should ever forget. The one I saw from
France in the year 1654, the other from Dehli in the
Indies in 1666. The sight of the first eclipse was im-
pressed upon my mind by the childish credulity of the
French people, and by their groundless and unreasonable
alarm ; an alarm so excessive that some brought drugs as

1 Jean Chapelain (1594-1674), an excellent man but a poor poet. In

1662 he was employed by Colbert (see p. 201, footnote J) to draw up an

account of contemporary men of letters to guide the King (Louis xiv.)

in his distribution of pensions.

800

THE GENTILES OF HINDOUSTAN 301

charms to defend themselves against the eclipse ; some
kept themselves closely shut up, and excluded all light
either in carefully-barred apartments or in cellars ; while
thousands flocked to their respective churches ; some
apprehending and dreading a malign and dangerous in-
fluence ; others believing that the last day was at hand,
and that the eclipse was about to shake the founda-
tions of the world. Such were the absurd notions en-
tertained by our countrymen, notwithstanding the
writings of Gassendi^ Roberval? and other celebrated
astronomers and philosophers, which clearly demonstrated
that the eclipse was only similar to many others which
had been productive of no mischief; that this obscuration
of the sun was known and predicted, and was without any
other peculiarity than what might be found in the reveries
of ignorant or designing astrologers.

The eclipse of 1666 is also indelibly imprinted on my
memoiy by the ridiculous errors and strange superstitions
of the Indians. At the time fixed for its appearance I took
my station on the ten-ace of my house, situated on the
banks of the Gemna, when I saw both shores of the river,
for nearly a league in length, covered with Gentiles or
idolaters, who stood in the water up to the waist, their
eyes riveted to the skies, watching the commencement of
the eclipse, in order to plunge and wash themselves at the
very instant. The little boys and girls were quite naked ;
the men had nothing but a scarf round their middle, and
the married women and girls of six or seven years of age

1 For some account of Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655), the European
Agah, * Friendly Master,' of Bernier, see Chronicle of Events, etc.,
under date 24th October 1655, ante, p. xx.

2 Gilles Personne de Roberval (1602-1675), the great French
mathematician. Appointed to the chair of Philosophy in the Gervais
College in 1631, and afterwards to the chair of Mathematics in the
College of France : an appointment which he held until his death,
although a condition of tenure of that Professorship was that the
holder should propose questions for solution and resign in favour of
any one who solved them better than himself.

302 THE GENTILES

were covered with a single cloth. Persons of rank or
wealth, such as Eajas (Gentile sovereign princes, and
generally courtiers in the service and pay of the King),
Serrafs1 or money-changers, bankers, jewellers, and other
rich merchants, crossed from the opposite side of the river
with their families, and pitching their tents fixed kanates 2
or screens in the water, within which they and their wives
washed and performed the usual ceremonies without any
exposure. No sooner did these idolaters perceive that the
obscuration of the sun was begun than they all raised a
loud cry, and plunged the whole body under water several
times in quick succession ; after which they stood in the
river, lifted their eyes and hands toward the sun, muttered
and prayed with seeming devotion, filling their hands from
time to time with water, which they threw in the direc-
tion of the sun, bowing their heads veiy low, and moving
and turning their arms and hands, sometimes one way,
sometimes another. The deluded people continue to
plunge, mutter, pray, and perform their silly tricks until
the end of the eclipse. On retiring they threw pieces of
silver at a great distance into the Gemna, and gave alms to
the Brahmens, who failed not to be present at this absurd
ceremony. I remarked that eveiy individual on coming
out of the water put on new clothes placed on the sand
for that purpose, and that several of the most devout left
their old garments as presents for the Brahmens.

In this manner did I observe from the roof of my house
the solemnisation of the grand eclipse-festival, a festival
which was kept with the same external observances in the
Indus, in the Ganges, and in the other rivers and Talabs
(or tanks of the Indies], but above all in that one at
Tanaiser? which contained on that occasion more than on

1 The Arabic word sarrdf, now modernised into shroff.

2 The side walls of a tent.

8 The sacred tank at Thaneswar, in the Kama! District, situat
on the line of the old Mogul road to Lahore, —a very ancient place
of Hindoo pilgrimage, being considered the centre of the * Holy Land '

OF HINDOUSTAN 303

hundred and fifty thousand persons, assembled from all
parts of the empire ; its waters being considered on the
day of an eclipse more holy and meritorious than those of
any other.

The Great Mogol, though a Mahometan, permits these
ancient and superstitious practices ; not wishing, or not
daring, to disturb the Gentiles in the free exercises of their
religion. But the ceremony I have described is not per-
formed until a certain number of Brahmens, as deputies
from their fellows, have presented the King with a lecque
of roupies, equal to about fifty thousand crowns ; in return
for which he begs their acceptance only of a few vests and
an old elephant.

I shall now mention the wise and convincing reasons
assigned for the festival of the eclipse, and for the rites
with which it is attended.

We have, say they, our four Beths ;l that is, our four
books of law, sacred and divine writings given unto us by
God himself, through the medium of Brahma. These
books teach that a certain Deuta,2 an incarnate divinity,
extremely malignant and mischievous, very dark, very
black, very impure, and very filthy (these are all their own
expressions) takes possession of the Sun, which it blackens
to the colour of ink, infects and obscures ; that the Sun,
which is also a Deuta, but of the most beneficent and
perfect kind, is thrown into a state of the greatest un-
easiness, and suffers a most cruel agony while in the
power of and infected by this wicked and black being ; that
an endeavour to rescue the Sun from so miserable a con-

of Kurukshetra. During eclipses of the moon, the waters of all other
tanks are believed to visit this tank, so that he who bathes in the
assembled water obtains the concentrated merit of all possible ablu-
tions. Thaneswar, which is now gradually falling into ruin, is one of
the oldest and most famous towns in India connected with the
legends of the Mahdbhdrata and the exploits of the Pandavas.

1 A corruption of Vedas, Divine knowledge.

2 Deolah, a corruption of Dtva/a, 'Celestials,' most frequently the
whole body of inferior gods.

304 THE GENTILES

dition becomes the duty of every person ; that this im-
portant object can be attained only by means of prayers,
ablutions, and alms ; that those actions have an extra-
ordinary merit during the festival of the eclipse, the alms
then bestowed being a hundred times more valuable than
alms given at any other time ; and who is he, they ask,
that would refuse to make a profit of cent per cent ?

These, Monsieur, were the eclipses which I told you I
could not easily forget, and they naturally lead me to speak
of other wild extravagancies of the unhappy heathens,
from which I shall leave you to draw whatever conclusions
you please.

In the town of Jagannat^ situated on the Gulf of Bengale,
and containing the famous temple of the idol of that name,
a certain annual festival is held, which continues, if my
memory fail not, for the space of eight or nine days. At
this festival is collected an incredible concourse of people,
as was the case anciently at the temple of Hammon, and as
happens at present in the city of Meca. The number, I
am told, sometimes exceeds one hundred and fifty thou-
sand. A superb wooden machine is constructed, such as I
have seen in several other parts of the Indies, with I know
not how many grotesque figures, nearly resembling our
monsters which we see depicted with two heads, being half
man and half beast, gigantic and horrible heads, satyrs,
apes, and devils. This machine is set on fourteen or six-
teen wheels like those of a gun-carriage, and drawn or
pushed along by the united exertions of fifty or sixty
persons. The idol, Jagannat, placed conspicuously in the
middle, richly attired, and gorgeously adorned, is thus con-
veyed from one temple to another.

The first day on which this idol is formally exhibited in
the temple, the crowd is so immense, and the press so
violent, that some of the pilgrims, fatigued and worn out
in consequence of their long journey, are squeezed to

1 In modern colloquial Juggernaut (a corruption of Jaganndth,
one of the forms of Krishna), near the town of Puri in Orissa.

OF HINDOUSTAN 305

death t the surrounding throng give them a thousand
benedictions, and consider them highly favoured to die on
such a holy occasion after travelling so great a distance.
And while the chariot of hellish triumph pursues its solemn
march, persons are found (it is no fiction which I recount)
so blindly credulous and so full of wild notions as to throw
themselves upon the ground in the way of its ponderous
wheels, which pass over and crush to atoms the bodies of the
wretched fanatics without exciting the horror or surprise
of the spectators. No deed, according to their estimation,
is so heroic or meritorious as this self-devotion : the victims
believe that Jagannat will receive them as children, and
recall them to life in a state of happiness and dignity.

The Brahmens encourage and promote these gross errors
and ^superstitions to which they are indebted for Jjieir
wealth and consequence. As persons attached and con-
secrated to important mysteries, they are held in general
veneration, and enriched by the alms of the people. So
wicked and detestable are their tricks and impostures that
I required the full and clear evidence of them — which I
obtained — ere I could believe that they had recourse to
similar expedients. These knaves select a beautiful maiden
to become (as they say, and as they induce these silly,
ignorant people to believe) the bride of Jagannat, who
accompanies the god to the temple with all the pomp and
ceremony which I have noticed, where she remains the
whole night, having been made to believe that Jagannat
will come and lie with her. She is commanded to inquire
of the god if the year will be fruitful, and what may be the
processions, the festivals, the prayers, and the alms which
he requires in return for his bounty. In the night one of
these impostors enters the temple through a small back
door, enjoys the unsuspecting damsel, makes her believe
whatever may be deemed necessary, and the following
morning when on her way to another temple, whither she
is carried in that Triumphal Chariot, by the side of Jagannat
her Spouse, she is desired by the Brahmens to state aloud

306 THE GENTILES

to the people all she has heard from the lustful priest, as
if every word had proceeded from the mouth of Jagannat.
But let me relate follies of another kind.

In front of the chariot, and even in the Deuras or Idol
Temples, public women during festival days dance and throw
their bodies into a variety of indecent and preposterous
attitudes, which the Brahmens deem quite consistent with
the religion of the country. I have known females
celebrated for beauty, and who were remarkably reserved
in their general deportment, refuse valuable presents from
Mahometans, Christians, and even Gentile foreigners, because
they considered themselves dedicated to the ministry and
to the ministers of the Deiira,1 to the Brahmens, and to
those Fakires who are commonly seated on ashes all round
the temple, some quite naked with hideous hair, like, we
may suppose, to that of Megcera, and in postures which I
shall soon describe.

What has been said concerning women burning them-
selves will be confirmed by so many travellers that I suppose
people will cease to be sceptical upon this melancholy fact.
The accounts given of it have been certainly exaggerated,
and the number of victims is less now than formerly ; the
Mahometans, by whom the country is governed, doing all
in their power to suppress the barbarous custom. r~"Tn~ey\
do not, indeed, forbid it by a positive law, because it isi
a part of their policy to leave the idolatrous population, \
which is so much more numerous than their own, in the \
free exercise of its religion ; but the practice is checked by
indirect means. No woman can sacrifice herself withouL^J-
permission from the governor of the province in which
she resides, and he never grants it until he shall have
ascertained that she is not to be turned aside from her
purpose : to accomplish this desirable end the governor
reasons with the widow and makes her enticing promises ;
after which, if these methods fail, he sometimes sends her

1 Hindostanee for a temple, a corruption of the Sanskrit, Devala, a
temple.

OF HINDOUSTAN 307

among his women, that the effect of their remonstrances
may be tried. Notwithstanding these obstacles, the
number of self-immolations is still very considerable,
particularly in the territories of the Rajas, where no
Mahometan governors are appointed. But not to tire you
with the history of every woman whom I have seen perish
on the funeral pile, I shall advert to only two or three of
those shocking spectacles at which I have been present ;
and first I shall give you some details concerning a female
to whom I was sent for the purpose of diverting her from
persevering in her dreadful intention.

One of my friends, named Bendidas,1 Danechmend-kan's
principal writer, died of a hectic fever for which I had
attended him upwards of two years, and his wife im-
mediately resolved to burn herself with the body of her
husband. Her friends were in the service of my Agah,
and being commanded by him to dissuade the widow from
the commission of so frantic an act, they represented to
her that although she had adopted a generous and com-
mendable resolution, which would redound to the honour
and conduce to the happiness of the family, yet she ought
to consider that her children were of a tender age, that it
would be cruel to abandon them, and that her anxiety for
their welfare ought to exceed the affection she bore to the
memory of her deceased husband. The infatuated creature
attended not, however, to their reasoning, and I was re-
quested to visit the widow as if by my Agah's desire, and in
the capacity of an old friend of the family. I complied, and
found on entering the apartment a regular witches' Sabat of
seven or eight old hags, and another of four or five excited,
wild, and aged Brahmcns standing round the body, all of
whom gave by turns a horrid yell, and beat their hands with
violence. The widow was seated at the feet of her dead
husband ; her hair was dishevelled and her visage pale,

1 The Muhamadanised form of Benidas, a common name among
Hindoo ' writers ' or clerks, who were largely employed, some of them
in positions of considerable responsibility, by the Moguls.

308 THE GENTILES

but her eyes were tearless and sparkling with animation
while she cried and screamed aloud like the rest of the
company, and beat time with her hands to this horrible
concert. The hurly-burly having subsided, I approached
the hellish group, and addressed the woman in a gentle
tone. 'I am come hither/ said I, 'by desire of Danech-
mend-kan, to inform you that he will settle a pension of
two crowns per month on each of your two sons, provided
you do not destroy your life, a life so necessary for their
care and education. We have ways and means indeed to
prevent your ascending the pile, and to punish those who
encourage you in so unreasonable a resolution. All your
relations wish you to live for the sake of your offspring, and
you will not be reputed infamous as are the childless
widows who possess not courage to burn themselves
with their dead husbands/ I repeated these arguments
several times without receiving any answer ; but, at last,
fixing a determined look on me, she said, ' Well, if I am
prevented from burning myself, I will dash out my brains
against a wall.' What a diabolical spirit has taken
possession of you, thought I. 'Let it be so then/ I
rejoined, with undissembled anger, 'but first take your
children, wretched and unnatural mother ! cut their throats,
and consume them on the same pile ; otherwise you will
leave them to die of famine, for I shall return immediately
to Danechmend-kan and annul their pensions.' These
words, spoken with a loud and resolute voice, made the
desired impression : without uttering a syllable, her head
fell suddenly on her knees, and the greater part of the old
women and Brahmens sneaked toward the door and left
the room. I thought I might now safely leave the widow
in the hands of her friends, who had accompanied me, and
mounting my horse returned home. In the evening, when
on my way to Danechmend-kan to inform him of what I
had done, I met one of the relations who thanked me, and
said that the body had been burnt without the widow, wh
had promised not to die by her own hands.

OF HINDOUSTAN 809

In regard to the women who actually burn themselves,
1 was present at so many of those shocking exhibitions
that I could not persuade myself to attend any more, nor
is it without a feeling of horror that I revert to the subject.
I shall endeavour, nevertheless, to describe what passed
before my eyes ; but I cannot hope to give you an
adequate conception of the fortitude displayed by these
infatuated victims during the whole of the frightful
tragedy : it must be seen to be believed.

When travelling from Ahmed-abad to Agra, through the
territories of Rajas, and while the caravan halted under
the shade of a banyan-tree1 until the cool of the evening,
news reached us that a widow was then on the point of
burning herself with the body of her husband. I ran at
once to the spot, and going to the edge of a large and
nearly dry reservoir, observed at the bottom a deep pit
filled with wood : the body of a dead man extended there-
on ; a woman seated upon the same pile ; four or five
Brahmens setting fire to it in every part ; five middle-aged
women, tolerably well dressed, holding one another by the
hand, singing and dancing round the pit; and a great
number of spectators of both sexes.

The pile, whereon large quantities of butter2 and oil had
been thrown, was soon enveloped in flames, and I saw the
fire catch the woman's garments, which were impregnated
with scented oil, mixed with sandalwood powder and
saffron ; but I could not perceive the slightest indication

1 ' Bourgade ' in the original, which I have ventured to take in this
passage as intended for JSargat, the common name in Hindostan for a
' banyan '-tree, the Ficus Indica, L. A caravan would not halt even
in a village (bourgade}, especially when in a foreign territory ; in the
words of a previous translator, ' while the caravan halted in a town
under the shade.' A famous banyan-tree near the town of HarJoi in
Oudh is, or rather was, so extended (natural decay has, I believe,
almost entirely destroyed it) that 'tis said that in 1858 two regiments
of soldiers encamped under the shade of its branches. In various
other parts of India other large ' banyan '-trees may be met with,
quite capable of sheltering an ordinary caravan or camp.

2 Ghee, which is clarified butter ; see p. 438, footnote 4.

310 THE GENTILES

of pain or even uneasiness in the victim, and it was said
that she pronounced with emphasis the words Jive, two, to
signify that this being the fifth time she had burned her-
self with the same husband, there were wanted only two
more similar sacrifices to render her perfect, according to
the doctrine of the transmigration of souls : as if a certain
reminiscence, or prophetic spirit, had been imparted to her
at that moment of her dissolution.

But this was only the commencement of the infernal
tragedy. 1 thought that the singing and dancing of the
five women were nothing more than some unmeaning
ceremony ; great therefore was my astonishment when I
saw that the flames having ignited the clothes of one of
these females, she cast herself head-foremost into the pit.
The horrid example was followed by another woman, as
soon as the flames caught her person : the three women
who remained then took hold of each other by the hand,
resuming the dance with perfect composure ; and after a
short lapse of time, they also precipitated themselves, one
after the other, into the fire.

I soon learnt the meaning of these multiplied sacrifices.
The five women were slaves, and having witnessed the
deep affliction of their mistress in consequence of the ill-
ness of her husband, whom she promised not to survive,
they were so moved with compassion that they entered
into an engagement to perish by the same flames that con-
sumed their beloved mistress.

Many persons whom I then consulted on the subject
would fain have persuaded me that an excess of affection
was the cause why these women burn themselves with
their deceased husbands ; but I soon found that this
abominable practice is the effect of early and deeply rooted
prejudices. Every girl is taught by her mother that it is
virtuous and laudable in a wife to mingle her ashes with
those of her husband, and that no woman of honour will
refuse compliance with the established custom. These
opinions men have always inculcated as an easy mode of

OF HINDOUSTAN 311

keeping wives in subjection, of securing their attention in
times of sickness, and of deterring them from administer-
ing poison to their husbands.

But let us proceed to another of these dreadful scenes,
not witnessed indeed by myself, but selected in preference
to others at which I happened to be present on account of
the remarkable incident by which it was distinguished. I
have seen so many things which I should have pronounced
incredible, that neither you nor I ought to reject the
narrative in question merely because it contains something
extraordinary. The story is in every person's mouth in
the Indies, and is universally credited. Perhaps it has
already reached you in Europe.

A woman, long engaged in love intrigues with a young
Mahometan, her neighbour, by trade a tailor, and a player
on the tambourine,1 poisoned her husband, hoping that
the young man would marry her. She then hastened
to her lover, informed him of what she had done, and
claiming the performance of his promise to take her to
wife, urged the necessity of immediately flying, as had
been previously projected, from the scene of their guilt ;
'for,' added she, 'if there be the least delay, I shall be
constrained by a common sense of decency to burn myself
with the body of my dead spouse.' The young man, who
foresaw that such a scheme would involve him in difficulty
and danger, peremptorily refused, and the woman, without
betraying the smallest emotion, went at the instant to her
relations, informed them of the sudden death of her
husband, and of her fixed resolution to die on the funeral
pile. Pleased with so magnanimous an intention, and with
the honour she was about to confer on the family, her
friends prepare a pit, fill it with wood, lay the body upon
the pile, and kindle the fire. These arrangements being
completed, the woman makes the round of the pit for the
purpose of embracing and bidding a last farewell to her

1 Probably a khunjur&e; a small tambourine played upon with the
fingers.

312 THE GENTILES

kindred, among whom stood the young tailor, invite
thither with other musicians to play on the tambourine
according to the custom of the country. Approaching the
lover as if she intended to take a last and tender adieu,
the infuriated creature seized him with a firm grasp by
the collar, drew him with irresistible force to the edge of
the pit, and precipitated herself headlong, with the object
of her resentment, into the midst of the raging fire.

As I was leaving Sourate for Persia, I witnessed the
devotion and burning of another widow : several English-
men and Dutchmen and Monsieur Chardin 1 of Paris were
present. She was of the middle age, and by no means
uncomely. I do not expect, with my limited powers of
expression, to convey a full idea of the brutish boldness,
or ferocious gaiety depicted on this woman's countenance ;
of her undaunted step ; of the freedom from all perturba-
tion with which she conversed, and permitted herself to be
washed ; of the look of confidence, or rather of insensibility
which she cast upon us; of her easy air, free from dejec-
tion ; of her lofty carriage, void of embarrassment, when
she was examining her little cabin, composed of dry and
thick millet straw, with an intermixture of small wood;
when she entered into that cabin, sat down upon the
funeral pile, placed her deceased husband's head in her

1 Sir (then simply Monsieur) John Chardin, the celebrated traveller,
was born at Paris in 1643, and died in London in 1713, and was buried
in Westminster Abbey, where his monument bears the very appropriate
inscription, Nomen sibi fecit eundo. His first journey was to Persia
and India in 1665, and while there he received the patronnge (his
business was that of a jeweller) of Shah Abbds II. He returned to
Paris in 1670, and in 1671 he again set out for Persia and India, and
in 1677 he returned to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope. A Protes-
tant, the persecution going on in France led him to settle in London
in 1681, where he was appointed Court Jeweller and knighted by
Charles II. Chardin was in Surat in 1667 and in 1677, and it must
have been in 1667 that Bernier met him there; as we know from the
date of this letter to Monsieur Chapelain (see p. 300) that Bernier was
in Shiraz in October 1667, after his return from India, vi& Surat,
and, most probably, Bandar Abbassi.

OF HINDOUSTAN 313

lap, took up a torch, and with her own hand lighted the
fire within, while I know not how many Brahmen* were
busily engaged in kindling it without. Well indeed may I
despair of representing this whole scene with proper and
genuine feeling, such as I experienced at the spectacle
itself, or of painting it in colours sufficiently vivid. My
recollection of it indeed is so distinct that it seems only a
few days since the horrid reality passed before my eyes,
and with pain I persuade myself that it was anything but
a frightful dream.

It is true, however, that I have known some of these
unhappy widows shrink at the sight of the piled wood ; so
as to leave no doubt on my mind that they would willingly
have recanted, if recantation had been permitted by the
merciless Brahmens ; but those demons excite or astound
the affrighted victims, and even thrust them into the fire.
I was present when a poor young woman, who had fallen
back five or six paces from the pit, was thus driven for-
ward; and I saw another of these wretched beings
struggling to leave the funeral pile when the fire increased
around her person, but she was prevented from escaping
by the long poles of the diabolical executioners.

But sometimes the devoted widows elude the vigilance
of the murderous priests. I have been often in the com-
pany of a fair Idolater, who contrived to save her life by
throwing herself upon the protection of the scavengers,1
who assemble on these occasions in considerable numbers,
when they learn that the intended victim is young and
handsome, that her relations are of little note, and that
she is to be accompanied by only a few of her acquaint-
ance. Yet the woman whose courage fails at the sight of
the horrid apparatus of death, and who avails herself of
the presence of these men to avoid the impending sacrifice,
cannot hope to pass her days in happiness, or to be treated
with respect or affection. Never again can she live with

1 Sweepers, haldl-khors, who frequent burning ghats (places fot
cremation) for various purposes at the present day.

314 THE GENTILES

the Gentiles : no individual of that nation will at any time,
or under any circumstances, associate with a creature so
degraded, who is accounted utterly infamous, and execrated
because of the dishonour which her conduct has brought
upon the religion of the country. Consequently she is
ever afterwards exposed to the ill-treatment of her low
and vulgar protectors. There is no Mogol who does not
dread the consequences of contributing to the preservation
of a woman devoted to the burning pile, or who will
venture to afford an asylum to one who escapes from the
fangs of the Brahmens ; but many widows have been
rescued by the Portuguese, in sea-ports where that people
happened to be in superior strength. I need scarcely
say how much my own indignation has been excited,
and how ardently I have wished for opportunities to exter-
minate those cursed Brahmens.

At Lahor I saw a most beautiful young widow sacrificed,
who could not, I think, have been more than twelve years
of age. The poor little creature appeared more dead than
alive when she approached the dreadful pit : the agony ot
her mind cannot be described; she trembled and wept
bitterly ; but three or four of the Brahmens, assisted by an
old woman who held her under the arm, forced the un-
willing victim toward the fatal spot, seated her on the
wood, tied her hands and feet, lest she should run away,
and in that situation the innocent creature was burnt alive.
I found it difficult to repress my feelings and to prevent
their bursting forth into clamorous and unavailing rage ;
but restrained by prudential considerations, I contented
myself with silently lamenting the abominable superstition
of these people, and applied to it the language of the poet,
when speaking of Iphigenia, whom her father Agamemnon
had offered in sacrifice to Diana : —

. . . quod contra saepius ilia
religio peperit scelerosa atque impia facta.
Aulide quo pacta Trivial virginis uram
Iphianassai turparunt sanguine foede

OF HINDOUSTAN 315

ductores Danaum delecti, prima virorum.
• •••••••

tantum religio potuit suadere malorum.1

I have not yet mentioned all the barbarity and atrocity
of these monsters. In some parts of the Indies, instead of
burning the women who determine not to survive their
husbands, the Brahmens bury them alive, by slow degrees,
up to the throat ; then two or three of them fall suddenly
upon the victim, wring her neck, and when she has been
effectually and completely choked, cover over the body
with earth thrown upon it from successive baskets, and
tread upon the head.

Most of the Gentiles burn their dead ; but some partially
broil the bodies with stubble, near the side of a river, and
then precipitate them into the water from a high and
steep bank.2 I have attended these funeral rites on the
Ga?iges several times, and observed flights of crows flutter-
ing about the carcass, which becomes as much the prey
of those birds as of the fish and crocodiles.

Some again carry a sick person, when at the point of
death, to the river-side ; place his feet in the water, let
him sink gradually to the neck ; and when it is supposed
that he is about to expire, they immerse his whole body
into the river, where they leave him, after violently clap-
ping their hands, and crying out with great vehemence.
The object of this ceremony (at which I have been present)
is that the soul may be washed, on taking its flight, from

1 This quotation (from Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Book I.
82-6, 102) has been thus rendered by H. A. J. Munro : — ' Whereas on
the contrary, often and often, that very religion has given birth to
sinful and unholy deeds. Thus in Aulis the chosen chieftains of the
Danai, foremost of men, foully polluted with Iphianassa's blood the
altar of the Trivian maid. ... So great the evils to w hich religion
could prompt ! ' I have substituted the latest critical version, for
the one given by Bernier, which he took from a Dutch edition of
Lucretius.

2 This is done by those too poor to afford the cost of an ordinary
cremation.

316 THE GENTILES

all impurities which it may have contracted during its
abode in the body. This absurd notion is not confined to
the vulgar ; I have heard it seriously defended by men of
the highest reputation for learning.

Among the vast number, and endless variety of Fakires,
or Derviches, and Holy Men, or Gentile hypocrites x of the
Indies, many live in a sort of convent, governed by
superiors, where vows of chastity, poverty, and submission
are made. So strange is the life led by these votaries
that I doubt whether my description of it will be credited.
I allude particularly to the people called Jauguis? a name
which signifies ' united to God.' Numbers are seen, day
and night, seated or lying on ashes, entirely naked ;
frequently under the large trees near talabs, or tanks of
water, or in the galleries round the De'uras, or idol temples.
Some have hair hanging down to the calf of the leg,
twisted and entangled into knots, like the coat of our
shaggy dogs, or rather like the hair of those afflicted with
that Polish disease, which we call la Plie.3 I have seen
several who hold one, and some who hold both arms,
perpetually lifted up above the head ; the nails of their
hands being twisted, and longer than half my little finger,
with which I measured them. Their arms are as small
and thin as the arms of persons who die in a decline,
because in so forced and unnatural a position they receive
not sufficient nourishment; nor can they be lowered so
as to supply the mouth with food, the muscles having
become contracted, and the articulations dry and stiff'
Novices wait upon these fanatics, and pay them the utmost
respect, as persons endowed with extraordinary sanctity.
No Fury in the infernal regions can be conceived more

1 In the original, *ou Santons Geniils des Indes.' Santon originally
meant a peculiar sect of Moslem devotee, but I have translated the
word as meaning a hypocrite, in which sense it is used by Rabelais.

2 Jogi, a corruption of Yoga, union or junction. Applied to those
followers of the Yoga doctrine who are supposed to go about preaching
the duty and necessity of religions retirement and meditation.

3 The disease known as Plica. Polomca.

OF HINDOUSTAN Sl7

horrible than the Jaitguis, with their naked and black skin,
long hair, spindle arms, long twisted nails, and fixed in the
posture which I have mentioned.

I have often met, generally in the territory of some
Raja, bands of these naked Fakires, hideous to behold.
Some had their arms lifted up in the manner just described ;
the frightful hair of others either hung loosely or was tied
and twisted round their heads ; some carried a club like to
Hercules ; others had a dry and rough tiger skin thrown
over their shoulders. In this trim I have seen them shame-
lessly walk, stark naked, through a large town, men,
women, and girls looking at them without any more
emotion than may be created when a hermit passes through
our streets. Females would often bring them alms with
much devotion, doubtless believing that they were holy
personages, more chaste and discreet than other men.

I was for a long time disgusted with a celebrated Fakire.
named Sarmet, who paraded the streets of Dehli as naked
as when he came into the world. He despised equally
the promises and the threats of Atireng-Zebe, and under-
went at length the punishment of decapitation from his
obstinate refusal to put on wearing apparel.

Several of these Fakires undertake long pilgrimages, not
only naked, but laden with heavy iron chains, such as are
put about the legs of elephants. I have seen others who
in consequence of a particular vow stood upright, during
seven or eight days, without once sitting or lying down,
and without .any other support than might be afforded by
leaning forward against a cord for a few hours in the night ;
their legs in the meantime were swollen to the size of
their thighs. Others again I have observed standing
steadily, whole hours together, upon their hands, the head
down, and the feet in the air. I might proceed to
enumerate various other positions in which these unhappy
men place their body, many of them so difficult and
painful that they could not be imitated by our tumblers ;
and all this, let it be recollected, is performed from an

318 THE GENTILES

assumed feeling of piety, of which there is not so much as
the shadow in any part of the Indies.

I confess that this gross superstition filled me, on my
first arrival in Hindoustan, with amazement. I knew
not what to think of it. Sometimes I should have been
disposed to consider the Fakires as remnants, if not as
the founders, of the ancient and infamous sect of Cynics,
could I have discovered anything in them but brutality
and ignorance, and if they had not appeared to me vege-
tative rather than rational beings. At another time, I
thought they might be honest though deluded enthusiasts,
until I found that, in fact they were, in the widest sense of
the word, destitute of piety. Again, I reflected that a
life of vagrancy, idleness, and independence may have a
powerful and attractive charm ; or that the vanity which
intermingles itself with every motive of human action,
and which may be discovered as clearly through the
tattered mantle of a Diogenes as under the comely garb of
a Plato, was probably the secret spring that set so many
strange engines in motion.

The Fakires, it is said, exercise painful austerities in the
confident hope that they will be Rajas in their renascent
state ; or, if they do not become Rajas, that they shall be
placed in a condition of life capable of more exquisite
enjoyment than is experienced by those sovereign princes :
but, as I have frequently observed to them, how can it be
believed that men submit to a life of so much misery for
the sake of a second state of existence, as short and un-
certain as the first, and which cannot be expected to yield
a much greater degree of happiness even to him who may
be invested with the high dignity of Rana, or who may
resemble Jesseingue or Jessomseingue, the two most powerful
Rajas of the Indies ? I am not to be so easily deceived,
said I to them ; either you are egregious fools, or you are
actuated by some sinister views which you carefully hide
from the world.

Some of the Fakires enjoy the reputation of being

OF HINDOUSTAN

peculiarly enlightened saints, perfect Jaugwt, and really
united to God. These are supposed to have entirely
renounced the world, and like our hermits they live a
secluded life in a remote garden, without ever visiting a
town. When food is brought to them, they receive it : if
none be offered to them it is concluded that the holy men
can live without food, that they subsist by the favour of
God, vouchsafed on account of previous long fasts and
other religious mortifications. Frequently these pious
Jauguis are absorbed in profound meditation. It is pre-
tended, and one of the favoured saints himself assured me,
that their souls are often rapt in an ecstasy of several hours'
duration ; that their external senses lose their functions ;
that the Jaugms are blessed with a sight of God, who
appears as a light ineffably white and vivid, and that they
experience transports of holy joy, and a contempt of
temporal concerns which defy every power of description.
My saintly informant added that he could at pleasure fall
into such a trance as he described, and not one of the
individuals who are in the habit of visiting the Jauguis
doubts the reality of these vaunted ecstasies. It is possible
that the imagination, distempered by continued fasts and
uninterrupted solitude, may be brought into these illusions,
or that the rapturous dreams of the Fakires may resemble
the natural ecstasies into which Cardan1 tells us he could
fall whenever he pleased, especially as the Fakires practise
some art in what they do, prescribing to themselves certain
rules for the binding up of their senses by slow degrees.
For example, they say that after having fasted several days
upon bread and water, it is necessaiy to be alone in a
sequestered spot, to fix the eyes most steadily toward
heaven, and when they have been so riveted for some

1 Girolamo Cardan, born at Pavia in 1501, died 1576, was famous
as a mathematician, physician, and astrologer. He published his
celebrated treatise on astrology in 1543, and in 1552 visited Scotland,
as the medical adviser of Archbishop Hamilton of St. Andrews.
Cardan, owing to the boldness of many of the theories which he
enunciated, was involved in many disputes with his contemporaries.

320 THE GENTILES

time, to lower them gradually, and then point them both
in such a manner that they shall look at one and the same
time upon the tip of the nose, both sides of that feature
being equally seen ; and in this posture the saint must
continue firm, the two sides of the nose in even proportions
remaining constantly within sight until the bright luminary
makes its appearance.

The trance, and the means of enjoying it, form the grand
Mysticism of the sect of the Janguis,1 as well as that of the
Soufys. I call it Mysticism [Mystere], because they keep
these things secret among themselves, and I should not
have made so many discoveries had it not been for the
aid of the Pendet, or Indou Doctor whom Danechmend-kau
kept in his pay, and who dared not conceal anything from
his patron ; my Agah, moreover, was already acquainted
with the doctrines of the Soufys.2

I believe that extreme poverty, long fasts, and perpetual
austerities count for something in the condition at which
these men arrive. Our Friars and Hermits must not
suppose that on these points they surpass the Jauguis or
other Asiatic religionists. I can, for instances, appeal to

1 In the original, 'le grand Mystere de la Cabale des Jauguis.'

2 It would be difficult to give any better definition of Sufism than
that by Mr. E. H. Whinfield, M.A., late B.C.S., in the Introduction
(pp. 15, 1 6) to his edition of the Masnavi-i Ma'navi, the Spiritual
couplets, of Muldna Jal&lu- d-din Mithammad-i Riiml, London,
Trlibner, 1887. After explaining that the message of Muhammad, as
revealed in the Koran, was eminently practical and not speculative,
popular in language, and not meant to bear the strain of analysis,
Mr. Whinfield relates how, after the death of Muhammad, the Faith-
ful did philosophise, notwithstanding all the injunctions extant against
such speculation as was then indulged in. Schoolmen arose who
carried philosophy into divinity, and, in the light of the new learning,
derived from Plato, Aristotle, and the speculations of the Christian
sects, debated all the trite topics of Moslem theology. ' Parallel to
this stream of scholasticism there ran another stream of mystical
theosophy — derived in part from Plato, "the Attic Moses," but
mainly from Christianity, as presented in the " spiritual Gospel r of
St. John, and as expounded by the Christian Platonists and Gnostics.
This second stream was Sufism.'

OF HINDOUSTAN 321

the lives and fasts of the Armenians, Copts, Greeks, Nestorians,
Jacobins, and Maronites ; compared to these people our
European devotees are mere novices, though it must be
confessed, from what I have myself experienced, that the
pains of hunger are not so sensibly felt in the Indies as in
our colder climates.

I have now to give an account of certain Fakires totally
different from the Saints just described, but who also
are extraordinary personages. They almost continually
perambulate the country, make light of everything, affect
to live without care, and to be possessed of most important
secrets. The people imagine that these favoured beings
are well acquainted with the art of making gold, and that
they can prepare mercury in so admirable a manner that
a grain or two swallowed every morning must restore a
diseased body to vigorous health, and so strengthen the
stomach that it may feed with avidity, and digest with
ease. This is not all : when two of these good Jauguis
meet, and can be excited to a spirit of emulation, they
make such a display of the power of Janguisism, that it
may well be doubted if Simon Magus, with all his sorceries,
ever performed more surprising feats. They teh any
person his thoughts, cause the branch of a tree to blossom
and to bear fruit within an hour, hatch an egg in their
bosom in less than fifteen minutes, producing whatever
bird may be demanded, and make it fly about the room,
and execute many other prodigies that need not be
enumerated.

I regret that I cannot bear my testimony to the truth
of all that people report of these conjurers. My Agah
sent for one of these famous soothsayers, and promised to
give him three hundred roupies (about an hundred and
fifty crowns) if on the following day he would tell him,
as he said he could do, what might then be passing in
his mind, which he would previously write down in his
presence to prevent any suspicion of unfair dealing on his
own part. I engaged at the same time to present him

322 THE GENTILES

with five-and-twenty roupies if he mentioned my thoughts ;
but the prophet did not again approach our house. On
another occasion I was also disappointed in my expecta-
tion of the company of one of these egg-hatchers, to
whom I had promised twenty roupies. Notwithstanding
my diligence to pry into everything, I have never been so
fortunate as to witness any marvellous performance ; and
whenever I happened to be present when a deed was
done which excited the surprise of the spectators, it was
generally my misfortune to examine and to question until
I ascertained that the cause Jay in some cheat or sleight
of hand. I recollect detecting the gross deception of a
fellow who pretended to find out, by the rolling of a cup,
the person who had stolen my Agah's money.

But there are Fakires of a much more comely appear-
ance than those whom we have been considering, and
their lives and devotion seem less extravagant. They
walk the streets barefooted and bareheaded, girt with a
scarf which hangs down to the knee, and wearing a white
cloth which passes under the right arm and goes over the
left shoulder in the form of a mantle, but they are with-
out any under garment : their persons, however, are always
well washed, and they appear cleanly in every respect.
In general they walk two and two with a very modest
demeanour, holding in one hand a small and fair three-
footed earthen pot with two handles : they do not beg
from shop to shop like many other Fakires, but enter
freely into the houses of the Gentiles, where they meet
with a hearty welcome and an hospitable reception, their
presence being esteemed a blessing to the family.
Heaven defend him who accuses them of any offence,
although everybody knows what takes place between the
sanctified visitors and the women of the house : this, how-
ever, is considered the custom of the country, and their
sanctity is not the less on that account. I do not indeed
attach much importance to their transactions with the
females of the house : such practices we know are not

OF HINDOUSTAN 323

confined to the Great Mogol's dominions; but what
appears truly ridiculous is their impertinent comparison
of themselves with our own clergy in the Indies. I have
sometimes derived much amusement from their weakness
and vanity : I used to address them with great ceremony,
and apparently with the most profound respect, after
which they immediately observed to one another: 'The
Frangui knows who we are ; he has resided many years in
the Indies, and is well aware that we are the Padrys * of the
Indous.' But I dwell too long upon these heathen beggars,
and shall proceed to notice the books of law and science.

Do not be surprised if, notwithstanding my ignorance
of Sanscrit 2 (the language of the learned, and possibly that
of the ancient Brahmens, as we may learn further on), I
yet say something of books written in that tongue. My
Agah, Danechmend-kan, partly from my solicitation and
partly to gratify his own curiosity, took into his service
one of the most celebrated Pendets in all the Indies, who
had formerly belonged to the household of Dara,B the
eldest son of the King Chah-Jehan ; and not only was this

1 The Portuguese word Padre was originally applied to Roman
priests only. It is now the name given all over India to priests,
clergymen, or ministers of all denominations, and is sometimes applied
by natives to their own priests. Lat Padre Sahib, or the Lord Padre
Sahib, is now the Indian name for a Christian bishop.

2 * Hanscrit ' in the original, see p. 329, footnote 3.

8 Dara Shikoh, when Governor or Viceroy of Benares, in 1656,
caused a Persian translation to be made from the Sanskrit text of the
Upanishads ('the word that is not to be revealed'), which he called
the Sarr-i-Asrar, or Secret of Secrets. This translation, which was
made by a large staff of Benares Pandits, lias been rendered into
Latin by Anquetil-Duperron, and published by him at Paris, 1801,
under the title of Oupnekhat (id estt Secretum 7egendum) optts ipsa
in India rarissii/ium, etc. etc. His version is criticised in an article
published in the second number (January 1803) of The Edinburgh
Review, which I believe to have been written by Alexander Hamilton,
' a Scotchman who had been in India ; . . . of excellent conversation
and great knowledge of Oriental literature. He was afterwards pro-
fessor of Sanscrit ' [in the official lists he is designated Professor of
HindA Literature and History of Asia] 'in the East India College at

324 THE GENTILES

man my constant companion during a period of three ye
but he also introduced me to the society of other learned
Pendets, whom he attracted to the house. When weary of
explaining to my Agah the recent discoveries of Harveus
and Pecquet in anatomy, and of discoursing on the philo-
sophy of Gassendi and Descartes?- which I translated to

Haileybury,'p. 141, vol. i. CocV&urrfs Life of Lord Jeffrey, Edin. 1852,
also see p. 256, vol. i. of Lord Brougham's Life and Times, Edin. and
Lond. 1871. In this critique pleasing testimony is borne to the great
abilities of Prince Dara Shikoh, as follows : — ' If intolerance and fana- /
ticism be the usual concomitants of Islamism (an assertion, we think,
too generally expressed), the descendants of Tamerlane, who reigned/
in Hindustan, furnish some remarkable exceptions to the received
opinion. At the head of these illustrious personages we should,
perhaps, place Dara Shecuh, the eldest son of the Emperor Shah
Gehan. The attention which this Prince bestowed, investigating the
antique dogmas of the Hindu theology, and the munificence with
which he rewarded the learned Brahmans, whom he collected from all
parts of the empire, furnished his brother Aurengzebe with a pretext
to misrepresent his motives, and to alarm the zealous Moslems with
the danger of an apostate succeeding to the throne. The melancholy
catastrophe which ensued ; the death of the unhappy Dara, with the
long and brilliant reign of the successful hypocrite, who founded his
greatness on the destruction of his brothers, are detailed in the page of
history. If the sceptical philosopher be disposed to exclaim with the
Roman Epicurean, 'Tanta Religio potuit suadere malorum,' we must
state our conviction that ambition, not fanaticism, prompted the deed ;
though the steps by which he mounted the throne threw the rigid veil
of superstition over the subsequent conduct of Aurengzebe, and gave
that tone to his court. '

1 William Harvey, born in 1578, and died in 1657. It was in 1616,
the year of Shakespeare's death, that he began his course of lectures
to the Royal College of Physicians in London, and formally announced
his discovery of the circulation of the blood, which has rendered his
name for ever famous.

Jean Pecquet, born at Dieppe, in France, in 1622, died in 1674. He
studied medicine at Montpellier, where Bernier was also a student,
and it was there that he prosecuted those investigations which led to
his discoveries, in connection with the conversion of the chyle into
blood, which have immortalised his name.

Rene Descartes, born at La Haye, Touraine, in France, in 1596,
and died at Stockholm in 1650.

OF HINDOUSTAN 325

him in Persian (for this was my principal employment for
five or six years) we had generally recourse to our Pendet,
who, in his turn, was called upon to reason in his own
manner, and to communicate his fables ; these he related
with all imaginable gravity without ever smiling; but at
length we became disgusted both with his tales and
childish arguments.

The Hindous then affirm that God, whom they call
char, the Immovable or Immutable, has sent to them
four books, to which they give the name of Beths, a word
signifying science, because, according to them, these books
comprehend all the sciences. The first of the books is
named Atherbabed; the second Zagerbed; the third Rek-
bed ; and the fourth Samabed. These books enjoin that
the people shall be divided, as in fact they are most effect-
ually, into four tribes [Tribus] : first, the tribe of Brahmens,
or interpreters of the law ; secondly, the tribe of Quetlerys,
or warriors ; thirdly, the tribe of Bescue, or merchants and
tradesmen, commonly called Banyanes', and fourthly, the
tribe of Seydra, or artisans and labourers. These different
tribes are not permitted to intermarry, that is to say, a
Brahmen is forbidden to marry a Quettery, and the same
injunction holds good in regard to the other tribes.1

1 Achara is well defined by Bernier, and this whole chapter is a
good example of the careful manner in which he investigated such
subjects. The word also means eternal beatitude, or exemption from
farther transmigration. His enumeration of the order of the Vedas
does not correspond with that now generally adopted as the results of
modern criticism, which assigns to the Rig-veda the greatest antiquity,
after which the Yajur-veda, then the Sama-veda, and places the
Atharva-veda last, as the most recent of all. Bernier possessed a
good knowledge of Persian, and as a rule his transliterations are
excellent. In the enumeration of the theoretical divisions of Hindoo
society, it is evident that he had to transliterate from the vivA voce
account given in Sanskrit or perhaps Hindi, by his Pandit, into
Persian, then into French. Bernier's Tribus is a much more scientific
term than our word 'caste,' or ' cast' as Elphinstone prefers to have
it, a word derived from the Portuguese Casta, ' creed, race, or kind. '
The modern renderings of these four divisions are, Brahmans, Kshatt-

326 THE GENTILES

The Gentiles believe in a doctrine similar to that of the
Pythagoreans with regard to the transmigration of souls,
and hold it illegal to kill or eat any animal ; an exception
being made, however, in favour of a few of the second
tribe, provided the flesh eaten be not that of the cow or
peacock. For these two animals they feel a peculiar
respect, particularly for the cow, imagining that it is by
holding to a cow's tail they are to cross the river which
separates this life from the next. Possibly their ancient
legislators saw the shepherds of Egypt in a similar manner
pass the river Nile, holding with the left hand the tail of
a buffalo or ox, and carrying in the right a stick for the
guidance of the animal; or this superior regard for the
cow may more probably be owing to her extraordinary
usefulness, as being the animal which supplies them with
milk and butter l (a considerable part of their aliment), and
which may be considered the source of husbandry, con-
sequently the preserver of life itself. It ought likewise to
be observed that owing to the great deficiency of pasture
land in the Indies it is impossible to maintain large num-
bers of cattle ; the whole therefore would soon disappear
if animal food were eaten in anything like the proportion
in which it is consumed in France and England, and the
country would thus remain uncultivated. The heat is so
intense, and the ground so parched, during eight months
of the year, that the beasts of the field, ready to die of
hunger, feed on every kind of filth like so many swine.
It was on account of the scarcity of cattle that Jekan-Guyre,
at the request of the Brahmen s, issued an edict to forbid
the killing of beasts of pasture for a certain number of
years ; and not long since they presented a similar petition

riyas, Vaisyas, and Siidras. There appears to be a slip in Bernier's
transliteration of the name of the second tribe or class ; Khatrf, a
subdivision of the Vaisyas, is confounded with Kshattriyas, or, in its
popular form, Chutree ; although as a matter of fact some authorities
hold that the Khatris are included in the second division.
1 That is, ghee.

OF HINDOUSTAN 327

to Aureng-Zebe, offering to him a considerable sum of money
to ensure his compliance.1 They urged that the neglected
and ruinous condition of many tracts of country during the
last fifty or sixty years was attributable to the paucity and
dearness of oxen.

Perhaps the first legislators in the Indies hoped that the
interdiction of animal food would produce a beneficial effect
upon the character of the people, and that they might be
brought to exercise less cruelty toward one another when
required by a positive precept to treat the brute creation
with humanity. The doctrine of the transmigration of
souls secured the kind treatment of animals, by leading to
the belief that no animal can be killed or eaten without
incurring the danger of killing or eating some ancestor,
than which a more heinous crime cannot be committed.
It may be also that the Brahmcns were influenced by the
consideration that in their climate the flesh of cows or
oxen is neither savoury nor wholesome except for a short
time during winter.

The Beths render it obligatory upon every Gentile to say
his prayers with his face turned to the East thrice in the
twenty-four hours : in the morning, at noon, and at night.
The whole of his body must also be washed three times,
or at least before eveiy meal ; and he is taught that it is
more meritorious to perform his ablutions and to repeat
his prayers in running than in stagnant water. Here
again regard was probably had to what is not only proper
but highly important in such a climate as that of
Hindoustan. This, however, is found an inconvenient law
to those who happen to live in cold countries, and I have
met in my travels with some who placed their lives in
imminent danger by a strict observance of that law, by
plunging into the rivers or tanks within their reach, or if
none were sufficiently near, by throwing large pots full of
water over their heads. Sometimes I objected to their

1 In recent years, similar action as regards petitioning the Supreme
Government has been taken in India by influential Hindoos.

328 THE GENTILES

religion that it contained a law which it would not
possible to observe in cold climates during the winter
season, which was, in my mind, a clear proof that it
possessed no divine original, but was merely a system of
human invention. Their answer was amusing enough.
We pretend not/ they replied, 'that our law is of
universal application. God intended it only for us, and
this is the reason why we cannot receive a foreigner into
our religion. We do not even say that yours is a false
religion : it may be adapted to your wants and circum-
stances, God having, no doubt, appointed many different
ways of going to heaven/ I found it impossible to
convince them that the Christian faith was designed for
the whole earth, and theirs was mere fable and gross
fabrication.

The Beths teach that God having determined to create
the world would not execute his purpose immediately,
but first created three perfect beings ; one was Brahma,
a name which signifies penetrating into all things ; the
second, Beschen, that is, existing in all things ; and the
third Mehahdeu, or the mighty lord. By means of Brahma
he created the world ; by means of Beschen he upholds it ;
and by means of Mehahdeu he will destroy it.1 It was
Brahma who, by God's command, published the four
Beihs, and for this reason he is represented in some
temples with four heads.

I have conversed with European missionaries who
thought that the Gentiles have some idea of the mystery of
the Trinity, and maintained that the BetJis state in direct
terms that the three beings, though three persons, are one
God. This is a subject on which I have frequently heard

1 Brahma was from the beginning considered as the Eternal Creative
Power, the Holiest of the Holy, and he continued to be regarded as
fulfilling the same function even after he had sunk into a subordinate
position, and had come to be represented by the votaries of Vishnu
and Mahadeva respectively as the mere creature and agent of one or
other of these two gods.

OF HINDOUSTAN 329

the Pendels dilate, but they explain themselves so obscurely
that I never could clearly comprehend their opinion.1 I
have heard some of them say that the being? in question
are in reality three very perfect creatures., whom they call
Deiitas, without being able, however, properly to explain
what they mean by this word Deuta, like our ancient
idolaters, who could never, in my opinion, explain what
they meant by the names Genii and Numina, which were
probably equivalent to the Dei'da of the Indians.2 I have
also discoursed with other Pendets distinguished for
learning, who said that these three beings are really
one and the same God, considered under three different
characters, as the creator, upholder, and destroyer of all
things ; but they said nothing of three distinct persons in
one only God.

I was acquainted with the Reverend Father Roa,s &

1 c I shall declare to thee that form composed of Hari and Hara
(Vishnu and Mahadeva) combined, which is without beginning,
middle or end, imperishable, undecaying. He who is Vishnu is
Rudra : he who is Rudra is Pitamaha (Brahma) ; the substance is one,
the gods are three : Rudra, Vishnu-, and Pitamaha.' — Muir's Original
Sanskrit Texts, vol. iv. p. 237.

3 See p. 303.

3 Thus in all the editions of Bernier's Travels known to the
editor, intended for Father Ileinrich Roth, S. J., attached to the
Goa Mission. About 1650-1660 he journeyed from Goa to Agra,
vi& Central India, and during these years studied Sanskrit and the
doctrines of the Hindoo religion, in which he was ever afterwards
regarded as the best authority of his time, and it is pleasant to find
that even thus early, a German should attain such fame as a Sans-
krit scholar. About 1665 he travelled from Agra to Rome, vi&
Lahore, Multan, down the Indus to ' Sindi ' [? Sind] at its mouth,
thence by sea, vid Surat, to Ormuz, and overland through Persia
and Armenia to Smyrna and Rome. He there drew up for Father
Kircher (see p. 332, footnote J), the five engraved plates published
by him in his China lllustrata. The first four plates contain the
alphabet and elements (in the Devanagri character) of Sanskrit,
explained in Latin, and the fifth is Our Lord's Prayer and an Ave
Maria, in Sanskrit and Latin, to serve as an exercise for beginners.
In most of the early editions of Bernier, certainly in all of those pub-
lished during his lifetime, Sanskrit is everywhere printed Hanscrit This.

330 THE GENTILES

Jesuit, a German by birth, and missionary at Agra, who had
made great proficiency in the study of Sanscrit. He assured
me that the books of the Geniiles not only state that there
is one God in three persons, but that the second person has
been nine times embodied in flesh.1 He added that when
he was at Chiras, on his return to Rome, a Carmelite Father
in that city succeeded, with much address, in ascertaining
that the following doctrines are held by the Gentiles.
The second person in the Trinity has been, according to
them, nine times incarnate in consequence of various evils
in the world, from which he delivered mankind. The
eighth incarnation was the most remarkable ; 2 for they
say that the world having been enthralled by the power
of giants, it was rescued by the second person, incarnated
and born of a virgin at midnight, the angels singing in
the air, and the skies raining flowers that whole night.

peculiarity has arisen, I believe, in this wise. Father Roth doubt-
lessly acquired his grounding in Sanskrit from a Persian Munshi,
who would call the language ' Sanskrit, or SahanskritJ the form used
in the Persian texts of the Ain, which was written about 1599.
We learn from Father Kircher (who by the way never uses the word
Sanskrit in any form), in the text of the work cited above, that it was
Father Roth who with his own hand drew out the originals of these
plates. The first plate is headed Elementa Lingua [sic] ffanskret,
the letters Sa having been omitted by the engraver, or ' dropped,' to
use a technical term ; because although he has begun the heading
correctly as to position, the centre of the ' title ' being axial with the
body of the plate, the word Hanskret ends just too short by a space
sufficient for two letters. This error was probably discovered too late
to be satisfactorily remedied, and has misled many subsequent writers
without special or technical knowledge ; and in Yule's Glossary this
form of the word is characterised as ' difficult to account for.' Hyde,
the well-known Orientalist of the Oxford University, has, however
(p. 264, vol. ii. , Syntagma Dissertationum quas olim Ihomas Hyde
separatim edidit. Oxon. 1767. Edited by Gregory Sharpe), questioned
the correctness of Father Kircher's ffanskrit, himself using the word
' Sanscreet ' to denote the language of the Brahmins.

1 Avatdr, a descent, especially of a deity from heaven ; an incarna-
tion. Allusion is made by Bernier to the ten avatars of Vishnu.

2 That of Vishnu as Krishna, in which he is supposed to have been
completely incarnate, at Brindabun in the Mathura (Muttra) District.

OF HINDOUSTAN 331

This in some degree savours of Christianity,, but here
comes the fable again ; for it is added that this incarnate
god began by killing a giant who flew in the air, and was
so huge as to obscure the sun : his fall caused the whole
earth to tremble, and by his weight he so penetrated it
that he tumbled at once into hell. The incarnate deity,
wounded in the side in the conflict with this mighty
giant, fell also, but by his fall put his enemies to flight.
He arose again, and after delivering the world ascended
into heaven, and because of his wound,, he is generally
known by the appellation of ' The wounded in the side/
The tenth incarnation, say the Gentiles, will have for its
object the emancipation of mankind from the tyranny of
the Mahometan, and it will take place at the time when,
according to our calculation, Antichrist is to appear; this
is however but a popular tradition, not to be found in
their sacred books.

They say also that the third person of the Trinity J has
manifested himself to the world ; the following story is
related of him. The daughter of a certain king, when
she had reached the age of puberty, was desired by her
father to mention the person whom she felt disposed to
marry, and having answered that she would be united to
none but a divine being, the third person of the Trinity
appeared in the same instant to the king in the form of
fire. He presently apprised his daughter of this happy
circumstance, and she without hesitation consented to the
marriage. The divine personage, though still assuming a
fiery appearance, was invited to the king's council, and
finding that the privy counsellors opposed the match, he
first set fire to their beards, and then burnt them together
with the royal household, after which he married the
princess. Ridiculous ! 2 In regard to the second person,
the Gentiles say that his first incarnation was in the nature
of a Lion, the second in that of a Hog, the third in that

1 Mahadev or Siva, the Destroyer and Creator.
3 In the original, ' Contes de ma mere 1'Oye.'

332 THE GENTILES

9f a Tortoise, the fourth in that of a Serpent, the fifth in
that of a dwarfish or pygmy Brahmen [Pygmee Brahmane],
only a cubit in height, the sixth was in the form of a
monstrous Man-lion, the seventh in that of a Dragon, the
eighth as already described,, the ninth in the nature of
an Ape, and the tenth is to be in the person of a mighty
Cavalier.

I entertain no doubt that the Reverend Father Eoa
derives from the Bet/is his knowledge of the doctrines
held by the Gentiles, and that the account he gave me
forms the basis of their mythology. I had written at
considerable length upon this subject, sketched the
figures of several of the gods or idols placed in their
temples, and caused them to give me the characters of
their language, Sanscrit ; but finding that the principal
matter of my manuscript is contained in the China
Illustrata of Father Kirker1 (who obtained much of his
information when at Rome from Father Roa°), I deem
it sufficient to recommend that book to your perusal. I
must observe, however, that the word ' incarnation,'
employed by the Reverend Father,3 was new to me,
having never seen it used in the same direct sense.

1 Published at Amsterdam by Janszon in 1667, in which, between
folios 162 and 163, will be found five full-page copperplate engrav-
ings, the first specimens of Sanskrit ever printed or engraved (as for
a book) in Europe, or indeed anywhere. Athanasius Kircher, S. J.,
was born at Giessen near Fulda in 1602, and died at Rome in 1680.
A man of immense literary activity, he was, inter alia, what we would
now call Home Editorial Secretary of the annual reports sent to
Europe by the Jesuit and other Roman missionaries. Kircher was
also at one time Professor of Oriental Languages at Wiirtzburg. See
p. 329, footnote 3.

2 Father Roth supplied Kircher with all the information concerning
Hindoo mythology contained in his China Illustrata, which will be
found, illustrated with curious engravings after Indian drawings, at
pp. 156-162 of that work.

3 Kircher quotes Father Roth's own words as follows : — ' Universim
dicunt, secundam personam ex Trinitate novies jam incarnatam fuisse,
et adhuc semel incarnatum est. '

OF HINDOUSTAN 333

Some Pendets explained their doctrine to me in this
manner : formerly God appeared in the forms which are
mentioned, and in those forms performed all the wonders
which have been related. Other Pendets said that the
souls of certain great men, whom we are wont to call
heroes, had passed into the different bodies spoken of,
and that they had become Deutas ; or, to speak in the
phraseology of the idolaters of old, they had become
powerful Divinities, Numina, Genii, and Daemons ; or, if you
will, Spirits and Fairies ; for I know not how else to
render the word Deiita ; but this second explanation
comes much to the same thing as the first, inasmuch as
the Indous believe that their souls are constituent parts
of the deity.

Other Pendets again gave me a more refined inter-
pretation. They said that the incarnations or apparitions
mentioned in their books, having a mystic sense, and
being intended to explain the various attributes of God,
ought not to be understood literally. Some of the most
learned of those Doctors frankly acknowledged to me that
nothing can be conceived more fabulous than all the
incarnations, and that they were only the invention of
legislators for the sake of retaining the people in some
sort of religion. On the supposition that our souls are
portions of the deity, a doctrine common to all Gentiles ,
must not (observed the Pendets) the reality of those
incarnations, instead of being made a mysterious part of
religion, be exploded by sound philosophy ? for, in respect
of our souls, we are God, and therefore it would in fact
be ourselves who had imposed upon ourselves a religious
worship, and a belief in the transmigration of souls, in
paradise, and in hell, — which would be absurd.

I am not less indebted to Messieurs Henry Lor and
Abraham Pager1 than to the Reverend Fathers Kirker and

1 Henry Lord, the Anglican chaplain at Surat and author of (i) A
Display of two forraigne Sects in the East Indies ; (2) A Discoverie of
the Sect of the Banians ; (3) The Religion of the Persees. Imprinted

334 THE GENTILES

Roa. I had collected a vast number of particulars
concerning the Gentiles, that I have since found in the
books written by those gentlemen, and which I could not
have arranged in the order which they have observed
without great labour and difficulty. It is not necessary,
therefore, that I could do more than touch briefly on the
studies and the science of this people ; which I shall do
in a general and desultory manner.

The town of Benares, seated on the Ganges, in a
beautiful situation, and in the midst of an extremely fine
and rich country, may be considered the general school
of the Gentiles. It is the Athens of India, whither resort
the Brakmens and other devotees ; who are the only
persons who apply their minds to study. The town
contains no colleges or regular classes, as in our
universities, but resembles rather the schools of the
ancients ; the masters being dispersed over different
parts of the town in private houses, and principally in
the gardens of the suburbs, which the rich merchants
permit them to occupy. Some of these masters have four
disciples, others six or seven, and the most eminent may
have twelve or fifteen; but this is the largest number.
It is usual for the pupils to remain ten or twelve years
under their respective preceptors, during which time the
work of instruction proceeds but slowly ; for the gene-

at London for Francis Constable, arid are to be Sold at his Shoppe in
Panic's Churchyard, at the signe of the Crane, 1630.

Abraham Roger, the first Dutch chaplain (1631-1641) at Pulicat,
the earliest settlement of the Hollanders on the mainland in India ;
their fort, which they called Geldria, having been built in 1609. He
returned home in 1647, and died at Gouda in 1649. His widow
published her husband's work, which is in every way superior to
Henry Lord's, as ' La Porle ouverte, pour parvenir a la connoissance
dti Paganisme Cache. Amsterdam, Chez Jean Schipper, 1670.' The
information contained in this book is very correct, as the author had
it all at first-hand from a Brahman, whom he calls Padmanaba
(Padmandbha), who knew Dutch, and who gave him a Dutch trans-
lation of Bhartrihari's Satakas, see p. 293 of Roger's book, the first
published translation from Sanskrit into any European language.

OF HINDOUSTAN 335

rality of them are of an indolent disposition, owing, in a
great measure, to their diet and the heat of the country.
Feeling no spirit of emulation, and entertaining no hope
that honours or emolument may be the reward of extra-
ordinary attainments, as with us, the scholars pursue
the studies slowly, and without much to distract their
attention, while eating their kichery,1 a mingled mess of
vegetables supplied to them by the care of rich merchants
of the place.

The first thing taught is the Sanserif, a language known
only to the Pendets, and totally different from that which
is ordinarily spoken in Hindoustan. It is of the Sanscrit
that Father Kirker has published an alphabet, which he
received from Father Roa.2 The name signifies fpure
language;' and because the Gentiles believe that the four
sacred books given to them by God, through the medium
of Brahma, were originally published in Sanscrit, they call
it the holy and divine language. They pretend that it is
as ancient as Brahma himself, whose age they reckon by
lecques, or hundreds of thousands of years, but I could not
rely upon this marvellous age. That it is extremely old,
however, it is impossible to deny, the books of their
religion, which are of unquestionable antiquity, being all
written in Sanscrit. It has also its authors on philosophy,
works on medicine written in verse, and many other kinds
of books, with which a large hall at Benares is entirely
filled.

When they have acquired a knowledge of Sanscrit,
which to them is difficult, because without a really good
grammar, they generally study the Purane,s which is an
abridgment and interpretation of the Beths ; those books
being of great bulk, at least if they were the Bel/is
which were shown to me at Benares. They are so scarce

1 See p. 152, footnote 2. 2 See p. 329, footnote 3.

3 The Puranas, eighteen in number ; and it is said that there are
also eighteen Upa-Puranas or minor Puranas, but many of them are
not now procurable.

336 THE GENTILES

that my Agah, notwithstanding all his diligence, has not
succeeded in purchasing a copy. The Gentiles indeed
conceal them with much care, lest they should fall into
the hands ot the Mahometans, and be burnt, as frequently
has happened.

After the Purane, some of the students apply their
minds to philosophy, wherein they certainly make very
little progress. I have already intimated that they are
of a slow and indolent temper, and strangers to the excite-
ment which the possibility of advancement in an honour-
able profession produces among the members of European
universities.

Among the philosophers who have flourished in
Hindousian six bear a great name;1 and from these have
sprung the six sects, which cause much jealousy and
dispute, the Pendets of each pretending that the doctrines
of their particular sect are the soundest, and most in con-
formity to the Beths. A seventh sect has arisen, called
Baute? which again is the parent of twelve others ; but
tin's sect is not so considerable as the former : its adherents
are despised and hated, censured as irreligious and
atheistical, and lead a life peculiar to themselves.

All their sacred books speak of first principles ; but
each in a manner totally different from the others. Some
say that everything is composed of small bodies which are
indivisible, not by reason of their solidity, hardness, and
resistance, but because of their smallness ; and upon this
notion they build many other hypotheses, which have an
affinity to the theories of Democritus and Epicurus ; but their

1 These schools of philosophy are : I. The Nyaya, founded by
Gautama ; 2. The Vaiseshika, by Kanada ; 3. The Sankhya, by
Kapila ; 4. The Yoga, by Patanjnli ; 5. The Mimansa, by Jaimini ;
6. The Vedanta, by Badarayana.

- Buddha, whose religion, Buddhism, although asserting itself from
the first as an independent religion, may be fairly said to be in many
respects a development of Brahmanism. This passage bears un-
mistakable signs of the Hindoo origin of the information regarding
this creed recorded by Bernier.

OF HINDOUSTAN 337

opinions are expressed in so loose and indeterminate a
manner that it is difficult to ascertain their meaning ; and
considering the extreme ignorance of the Pendets, those
even reputed the most learned, it may be fairly doubted
whether this vagueness be not rather attributable to the
expounders than to the authors of the books.

Others say that everything is composed of matter and
form, but not one of the doctors explains himself clearly
about matter, and still less about form. They are so far
intelligible, however, as to show me that they under-
stand neither the one nor the other in the same manner
as these terms are usually explained in our Schools, where
we speak of educing form out of the power of matter ; for
they always take their examples from material objects,
such as that of a vessel of soft clay, which a potter turns
and forms into various shapes.

Some hold that all is composed of the four elements and
out of nothing; yet they give not the least explanation
concerning commingling and transmutation. And as to
'nothing/ which is nearly tantamount to our privation,
they admit I know not how many sorts, which I imagine
the Pendets neither comprehend themselves, nor can make
intelligible to others.

Some maintain that light and darkness are the first
principles, and in support of this opinion they make a
thousand foolish and confused observations ; alleging
reasons disowned by true philosophy, and delivering
long discourses which would suit the ear only of the
vulgar and illiterate.

There are others again who admit privation as a
principle, or rather the privations which they distinguish
from nothing, and of which they make a long enumeration,
so useless and unphilosophical that I can scarcely believe
their authors would employ the pen about such trifling
opinions, and that consequently it cannot be contained in
their books.

Many, in fine, pretend that everything is the result of

THE GENTILES

fortuitous circumstances, and of these they also have a long,
strange, and tedious catalogue, worthy only of an ignorant
and low babbler.

In regard to all these principles, it is agreed by the
Pendets that they are eternal. The production from
nothing does not seem to have occurred to their mind,
any more than to the mind of many of the ancient philo-
sophers. There is one of the sages, however, who, they
pretend, has said something on the subject.

On physic they have a great number of small books,
which are rather collections of recipes than regular
treatises. The most ancient and the most esteemed is
written in verse. I shall observe, by the way, that their
practice differs essentially from ours, and that it is grounded
on the following acknowledged principles : a patient with
a fever requires no great nourishment; the sovereign
remedy for sickness is abstinence ; nothing is worse for a
sick body than meat broth, for it soon corrupts in the
stomach of one afflicted with fever ; a patient should be
bled only on extraordinary occasions, and where the
necessity is most obvious — as when there is reason to ap-
prehend a brain fever, or when an inflammation of the
chest, liver, or kidneys, has taken place.

Whether these modes of treatment be judicious, I leave
to our learned physicians to decide ; I shall only remark
that they are successful in Hindoustan, and that the Mogol
and Mahometan physicians, who follow the rules of Amcenna
and Averroes, adopt them no less than do those of the
Gentiles, especially in regard to abstinence from meat
broth. The Mogols, it is true, are rather more given to
the practice of bleeding than the Gentiles; for where
they apprehend the inflammations just mentioned, they
generally bleed once or twice, not in the trifling manner
of the modern practitioners of Goa1 and Paris, bu

1 The doctors of Goa were held in high esteem, and great honours,
such as being allowed to have umbrellas carried over them, were paid
to them. John Huyghen van Linschoten, who lived in Goa for five

OF HINDOUSTAN S39

copiously, like the ancients, taking eighteen or twenty
ounces of blood, sometimes even to fainting; thus fre-
quently subduing the disease at the commencement,
according to the advice of Galen, and as I have witnessed
in several cases.

It is not surprising that the Gentiles understand nothing
of anatomy. They never open the body either of man or
beast, and those in our household always ran away, with
amazement and horror, whenever I opened a living goat or
sheep for the purpose of explaining to my Agah the circula-
tion of the blood, and showing him the vessels, discovered
by Pecquet, through which the chyle is conveyed to the right
ventricle of the heart.1 Yet notwithstanding their pro-
found ignorance of the subject, they affirm that the number
of veins in the human body is five thousand, neither more
nor less ; just as if they had carefully reckoned them.

In regard to astronomy, the Gentiles have their tables,
according to which they foretell eclipses, not perhaps
with the minute exactness of European astronomers, but
still with great accuracy. They reason, however, in the
same ridiculous way on the lunar as on the solar eclipse,
believing that the obscuration is caused by a black, filthy,
and mischievous Deuta, named Rack,2 who takes possession
of the moon and fills her with infection. They also main-
tain, much on the same ground, that the moon is four

years, 1583-1588, says of them: 'There are in Goa many Heathen
phisitions which observe their gravities with hats carried over them
for the sunne, like the Portingales, which no other heathens doe, but
[onely] Ambassadors, or some rich Marchants. These Heathen
phisitions doe not onely cure there owne nations [and countriemen]
but the Portingales also, for the Viceroy himselfe, the Archbishop,
and all the Monkes and Friers doe put more trust in them then in
their own countrimen, whereby they get great [store of] money, and
are much honoured and esteemed.' — Voyage to the East Indies, Hak-
luyt Soc. ed. 1885, vol. i. p. 230.

1 See p. 324.

2 Rakshasas, literally giants, ' unknown creatures of darkness, to
which superstition of all ages and races has attributed the evils that
attend this life, and a malignant desire to injure mankind.'

340 THE GENTILES

hundred thousand coses, that is, above fifty thousand
leagues, higher than the sun ; that she is a luminous body,
and that we receive from her a certain vital liquid secre-
tion, which collects principally in the brain, and, descend-
ing thence as from its source into all the members of the
body, enables them to exercise their respective functions.
They believe likewise that the sun, moon, and stars are
all so many dei'das ; that the darkness of night is caused
by the sun retiring behind the Someire,1 an imaginary
mountain placed in the centre of the earth, in form like
an inverted sugar loaf, and an altitude of I know not how
many thousand leagues : so that they never enjoy the light
of day but when the sun leaves the back of this mountain.

In geography they are equally uninstructed. They
believe that the world is flat and triangular; that it is
composed of seven distinct habitations, differing in beauty,
perfection, and inhabitants, and that each is surrounded
by its own peculiar sea ; that one sea is of milk ; another
of sugar ; a third of butter ; a fourth of wine ; and so on ;
so that sea and land occur alternately until you arrive at
the seventh stage from the foot of the Someire mountain,
which is in the centre. The first habitation, or that
nearest to the Someire, is inhabited by Deiitas who are
very perfect ; the second has also Deiitas for inhabitants,
but they are less perfect ; and so it is with the rest, whose
inhabitants are less and less perfect, until the seventh,
which is our earth, inhabited by men infinitely less perfect
than any of the Deiitas; and finally that the whole of this
world is supported on the heads of a number of elephants,
whose occasional motion is the cause of earthquakes.

If the renowned sciences of the ancient Bragmanes o
the Indies consisted of all the extravagant follies which I
have detailed, mankind have indeed been deceived in the

1 By this is meant Su-meru, or the Golden Meru, the shape of
which is variously described in the different Puranas, though all re-
present it as of enormous size and great beauty — the Olympus of the
Hindoos.

OF HINDOUSTAN 341

exalted opinion they have long entertained of their
wisdom. I should find it difficult to persuade myself
that such was the fact, did I not consider that the religion
of the Indians has existed from time immemorial ; that it
is written in Sanscrit, as are likewise all their scientific
books ; that the Sanscrit has long become a dead
language, understood only by the learned ; and that its
origin is unknown : all which proves a very great antiquity.
I will now say a word or two on the worship of idols.

When going down the river Ganges, I passed through
Benares, and called upon the chief of the Pendels, who
resides in that celebrated seat of learning. He is a
FaJdre or Devotee so eminent for knowledge that Cha/i-
Jehan, partly for that consideration, and partly to gratify
the Rajas, granted him a pension of two thousand roupies,
which is about one thousand crowns. He is a stout,
well-made man, and his dress consists of a white silk
scarf, tied about the waist, and hanging half way down
the leg, and of another tolerably large scarf of red
silk, which he wears as a cloak on his shoulders. I
had often seen him in this scanty dress at Dehli, in the
assembly of the Omrahs and before the King, and met
him in the streets either on foot or in a paleky. During
one year he was in the constant habit of visiting my Agah,
to whom he paid his court in the hope that he would
exercise his influence to obtain the pension of which
Aureng-Zebe f anxious to appear a true Musulman, deprived
him on coming to the throne. I formed consequently a
close intimacy with this distinguished personage, with
whom I had long and frequent conversations ; and when
I Visited him at Benares he was most kind and attentive,
giving me a collation in the university library,1 to which

1 Tavernier, when travelling from Agra to Bengal in 1665, on which
journey he was accompanied by Bernier, was at Benares on the nth,
I2th, and I3th December of that year. He tells us (Travels, vol. ii.
pp. 234, 235) that adjoining a great temple, 'on the side which faces
the setting sun at midsummer, there is a house which serves as a

342 THE GENTILES

he invited the six most learned Pendets in the to
Finding myself in such excellent company, I determined
to ascertain their opinion of the adoration of idols. I told
them I was leaving the Indies scandalised at the
prevalence of a worship which outraged common sense,
and was totally unworthy such philosophers as I had then
the honour of addressing. fWe have indeed in our
temples/ said they, 'a great variety of images, such as
that of Brahma, of Mehadeu^ of Genicli^ and of Gavani,5
who are the principal and the most perfect of the Deutas,
and we have many others esteemed less perfect. To all
these images we pay great honour ; prostrating our
bodies, and presenting to them, with much ceremony,
flowers, rice, scented oil, saffron and other similar articles.
Yet do we not believe that these statues are themselves
Brahma or Bechen ; 4 but merely their images and repre-
sentations. We show them deference only for the sake
of the deity whom they represent, and when we pray
it is not to the statue, but to that deity. Images are ad-
mitted in our temples, because we conceive that prayers
are offered up with more devotion where there is some-
thing before the eyes that fixes the mind ; but in fact we
acknowledge that God alone is absolute, that He only
is the omnipotent Lord.'

I have neither added to nor taken from the answer
that the Pendets gave me j but I suspect it was so framed

college, which the Raja JAI SINGH, the most powerful of the idol-
atrous princes, who was then in the Empire of the GREAT MOGUL,
has founded for the education of the youth of good families. I saw
the children of this Prince, who were being educated there, and had
as teachers several Brahmins^ who taught them to read and write in
a language which is reserved to the priests of the idols, -and is very
different from that spoken by the people.'

1 Maha-Deva, the great god, one of the names of Siva.

2 Ganesh, the son of Siva and Parvati, the god of good luck.

3 Probably a misprint for Havani^ meaning Bhawani, one of the
names of the wife of Siva.

4 Vishnu, the preserver and restorer.

OF HINDOUSTAN 343

as to correspond with the tenets of Christianity. The
observations made to me by other learned Pendets were
totally different.

I then turned the conversation to the subject of
chronology, and my company soon showed me a far
higher antiquity than ours. They would not say that
the world was without a beginning; but the great age
they gave it sounded almost as if they had pronounced it
eternal. Its duration, said they, is to be reckoned by
four DgugueSj or distinct ages ; l not ages composed, as
with us, of an hundred years, but of one hundred lecques,
that is to say, of an hundred times one hundred thousand
years. I do not recollect exactly the number of years
assigned to each Dgugue, but I know that the first, called
Sate-Dgugue, continued during a period of five-and-twenty
lecques of years ; that the second, called Trita, lasted above
twelve lecques; the third, called Duapor, subsisted, if I
mistake not, eight lecques and sixty-four thousand years; and
the fourth, called the Kale-Dgugue, is to continue I forget
how many lecques of years. The first three, they said, and
much of the fourth, are passed away, and the world will
not endure so many ages as it has done, because it is
destined to perish at the termination of the fourth
Dgugue, when all things will return to their first prin-
ciples. Having pressed the Pendets to tell me the exact
age of the world, they tried their arithmetical skill over
and over again ; but finding that they were sadly
perplexed, and even at variance as to the number of
lecques, I satisfied myself with the general information that
the world is astonishingly old. Whenever any of these
learned Brahmens is urged to state the facts on which he
grounds his belief of this vast antiquity, he entertains the
inquirer with a set of ridiculous fables, and finishes by

1 Yugas or ages, concerning the correct method of reckoning which
there are many conflicting accounts. They are termed the Krita
(same as the Sate, for Satya, of Bernier's enumeration), Treta, Uwapara,
and Kali Yuga.

344 THE GENTILES

asserting that it is so stated in their Beths, or Books of the
Laws, which have been given to them by Brahma.

I then tried them on the nature of their Deutas, but
their explanation was very confused. These Gods consist,
they said, of three kinds, good, bad, and indifferent. Some
of the learned believe that the Deutas are composed of fire,
others that they are formed of light, and many are of
opinion that they are Biapek;1 a word of which I could ob-
tain no clearer explication than that God is Biapek, that our
soul is Biapek, and that whatever is Biapek is incorruptible
and independent of time and place. There arePendets again
who, according to my learned host and his companions,
pretend that Deutas are only portions of the divinity ; and
lastly, others consider them as certain species of distinct
divinities, dispersed over the surface of the globe.

I remember that I also questioned them on the nature
of the Lengue-cherire? which some of their authors admit ;
but I could elicit no more from them than what I had
long before learnt from our Pendet ; namely, that the
seeds of plants, of trees, and of animals do not receive a
new creation ; that they have existed, scattered abroad
and intermixed with other matter, from the first creation
of the world ; and that they are nothing more or less, not
only in potentiality, as it is called, but in reality, than
plants, trees and animals entirely perfect, but so minute
that their separate parts only become visible when being
brought to their proper place, and there receiving
nourishment they develop and increase ; so that the
seed of an apple- or pear-tree is a Lengue-cherire, a small

1 For vy&paka (Sanskrit), all-pervading.

2 Linga, or spiritual body, of the Bhagavad Gith, or Sacred Lay, the
great Sanskrit philosophical poem. Bernier here alludes to the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul and the transmigration of the
soul, after the material body formed in the womb has been dissolved
into its primary elements after death. The spiritual body (lingo),
formed of the finer elements of matter, then accompanies the soul in
all its migrations, until the latter has attained to nirvana^ or absorp-
tion into the Supreme Creator.

OF HINDOUSTAN 345

apple- or pear-tree, perfect in all its essential parts ; and
the seed of a horse, of an elephant, or of a man is a
Lengue-cherire, a small horse, a small elephant or a small
man, which requires only life and nourishment in order
to its visibly assuming its proper form.

In conclusion, I shall explain to you the Mysticism of a
Great Sect J which has latterly made great noise in Hin-
doustan, inasmuch as certain Pendets or Gentile Doctors
had instilled it into the minds of Dara and Sultan Sujah.
the elder sons of Chah-Jehan?

You are doubtless acquainted with the doctrine of

1 In the original, ' le mystere d'une grande Cabale.'

2 Mirza Muhammad Kazim, the historian, in his Alaingir N&mat
which is a history of the first ten years of the reign of the Emperor
Alamgir (Aurangzeb), written in 1688, treats of the heresy of Dara
Shikoh as follows : —

' Dara Shukoh in his later days did not restrain himself to the free-
thinking and heretical notions which he had adopted under the name
of Tasawwuf (Sufism), but showed an inclination for the religion and
institutions of the Hindus. He was constantly in the society of
Brdhmans, Jogis, and Sannydsis, and he used to regard these worthless
teachers of delusions as learned and true masters of wisdom. He
considered their books, which they call Bed, as being the Word of
God and revealed from Heaven, and he called them ancient and
excellent books. He was under such delusion about this Bed that
he collected Brahmans and Sannyasis from all parts of the country,
and paying them great respect and attention, he employed them in
translating the Bed. He spent all his time in this unholy work, and
devoted all his attention to the contents of these wretched books. . . .
Through these .perverted opinions he had given up the prayers, fasting,
and other obligations imposed by the law. ... It became manifest that
if Dara Shukoh obtained the throne and established his power, the
foundations of the faith would be in danger and the precepts of Islam
would be changed for the rant of infidelity and Judaism.'— Elliot,
History of India, vol. vii. page 179. For a definition of Sufism, which
is and always has been looked upon as rank heresy by orthodox
Moslems, see p. 320, footnote 2. Sannydsi is the name in modern
times for various sects of Hindoo religious mendicants who wander
about and subsist upon alms; the 'naked Fakires* described by
Bernier (p. 317), of whom Sarmet was one. According to the laws
of Manu, the life of a Brahman was divided into four stages, the
fourth of which was that of a Sannyasf. ' The religious mendicant

346 THE GENTILES

many of the ancient philosophers concerning that great
life-giving principle of the world, of which they argue
that we and all living creatures are so many parts : if we
carefully examine the writings of Plato and Aristotle, we
shall probably discover that they inclined towards this
opinion. This is the almost universal doctrine of the
Gentile Pendets of the Indies, and it is this same doctrine
which is held by the sect of the Soufys and the greater
part of the learned men of Persia at the present day, and
which is set forth in Persian poetry in very exalted and
emphatic language, in their Goul-tchen-raz,1 or Garden of
Mysteries. This was also the opinion of Flud* whom

who, freed from all forms and observances, wanders about and subsists
on alms, practising or striving for that condition of mind which,
heedless of the flesh, is intent only upon the Deity and final absorp-
tion.'— Dowson, Classical Diet, of Hindu Mythology, London, 1879.

1 The Gulshan Rdz, or 'Mystic Rose Garden,' was composed in
717 A.H. (1317 A.D.) in answer to fifteen questions on the doctrines of
the Sufis propounded by Amir Syad Hosaini, a celebrated Sufi of
Khorasan. Hardly anything is known of the author, Muhammad
Shabistari, further than that he was born at Shabistar, a village in
Azarbaijan, and that he wrote this poem and died at Tabriz, the
capital town of the same province, in 720 A.H. = 1320 A.D. ' To the
European reader the Gulshan Raz is useful as being one of the clear-
est explanations of that peculiar phraseology which pervades Persian
poetry, and without a clear understanding of which it is impossible to
appreciate that poetry as it deserves. And it is also interesting as
being one of the most articulate expressions of " Sufism," that remark-
able phrase of Muhammadan religious thought which corresponds
to the mysticism of European theology.' See the Gulshan Raz
of Najm ud din, othet wise called Sa\i ud din Mahmttd Shabistari
Tabrizi. Translated by E. H. Whinfield, M.A., of the Bengal Civil
Service. Wyman and Co., Publishers, Hare Street, Calcutta, 1876.

2 Robert Flud, or Fludd, Physician, healer by 'faith-natural,' and
Rosicrucian, was born at Bearsted in Kent in 1574, and died in
London, 1637. He is the chief English representative of that school of
medical mystics who laid claim to the possession of the key to universal
science, and his voluminous writings on things divine and human,
attracted more attention abroad than in his own country. Gassendi's
contribution to the controversy was his Exarnen Philosophiae Flud-.
danae, published in 1633, and an earlier treatise, published in 1631,

OF HINDOUSTAN 347

our great Gassendy has so ably refuted ; and it is similar
to the doctrines by which most of our alchymists have
been hopelessly led astray. Now these Sectaries or Indou
Pendets, so to speak, push the incongruities in question
further than all these philosophers, and pretend that God,
or that supreme being whom they call Achar l (immov-
able, unchangeable) has not only produced life from his
own substance, but also generally everything material or
corporeal in the universe, and that this production is not
formed simply after the manner of efficient causes, but
as a spider which produces a web from its own navel, and
withdraws it at pleasure. The Creation then, say these
visionary doctors, is nothing more than an extraction or
extension of the individual substance of God, of those
filaments which He draws from his own bowels ; and, in
like manner, destruction is merely the recalling of that
divine substance and filaments into Himself; so that the
last day of the world, which they call maperle or pralea,2
and in which they believe every being will be annihilated,
will be the general recalling of those filaments which God
had before drawn forth from Himself. — There is, therefore,
say they, nothing real or substantial in that which we
think we see, hear or smell, taste or touch ; the whole of
this world is, as it were, an illusory dream, inasmuch as
all that variety which appears to our outward senses is
but one only and the same thing, which is God Himself;
in the same manner as all those different numbers, of ten,
twenty, a hundred, a thousand, etc., are but the frequent
repetition of the same unit. — But ask them some reason
for this idea ; beg them to explain how this extraction and
reception of substance occurs, or to account for that ap-
parent variety ; or how it is that God not being corporeal

1 See p. 325.

2 Maha-pralaya, or total dissolution of the universe at the end of a
kalpa (a day and night of Brahma, equal to 4,320,000,000 years) when
the seven lokas (divisions of the universe) and their inhabitants, rncn,
saints, gods, and Brahma himself, are annihilated. Prala)a is a
modified form of dissolution.

348 THE GENTILES

but biapek, as they allow, and incorruptible, He can be
thus divided into so many portions of body and soul, they
will answer you only with some fine similes : — That God
is as an immense ocean in which many vessels of water
are in continual motion ; let these vessels go where they
will, they always remain in the same ocean, in the same
water ; and if they should break, the water they contain
would then be united to the whole, to that ocean of which
they were but parts. — Or they will tell you that it is with
God as with the light, which is the same everywhere, but
causes the objects on which it falls to assume a hundred
different appearances, according to the various colours or
forms of the glasses through which it passes. — They will
never attempt to satisfy you, I say, but with such com-
parisons as these, which bear no proportion with God, and
which serve only to blind an ignorant people. In vain
will you look for any solid answer. If one should reply
that these vessels might float in a water similar to their
own, but not in the same ; and that the light all over the
world is indeed similar, but not the same, and so on to
other strong objections which may be made to their
theory, they have recourse continually to the same similes,
to fine words, or, in the case of the Soufys, to the beautiful
poems of their Goul-tchen-raz.

Now, Sir, what think you ? Had I not reason from all
this great tissue of extravagant folly on which I have re
marked ; from that childish panic of which I have spoken
above ; from that superstitious piety and compassion
toward the sun in order to deliver it from the malignant
and dark Deiita ; from that trickery of prayers, of ablutions,
of dippings, and of alms, either cast into the river, o:
bestowed on Brahmens ; from that mad and infernal hardi-
hood of women to burn themselves with the body of those
husbands whom frequently they have hated while alive;
from those various and frantic practices of the Fa hires ;
and lastly, from all that fabulous trash of their Beths and
other books ; was I not justified in taking as a motto to

OF HINDOUSTAN 34-9

this letter, — the wretched fruit of so many voyages and
so many reflections, a motto of which the modern satirist
has so well known how to catch and convey the idea
without so long a journey — 'There are no opinions too
extravagant and ridiculous to find reception in the mind
of man ' ?

To conclude, you will do me a kindness by delivering
Monsieur Chapelle s l letter into his own hands; it was he who
first obtained for me that acquaintance with your intimate
and illustrious friend, Monsieur Gassendi, which has since
proved so advantageous to me. I am so much obliged to
him for this favour that I cannot but love and remember
him wherever my lot may be cast. I also feel myself under
much obligation to you, and am bound to honour you all
my life, not only on account of the partiality you have
manifested toward me, but also for the valuable advice
contained in your frequent letters, by which you have
aided me during my journeys, and for your goodness in
having sent me so disinterestedly and gratuitously a collec-
tion of books to the extremity of the world, whither my
curiosity had led me; while those of whom I requested
them, who might have been paid with money which I had
left at Marseilles, and who in common politeness should have
sent them, deserted me and laughed at my letters, looking
on me as a lost man whom they were never more to see.

1 The letter referred to, despatched, as was the present one, from
Chiras, but on the loth June 1668, Concerning his intention of resuming
his studies, on some points -which relate to the doctrine of atoms, and to
the nature of the human understanding^ is not printed in this present
edition. It contains much curious matter, but nothing directly relating
to Bernier's Indian experiences. Claude-Emmanuel Luillier Chapelle
(1626-1645) was a natural son of Francois Luillier's, at whose house
Gassendi was a frequent guest ; struck by the talent of young Chapelle
he gave him lessons in philosophy together with Moliere and Bernier.

FIRST LETTER

TO MONSIEUR

DE MERVEILLES

Written at Dehli, the 14th December 1664,
Aureng-Zebe being about to set forth.

Concerning the March of Aureng-Zebe. His Army, with the
horse Artillery which as a rule he retains as a body-guard.
The State maintained by his principal Nobles. The causes
of the badness of the water, and various other details
worthy of note when travelling in the Indies.

O N S I E U R,

SINCE the time of Aureng-Zebe 's recovery it had been
constantly rumoured that he intended to visit Lahor
and Kachemire, in order to benefit his health by change of
air and avoid the approaching summer heat, from which
a relapse might be apprehended. Many intelligent persons,
it is true, could scarcely persuade themselves that the King
would venture upon so long a journey while his fathe
remained a prisoner in the citadel of Agra. Considerations
of policy, however, have yielded to those of health ; if in-
deed this excursion may not rather be attributed to the

860

JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

351

arts and influence of Rauchenara-Begum, who has been
long anxious to inhale a purer air than that of the Sera-
glio, and to appear in her turn amid a pompous and mag-
nificent army, as her sister Begum-Saheb had done during
the reign of Chah-Jehan.

The King left this city on the sixth of December, at
three o'clock in the afternoon ; a day and hour which,
according to the astrologers of Dehli, cannot fail to prove
propitious to long journeys. Having reached Chah-limar,

FIG. 12. — Raushan Ara Begum.

his country villa, which is about two leagues distant from
the capital, he remained there six whole days in order to
afford time for the preparations required by an expedition
which was to last eighteen months. We hear to-day that
he has set out with the intention of encamping on the
Lahor road, and that after two days he will pursue his
journey without further delay.

He is attended not only by the thirty-five thousand

352 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIR2

cavalry which at all times compose his body-guard, and by
infantry exceeding ten thousand in number, but likewise
by the heavy artillery and the light or stirrup-artillery, so
called because it is inseparable from the King's person,
which the large pieces of ordnance must occasionally quit
for the high roads, in order that they may proceed with
greater facility. The heavy artillery consists of seventy
pieces, mostly of brass. Many of these cannon are so
ponderous that twenty yoke of oxen are necessary to draw
them along ; and some, when the road is steep or rugged
require the aid of elephants, in addition to the oxen, to
push the carriage-wheels with their heads and trunks.
The stirrup-artillery is composed of fifty or sixty small
field-pieces, all of brass ; each mounted, as I have observed
elsewhere, on a small carriage of neat construction and
beautifully painted, decorated with a number of red
streamers, and drawn by two handsome horses, driven by
an artilleryman. There is always a third or relay horse,
which is led by an assistant gunner. These field-pieces
travel at a quick rate, so that they may be ranged in front
of the royal tent in sufficient time to fire a volley as a
signal to the troops of the King's arrival.

So large a retinue has given rise to a suspicion that
instead of visiting Kachemire, we are destined to lay siege
to the important city of Kandahar, which is situated
equally on the frontiers of Persia, Hindoustan and Usbec.
It is the capital of a fine and productive country, yielding
a very considerable revenue ; and the possession of it has
consequently been at all times warmly contested between
the Monarchs of Persia and India.

Whatever may be the destination of this formidable
force, every person connected therewith must hasten to
quit Dehli, however the urgency of his affairs may require
his stay ; and were I to delay my own departure I should
find it difficult to overtake the army. Besides, my Navaab,
or Agah, Danech-mend-kan, expects my arrival with much
impatience. He can no more dispense with his philo-

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 353

sophical studies in the afternoon than avoid devoting
the morning to his weighty duties as Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs and Grand Master of the Horse.
Astronomy, geography, and anatomy are his favourite
pursuits, and he reads with avidity the works of Gassendy
and Descartes.1 I shall commence my journey this very
night, after having finally arranged all my affairs, and
supplied myself with much the same necessaries as if I
were a cavalry officer of rank. As my pay is one hundred
and fifty crowns per month, I am expected to keep two
good Turkoman horses, and I also take with me a power-
ful Persian camel and driver, a groom for my horses, a
cook and a servant to go before my horse with a flagon
of water in his hand, according to the custom of the
country. I am also provided with every useful article,
such as a tent of moderate size, a carpet, a portable
bed2 made of four very strong but light canes, a pillow,
a couple of coverlets, one of which, twice doubled, serves
for a mattress, a soufra? or round leathern table-cloth
used at meals, some few napkins of dyed cloth, three
small bags with culinary utensils which are all placed
in a large bag, and this bag is again carried in a
very capacious and strong double sack or net made of
leathern thongs. This double sack likewise contains the
provisions, linen, and wearing apparel, both of master and
servants. I have taken care to lay in a stock of excellent
rice for five or six days' consumption, of sweet biscuits
flavoured with anise, of limes and sugar. Nor have I
forgotten a linen bag with its small iron hook for the
purpose of suspending and draining days, or curds ;
nothing being considered so refreshing in this country as

1 See p. 324.

2 In the original, //'/ & sangles, a camp-bed with ordinary webbing or
tape (newdr in Ilindostanee), in common use at the present day, most
useful for travelling in Kashmir.

3 Sufra, sometimes made of cotton chintz. Leather ones, of the
sambhur deer-skins are still made in the Gorakhpur district of North
ern India.

354, JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

lemonade and days.1 All these things, as I said before,
are packed in one large sack, which becomes so unwieldy
that three or four men can with difficulty place it on the
camel, although the animal kneels down close to it, and
all that is required is to turn one of the sides of the sack
over its back.

Not a single article which I have mentioned could
conveniently be spared during so extended an excursion
as the one in prospect. Here we cannot expect the
comfortable lodgings and accommodations of our own
country ; a tent will be our only inn, and we must make
up our minds to encamp and live after the fashion of
Arabs and Tartars. Nor can we hope to supply our wants
by pillage : in Hindoustan every acre of land is considered
the property of the King, and the spoliation of a peasant
would be a robbery committed upon the King's domain.
In undertaking this long march it is consoling to reflect
that we shall move in a northern direction, that it is the
commencement of winter, and that the periodical rains
have fallen. This is, indeed, the proper season for
travelling in the Indies, the rains having ceased, and the
heat and dust being no longer intolerable. I am also
happy at the idea of not being any longer exposed to the
danger of eating the bazar bread 2 of Dehli, which is often
badly baked and full of sand and dust. I may hope, too,

1 Dahi, the curdled milk so well known to all Anglo-Indians, some-
what resembling the dicke milch (thickened milk) of Northern Germany.
Ovington, at p. 310 of A voyage to Suratt in the year 1689, Lond. 1696,
describes it very correctly as follows : ' Dye is a particular innocent kind
of Diet, fed upon by the Indians for the most part about Noon. It is
sweet Milk turn'd thick, mix'd with boil'd Rice and Sugar, and is very
effectual against the Rage of Fever and of Fluxes, the prevailing Dis-
tempers of India. Early in the Morning, or late at Night, they
seldom touch it, because they esteem it too cool for their Stomachs
and Nocturnal Delights.'

2 Bazaar kl roli is still at a discount in India. It is considered
rather a reproach among the Moslems of Northern India to habitually
eat 'bazaar-baked bread,' as implying that their families are too indo-
lent, or for other reasons unable to provide good ' home-made ' bread.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 355

for better water than that of the capital, the impurities ot
which exceed my power of description ; as it is accessible
to all persons and animals, and the receptacle of every
kind of filth. Fevers most difficult to cure are engen-
dered by it, and worms are bred in the legs which
produce violent inflammation, attended with much danger.
If the patient leave Dehli, the worm is generally soon
expelled, although there have been instances where it has
continued in the system for a year or more. They are
commonly of the size and length of the treble string of a
violin, and might be easily mistaken for a sinew. In
extracting them great caution should be used lest they
break ; the best way is to draw them out little by little,
from day to day, gently winding them round a small twig
of the size of a pin.1

It is a matter of considerable satisfaction to me to
think that I shall not be exposed to any of these incon-
veniences and dangers, as my Navaab has with marked
kindness ordered that a new loaf of his own household

1 The Guinea-worm, a parasitic worm (Filaria Medinensis) inhabit-
ing the subcutaneous cellular tissue, so called on account of 'heir
prevalence in Guinea as recounted in Purchas. Indian medic-' ex-
perts, foremost among whom is Sir William Moore, K.C.I.E.,Q.H.P.,
of the Bombay Establishment, are of opinion that the 'fiery serpents'
with which the children of Israel were afflicted were Guinea-worms.
' 5. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore
have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ? for there
is no bread, neither is there any water ; and our soul loatheth this light
bread.' '6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and
they bit the people ; and much people of Israel died.' (Numbers xxi.)

Thanks to the measures for introducing improved sanitation into
India, one of the greatest benefits that British rule has conferred upon
that country, ' there is a consensus of opinion that dysentery has be-
come less severe in its nature and also less prevalent. Guinea- worm
has been banished from localities where it was formerly endemic.
Delhi-sore has become almost a memory of the past, as most opine
from the use of good water.' See Sir William Moore's paper on
Sanitary Progress in India ', read at a special meeting for the considera-
tion of questions relating to hygiene and demography in India, held
at the London University, I3th August 1891.

356 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

bread, and a sourai of Ganges water (with which, like
every person attached to the court, he has laden several
camels) 1 should be presented to me every morning. A
sourai is that tin flagon of water, covered with red cloth,
which a servant carries before his master's horse. It com-
monly holds a quart, but mine is purposely made to contain
two, a device which I hope may succeed. This flagon
keeps the water very cool, provided the cloth which covers
it be always moist. The servant who bears it in his hand
should also continue in motion and agitate the air ; or it
should be exposed to the wind, which is usually done by
putting the flagon on three neat little sticks arranged
so that it may not touch the ground. The moisture
of the cloth, the agitation of the air, or exposure to
the wind, is absolutely necessary to keep the water
fresh, as if this moisture, or rather the water which has
been imbibed by the cloth, arrested the little bodies, or
fiery particles, existing in the air at the same time that
it affords a passage to the nitrous or other particles
which impede motion in the water and produce cold,
in the same manner as glass arrests water, and allows
light to pass through it, in consequence of the contexture
and particular disposition of the particles of glass, and the
difference which exists between the minute particles of
water and those of light. It is only in the field that this
tin flagon is used. When at home, we put the water
into jars made of a certain porous earth, which are covered
with a wet cloth ; and, if exposed to the wind, these jars
keep the water much cooler than the flagon. The
higher sort of people make use of saltpetre, whether in
town or with the army. They pour the water, or any
other liquid they may wish to cool, into a tin flagon,
round and long-necked, as I have seen English glass
bottles. The flagon is then stirred, for the space of
seven or eight minutes, in water into which three or four
handfuls of saltpetre have been thrown. The liquid thus

1 See p. 221.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 357

becomes very cold and is by no means unwholesome as
I apprehended, though at first it sometimes affects the
bowels.1

But to what purpose am I indulging in scientific dis-
quisitions when on the eve of departure, when my
thoughts should be occupied with the burning sun to
which I am about to be exposed, and which in the Indies
it is sufficiently painful to endure at any season ; with the
daily packing, loading and unloading; with the never-
ceasing instructions to servants ; with the pitching and
striking of my tent ; with marches by day, and marches by
night ; in short, with the precarious and wandering life
which for the ensuing eighteen months I am doomed to
experience ? Adieu, my Friend ; I shall not fail to per-
form my promise, and to impart to you from time to time
all our adventures. The army on this occasion will advance
by easy marches : it will not be disquieted with the ap-
prehension of an enemy, but move with the gorgeous
magnificence peculiar to the Kings of Hwdottslan. I shall
therefore endeavour to note every interesting occurrence
in order that I may communicate it as soon as we arrive
at Lakor.

1 ' Saltpetre, which in gunpowder produces the explosive heat, is
used by his Majesty as a means for cooling water, and is thus a source
of joy for great and small.' — A in, p. 55.

SECOND LETTER
TO THE SAME

Written at Lahor, the 25th February 1665.
Aureng-Zebe having arrived there.

Concerning the extent, the magnificence, and the mode of
ordering the Camp of the Great Mogol. The number of
the Elephants, Camels, Mules, and Men-Porters necessary
for its transport. The arrangement of the Bazars or
Royal Markets, the quarters set apart for the Omrahs or
Nobles, and the rest of the Army. The area occcupicd by
the Army when thus encamped. The various difficulties
met with and how overcome. The measures taken to pre-
vent robberies. The modes of travelling adopted by the
King, the Princesses, and the rest of the Harem. The
risks one encounters on approaching too near the Sera-
glio. The various kinds of Hunting enjoyed by the King,
accompanied by all his Army. The number of persons
accompanying the Army, and how they exist.

O N S I E U R,

THIS is indeed slow and solemn marching, what we
here call a la Mogole. Lahor is little more than one
hundred and twenty leagues or about fifteen days' journey
from Dehli, and we have been nearly two months on the
road. The King, it is true, together with the greater
part of the army, diverged from the highway, in search

868

JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE 359

of better ground for the sports of the field, and for the
convenience of obtaining the water of the Gemna, which
we had gone in search of to the right ;l and we leisurely
skirted its bank, hunting and shooting amid grass so high
as almost to conceal our horsemen, but abounding in every
kind of game. We are now in a good town, enjoying
repose ; and I cannot better employ my time than in com-
mitting to paper the various particulars which have en-
gaged my mind since I quitted Dehli, Soon I hope to
conduct you to Kachemire, and to show you one of the most
beautiful countries in the world.

Whenever the King travels in military pomp he has
always two private camps ; that is to say, two separate
bodies of tents. One of these camps being constantly a
day in advance of the other, the King is sure to find at
the end of every journey a camp fully prepared for his
reception. It is for this reason that these separate bodies
of tents are called Peiche-kanes 2 or houses which precede.
The two Peiche-kanes are nearly equal, and to transport
one of them the aid of more than sixty elephants, two
hundred camels, one hundred mules, and one hundred
men-porters is required.3 The most bulky things are
carried by the elephants, such as the large tents, with
their heavy poles, which on account of their great length
and weight are made so as to be taken down into three
pieces. The smaller tents are borne by the camels, and
the luggage and kitchen utensils by the mules. To the
porters are confided the lighter and more valuable articles,
as the porcelain used at the King's table, the painted and
gilt beds, and those rich Karguais* of which I shall speak
hereafter.

1 See p. 221, footnote l.

2 Paish-khanah) advance house or camp, the double set of tents
which add so immensely to the comfort of * camping ' in India.

8 ' Each encampment requires for its carriage 100 elephants, 500
camels, 400 carts, and 100 bearers.' — Ain, p. 47.

4 Khargahs, folding tents, some with one, others with two doors,
and made in various ways.

360 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

One of the Peiche-kanes has no sooner reached the place
intended for the new encampment than the Grand Quarter-
Master selects some, fine situation for the King's tents,
paying, however, as much attention as possible to the
exact symmetry of the whole camp. He then marks out
a square, each side of which measures more than three
hundred ordinary paces. A hundred pioneers presently
clear and level this space, raising square platforms of
earth on which they pitch the tents. The whole of this
extensive square is then encompassed with kanates, or
screens, seven or eight feet in height, secured by cords
attached to pegs, and by poles fixed two by two in the
ground, at every ten paces, one pole within and the
other without, and each leaning upon the other. The
kanates are made of strong cloth, lined with printed Indian
calico, representing large vases of flowers.1 The royal
entrance, which is spacious and magnificent, is in the
centre of one of the sides of the square, and the flowered
calico of which it is composed, as well as that which lines
the whole exterior face of this side of the square, is of
much finer texture and richer than the rest.

The first and largest tent erected in the royal camp is
named Am-kas; being the place where the King and all
the nobility keep the mokam ; that is, where they assemble
at nine o'clock in the morning for the purpose of de-
liberating on affairs of state and of administering justice.2
The Kings of Hindoustan seldom fail, even when in the
field, to hold this assembly twice during the twenty-four
hours, the same as when in the capital. The custom is
regarded as a matter of law and duty, and the observance
of it is rarely neglected.3

The second tent, little inferior in size and somewhat

... - .

1 These kandts were technically called guldlbdr, and were a series
of folding screens, frames of wood covered with red cloth tied on with
tape, and fastened together with leather straps. See Ain, p. 54,

2 In the Emperor Akbar's camps this was a two-storied tent 01
pavilion. 8 See p. 266.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 36l

further within the enclosure, is called the gosle-kanc,1 or the
place for bathing. It is here that all the nobility meet
every evening to pay their obeisance to the King, in the
same manner as when the court is at Dehli. This evening
assembly subjects the Omrahs to much inconvenience;
but it is a grand and imposing spectacle in a dark night
to behold, when standing at some distance, long rows of
torches lighting these Nobles, through extended lanes of
tents, to the gosle-kane, and attending them back again to
their own quarters. These flambeaux, although not made
of wax, like ours in France, burn a long time. They merely
consist of a piece of iron hafted in a stick, and surrounded
at the extremity with linen rags steeped in oil, which
are renewed, as occasion requires, by the masalchis, or
link boys, who carry the oil in long narrow-necked vessels
of iron or brass.

Still deeper in the square is the third tent, smaller than
those I have spoken of, called Kaluet-hane, the retired spot,
or the place of the privy council. To this tent none but the
principal ministers of state have access, and it is here that
all the important concerns of the kingdom are transacted.

Advancing beyond the Kaluet-hane, you come to the
King's private tents, which are surrounded by small
kanates, of the height of a man, some lined with Masli-
patam chintz, painted over with flowers of a hundred
different kinds, and others with figured satin, decorated
with deep silken fringes.

Adjoining the royal tents are those of the Begums, or
Princesses, and of the great ladies and principal female
attendants of the Seraglio. These tents are also enclosed
on every side by rich kanates ; and in the midst of them
are the tents of the inferior female domestics and other
women connected with the Seraglio, placed generally in
much the same order, according to the offices of the re-
spective occupants.

1 The ghusl-khdna^ or bath-room, at that period the name given to
the private apartment in the Mogul's palace. See p. 265, footnote 2.

362 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

The Am-kas, and the five or six other principal tents, are
elevated above the rest, as well for the sake of keeping off
the heat as that they may be distinguished at a distance.
The outside is covered with a strong and coarse red cloth,
ornamented with large and variegated stripes ; but the
inside is lined with beautiful hand-painted chintz, manu-
factured for the purpose at Maslipatam, the ornamentation
of which is set off by rich figured satin of various colours,
or embroideries of silk, silver, and gold, with deep and
elegant fringes.1 Cotton mats, three or four inches in
thickness, are spread over the whole floor, and these again
are covered with a splendid carpet, on which are placed
large square brocade cushions to lean upon. The tents are
supported by painted and gilt pillars.

In each of the two tents wherein the King and nobility
meet for deliberation is erected a stage,2 which is most
sumptuously adorned, and the King gives audience under a
spacious canopy of velvet or flowered silk. The other
tents have similar canopies, and they also contain what are
called karguais or cabinets, the little doors of which are
secured with silver padlocks.3 You may form some idea
of them by picturing to yourself two small squares of
our folding screens, the one placed on the other, and
both tied round with a silken cord in such a manner
that the extremities of the sides of the upper square
incline towards each other so as to form a kind of dome.
There is this difference, however, between the karguais and
our screens, that all their sides are composed of very thin
and light deal boards painted and gilt on the outside, and
embellished around with gold and silk fringe. The inside
is lined with scarlet, flowered satin, or brocade.

I believe that I have omitted nothing of consequence
contained within the great square.

1 ' The inside is ornamented with brocade and velvet, and the out-
side with scarlet sackcloth, tied to the walls with silk tape.' — Ain, p. 54.

8 Such a stage or raised platform may still be seen in the ruins of
Fathpur Sikri, near Agra. 8 See p. 359.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 363

In describing what is to be seen without, I shall first
notice two handsome tents on either side of the grand
entrance, or royal gate.1 Here is to be seen a small
number of the choicest horses, saddled and superbly
caparisoned, ready to be mounted upon any emergency,
but intended rather for ceremony and parade.2

On both sides of the same royal gate are ranged the
fifty or sixty small field-pieces of which the stirrup-artillery
is composed, and which fire a salute when the King enters
his tent, by which the army is apprised of his arrival.

A free space, as extensive as may be convenient or
practicable, is always kept in front of the royal entrance,
and at its extremity there is a large tent called Nagar-kane?
because it contains the trumpets and the cymbals.

Close to this tent is another of a large size, called
tchauky-kane,* where the Omrahs in rotation mount guard
for twenty-four hours, once every week. Most of them,
however, order one of their own tents to be pitched in its
immediate vicinity, where they find themselves more com-
fortable and are in greater privacy.

Within a short distance of the three other sides of the
great square are the tents of officers and others appro-

1 The grand entrance was usually at the eastern end of the camp
enclosure.

2 Among them were two horses for the Emperor's own use, also
courier horses.

8 Properly Nakarah khdnah, the nakarah was a monster kettledrum.
Some were as high as four feet, resting on the ground and played upon
by one man with a pair of sticks. In each nakarah khanah, there
were twenty pairs, more or less, of these instruments, together with
trumpets and horns of various shapes, and cymbals (sanj) of which
three pairs were used. See p. 260, footnote 1.

4 Ckauki-khdnak, the first part of which has passed into English
slang, as the name for a prison.

' From predilection and a desire to teach soldiers their duties, as also
from a regard to general efficiency, His Majesty pays much attention
to the guards. If any one is absent without having a proper excuse, or
from laziness, he is fined one week's pay, or receives a suitable re-
primand.'— Aint p. 257.

364 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

priated to particular purposes, which, unless there be local
impediments, are always placed in the same relative
situation. Every one of these tents has its particular
appellation, but the names are difficult of pronunciation,
and as it is not within my scope to teach you the language
of the country, it may suffice to state that in one of them
are deposited the arms of the King ; in a second the rich
harnesses ; and in a third the vests of brocade, which are
the presents generally made by the King. The fruits, the
sweetmeats, the Ganges water, the saltpetre with which it
is cooled, and the belle, are kept in four other tents.
Betle is the leaf (of which I have spoken elsewhere1)
which, after it has undergone a certain preparation, is
given as a mark of royal favour (like coffee 2 in Turkey), and
which when masticated sweetens the breath and reddens
the lips. There are fifteen or sixteen other tents which
serve for kitchens and their appurtenances ; and in
the midst of all these are the tents of a great number of
officers and eunuchs. There are, lastly, six others, of
considerable length, for led horses ; and other tents for
choice elephants and for the animals employed in hunting ;
for the birds of prey that invariably accompany the court,
and are intended both for show, and for field sports ; for
the dogs ; the leopards for catching antelopes ; the
nil-ghaux, or grey oxen, which I believe to be a species of
elk ; 3 the lions and the rhinoceroses, brought merely for
parade ; the large Bengale buffaloes, which attack the lion ,
the tamed antelopes, frequently made to fight in the
presence of the King.

The quarters of the Monarch are understood to compre-

1 See p. 13.

2 Kauve in the original, as previously used, spelt fauve, by Bernier,
See p. 202. In Arabic kahwa. Most of the early writers who
mention this beverage employ similar derivatives, such as 'Caova,'
' Cahoa,' and ' Chaoua. '

3 The Hindostanee name is nilgatt, or ' blue cow,' and is the popular
name of the well-known large antelope common over the greater
portion of Northern India, the Portax pictus of Jerdon.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 365

hend not only the great square, but the numerous tents
situated without the square, to which I have just drawn
your attention. Their position is always in the centre of
the army, .or as much so as the nature of the ground will
admit. You will easily conceive that there is something
very striking and magnificent in these royal quarters, and
that this vast assemblage of red tents, placed in the centre
of a numerous army, produces a brilliant effect when seen
from some neighbouring eminence ; especially if the country
be open, and offer no obstruction to the usual and regular
distribution of the troops.1

The first care of the Grand Quarter-master 2 is, as before
remarked, to choose a suitable situation for the royal tents.
The Am-kas is elevated above eveiy other tent, because it
is the landmark by which the order and disposition of the
whole army is regulated. He then marks out the royal
bazars, from which all the troops are supplied. The
principal bazar is laid out in the form of a wide street,
running through the whole extent of the army, now on
the right, then on the left of the Am-kas, and always as
much as possible in the direction of the next day's en-
campment. The other royal bazars, which are neither so
long nor so spacious, generally cross this one, some on one
side and some on another side of the King's quarters. All
of them are distinguished by extremely long poles [cannes
tres-hautes] stuck in the ground at the distance of three
hundred paces from each other, bearing red standards,
and surmounted with the tails of the Great Tibet cows,
which have the appearance of so many periwigs.3

The quarter-master then proceeds to plan the quarters
for the Omrahs, that there may always be the same

1 Bernier's minute description of an Imperial camp is very correct,
as may be seen by referring to the plan of one, plate iv. , in vol. i.
of the late Professor Blochmann's translation of the Ain-i-Akbari.

2 ' Le grand Marechal des Logis,' the Mir-manzil of the Am.

3 A somewhat similar practice obtains at the present day in many
of the regimental bazaars in our cantonments in India.

' The tails of the Great Thibet cows ' are the yak tails still largely

366 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

observance of regularity, and that each nobleman may
placed at his usual distance from the royal square, whether
on the right or on the left, so that no individual may be
permitted to change the place allotted to him, or which
lie expressed a wish to occupy before the commencement
of the expedition.

The description I have given of the great square is, in
many particulars, applicable to the quarters of the Omrahs
and Rajas. In general they also have two peiche-kanes,
with a square of kanates enclosing their principal tents and
those of their wives. Outside this square are likewise
pitched the tents of their officers and troopers, and there
is a bazar in the form of a street, consisting of small tents
belonging to the followers of the army, who supply it with
forage, rice, butter, and other necessary articles of life.
The Omrahs need not, therefore, always have recourse to
the royal bazars, where indeed everything may be pro-
cured, almost the same as in the capital. A long pole is
planted at both ends of each bazar, and distinguished by a
particular standard, floating in the air, as high as those of
the royal bazars, in order that the different quarters may
be readily discerned from a distance.

The chief Omrahs and great Rajas pride themselves on
the loftiness of their tents, which must not, however, be
too conspicuous, lest the King perceive it and command
that the tents be thrown down, as he did on our late
march. For the same reason, the outside must not be
entirely red, there being none but the royal tents that can
be of that colour ; l and as a mark of proper respect every
tent has also to front the Am-kas, or quarters of the King.

The remainder of the ground, between the quarters of
the Monarch, those of the Omrahs,, and the bazars, is filled
with the tents of Mansebdars, or inferior Omralis, of

used in India by Rajas, Nawabs and others, as fly flappers, or, mounted
with silver in the hands of running footmen, etc., as marks of dignity ;
see p. 261. The Cannes trh hautes of the original might be translated
*tall bamboos,' of which such flag-staffs are generally made at the
present day. 1 See p. 362.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 367

tradespeople of every description, of civil officers and
other persons, who for various reasons follow the army;
and, last of all, the tents of those who serve in the light
and heavy artillery. The tents are therefore very
numerous, and cover a large extent of ground; though
with respect both to their number and the space occupied
by them very extravagant notions are formed. When
the army halts in a fine and favourable country, which
leaves it at liberty to adopt the well-understood rules and
order of a circular encampment, I do not believe that this
space measures more than two leagues, or perhaps two
leagues and a half1 in circumference, including here and
there several spots of unoccupied ground. It should be
mentioned, however, that the heavy artillery, which
requires a great deal of room, is commonly a day or two
in advance of the army.

What is said of the strange confusion that prevails in
the camp, and of the alarm thereby occasioned to a new-
comer, is also much exaggerated. A slight acquaintance
with the method observed in the quartering of the troops
will enable you to go, without much difficulty, from place
to place as your business may require ; the King's quarters,
the tents and standards peculiar to every Omrah, and the
ensigns and ' periwigs ' of the royal bazars, which are all
seen from a great distance, serving, after a little experi-
ence, for unerring guides.

Sometimes, indeed, notwithstanding all these precau-
tions, there will be uncertainty and disorder, particularly
on the arrival of the army at the place of encampment
in the morning, when every one is actively employed in
finding and establishing his own quarters. The dust that
arises often obscures the marks I have mentioned, and it
becomes impossible to distinguish the King's quarter,

1 The ' lieue ' of Bernier's narrative may be taken as 2 J miles. The
actual lieue de paste of France was equal to 2 miles and 743 yards. Dr.
Ball, in his edition of Travernier's Travels, takes the coss as equal to the
French lieue. The coss (kos) in Northern India measured in Bernier's
time 2 miles, 4 furlongs, 1 58 yards. See p. 284, footnote 3.

368 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRR

the different bazars, or the tents of the several 0
Your progress is besides liable to be impeded by the tents
then pitching, and by the cords extended by inferior
Omrahs, who have no peiche-kanes, and by Mansebdars
to mark their respective boundaries, and to prevent not
only the public path from passing through, but the fixing
of any strange tent near their own, where their wives, if
accompanying them, reside. A horde of their lusty
varlets, with cudgels l in their hands, will not suffer these
cords to be removed or lowered ; you then naturally retrace
your steps, and find that while you have been employed
in unavailing efforts to pass at one end, your retreat has
been cut off at the other. There is now no means of
extricating your laden camels but by menace and entreaty ;
outrageous passion, and calm remonstrance ; seeming as if
you would proceed to blows, yet carefully abstaining from
touching any one ; promoting a violent quarrel between
the servants of both parties, and afterward reconciling
them for fear of the consequences, and in this way taking
advantage of a favourable moment to pass your camels.
But the greatest annoyance is perhaps in the evening
when business calls you to any distance. This is the time
when the common people cook their victuals with a fire
made of cow and camel dung and green wood. The
smoke of so many fires of this kind, when there is little
wind, is highly offensive, and involves the atmosphere in
total darkness. It was my fate to be overtaken three or
four times by this wide-spreading vapour.2 I inquired, but
could not find my way : I turned and roamed about,
ignorant whither I went. Once I was obliged to stop
until the smoke dispersed, and the moon arose ; and at
another time I with difficulty reached the aguacy-di£, at
the foot of which I passed the night with my horse and

1 In the original gros bdtons, the well-known chaukidarf lathi
(watchmen's bamboo club) of that and the present period.

2 All those who have been out in camp in the cold weather in North-
ern India will be able to testify to the truth of this vivid picture of a
common experience.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 369

servant.1 The aguacy-du: resembles a lofty mast of a ship,
but is very slender, and takes down in three pieces. It is
fixed toward the King's quarters, near the tent called
nagar-kane, and during the night has a lighted lantern
suspended from the top. This light is very useful, for it
may be seen when every object is enveloped in impene-
trable darkness. To this spot persons who lose their way
resort, either to pass the night secure from all danger of
robbers, or to resume their search after their own lodgings.
The name aguacy-die may be translated Light of Heaven,
the lantern when at a distance appearing like a star.2

To prevent robberies every Omrah provides watchmen,
who continually perambulate his particular quarters during
the night, crying out Kaber-dar I or, Have a care ! and
there are guards posted round the whole army at every
five hundred paces, who kindle fires, and also cry out
Kaber-dar! Besides these precautions, the Cotoiial,3 or
Grand Provost, sends soldiers in every direction, who
especially pervade the bazars, crying out and sounding a
trumpet. Notwithstanding all these measures, robberies
are often committed, and it is prudent to be always on the
alert ; not to rely too much on the vigilance of servants ;
and to repose at an early hour, so as to watch during the
remainder of the night.

I will now proceed to describe the different modes of
travelling adopted by the Great Mogol on these occasions.

1 The sais or groom, who in India on such occasions follows close
behind his master.

2 The Akdsdiah, from dkds, sky, and diah, lamp, was a great feature
in the Imperial camp. * In order to render the royal camp conspicuous
to those who come from afar, His Majesty has caused to be erected in
front of the Durbar a pole upwards of forty yards high, which is
supported by sixteen ropes ; and on the top of the pole is a large
lantern which they call Akdsdiah. Its light is seen from great dis-
tances, guides the soldiers to the Imperial camp, and helps them to
find their tents. In former times, before the lamp was erected, the
men had to suffer hardships from not being able to find the road.' — Aint
pp. 49-50. 8 See p. 188, footnote \

370 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

Most commonly he is carried on men's shoulders in a
tact-ravan,1 or field throne, wherein he sits. This tact is a
species of magnificent tabernacle, with painted and gilt
pillars and glass windows, that are kept shut when the
weather is bad. The four poles of this litter are covered
either with scarlet or brocade, and decorated with deep
fringes of silk and gold. At the end of each pole are
stationed two strong and handsomely dressed men, who
are relieved by eight other men constantly in attendance.
Sometimes the King rides on horseback, especially when
the weather is favourable for hunting; and at other times
he is carried by an elephant in a mikdember, or in a hauze,
which is by far the most striking and splendid style of
travelling, as nothing can surpass the richness and magnifi-
cence of the harness and trappings. The mikdember is a
small house, or square wooden tower, gilt and painted ; 2
and the hauze,3 an oval chair with a canopy on pillars, also
superbly decorated with colours and gold.

In every march the King is accompanied by a great
number of Omralis and Rajas, who follow him closely on
horseback, placing themselves promiscuously in a body,
without much method or regularity. On the morning of a
journey, they assemble at break of day in the Am-kast with
the exception of those who may be exempted by age or the
nature of their office. They find these marches very
fatiguing, especially on hunting-days, being exposed like a
private soldier to the sun and dust, frequently until three
o'clock in the afternoon.

These luxurious lords move along very differently when
not in the train of the King : neither dust nor sun then
annoys them, but they are stretched, as on a bed, in a

1 Takht-i rawdn, see p. 128.

2 'They also put comfortable turrets on the backs of swift-paced
elephants, which serve as a travelling sleeping apartment.' — Aint
p. 131.

8 Similar to the modern howdah (a Hindostanee word modified from
the Arabic haudaj), but with a canopy.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 371

paleky, closed and covered or not as may be found more
agreeable ; sleeping at ease until they reach their tent,
where they are sure to find an excellent dinner, the kitchen
and every necessary article having been sent forward the
preceding night, immediately after supper. The Omrahs
are always surrounded by a number of well-mounted
cavaliers, called gourze-berdars, because they carry a kind of
club,1 or silver mace. The King is also attended by many
of them, who go before him, both on the right and on the
left, together with a multitude of footmen. The gourze-
berdars are picked, good-looking men, of fine figures, and
are employed to convey orders and despatches. With great
sticks in their hands they drive everybody before them,
and keep the way clear for the King.

The Cours follow the Rajahs surrounded by a large
number of players on cymbals and trumpets. The Cours,
as I before observed,2 consists of figures in silver, represent-
ing strange animals, hands, balances, fishes and other
mystical objects, borne at the end of large silver poles.

A numerous body of Mansebdars or inferior Omrafis
comes next, well mounted, and equipped with sword, quiver,
and arrows.3 This body is much more numerous than that
of Omrahs, which follows the King ; because not only the
Mansebdars who are on duty are obliged to assemble at
break of day near the royal tent, for the purpose of accom-
panying the King, but there are many who join the train in
the hope of attracting notice and obtaining preferment.

The Princesses and great ladies of the Seraglio have also
different modes of travelling. Some prefer tchaudoules*
which are borne on men's shoulders, and are not unlike
the tact-ravans. They are gilt and painted and covered
with magnificent silk nets of many colours, enriched with

1 See p. 263, footnote l.

2 See p. 266. The kur corresponded in some respects to the colours
ot a regiment, it had a special guard assigned to it, and was saluted
en various occasions.

3 Bernier has omitted to mention the bow and shield which also
formed part of their equipment. * Chaudols.

372 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

embroidery, fringes, and beautiful tassels. Others travel
in a stately and close paleky, gilt and covered, over which
are also expanded similar silk nets. Some again use
capacious litters, suspended between two powerful camels,
or between two small elephants. It is in this style
I have sometimes seen Rauchenara-Begum pursuing her
journey, and have observed more than once in front of the
litter, which was open, a young, well-dressed female slave,
with a peacock's tail in her hand, brushing away the dust,
and keeping off the flies from the Princess. The ladies are
not unfrequently carried on the backs of elephants, which
upon these occasions wear massive bells of silver, and are
decked with costly trappings, curiously embroidered. These
lovely and distinguished females, seated in Mikdembert, are
thus elevated above the earth, like so many superior beings
borne along through the middle region of the air. Each
Mikdember contains eight women, four on a side : it is
latticed and covered with a silken net, and yields not in
richness and splendour to the tchaudoule or the tact-ravan.

I cannot avoid dwelling on this pompous procession of
the Seraglio. It strongly arrested my attention during the
late march, and I feel delight in recalling it to my memory.
Stretch imagination to its utmost limits, and you can con-
ceive no exhibition more grand and imposing than when
Rauchenara-Begum, mounted on a stupendous Pegu elephant,
and seated in a Mikdember,^ blazing with gold and azure,
is followed by five or six other elephants with Mikdembers
nearly as resplendent as her own, and filled with ladies
attached to her household. Close to the Princess are
the chief eunuchs, richly adorned and finely mounted,
each with a wand of office in his hand ; and surrounding
her elephant, a troop of female servants, Tartars and
Kachmerys, fantastically attired and riding handsome pad-
horses. Besides these attendants are several eunuchs on
horseback, accompanied by a multitude of Pagys,2 or

1 For mekdambar.

8 The Portuguese word peaot from ptt foot, and meaning a footman,

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 373

lackeys on foot, with large canes, who advance a great way
before the Princess, both to the right and to the left, for
the purpose of clearing the road and driving before them
every intruder. Immediately behind Rauchenara-Be gum's
retinue appears a principal lady of the court, mounted and
attended much in the same manner as the Princess. This
lady is followed by a third, she by a fourth, and so on,
until fifteen or sixteen females of quality pass with a
grandeur of appearance, equipage, and retinue more or less
proportionate to their rank, pay, and office, There is
something very impressive of state and royalty in the
march of these sixty or more elephants ; in their solemn
and, as it were, measured steps ; in the splendour of the
Mikdembers, and the brilliant and innumerable followers in
attendance : and if I had not regarded this display of
magnificence with a sort of philosophical indifference, I
should have been apt to be carried away by such flights
of imagination as inspire most of the Indian poets, when
they represent the elephants as conveying so many
goddesses concealed from the vulgar gaze.

Truly, it is with difficulty that these ladies can be
approached, and they are almost inaccessible to the sight
of man. Woe to any unlucky cavalier, however exalted in
rank, who, meeting the procession, is found too near.
Nothing can exceed the insolence of the tribes of eunuchs
and footmen which he has to encounter, and they eagerly
avail themselves of any such opportunity to beat a man in
the most unmerciful manner. I shall not easily forget
being once surprised in a similar situation, and how narrowly
I escaped the cruel treatment that many cavaliers have
experienced : but determined not to suffer myself to be
beaten and perhaps maimed without a struggle, I drew my
sword, and having fortunately a strong and spirited horse,

Anglicised into peon ; also the Hindostanee word piydda, also meaning
a footman. Scotice, pedee (Latin, pedisequus], a footboy : * Wm. Gray,
Pedee to one Smith in the Rebel Life Guards,' — List of Kebtls in 1745,
p. 275. Scot. Hist. Soc., 1890.

374 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

I was enabled to open a passage, sword in hand, through
a host of assailants, and to dash across the rapid stream
which was before me. It is indeed a proverbial observa-
tion in these armies that three things are to be carefully
avoided : the first, getting among the choice and led horses,
where kicking abounds ; the second, intruding on the hunt-
ing ground; and the third, a too near approach to the
ladies of the Seraglio. It is much worse, however, in
Persia. I understand that in that country life itself is
forfeited if a man be within sight even of the eunuchs,
although he should be half a league distant from the
women ; and all the male inhabitants of the towns and
villages through which the Seraglio is to pass must abandon
their homes and fly to a considerable distance.

I shall now speak of the field sports of the King.1 1

1 * Superficial, worldly observers see in killing an animal a sort of
pleasure, and in their ignorance stride about, as if senseless, on the field
of their passions. But deep inquirers see in hunting a means of
acquisition of knowledge, and the temple of their worship derives from
it a peculiar lustre. This is the case with His Majesty. He always
makes hunting a means of increasing his knowledge, and besides, uses
hunting parties as occasions to inquire, without having first given
notice of his coming, into the condition of the people and the army. He
travels incognito, and examines into matters referring to taxation, or
to Sayiirghdl lands, or to affairs connected with the household. He
lifts up such as are oppressed, and punishes the oppressors. On
account of these higher reasons His Majesty indulges in the chase, and
shews himself quite enamoured of it. Short-sighted and shallow
observers think that His Majesty has no other object in view but hunt-
ing ; but the wise and experienced know that he pursues higher aims. '
— Ain, p. 282. Sayurghal lands were those which had been given for
benevolent purposes of various kinds. One of the classes of men on
whom they were bestowed were ' inquirers after wisdom, who have
withdrawn from all worldly occupation, and make no difference between
night and daytime in searching after true knowledge. — Ain, p. 268.
An early example of ' endowments for research,' in fact. Such lands
were hereditary, and differed for this reason from Jagir lands, which
were conferred for a specified time, and to which Bernier alludes at
p. 213. Akbar, however, considerably interfered with these Sayurghal
lands, arbitrarily resuming many of them and increasing his domain
lands to the ruin of many a family.

S75

could never conceive how the Great Mogol could hunt with
an army of one hundred thousand men; but there
certainly is a sense in which he may be said to hunt
with two hundred thousand, or with any number of which
his army may consist.

In the neighbourhoods of Agra and Dehli, along the
course of the Gemna, reaching to the mountains, and even
on both sides of the road leading to Lahor, there is a large
quantity of uncultivated land, covered either with copse
wood or with grasses six feet high. All this land is guarded
with the utmost vigilance ; and excepting partridges, quails,
and hares, which the natives catch with nets, no person, be
he who he may, is permitted to disturb the game, which
is consequently very abundant.

Whenever the Monarch is about to take the field, every
gamekeeper [Gardes Chasses] near whose district the army
is to pass is called upon to apprise the Grand Master of the
Hunt of the various sorts of game under his particular charge,
and of the places where they are in the greatest plenty.
Sentries are then stationed at the different roads of that
district, to guard the tract of ground selected, which extends
sometimes four or five leagues ; and while the army is on
its march, on one side or the other, so as to avoid that
tract, the King enters it with as many Omrahs and other
persons as have liberty to do so, and enjoys, leisurely and
uninterruptedly, the sports of the field, vaiying them ac-
cording to the nature of the game.

I shall, in the first place, describe the manner in which
they chase antelopes with tame leopards.1

1 The cheetah or hunting leopard is still largely employed, chiefly in
the Native States of India, for the sport described by Bernier. In the
A in there is a story told of how once, ' from the kindness shown by His
Majesty, a deer made friendship with a leopard. They lived together
and enjoyed each other's company. The most remarkable thing was
this, that the leopard when let off against other deer would pounce
upon them as any other leopard.'

The lynx, the Hindostanee name for which, from the Persian, is.v/jv///-
gosh, or ' black ear,' was also employed in the chase by the Mogul

376 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

I think that I have elsewhere told you that there are in
the Indies large numbers of antelopes, very much resembling
our fawns in shape ; that they move generally in herds ;
and that every herd, which is never composed of more
than five or six, is followed by a male, who is easily dis-
tinguished by his colour. When one of these little troops
is discovered, the first step is to have it seen by the
leopard, who is kept chained on a small car.1 The saga-
cious and cunning animal does not, as might be expected,
run at once towards the antelopes, but winds about, hides
himself, crouches, and in this cautious manner approaches
them unperceived, so as to give himself a fair chance of
catching them with those five or six bounds, which the
leopard is noted for making with incredible agility. If
successful, he gluts himself with their blood, heart, and
liver ! but if he miss his prey, as frequently happens, he
makes no other effort, but stands perfectly still. It would
indeed be useless to contend with these animals in a fair
race, for they run much more fleetly and much longer
than the leopard. His keeper finds no great difficulty in
securing him again on the car ; he approaches him quietly,

Emperors. * His Majesty is very fond of using this plucky little animal
for hunting purposes. In former times it would attack a hare or a fox ;
but now it kills black buck.' — Ain, p. 290. Capt. Alexander Hamilton,
in his New Account of the East Indies, Edinburgh, 1727, 2 vols. 8vo,
gives (vol. i. p. 124) an exceedingly quaint and graphic description of
this mode of hunting, as follows : * Deer, Antelopes, Hares, and Foxes
are their wild Game, which they hunt with Dogs, Leopards, and a
small fierce Creature, called by them a Shoegoose. It is about the
Size of a Fox, with long prickt Ears like an Hare, and a Face
like a Cat, a gray Back and Sides, and Belly and Breast white. I
believe they are rare, for I never saw more than one. When they
are taken out to hunt an Horseman carries it behind him hood-winkt,
and their Deer and Antelopes, being pretty familiar, will not start
before horses come very near. He who carries the Shoegoose, takes off
the Hood, and shews it the Game, which, with large swift Springs, it
soon overtakes, and leaping on their Backs, and getting forward to
the Shoulders, scratches their Eyes out, and gives the Hunters an easy
prey. ' * Technically called a sagar,

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 377

caresses him, throws down a few pieces of flesh, and, cover-
ing his eyes, fastens his chain. During the march, one of
these leopards very unexpectedly afforded us this amuse-
ment, to the no small consternation, however, of many of us.
A troop of antelopes ran through the midst of the army,
as was indeed the case every day ; but these happened to
pass very close to two leopards who were placed as usual
on their car. One, whose eyes were not covered, made so
violent an effort as to break his chain, and rush after the
antelopes, but without catching any. Impeded, however,
in their flight, turned and pursued on all sides, one of them
could not avoid again approaching the leopard, who
pounced upon and seized the poor animal, notwithstand-
ing the crowds of camels and horses that were in his way,
and contrary to the common opinion that the leopard
never attacks the prey which he has once missed.

There is nothing very interesting in the mode of hunt-
ing the nil-ghaujc, or grey oxen ; which, as I before stated,
are a species of elk.1 They enclose them in great nets,
which are drawn closer by degrees ; and, when the space
is reduced to a small compass, the King enters with his
OmraJis and huntsmen, and the animal is killed with
arrows, short spikes, swords, and musketoons. Sometimes
these animals are slaughtered in such numbers that the
King sends quarters of them as presents to all the Omralis.

It is curious enough to observe the manner in which
cranes are caught. Their courageous defence in the air
against the birds of prey 2 affords much sport. Sometimes
they kill their assailants ; but from the slowness of their
movements in wheeling round they are overcome as the
number of their enemies increases.

1 See p. 364. The nilgau has a heavy shambling pace, and at the
present day it is not considered quite sportsmanlike to shoot them.

2 Hawks, of which several kinds were used. ' His Majesty, from
motives of generosity and from a wish to add splendour to his Court,
is fond of hunting with falcons, though superficial observers think that
merely hunting is his object.'— Ain, p. 294,

378 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

But of all the diversions of the field the hunting o
the lion1 is not only the most perilous, but is peculiarly
royal ; for, except by special permission, the King and
Princes are the only persons who engage in the sport.
As a preliminary step, an ass is tied near the spot where
the gamekeepers have ascertained the lion retires. The
wretched animal is soon devoured, and after so ample a
meal the lion never seeks for other prey, but without
molesting either oxen, sheep, or shepherds, goes in quest
of water, and after quenching his thirst, returns to his
former place of retirement. He sleeps until the next
morning, when he finds and devours another ass, which the
gamekeepers have brought to the same spot. In this way
they contrive, during several days, to allure the lion and to
attach him to one place ; and when information is received
of the King's approach, they fasten at the spot an ass
where so many others have been sacrificed, down whose
throat a large quantity of opium has been forced. This
last meal is of course intended to produce a soporific effect
upon the lion. The next operation is to spread, by means
of the peasantry of the adjacent villages, large nets, made
on purpose, which are gradually drawn closer, in the
manner practised in hunting the nil-ghaux. Everything
being in this state of preparation, the King appears on an
elephant protected in places with thin plates of iron, and
attended by the Grand Master of the Hunt, some Omrahs
mounted on elephants, and a great number both of gourze-
berdars on horseback and of gamekeepers on foot, armed
with half-pikes. He immediately approaches the net on
the outside, and fires at the lion with a large musketoon.
The wounded animal makes a spring at the elephant, ac-
cording to the invariable practice of lions, but is arrested
by the net;2 and the King continues to discharge his
mmkctoon, until the lion is at length killed.

It happened, however, during the last hunt, that the

1 Except in Kathiawar lions are now never met with in any part
of India. * See pp. 182-183.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 379

enraged animal leaped over the net, rushed upon a trooper
whose horse he killed, and then effected his escape for a
time. Being pursued by the huntsmen, he was at length
found and again enclosed in nets. The whole army was
on that occasion subjected to great inconveniencies and
thrown into a considerable degree of confusion. We re-
mained three or four days patrolling in a country inter-
sected with torrents from the mountains, and covered with
underwood, and long grass that nearly concealed the
camels. No bazars had been formed and there were no
towns or villages near the army. Happy those who during
this scene of disorder could satisfy the cravings of hunger !
Shall I explain the weighty reason of this long detention
in such abominable quarters ? You must know, then,
that as it is considered a favourable omen when the King
kills a lion, so is the escape of that animal portentous of
infinite evil to the state. Accordingly, the termination of
the hunt is attended with much grave ceremony. The
King being seated in the general assembly of the Omralis,
the dead lion is brought before him, and when the carcass
has been accurately measured and minutely examined, it
is recorded in the royal archives that such a King on such
a day slew a lion of such a size and of such a skin, whose
teeth were of such a length, and whose claws were of
such dimensions,1 and so on down to the minutest details.
Let me just add a word on the subject of the opium
given to the ass. One of the principal huntsmen assures
me that it is a tale of the vulgar, and that the lion is suffi-

1 The Emperor Akbar, who was a great sportsman, caused not only
an account to be kept of the game he shot, but ordered that par-
ticulars of the guns used should also be recorded. Jahangir inherited
his father's love of sport, except that he never hunted elephants nor <iiil
he care for shooting waterfowl. In his Memoirs he gives many details
of his hunting exploits, and tells us how he caused the officials of the
Hunting Department to draw up a ' game book ' embracing his life
from the age of twelve to fifty. This list tells us that during these
years he shot 17,167 bend of game cf all kinds, including 86 tigers, 41
sparrows, 3276 crows (!), and 10 alligators.

380 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

ciently disposed to sleep without it when he has eaten
satiety.

I observed that the great rivers are commonly without
bridges. The army crossed them by means of two bridges
of boats, constructed with tolerable skill, and placed be-
tween two or three hundred paces apart. Earth and straw
mingled together are thrown upon the planking forming the
footway, to prevent the cattle from slipping. The greatest
confusion and danger occur at the extremities; for not only
does the crowd and pressure occur most there, but when
the approaches to the bridge are composed of soft moving
earth, they become so broken up and so full of pits, that
horses and laden oxen tumble upon one another into them,
and the people pass over the struggling animals in the
utmost disorder. The evil would be much increased if the
army were under the necessity of crossing in one day ; but
the King generally fixes his camp about half a league from
the bridges of boats, and suffers a day or two to elapse ere
he passes to the opposite side of the river ; when, pitching
his tents within half a league from the bank, he again
delays his departure so as to allow the army three days
and nights at least to effect the passage.

As to the number of people, whether soldiers or others,
which the camp contains, it is not easy to determine this
accurately ; so various are the opinions on this point. I
may venture, however, to state generally that in this
march there are at least one hundred thousand horsemen,
and more than one hundred and fifty thousand animals,
comprising horses, mules, and elephants; that besides
these, there cannot be much less than fifty thousand
camels, and nearly as many oxen or horses employed to
carry the wives and children, the grain and other pro-
visions belonging to the poor people connected with
the bazars, who when they travel take with them,
like our gipsies, the whole of their families, goods, and
chattels. The servants in the army must be indeed nume-
rous, since nothing is done without their assistance. I

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 381

rank only with a two-horse cavalier, and yet I cannot
possibly contrive with less than three men. Many are of
opinion that the camp contains between three and four hun-
dred thousand persons ; some believe this estimate to be
too small, while others consider it rather exaggerated.
Accurately to determine the question, the people should
be numbered. All I can confidently assert is that the
multitude is prodigious and almost incredible. The whole
population of Dehli, the capital city, is in fact collected
in the camp, because deriving its employment and main-
tenance from the court and army, it has no alternative
but to follow them in their march or to perish from want
during their absence.1

You are no doubt at a loss to conceive how so vast a
number both of men and animals can be maintained in the
field. The best solution of the difficulty will be found in
the temperance of the Indians and simple nature of their
diet. Of the five-score thousand troopers not a tenth, no
not a twentieth part, eat animal food ; they are satisfied
with their kichery, a mess of rice and other vegetables,
over which, when cooked, they pour boiled butter.2 It
should be considered too that camels endure fatigue,
hunger, and thirst in a surprising degree, live upon little,
and eat any kind of food. At the end of eveiy march,
they are left to browse in the fields, where everything
serves for fodder. It is important likewise to observe that
the same tradesmen who supply the bazars in Dehli are
compelled to furnish them in the camp ; the shops of which
they are composed being kept by the same persons
whether in the capital or in the field.

These poor people are at great pains to procure forage :
they rove about from village to village, and what they
succeed in purchasing, they endeavour to sell in the army
at an advanced price. It is a common practice with
them to clear, with a sort of trowel, whole fields of a
peculiar kind of grass, which having beaten and washed,
1 See p. 220. a Ghee, see p. 438.

382 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

they dispose of in the camp at a price sometimes very
high and sometimes inadequately low.1

There is a curious fact respecting the King which I had
almost forgotten to relate. He enters the camp sometimes
on one side, sometimes on another ; that is, he will to-day
pass near the tents of certain Omralis and to-morrow near
the tents of others.2 This variation of route is not, as
you might suppose, accidental : the Omrahs, whom the
Monarch honours by his vicinity, must leave their quarters
to meet him, and must present His Majesty with a purse of
more or less value ; from twenty to fifty golden roupies,
twenty being equal to about thirty pistoles, according to
their liberality and the amount of their pay.

I shall say nothing of the towns and villages between
Deldi and Lahor : I have in fact scarcely seen any of them.
My Agah's station not being in the centre of the army,
which often kept to the highroad, but in the front of the
right wing, it was our custom to traverse fields and bye-
paths during the night, guided by the stars; frequently
mistaking our way, and marching five or six leagues, in-
stead of three or four, the usual distance between two
encampments, till daylight again set us right.

1 The general practice at the present day throughout Northern India,
'the peculiar kind of grass' being the well-known dub (Cynodon Dae-
tylon, Royle). On account of its creeper-like stem, a khtirpa, the
trowel-like instrument of Bernier, is required to scrape it, as it were,
from off the ground.

2 ' The nobles are encamped without on all sides according to their
rank. The guards for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday encamp in the
centre ; those for Sunday and Monday on the right ; and those for
Tuesday and Wednesday on the left.' — Aint p. 48.

THIRD LETTER

.Written at Lahor the King being then about to depart
for Kachemire.

Description of Lahor, the Capital of the Penje-ab, or
Kingdom of the Jive Rivers.

O N S I E U R,

IT is not without reason that the kingdom of which
Lahor is the capital is named the Penje-ab, or the Region
of the Five Waters ; because five rivers do really descend
from the great mountains which enclose the kingdom of
Kachemire, and, taking their course through this country,
fall into the Indus, which empties itself into the ocean at
Scymdi,1 near the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Whether
Lahor be the ancient Bucefalos, I do not pretend to
determine. Alexander is here well known by the name
of Sekander Filifous, or Alexander the son of Philip : con-
cerning his horse, however, they know nothing. The river
on which the city was built, one of the five, is as consider-
able as our Loire, and is much in want of a similar embank-
ment as that on which the road is carried on the banks
of the French river; for it is subject to inundations, which
cause great injury and frequently change its bed: indeed
within a few years the river has receded a full quarter of
a league from Lahor, to the great inconvenience of the

1 By this I believe Bernier to mean Sind, which was called Sinda
by Fryer, the mouths of the Indus being situated in the Province of
Sind.

883

384 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

inhabitants.1 Unlike the buildings of Dehli and Agra, the
houses here are very lofty ; but, the court having resided
during the last twenty years or more in one of those two
cities, most of the houses in Lahor are in a runious state.2
Indeed, many have been totally destroyed and have buried
many of the inhabitants under their ruins, in consequence
of the heavy rains which have prevailed of late years.
There are still five or six considerable streets, two or three
of which exceed a league in length ; but not a few of the
houses in them are tumbling to the ground.3 The river
having changed its bed, the King's palace is no longer
seated on its banks.4 This is a high and noble edifice,
though very inferior to the palaces of Dehli or Agra. It
is more than two months since we arrived in this city : we
have waited for the melting of the snow on the mountains
of Kachemire in order to obtain an easier passage into that
country ; our departure is finally fixed, however, for to-
morrow, as the King quitted Lahor two days ago. I have
provided myself with a nice small Kachemire tent, which
I purchased yesterday, as I was advised to do the same as
others, and to proceed no further with my old tent, which
is rather large and heavy. It will be difficult, they tell me,
to find room for all our tents among the mountains of
Kachemire, which besides are impassable to camels ; so that
requiring porters for our baggage, the carriage of my old
tent would be too expensive. Farewell !

1 The old bed of the Ravee is well known to all who have visited
Lahore, and it has been proposed in recent years to divert the present
stream into its old channel again.

2 See p. 459-

3 The Emperor Jahangir, Shdh Jahan's predecessor, frequently resided
at Lahore, and after his time it began to decline in population.

4 Brought about, it is said, by an embankment which Aurangzeb con-
structed to prevent inundations, but which had the effect of so deflecting
the current as to cause the river to alter its course entirely.

FOURTH LETTER
TO THE SAME

Written from the Camp of the Army marching from Lahor
to Kachemire, the fourth day of the March.

O N S I E U R,

I HOPED that, as I had survived the heat of Moka near
the Straits of Bab-el-mandel, I should have nothing to fear
from the burning rays of the sun in any part of the earth ;
but that hope has abandoned me since the army left
Lahor four days ago. I am indeed no longer surprised that
even the Indians themselves expressed much apprehen-
sion of the misery which awaited them during the eleven
or twelve days' march of the army from Lahor to Bember,1
which is situated at the entrance of the Kachemire moun-
tains. I declare, without the least exaggeration, that I have
been reduced by the intenseness of the heat to the last
extremity ; scarcely believing when I rose in the morning
that I should outlive the day. This extraordinary heat is
occasioned by the high mountains of Kachemire ; for being
to the north of our road, they intercept the cool breezes
which would refresh us from that quarter, at the same
time that they reflect the scorching sunbeams, and leave
the whole country arid and suffocating. But why should
I attempt to account philosophically for that which may
kill me to-morrow ?

1 Bhimbhar, wherethe remains of one of the rest-houses built for the
camps of the Mogul Emperors is still used by travellers.

FIFTH LETTER

TO THE SAME

Written from the Camp of the Army marching from Laho
to Kachemire, the sixth day of the March.

MONSIEUR,

I YESTERDAY crossed one of the great rivers of India,
called the Tchejiau.1 Its excellent water, with which the
principal Omrahs are providing themselves, instead of the
Ganges water that has hitherto supplied their wants,
induces me to hope that the ascent of this river does not
lead to the infernal regions, but that it may really conduct
us to the kingdom of Kachemire, where they would make
me believe we should be gladdened with the sight of ice
and snow. Every day is found more insupportable than
the preceding, and the further we advance the more does
the heat increase. It is true that I crossed the bridge of
boats at broad noonday, but I am not sure that my suffer-
ings would have been less if I had remained stifling in my
tent. My object was at least attained: I passed over this
bridge quietly, while everybody else was resting and wait-
ing to cross toward the close of the day, when the heat
is less oppressive. Perhaps I owe my escape from some
fatal accident to my prudence and foresight, for no passage
of a river, since the army quitted Dehli, has been attended

1 The Chinab, which is nearly 72 miles from Lahore by Bernicr's
route. He had therefore marched at the rate of about 12 miles a day.

386

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 387

with such dreadful confusion.1 The entrance at one ex-
tremity of the bridge into the first boat, and the going
out from the last boat at the other extremity were
rendered extremely difficult and dangerous on account of
the loose moving sand which it was necessary to pass, and
which giving way under the feet of such crowds of animals,
was carried off by the current, and left considerable
cavities, into which numbers of camels, oxen, and horses
were thrown down, and trodden underfoot, while blows
were dealt about without intermission. There are gener-
ally upon these occasions officers and troopers attached to
Omrahs, who to clear the way for their masters and their
baggage make an active use of their canes. My Navaab
has lost one of his camels, with the iron oven it carried ;2
so that I fear I shall be reduced to the necessity of eating
the bazar bread. Farewell !

1 This is the largest river they had yet crossed, and the sandy
approaches to the main stream were always, until a few years ago when
the combined railway and road bridge was built, very tedious for
travellers, whether mounted or on foot.

2 Probably one of those portable ovens, made of sheet-iron, so
familiar to all Anglo-Indians, called a tandiir in Hindostanee.

THE SIXTH LETTER

TO THE SAME

Written from the Camp of the Army, marching from Lahor
to Kachemire, the eighth day of the March.

MONSIEUR,

ALAS, my dear Sir ! what can induce an European to
expose himself to such terrible heat, and to these harassing
and perilous marches ? It is too much curiosity ; or rather
it is gross folly and inconsiderate rashness. My life is
placed in continual jeopardy. Out of evil, however, may
arise some good. When at Lahor I was seized with a
flux, accompanied by acute pains in my limbs, in conse-
quence of having passed whole nights on a terrace in the
open air, as is commonly done in Dehli without danger.
My health was suffering ; but since we have been on the
march the violent perspirations, continued for eight or
nine days, have dissipated my bad humours, and my
parched and withered body is become a mere sieve, the
quart of water, which I swallow at a draught, passing at
the same moment through every one of my pores, even
to my fingers' ends. I am sure that to-day I have drunk
more than ten pints. Amid all our sufferings, it is a great
consolation to be able to drink as much water as we please
with impunity, provided it be of a good quality.

388

THE SEVENTH LETTER
TO THE SAME

Written from the Camp of the Army, marching from Lahor to
Kachemire, on the morning of the tenth day of the March.

MONSIEUR,

THE sun is just but rising, yet the heat is insupportable.
There is not a cloud to be seen nor a breath of air to be
felt. My horses are exhausted ; they have not seen a
blade of green grass since we quitted Lahor. My Indian
servants, notwithstanding their black, dry, and hard skin,
are incapable of further exertion. The whole of my face,
my feet, and my hands are flayed. My body too is entirely
covered with small red blisters, which prick like needles.1
Yesterday one of our poor troopers, who was without a
tent, was found dead at the foot of a tree, whither he had
crept for shelter. I feel as if I should myself expire before
night. All my hopes are in four or five limes still remain
ing for lemonade, and in a little dry curd which I am about
to drink diluted with water and with sugar.2 Heaven
bless you ! the ink dries at the end of my pen, and the pen
itself drops from my hand.

1 Prickly heat, so familiar to most Anglo-Indians.

2 Sec p. 354 text, and footnote *.

THE EIGHTH LETTER

TO THE SAME

Written at Bember, the entrance to the Mountains of Kachemire,
after having encamped near that place for two days.

A description of Bember, we change our carriage therefor that
adapted to Hill travelling, incredible number of Men-
Porters, and the order of March that has to be observed
for Jive days when going through the Mountain Passes.

O N S I E U R,

AT length we have reached Bember, situated at the foot
of a steep, black, and scorched mountain. We are en-
camped in the dry bed of a considerable torrent, upon
pebbles and burning sands,1 — a very furnace; and if a
heavy shower had not fallen opportunely this morning, and
I had not received from the mountains a seasonable supply
of curdled milk, limes, and a fowl, I know not what would
have become of your poor correspondent. But God be
praised ! the atmosphere is evidently cooler, my appetite
is restored, my strength improved ; and the first use I
make of returning health is to resume my pen. You must

1 In the higher part of the town of Bhimbhar are the remains of the
Sarai, a building abo.ut 300 feet square, where the Emperor and his
personal staff used to camp. Down in the plain, close to where the
present travellers' bungalow stands, was the camping ground in the
sands and boulders of the Bhimbhar river which there enters the plains,
where the rest of the camp was pitched, as graphically described by
Bernier.

890

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 391

now be made acquainted with new marches and fresh
troubles.

Yesterday, at night, the King left these suffocating
quarters. He was accompanied by Rauchenara-Begum and
the other women of the Seraglio, the Raja Ragnat,1 who
acts as Vizier, and Fazel-kan, the High Steward : and last
night the grand master of the hunt also left the camp,
with some principal officers of the royal household, and
several ladies of distinction. To-night it will be our turn
to depart : besides my Navaab Danechmend-kan' s family,
the party will consist of Mahmet-Emir-kan, son of the
celebrated Emir Jemla, of whom I have already spoken so
much ; of my excellent friend Dianet-kan and his two sons,
and of several other Omrahs, Rajas, and Mansebdars. The
other Nobles who are to visit Kachemire will depart each
in his turn, to lessen the inconvenience and confusion that
must attend the five days' journey between this place and
Kachemire, through difficult and mountainous paths. The
remainder of the court, such as Feday-kan? the Grand
Master of the Artillery, three or four principal Rajas, and a
large number of Omm/is, will continue stationed as guards,
in this town and neighbourhood, during three or four
months, until the great heat be over, when the King will
return. Some will pitch their tents on the banks of the
Tche?iau,3 others will repair to the adjacent towns and
villages, and the rest will be under the necessity of en-
camping in this burning Bember.

That a scarcity of provisions may not be produced in the
small kingdom of Kachemire, the King will be followed by
a very limited number of individuals. Of females he
takes only ladies of the first rank, the intimate friends of
Rauchenara-Begum, and those women whose services cannot
easily be dispensed with. The OmraJis and military will
also be as few as possible ; and those Lords who have per-

1 Raja Raghunath. 2 See p. 124, footnote ].

3 Probably close to Gujrat, about 30 miles from Bhimbhar to the
south-east.

392 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

mission to attend the Monarch will be accompanied by no
more than twenty-five troopers out of every hundred ; not,
however, to the exclusion of the immediate officers of their
household. These regulations cannot be evaded, an Omrah
being stationed at the pass of the mountains, who reckons
every person one by one, and effectually prevents the
ingress of that multitude of Mansebdars and other cavaliers

who are eager to inhale the pure and refreshing air of
Kackemire, as well as of all those petty tradesmen and
inmates of the bazars, whose only object is to gain a
livelihood.

The King has a few of the choicest elephants for his
baggage and the women of the Seraglio. Though heavy
and unwieldy, these animals are yet very sure-footed,
feeling their way when the road is difficult and dangerous,
and assuring themselves of the firm hold of one foot before
they move another. The King has also a few mules ; but
his camels, which would be more useful, are all left behind,
the mountains being too steep and craggy for their long
stiff legs. Porters supply the place of camels ; and you
may judge of the immense number that will be employed
if what they tell me be true, that the King alone has no
fewer than six thousand. I must myself have three,
although I left my large tent and a considerable quantity
of luggage at Lahor: every person did the same, not
excepting the Omrahs and the King himself; and yet it
is calculated that there are at least fifteen thousand porters
already collected in Bember ; some sent by the Governor
of Kachemire and by the neighbouring Rajas, and others
who are come voluntarily in the expectation of earning a
little money. A royal ordinance fixes their pay at ten
crowns for every hundred pounds weight. It is computed
that thirty thousand will be employed ; an enormous
number, when it is considered that the King and Omrahs
have been sending forward baggage, and the tradespeopl
articles of every sort, for the last month.

THE NINTH LETTER

TO THE SAME

Written in Kachemire, the Terrestrial Paradise of the Indies,
after a residence there of three months.

An accurate description of the Kingdom of Kachcmire, the
prcseni state of the surrounding Mountains, and replies to
Jive important questions put by a Friend.

O N S I E U R,

THE histories of the ancient Kings of Kachemire maintain
that the whole of this country was in former times one vast
lake, and that an outlet for the waters was opened by a
certain pire, or aged saint, named Kacheb,1 who miraculously
cut the mountain of Baramoulc. This account is to be met
with in the abridgment of the above-mentioned histories,2

1 Kacheb or Kashuf'^ the Persian form for Kasyapa, son of Marichf,
son of Brahma, the Rishi or sage by whom, according to Hindoo tradi-
tion, the passage in question was formed.

2 By Haidar Malik, son of Hasan Malik B. Malik Muhammad
Naji, Charvarah (also written Chadvarah, a village near Srinagar) who
was of a noble Kashmir family. The work in question, a history

394 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

made by order of Jehan-Guyre, which I am now translating
from the Persian. I am certainly not disposed to deny
that this region was once covered with water : the same
thing is reported of Thessaly and of other countries ; but I
cannot easily persuade myself that the opening in question
was the work of man, for the mountain is very extensive
and very lofty. I rather imagine that the mountain sank
into some subterraneous cavern, which was disclosed by a

Kashmir from the earliest times till its conquest by Akbar, is mainly
abridged, as stated by its author, from the Rajdtarangini^ The Ocean of
Kings') of Kalhana, the Royal Chronicle of Kashmir ; but the Hijra
dates are substituted for those of the Hindoo era, and some additions
have been made to it in the late period. The author in the preface
says that he commenced the work in A.H. 1027=1617 A.D., in the
twelfth year of Jahangir's reign, but further on A.H. 1029=1619 A.D.
is mentioned as the current year ; and in a very complete MS. of this
work in the British Museum (Addl. 16705) that came from the collec-
tion of William Yule, the father of the late Sir Henry Yule, an event
of A.H. 1030= 1620 A.D. is recorded. A portion of the Rajdtarangini,
which is the only piece of history in Sanskrit which has come down to
us, and is believed to have been written in the I2th century A.D.,
was translated into Persian by command of the Sultan Zin-ul-'abidin
of Kashmir, who named this version the Bahr-ul-asmdr, or ' The Sea
of Tales.' In A.H. 1003=1594 A.D., the historian Abd-ul-Kadir,
Al-Badaoni was ordered by the Emperor Akbar to complete the
translation, and he tells us how, during the progress of this work, the
Emperor ' called me into his private bed-chamber to the foot of the
bed, and till the morning asked for stories out of each chapter, and
then said : " Since the first volume of the Bahr-ul-asmdr . . is in
Archaic Persian, and difficult to understand, do you translate it afresh
into ordinary language, and take care of the rough copy of the book
which you have translated." I performed the zaminbos [kissing the
ground] and heartily undertook the commission.' Pp. 415, 416 Mun-
takhab-ut-tawarikh. Bibl. Inclica Ed. : translated by W. H. Lowe,
M.A. Calcutta, 1889.

All Orientalists must rejoice to know that at last there is every
prospect of their possessing a satisfactory edition of the Rajdtarangin'i^
as Dr. Aurel Stein, Principal of the Oriental College at Lahore, has
lately been able to secure the Codex Archelypus of all extant Kashmir
MSS. of that work, written in the I7th century. In the Address to the
Reader prefixed to the first edition of his Travels, Bernier promised to
undertake a translation of the Persian text of Haidar Malik.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES S95

violent earthquake, not uncommon in these countries.1 If
we are to believe the Arabs of those parts, the opening of
Bab-el-mandel was effected in the same manner ; and it is
thus that entire towns and mountains have been engulphed
in great lakes.

Kachemire, however, is no longer a lake, but a beautiful
country, diversified with a great many low hills: about
thirty leagues in length, and from ten to twelve in breadth.
It is situated at the extremity of Hindoustan, to the north of
Lahor ; enclosed by the mountains at the foot of Caucasus,21
those of the Kings of Great Tibet and Little Tibet,3 and of
the Raja Gamon,* who are its most immediate neighbours.

1 Bernier's theory has a great deal in its favour. There are authen-
tic records of several severe and destructive earthquakes in I552> iQ
1680, and one on the 26th June 1828, on which occasion, according to
Vigne, who visited Kashmir in 1835, 1200 houses were shaken down
and 1000 persons killed. The worst earthquake of all was that of the
3Oth May 1885. The shock was felt over an area of about 130,000
square miles, and its effects were destructive, to a considerable degree,
over an area of about 500 square miles. It has been estimated that
20,000 houses, 30,000 cattle, and 3000 human beings were destroyed.
The focus of destruction was near Baramula, where the Fort, the
travellers' bungalow, and three-fourths of the houses in the town
were totally wrecked.

2 The name used by many of the ancient geographers for a supposed
continuous range from West to East, through the whole of Asia,
embracing the Taurus Mountains of Asia Minor, the Persian Elburz,
the Hindu Kush, and the Himalayas.

3 Great Tibet was the name then generally applied to what is now
known as Ladakh, Little Tibet— a term still applied to Baltistan.

4 Raja of Jummoo, the Rajput Rajas whose seat of rule has been
established in or near the existing town of Jummoo from a remote
period, Hindoo historians say for 5000 years. It was the Maharaja
Gulab Singh of Jummoo who in 1846 was able to effect the consolida-
tion of various states, including Kashmir, into one Kingdom, over
which his descendants still rule. Raja Gam on has been identified by
Drew ( The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories. Lond. 1875) as ^e Astor
Raja, but it is difficult to concur in this identification, which, however,
Mr. Drew does not put forward as an absolute fact. It is most likely
that by a typographical error Gamon has been printed instead of Gamou
in the various editions of Bernier's Travels.

396 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

The first mountains which surround it, I mean those nearest
to the plains, are of moderate height, of the freshest verdure,
decked with trees and covered with pasture land, on which
cows, sheeps, goats, horses, and every kind of cattle is seen
to graze. Game of various species is in great plenty, —
partridges, hares, antelopes, and those animals which yield
musk. Bees are also in vast abundance ; and what may be
considered very extraordinary in the Indies, there are, with
few or no exceptions, neither serpents, tigers, bears, nor
lions. These mountains may indeed be characterised not
only as innocuous, but as flowing in rich exuberance with
milk and honey.1

Beyond the mountains just described arise others of
very considerable altitude, whose summits, at all times
covered with snow, soar above the clouds and ordinary
mist, and, like Mount Olympus, are constantly bright and
serene.

From the sides of all these mountains gush forth innumer-
able springs and streams of water, which are conducted by
means of embanked earthen channels even to the top of the
numerous hillocks 2 in the valley ; thereby enabling the in-
habitants to irrigate their fields of rice. These waters, after
separating into a thousand rivulets and producing a thou-
sand cascades through this charming country, at length
collect and form a beautiful river,3 navigable for vessels as
large as are borne on our Seine. It winds gently around
the kingdom, and passing through the capital, bends its
peaceful course toward Baramoule, where it finds an outlet
between two steep rocks, being then joined by several
smaller rivers from the mountains, and dashing over pre-

1 Bears are not at all uncommon in Kashmir at the present day, two
varieties of the brown or red species and a black bear. Bees are still
kept by most cottagers in circular holes in the walls of their huts,
especially by those living in the eastern portion of the valley. Milk is
' a drug in the market,' and is excellent in quality.

2 These table-lands, called karewas, are a great feature in the land-
scape. Seep. 412, footnote. 3 Thejhelum.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 397

cipices it flows in the direction of Atek,1 and joins the
Indus.

The numberless streams which issue from the mountains
maintain the valley and the hillocks in the most delightful
verdure. The whole kingdom wears the appearance of a
fertile and highly cultivated garden. Villages and hamlets
are frequently seen through the luxuriant foliage. Meadows
and vineyards, fields of rice, wheat, hemp, saffron, and
many sorts of vegetables, among which are intermingled
trenches filled with water, rivulets, canals, and several small
lakes, vaiy the enchanting scene. The whole ground is
enamelled with our European flowers and plants, and
covered with our apple, pear, plum, apricot, and walnut trees,
all bearing fruit in great abundance. The private gardens
are full of melons, pateques or water melons, water parsnips,
red beet, radishes, most of our potherbs, and others with
which we are unacquainted.

The fruit is certainly inferior to our own, nor is it in such
variety; but this I am satisfied is not attributable to the
soil, but merely to the comparative ignorance of the
gardeners, for they do not understand the culture and the
grafting of trees as we do in France. I have eaten, how-
ever, a great deal of very excellent fruit during my re-
sidence in Kachemire, and should entertain no doubt of its
arriving at the same degree of perfection as that of Europe
if the people were more attentive to the planting and soil
of the trees and introduced grafts from foreign countries.

The capital of Kachemire bears the same name as the
kingdom.2 It is without walls and is not less than three

1 Attack. Bernier was probably misled. The Jhelum, which leaves
the valley of Kashmir at Baramula, falls into the Chindb near Jhang,
about 100 miles above Mooltan ; the general direction is quite correct.

a Srinagar, also known as Pravarapura, is the ancient and the
present name of the city. During the rule of the Muhammadans this
Hindoo name was disused, but when the Sikhs conquered Kashmir in
1819 they restored the old Hindoo name, although some Muhamma-
dans still talk of the capital as Kashmir, or Kashur in *he Kashmfrf
Vnguage.

398 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

quarters of a league in length, and half a league in breadth.
It is situated in a plain, distant about two leagues from
the mountains, which seem to describe a semicircle, and
is built on the banks of a fresh- water lake,1 whose circum-
ference is from four to five leagues. This lake is formed
of live springs and of streams descending from the
mountains, and communicates with the river, which runs
through the town, by means of a canal sufficiently large to
admit boats. In the town there are two wooden bridges
thrown over the river ; 2 and the houses, although for the
most part of wood, are well built and consist of two or three
stories. There is, however, plenty of very fine freestone in
the country ; some old buildings, and a great number of
ancient idol-temples in ruins, are of stone ; but wood is
preferred on account of its cheapness, and the facility with
which it is brought from the mountains by means of so
many small rivers. Most of the houses along the banks of
the river have little gardens, which produce a veiy pretty
effect, especially in the spring and summer, when many
parties of pleasure take place on the water. Indeed most
houses in the city have also their gardens ; and many have
a canal, on which the owner keeps a pleasure-boat, thus
communicating with the lake.

At one end of the town appears an isolated hill,
with handsome houses on its declivity, each having a
garden. Toward the summit are a Mosque and Hermitage,
both good buildings ; and the hill is crowned with a large
quantity of fine trees. It forms altogether an agreeable
object, and from its trees and gardens it is called, in the
language of the country, Haryperbet3 or the Verdant
Mountain.

Opposite to this hill is seen another, on which is also

1 The Dal lake.

2 There are now (1891) seven bridges across the Jhelum in the city
of Srfnagar.

8 Hari Parbat, on the top of which there is the fort built by the
Emperor Akbar.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 399

erected a small Mosque with a garden and an extremely
ancient building, which bears evident marks of having been
a temple for idols, although named Tact-Soulima?i,1 the
Throne of Solomon. The Mahometans pretend it was
raised by that celebrated King when he visited Kachemire ;
but I doubt whether they could prove that this country
was ever honoured with his presence.

The lake is full of islands, which are so many pleasure-
grounds. They look beautiful and green in the midst of
the water, being covered with fruit trees, and laid out
with regular trellised walks. In general they are sur-
rounded by the large-leafed aspen, planted at intervals
of two feet. The largest of these trees may be clasped
in a man's arms, but they are as high as the mast of a ship,
and have only a tuft of branches at the top, like the palm-
trees.

The declivities of the mountains beyond the lake are
crowded with houses and flower-gardens. The air is
healthful, and the situation considered most desirable :
they abound with springs and streams of water, and
command a delightful view of the lake, the islands, and
the town.

The most beautiful of all these gardens is one belonging
to the King, called Ckak-limar.2 The entrance from the
lake is through a spacious canal, bordered with green turf,
and running between two rows of poplars.3 Its length is
about five hundred paces, and it leads to a large summer-
house placed in the middle of the garden. A second

1 The Takht-i Suliman hill, on the top of which is a Buddhist temple,
built by Jaloka, the son of Asoka, who reigned about 220 B.C. Part of
it was turned into a mosque at the time of the first invasion of
Kashmir by the Muhammadans, about 1015 A.D.

* The Shalihmar gardens, constructed by order of the Emperor
Jah^ngfr, still retain many of the features described by Bernier. They
were the Trianon of the Mogul Emperors.

3 The remains of this entrance can still be traced in the shape of
large blocks of masonry, as well as the stone embankment which
formerly lined the canal throughout.

400 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

canal, still finer than the first, then conducts you to another
summer-house, at the end of the garden. This canal is
paved with large blocks of freestone, and its sloping sides
are covered with the same. In the middle is a long row
of fountains, fifteen paces asunder; besides which there
are here and there large circular basins, or reservoirs, out
of which arise other fountains, formed into a variety of
shapes and figures.1

The summer-houses are placed in the midst of the canal,
consequently surrounded by water, and between the two
rows of large poplars planted on either side. They are
built in the form of a dome, and encircled by a gallery,
into which four doors open ; two looking up, or down, the
canal, and two leading to bridges that connect the build-
ings with both banks. The houses consist of a large room
in the centre, and of four smaller apartments, one at each
corner. The whole of the interior is painted and gilt, and
on the walls of all the chambers are inscribed certain
sentences, written in large and beautiful Persian characters.2
The four doors are extremely valuable ; being composed of
large stones, and supported by two beautiful pillars. The
doors and pillars were found in some of the idol temples
demolished by Chah-Jehan, and it is impossible to estimate
their value. I cannot describe the nature of the stone, but
it is far superior to porphyry, or any species of marble.3

You have no doubt discovered before this time that I
am charmed with Kachemire. In truth, the kingdom
surpasses in beauty all that my warm imagination had
anticipated. It is probably unequalled by any country of
the same extent, and should be, as in former ages, the seat
of sovereign authority, extending its dominion over all the

1 The water for these fountains is obtained from a stream which rises
in the hills behind the garden, and now on fete days the fountains arc
made to play, having been restored some years ago.

2 Among others, the celebrated legend, ' If there be an Elysium on
earth, it is this, it is this. '

3 The material forming the pillars is believed to be a black and grey
fosslliferous marMe ; the stone doors no longer exist,

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 401

circumjacent mountains, even as far as Tarlary and over
the whole of Hindoustan, to the island of Ceylon.1 It is
not indeed without reason that the Mogols call Kachemire
the terrestrial paradise of the Indies, or that Ekbar was so
unremitting in his efforts to wrest the sceptre from the
hand of its native Princes. His son Jehan-Guyre became so
enamoured of this little kingdom as to make it the place
of his favourite abode, and he often declared that he
would rather be deprived of every other province of his
mighty empire than lose Kachemire.2

I was quite prepared to witness the emulous contest
between the Kachemiry and the Mogol poets. We were no
sooner arrived than Aureng-Zebe received from the bards
of both nations poems in praise of this favoured land,
which he accepted and rewarded with kindness. They
were written in a strain of extravagant hyperbole. One of
them, I remember, speaking of the surrounding mountains,
observed that their extraordinary height had caused the
skies to retire into the vaulted form which we see ; that
Nature had exhausted all her skill in the creation of this
country, and rendered it inaccessible to the attack of
hostile force ; because, being the mistress of the kingdoms
of the earth, it was wise to preserve her in perfect peace
and security, that she might exercise universal dominion
without the possibility of ever being subject to any. The
poet went on to say that the summits of the higher and
more distant mountains were clothed resplendently in
white, and the minor and more contiguous preserved
in perpetual verdure and embellished with stately trees,
because it was meet that the mistress of the kingdoms of
the earth should be crowned with a diadem whose top and

1 Surely this may be considered as a very early argument in favour
of locating the Supreme Government of India in the Hills.

2 Jahangir died on the 28th October 1627, at Changas Sarai (Chin-
giz Hatli), the Tinguesq hatelij of Blaeu's map of The Empire of the
Great Mogul, 1655, between Rajaori and Naushahra, three marches
from Bhimbhar, when returning to Lahore.

402 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

rays were diamonds issuing from a base-work of emeralds.
'The poet' (I remarked to my Navaab Danechmcnd-kan,
who wished me to relish these productions) ' might easily
have amplified his subject. He could, with a pardon-
able licence, have included the neighbouring mountainous
regions within the kingdom of Kachemire, since it is
pretended that they were once tributary to it. I mean
Little Tibet, the states of Raja Gamon, Kachguer, and
Serenaguer.1 He might then have gone on to say that the
Ganges, the Indus, the Chenau, and the Gemna, issue from
the kingdom of Kachemire, rivers which cannot yield in
beauty and importance to the Pison, the Gihon or the two
other rivers spoken of in Genesis ; and that it may there-
fore be reasonably concluded that the Garden of Eden was
planted in Kachemire, and not, according to the received
opinion, in Armenia'

The Kachemirys are celebrated for wit, and considered
much more intelligent and ingenious than the Indians. In
poetry and the sciences they are not inferior to the Persians.
They are also veiy active and industrious. The workman-
ship and beauty of their palekys, bedsteads, trunks,
inkstands, boxes, spoons, and various other things are
quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture are in
use in every part of the Indies. They perfectly understand
the art of varnishing, and are eminently skilful in closely
imitating the beautiful veins of a certain wood, by inlaying
with gold threads so delicately wrought that I never saw
anything more elegant or perfect. But what may be
considered peculiar to Kachemire, and the staple com-
modity, that which particularly promotes the trade of the
country and fills it with wealth, is the prodigious quantity
of shawls which they manufacture, and which gives
occupation even to the little children. These shawls are

1 By this Bernier means the Srinagar in British Garhwal, then
known as part of Sirmur (Sirmoor) ; not far from which place are the
sources of the Ganges and the Jumna, Gangotri and Jamnotri. See
P- 59-

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 403

about an ell and a half long, and an ell broad, orna-
mented at both ends with a sort of embroidery, made
in the loom, a foot in width. The Mogols and Indians,
women as well as men, wear them in winter round their
heads, passing them over the left shoulder as a mantle.
There are two sorts manufactured : one kind with the
wool of the country, finer and more delicate than that
of Spain ; the other kind with the wool, or rather hair
(called iouz *) found on the breast of a species of wild goat
which inhabits Great Tibet. The touz shawls are much
more esteemed than those made with the native wool. I
have seen some, made purposely for the Omrahs, which
cost one hundred and fifty roupies ; but I cannot learn that
the others have ever sold for more than fifty. They are
very apt, however, to be worm-eaten, unless frequently
unfolded and aired. The fur of the beaver is not so soft
and fine as the hair from these goats.

Great pains have been taken to manufacture similar
shawls in Patna, Agra, and Lahor ; but notwithstanding
every possible care, they never have the delicate texture
and softness of the Kachemire shawls, whose unrivalled ex-
cellence may be owing to certain properties in the water
of that country.2 The superior colours of the Maslipatam
chittes or cloths, painted by the hand [peintes au pince

1 Ttis, the ' shawl goat. ' By Article X. of the Treaty of the l6th
March 1846, by which the British Government made over for ever, as
an independent possession, the Kashmir territory to the Maharaja
Golab Singh of Jummoo, he bound himself and his heirs for ever to
acknowledge the supremacy of the British Government, and in token
of such supremacy to present annually to the British Government, ' one
horse, twelve perfect shawl goats of approved breed (six males and six
females), and three pair of Cashmere shawls.'

2 The Moguls were very anxious to introduce shawl-weaving into
Hindostan, while not neglecting to encourage the indigenous industry
in Kashmir. The A in contains some very valuable information on the
suoject of shawls, from which the following is an extract : —

' His Majesty improved this department [i.e. of the Shawls, Stuffs,
etc.] in four ways. The improvement is visible, first^ in the Ttis
shawls, which are made of the wool of an animal of that name ; its

404 JOURNEY TO KACHEM1RE

au], whose freshness seems to improve by washing, are also
ascribed to the water peculiar to that town.

The people of Kachemire are proverbial for their clear
complexions and fine forms. They are as well made as
Europeans, and their faces have neither the Tartar flat
nose nor the small pig-eyes that distinguish the natives of
Kacheguer, and which generally mark those of Great Tibet.
The women especially are very handsome ; and it is from
this country that nearly every individual, when first
admitted to the court of the Great Mogol, selects wives or
concubines, that his children may be whiter than the
Indians and pass for genuine Mogols.1 Unquestionably
there must be beautiful women among the higher classes,
if we may judge by those of the lower orders seen in the
streets and in the shops. When at Lahor I had recourse
to a little artifice, often practised by the Mogols to obtain
a sight of these hidden treasures ; the women of that town
being the finest brunettes in all the Indies, and justly re-
nowned for their fine and slender shapes. I followed the
steps of some elephants, particularly one richly harnessed,

natural colours are black, white, and red [brown], but chiefly black.
Sometimes the colour is a pure white. This kind of shawl is unrivalled
for its lightness, warmth, and softness. People generally wear it with-
out altering its natural colour ; His Majesty has had it dyed. It is
curious that it will not take a red dye.' [The second improvement
was in the quality of the Alchahs (see p. 1 20), and the third in the
gold and silver embroidered stuffs.] * Fourthly, an improvement was
made in the width of all stuffs ; His Majesty had the pieces made
large enough to yield the making of a full dress. '

* ... In former times shawls were often brought from Kashmir.
People folded them in four folds, and wore them for a very long time.
Now-a-days they are generally worn without folds, and merely thrown
over the shoulder. His Majesty has commenced to wear them double,
which looks very well. His Majesty encourages in every possible way
the manufacture of shawls in Kashmir. In Lahor also there are more
than a thousand workshops. '

1 See pp. 3 and 212. Marco Polo bore testimony to the good looks
of the Kashmiris, and said of the inhabitants of the country, * The
men are brown and lean, but the women, taking them as brunettes,
are very beautiful. '

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 405

and was sure to be gratified with the sight I was in search
of, because the ladies no sooner hear the tinkling of the
silver bells suspended from both sides of the elephant than
they all put their heads to the windows. This is a
stratagem with which I often amused myself in Kachemire,
until a more satisfactory method of seeing the fair sex was
devised by an old pedagogue, well known in the town,
with whom I read the Persian poets. I purchased a large
quantity of sweetmeats, and accompanied him to more than
fifteen houses, to which he had freedom of access. He
pretended I was his kinsman lately arrived from Persia,
rich and eager to marry. As soon as we entered a house,
he distributed my sweetmeats among the children, and
then everybody was sure to flock around us, the married
women and the single girls, young and old, with the two-
fold object of being seen and receiving a share of the
present. The indulgence of my curiosity drew many roupies
out of my purse ; but it left no doubt on my mind that
there are as handsome faces in Kachemire as in any part or
Europe.

It remains only to speak of my journey through the
mountains, from Bember to this place, with which I ought
perhaps to have commenced my letter ; — of the little ex-
cursions I have made in the countiy, and finally of all
which it has been in my power to collect concerning the
other mountainous tracts that encircle this kingdom.

In respect then to the route from Bember I was
surprised to find myself on the very first night transported
on a sudden from a torrid to a temperate zone : for we
had no sooner scaled that frightful wall of the world, I
mean the lofty, steep, black, and bare mountain of Bember,
and begun the descent on the other side, than we breathed
a pure, mild, and refreshing air. What surprised me still
more was to find myself, as it were, transferred from the
Indies to Europe ; the mountains we were traversing being
covered with eveiy one of our plants and shrubs, save the
hyssop, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary. I almost imagined

406 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

myself in the mountains of Auvergne, in a forest of fir, oak,
elm, and plane trees, and could not avoid feeling strongly
the contrast between this scene and the burning fields of
Hmdoustan, which I had just quitted and where nothing
of the kind is seen.

My attention was particularly arrested by a mountain,
distant between one and two days from Bember, covered on
both sides with plants.1 The side facing the south, that is,
looking toward Hmdoustan , is full of Indian and European
plants, mingled together ; but the side exposed to the
north is crowded exclusively with the vegetable productions
of Europe. It would seem that one side participates
equally of the air and temperature of India and Europe,
and that the other feels only the milder climate of the
latter quarter of the globe.2

I could not avoid admiring, in the course of our march,
the successive generation and decay of trees. I saw
hundreds plunged and plunging into abysses, down which
man never ventured, piled dead one upon another and
mouldering with time ; while others were shooting out of
the ground, and supplying the places of those that were no
more. I observed also trees consumed by fire ; but I am
unable to say whether they were struck by lightning, or ig-
nited by friction, when hot and impetuous winds agitate the
trees against each other, or whether, as the natives pretend,
trees when grown old and dry may ignite spontaneously.

The magnificent cascades between the rocks increase
the beauty of the scene. There is one especially which
I conceive has not its parallel. I observed it at a distance

1 Bernier here refers to the Ratan Mountains, which may be looke<
upon as the first * real mountains ' met with on the Fir Panjal route.
The Ratan Pir Pass, 8200 feet above sea-level, lies between Thanna
Mandi and Baramgalla, the fifth and sixth stages from Bhimbhar.

2 On ascending the Pass, the heat of the sun, which is still felt there,
is delightfully tempered by the bracing air, while on the Baramgalla
side of the mountain the temperature of the air will be found to be
very much colder than anything the traveller has yet experienced on
his march from the plains.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 407

from the side of a high mountain. A torrent of water
rolling impetuously through a long and gloomy channel,
covered with trees, precipitates itself suddenly down a
perpendicular rock of prodigious height, and the ear is
stunned with the noise occasioned by the falling of these
mighty waters. Jehan-Guyre erected on an adjacent rock,
which was smoothed for the purpose, a large building from
which the court might leisurely contemplate this stupen-
dous work of Nature, which, as well as the trees before
mentioned, bears marks of the highest antiquity, and is
perhaps coeval with the creation of the world.1

A strange accident cast a gloom over these scenes and
damped all our pleasure. The King was ascending the
Pire-pcnjale mountains,2 the highest of all the mountains,
and from which a distant view of the kingdom of Kachemire
is first obtained. He was followed by a long line of
elephants, upon which sat the ladies in their mikdcmbers
and cmbarys. The foremost, appalled, as is supposed, by the
great length and acclivity of the path before him, stepped
back upon the elephant that was moving on his track, who
again pushed against the third elephant, the third against
the fourth, and so on until fifteen of them, incapable of
turning round or extricating themselves in a road so steep
and narrow fell down the precipice. Happily for the
women, the place where they fell was of no great height;
only three or four were killed ; but there were no means

1 This is the well-known N6r-i chashm (meaning 'light of the eye')
waterfall, which can be conveniently visited from Baramgalla. A
recent description of this noble fall, formed by a huge cleft in a mass of
rock, bears out Bernier's description very vividly. ' The upper course
of the icy torrent which feeds this fall runs through a most lovely dell,
down which the stream bounds from rock to rock, roaring and splash-
ing along as if rejoicing at the prospect of the mighty leap before it,
of nearly 70 feet.'

2 The Pfr Panjal Pass is 11,400 feet above sea-level, some of the
neighbouring peaks are upwards of 16,000 feet high. It is said that on
clear days the minarets of Lahore, 130 miles distant as the crow flies,
can be seen from the top of the Pir Panjal Pass,

408 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

of saving any of the elephants. Whenever these animals
fall under the tremendous burden usually placed upon their
backs, they never rise again even on a good road. Two
days afterward we passed that way,1 and I observed that
some of the poor elephants still moved their trunks. The
army, which had been marching four days in single file
through the mountains, was subjected to serious inconveni-
ence by this disaster. The remainder of the day and the
following night, were employed in rescuing the women
and in saving other matters, and the troops were under the
necessity of halting during the whole of that time. Nearty
every man continued pent up in the same spot, for it was
impossible, in many places, to advance or recede, and the
thieving varlets of porters with the tents and provisions
were not within reach. My usual good fortune, however,
attended me ; I contrived to clamber out of the line of
march and find a spot whereon I and my horse slept pretty
comfortably. The servant who followed me had a small
quantity of bread, which we shared. It was here, I re-
collect, that in stirring some stones, we found a large black
scorpion, which a young Mogol of my acquaintance took
up and squeezed in his hand, then in the hand of my
servant, and lastly in mine, without any of us being stung.
This young cavalier pretended that he had charmed the
scorpion, as he had charmed many others, with a passage
from the Koran; 'but I will not/ added he, ' teach you
that passage, because the occult power would then depart
from me and rest with you, in the same manner as it left
my teacher the moment he imparted the secret/

While traversing this same mountain of Pire-penjale,
where the elephants tumbled down, three things recalled
my old philosophical speculations. The first was that we ex-

1 The place where this accident happened is believed to be close to
the summit of the Pir Panjal Pass, about two miles on the Hindostan
side, where there are still rather agly zig-zags in the road. In the
map of Kashmir in the 1672 Dutch edition, here reproduced, the site
of this accident is very graphically shewn.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 409

perienced the opposite seasons of summer and winter within
the same hour. In ascending we were exposed to the
intense heat of the sun, and perspired most profusely ; but
when we reached the summit, we found ourselves in the
midst of frozen snow, through which a passage for the
army had been recently cut ; a small and congealed rain was
falling, and the wind blew piercingly cold. The poor In-
dians, most of whom had never felt the severity of winter,
and saw for the first time ice and snow, were in a state ol
great suffering and astonishment and fled with precipitation.

The second circumstance was, that within two hundred
paces the wind blew from two opposite quarters. While
climbing toward the summit it blew in my face, that is,
from the north ; but I no sooner began to descend on the
other side than it blew on my back, that is, from the
south ; as if the vapours escaping from all sides, and rising
to the summit of the mountain, had there condensed, and
caused the wind ; which, equally attracted by the warm ex-
hausted air below, descended into the two opposite valleys.

The third extraordinary appearance was an aged hermit,
who had resided on the top of this mountain ever since
the time of Jehan-Guyre.1 Of his religion everybody was
ignorant ; but it was said that he wrought miracles, caused
strange thunders, and raised storms of wind, hail, snow, and
rain.2 His white and uncombed beard was extremely long

1 This may have been the Fakir who is buried at the top of the
Pass, and whose shrine is largely visited at the present day. The
Kashmiris sometimes carry up their dead from long distances and bury
them close by. At the present day, a Fakir is generally to be found
close to an octagonal watch-tower at the top of the Pass, who supplies
travellers with milk, water, and other necessaries. The Persian word
Fir means an old man or saint, and it has always been the common
practice for Fakirs or Pi'rs to establish themselves in such positions for
the sake of contemplating the works of the Creator and of receiving the
alms of travellers ; hence the word Pir in Kashmir has now acquired the
secondary meaning of a mountain pass. Panjdl being the name of the
lofty range close by, the word Pir Panjdl may be translated as the Pass
of the Great Range.

8 Or as Marco Polo relates concerning the people of the kingdom of

410 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

and bushy ; he had somewhat of the savage in his aspe
and was haughty in his manner of asking alms. He per-
mitted the people to drink water out of some earthen cups
placed in rows on a large stone, making signs with his hand
that they should not stop, but hastily leave the summit of
the mountain. The old man was also very angiy with
those who made a noise. After I had entered his cave,
and softened his countenance by means of half a roupie,
which I humbly put in his hand, he informed me that noise
made there stirred up the most furious tempests imagin-
able. It was wise in Aureng-Zcbe, he added, to be guided
by his advice, and to order the army to pass with stillness
and expedition. His father, Chah-Jehan, always acted
with the same prudence ; but Jehan-Guyre having upon
one occasion derided his counsel, and, notwithstanding
his earnest remonstrance, having ordered the cymbals to
be beaten and the trumpets to be sounded, narrowly
escaped destruction.1

In regard to my excursions in different parts of this
kingdom, I shall begin by informing you that we no
sooner arrived in the city of Kachemire than my Navaab,
Danechmend-kaii , sent me to the further end of the country,
three short journeys from the capital, that I might witness
the 'wonders/ as they are called, of a certain fountain.2

Kashmir : * They have an astonishing acquaintance with the devilries
of enchantment, inasmuch as they make their idols to speak. They
can also by their sorceries bring on changes of weather and produce
darkness, and do a number of things so extraordinary that no one with-
out seeing them would believe them. '

1 At the present day the bands of pilgrims who visit the Holy
Shrines, situated in the lofty mountains of Kashmir, refrain from chant-
ing their hymns of praise when in the vicinity of banks of snow, as
on several occasions the effect of such reverberations of sound has been
to dislodge avalanches, which swept away to destruction many men
and women.

2 This is probably the sacred spring at Bawan or Matan, about 40
miles to the south-east of Srinagar. The temple was dedicated to the
Sun-god (Martand). The tank mentioned by Bcrnier is still greatly
resorted to by the Hindoos. The water from this spring finds its way

411

I was accompanied by a native, and escorted by one of my
Navaab's troopers. The ' wonders ' consist in this : in the
month of May, when the melting of the snows has just
taken place, this fountain, during the space of fifteen days,
regularly flows and ebbs three times a day, — when the
morning dawns, at noon, and at night. Its flow generally
continues three quarters of an hour, and is sufficiently
abundant to fill a square reservoir ten or twelve feet
deep, and as many in length and breadth. After a lapse
of fifteen days, the supply of water becomes less copious
and regular, and at the expiration of a month the spring
ceases to run, unless in the time of heavy and incessant
rains, when it runs with the ebb and flow of other foun-
tains. The Gentiles have a small temple on the side of the
reservoir dedicated to Brare, one of their deities ; and
hence this spring is called Send-brary, or water of Brare.
Pilgrims flock from all parts to this temple, for the purpose
of bathing and purifying themselves in the sacred and
miraculous water. Numberless fables are founded on the
origin of this fountain, which, not having a shadow of truth,
would be little entertaining in the recital. The five or
six days that I remained in the vicinity of Send-brary were
employed in endeavours to trace the cause of the ' wonder/
I paid considerable attention to the situation of the moun-
tain, at whose foot is found this supernatural spring.
With much labour and difficulty I reached the top, leaving
no part unexplored, searching and prying at eveiy step.
I remarked that its length extends from north to south,
and that though veiy near to other mountains, yet it is
completely detached from any. Its form resembles an
ass's back ; the summit is of extreme length, but the
greatest breadth is scarcely one hundred paces. One side
of the mountain, which is covered with nothing but green
grass, has an eastern aspect ; but the sun, being intercepted
by the opposite mountains, does not shine upon it before

into the Sandran river (Send-brary of Bernier?) which joins the Jheluni
close to Islamabad, about 35 miles above Srinngar. ' Brare ' means
'goddess.'

412 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

eight o clock in the morning. The western side is covered
with trees and bushes.1

Having made these observations, it occurred to me that
this pretended wonder might be accounted for by the
heat of the sun, combined with the peculiar situation and
internal disposition of the mountain.

I supposed that the frozen waters, which during the
winter, when the whole ground is covered with snow,
had penetrated into the inner parts of that portion of
the mountain exposed to the morning sun, became par-
tially melted, that these waters running down, little
by little, into certain beds of live rock, and being thence
conveyed toward the spring, produced the flow at noon ;
that the sun quitting this part of the mountain (which
then becomes cool) darts its vertical beams upon the
summit, melting the congealed waters, which descend
also by slow degrees, but through different channels, into
the same beds of live rock, and are the cause of the flow
at night ; and finally, that the sun heating the western
side of the mountain, similar effects are occasioned, and
the morning flow is the consequence. That this last is
slower than the others may be accounted for by the re-
moteness of the western side from the spring, by its being
covered with wood, and therefore more sheltered from the
sun, or simply by the coldness of the night. My reason-
ing may derive support from the fact of the water flowing
most copiously during the first days, and that having gradu-
ally diminished in quantity it ceases to run altogether : as
if the waters which had remained frozen in the earth were

1 The spring at Bawan is situated under the northern side of the
karewa (the Kashmiri name for a plateau of alluvial or lacustrine
material) of Islamabad, which is a good specimen of the peculiar
formation of the flat-topped type. Bernier has described it exactly,
and it may be here stated that with reference to Bernier's remark
about the irrigation of the karewas, or hillocks as he calls them (see
P- 396), that extensive works in the shape of water channels have in
recent years been carried out by the Kashmir Darbar (Government),
with the object of bringing water from a higher level to the Islamabad
karewa, the soil of which till then was arid and difficult of cultivation.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 413

in greater plenty at the commencement than afterwards.
It may be observed too, that even at the beginning the
supply of water as to the quantity is very uncertain, and
that the flow is sometimes greater at noon than at night or
in the morning, or in the morning greater than at noon ;
because, as I conceive, some days are hotter than others,
and because clouds, sometimes rendering the heat unequal,
thus become the cause of inequality in the flow of water.

Returning from Send-brary, I turned a little from the
high road for the sake of visiting Achiavel,1 a country house
formerly of the Kings of Kachemire and now of the Great
Mogol. What principally constitutes the beauty of this
place is a fountain, whose waters disperse themselves into
a hundred canals round the house, which is no means
unseemly, and throughout the gardens. The spring gushes
out of the earth with violence, as if it issued from the bottom
of some well, and the water is so abundant that it ought
rather to be called a river than a fountain. It is excellent
water, and cold as ice. The garden is very handsome, laid
out in regular walks, and full of fruit-trees, — apple, pear,
plum, apricot, and cherry. Jets-d'eau in various forms and
fish-ponds are in great number, and there is a lofty cascade
which in its fall takes the form and colour of a large sheet,
thirty or forty paces in length, producing the finest effect
imaginable ; especially at night, when innumerable lamps,
fixed in parts of the wall adapted for that purpose, are
lighted under this sheet of water.

From Achiavel I proceeded to another royal garden,2

1 Achibal, which is about five miles off the high road, was one of the
favourite resorts of Nurmahal, and the Imperial gardens with their
various fountains and pavilions are still a favourite resort of visitors to
Kashmir, and are occasionally used by the Maharaja, by whom they
are maintained in good order.

2 Vernag (' the powerful snake ') about II miles from Achibal in a
direct line. A very lovely place. The gardens described by Bernier
were built by Jahangir in 1612-1619, and it is said that they were
designed and laid out by his wife Nurmahal. The ' pond ' containing
the sacred fish is now in charge of Brahmin priests, and is the head*
water or source of the river Jhelum.

414 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

embellished much in the same manner. One of its ponds
contains fish so tame that they approach upon being called,
or when pieces of bread are thrown into the water. The
largest have gold rings, with inscriptions, through the gills,
placed there, it is said, by the celebrated Nour-Mchalle,
the wife of Jehan-Guyre, grandfather to Aureng-Zebe.

Ddnechmend-kan seemed well satisfied with the account
I brought of Send-brary, and wished me to undertake
another journey, that I might bear my testimony to what
he1 called a real miracle [miracle assure], such a miracle as
would induce me to renounce my religion and become a
MusulmaiL ' Hasten to Baramoulay,' said he ; ' the distance
is not greater than to Send-brary : 2 there you will see a
Mosque which contains the tomb of a celebrated Pire,s or
Holy Derviche, who though dead yet miraculously cures the
sick and infirm. Perhaps you may deny the reality either of
the disease or of the cure ; but another miracle is wrought
by the power of this holy man, which no person can see
without acknowledging. There is a large round stone that
the strongest man can scarcely raise from the ground, but
which eleven men,, after a prayer made to the saint, lift up
with the tips of their eleven fingers with the same ease as
they would move a piece of straw.' I was not sorry for
another little excursion, and set out with both my former
companions, the trooper and the native of the country. I
found Baramoulay a rather pleasant place ; the Mosque is a
tolerable building and the Saint's tomb is richly adorned.4
It was surrounded with a great number of people, engaged

1 The Nawab desired to be able to explain satisfactorily the reason
for the intermittent flow at Bawan, and thus refute, like a good Moslem,
the fables of the Gentiles. Bernier's report having satisfied him, he
appears to have resolved upon showing that however the Gentiles might
invent stories the Moslem wonders were all genuine.

8 The distance from Srfnagar to Baramula, which is to the south-
west, is about 32 miles by land.

a See p. 409, footnote 1.

4 Or Ziarat (shrine), which is still to be seen, also the ' kitchen '
mentioned by Bernier.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 415

in acts of devotion, who said they were ill. Adjoining the
Mosque is a kitchen, wherein I observed large boilers
filled with meat and rice, which I conceived at once to be
the majmet that draws the sick, and the miracle that cures

them. On the other side of the mosque are the apart-
ments and garden of the Mullahs, who pursue the even
tenor of their way under the shadow of the Pire's
miraculous sanctity. They are sufficiently zealous in
celebrating his praises, but as I am always unhappy on
similar occasions, he performed no miracle upon the sick
while I remained there. As to the round and heavy stone
that was to convert me, I noticed that eleven Mullahs
formed themselves into a circle round it, but what with
their long cabayes,1 or vests, and the studied compactness
of the circle, I had great difficulty to see the mode in which
they held the stone. I watched narrowly, however, the
whole of this cheating process, and although the Mullahs
stoutly maintained that each person used only the tip of
one finger, and that the stone felt as light as a feather, yet
I could clearly discover that it was not raised from the
ground without a great effort, and it seemed to me that
the Mullahs made use of the thumb as well as of the fore-
finger. Still I mixed my voice with the cries of these im-
postors and bystanders, exclaiming Karamet ! Karamet ! —
a miracle ! a miracle ! I then presented them with a roupie,
and assuming a look of the deepest devotion, entreated
that I might have for once the distinguished honour of
being among the eleven who lifted the stone. The Mullahs
were reluctant to comply with my request, but having
presented them with a second roupie, and expressed my
belief in the truth of the miracle, one of them gave up his
place to me. No doubt they hoped that ten would be able,
by an extraordinary effort, to lift the stone, although I
contributed no other aid than the tip of my finger, and
they expected to manage so adroitly that I should not
discover the imposture. But they were much mortified to
1 The kabd was a wadded coat or vest.

JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

find that the stone, to which I persevered in applying the
end of my finger only, was constantly inclining and falling
towards me. I considered it prudent at last to hold it
firmly with both my finger and thumb, when we succeeded,
but with great difficulty, in raising it to the usual height.
Observing that every person looked at me with an evil
eye, not knowing what to think of me, and that I incurred
the danger of being stoned, I continued to join in the cry
of Karamet I and throwing down a third roupie, stole away
from the crowd. Though I had taken no refreshment
since my arrival, I did not hesitate to mount my horse
directly, and to quit for ever the Derviche and his miracles.
I availed myself of this opportunity to visit those celebrated
rocks that form the outlet of all the waters of the kingdom,
and to which I alluded at the commencement of this letter.

I was induced to quit the high road for the sake of
approaching a large lake1 that I saw at some distance. It
is well stocked with fish, particularly eels, and covered
with ducks, wild geese, and many other water-birds. The
Governor comes hither in the winter, when these birds
are in greatest plenty, to enjoy the sport of fowling.
In the centre of the lake is an hermitage, with its little
garden, which it is pretended floats miraculously upon the
water. The hermit passes the whole of his life there ; he
never leaves the place. I shall not fill up this letter by
recounting the thousand absurd tales reported of this her-
mitage, except it be the tradition that one of the ancient
Kings of Kachemire, out of mere fancy, built it upon a
number of thick beams fastened together.2 The river
which runs toward Baramoulay passes through the middle
of this lake.

Leaving this lake, I went in search of a spring, con-

1 The Wular (Woolar or Volur) Lake, through which the Jhelum
flows.

2 On the 22nd September 1874, the editor of this volume was fortunate
enough to discover, near the ruins of a mosque, on the Lanka Island
in the Wular Lake, to which Bernier refers, a slab of black slate, on
which there was a Persian inscription, a rubbing from which has been
translated by Major H. S. Jarrett, B.S.C., as follows :—

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 417

sidered an object of curiosity.1 It bubbles gently and rises
with some force, bringing with it a certain quantity of very
fine sand, which returns the way it came ; after which the
water becomes still a moment or two without ebullition
and without bringing up sand, and then bubbles as before,

May this edifice be as firm as the foundations of the heavens,
May it be the most renowned ornament of the universe,
As long as the Monarch Zayn Ibad holds festival therein
May it be like the date of his own reign, — * happy.'
The numerical value of the letters in khurram (happy) is 847, which
is the year of the Hijra it is intended to record, equivalent to A.D.
1443, 1444, during which Zayn-ul-Aabidin (the Zayn Ibad of the inscrip-
tion, for both have the same meaning, viz., Ornament of the Adorers]
ruled in Kashmir.

According to tradition, in the vicinity of the Wular Lake once stood
a city of which the Raja was Sudrasen. By reason of the enormity of
his crimes the waters of the lake rose and drowned him and his subjects.
It was said that during the winter months, at low water, the ruins of a
submerged idol-temple might be seen rising from the lake. Zayn-iil-
Aabidin constructed a spacious barge, which he sank in the lake, and
upon which he laid a foundation of bricks and stones till it rose high
enough to be level with the water. Upon this he erected a mosque
and other buildings, and gave the islet the name of Lanka. The
expense of the work was defrayed by the fortunate discovery of two
idols of solid gold which had been brought up from the lake by divers.
On the completion of Lanka the King ordered a great festival to be
held, wherein large sums were distributed among the poor. Verses
were written by the poets to commemorate this event, and among these
the inscription under notice by Ahmad Allamah, Kashmiri, was en-
graved upon a stone and placed on the mosque. See pp. 54, 55, Proc.
As. Soc. Bengal for 1880 ; also pp. 16-20 Jour. As. Soc. Bengal \
Part I. 1880, Notes on an inscription found upon a stone lying near the
ruins of a Masjid on Lanka Island, Wular Lake, Kashmir. By Major
H. S.Jarrett, B.S.C.

Al-Badaoni alludes to the Lanka island in his Muntakhab-ut-
Tawarikh as follows : ' Sultan Zain-ul-'abidin, whose history has been
written succinctly in my abridgment of the history of Kashmir ' [see
P- 393» footnote 2] ' had ^jarib of stones thrown into the water ' [of the
Lake], ' and built thereon a stone throne so lofty and grand that the
like of it has not been seen in all the provinces of India.' — Lowe's
translation, vol. ii. p. 398; Calcutta, 1884.

1 The Wular Lake is partly fed by internal springs, and there are
many noted springs in the neighbourhood.

418 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

and with the same effect ; thus continuing its motion a
irregular intervals. But the wonder, they say, consists in
this, that the least noise made, either by speaking or
knocking the feet against the ground, agitates the water
and causes it to run and bubble in the manner described.
I discovered, however, that its movements are influenced
neither by speaking nor knocking, and that its action is the
same whether you make a noise or are silent. As to the
real cause of the water rising in this manner, I have not
reflected sufficiently upon the subject to give you a satis-
factory solution ; unless it be that the sand by returning
continues to obstruct the narrow channel of this small and
weak spring, until the water thus opposed and closed in
makes an effort to raise the sand and open a passage ; or
it may rather be, that the wind pent in the channel of the
spring rises at intervals, as is the case in artificial
springs.1

When we had sufficiently examined this fountain, we
ascended the mountains, for the purpose of seeing an ex-
tensive lake,2 in which there is ice, even in summer, which
the winds heap up and disperse, as in a frozen sea. We

1 It is very pleasant to trace in all Bernier's explanations of natural
phenomena the influence of his greater master Gassendi, of whom it has
been so well said that ' the clearness of his exposition and the manner
in which he, like his great contemporary Bacon, urged the necessity
and utility of experimental research were of inestimable service to
the cause of science. '

2 Probably the Gungabal Lake, about 1 5 miles to the north-east, as
the crow flies, from the Wular Lake. A great festival is held here in
August attended by pilgrims from all parts of the adjacent country.
There are several lakes at Gungabal formed originally by the glaciers
of the Haramuk Mountain, 16,903 feet high, and Sang-i-sufaid, the
White Stone, may have been the Persian name given by the Moguls
to these and the many other glaciers close by ; or to limestone cliffs
which are not far from the Gungabal lake. ' The grotto, full of
wonderful congelations,' is probably the Amarnath cave where blocks
of ice, stalagmites, formed by the dripping water from the roof, are
worshipped, by the many Hindoos who resort here, as images of Shiva.
Glaciers surround this place, which is considerably to the south-east
of Gungabal.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 419

then passed through a place called Sengsafed, that is to say,
Whitestone, remarkable for producing in summer every
kind of flower, the same as in a well-stored garden ;l and for
a circumstance said to have been observed from time im-
memorial, that when many persons visit this spot and make
much noise and agitate the air, a heavy shower of rain in-
variably descends. Whether this be generally the case or
not, there can be no doubt that a few years ago, when
Sengsafed was visited by Chah-Jehan, the whole party was
in danger of perishing in consequence of the violent and
extraordinary rains which fell, although he had issued
orders that no unnecessary noise should be made. This
fact will remind you of the aged hermit's conversation
with me on the summit of Pire-pcnjalc.2

I was pursuing my journey to a grotto full of wonderful
congelations, two days' journey from Sengsafed, when I
received intelligence that my Navaab felt very impatient
and uneasy on account of my long absence.

I regret that I can give you only imperfect and scanty
information concerning the surrounding mountains. The
subject has much occupied my thoughts since my arrival
in this country ; but I can meet with no congenial mind,
with no person of observation and research, who possesses
much knowledge of the matters about which I wish to be
informed. What I have learnt I shall, however, com-
municate.

The merchants who every year travel from mountain to
mountain to collect the fine wool with which shawls are
manufactured, all agree in saying that between all the
mountains still dependent upon Kachemire there are many
fine stretches of country. Among these tracts there is one
whose annual tribute is paid in leather and wool, and
whose women are proverbial for beauty, chastity, and
industry. Beyond this tract is another whose valleys are

1 An oasis, not uncommon in the mountain chains of the West. A
well-known example being the ' Jardin ' of Mont Blanc.

2 See p. 4 10.

420 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

delightful and plains fertile, abounding in corn, rice, apples,
pears, apricots, excellent melons, and even grapes, with
which good wine is made. The tribute of this tract is
likewise paid in wool and leather,1 and it sometimes
happens that the inhabitants, trusting to the inaccessible
nature of the country, refuse payment ; but troops always
contrive to penetrate, and reduce the people to submis-
sion. I learn also from the merchants, that in the more
distant mountains, which have ceased to be tributary to
Kachemire, there are other beautiful tracts and countries,
where the inhabitants are white and well-formed, and
remarkable for their attachment to their native land,
which they seldom quit. Some of these people have no
King, nor even, as far as can be discovered, any religion ;
though certain tribes abstain from fish, and consider it
unclean.

I shall add what was related to me a few days ago by
a fine old fellow, who married a descendant of the ancient
kings of Kachemire. At the period when Jehan-Guyre was
making a diligent search after all persons connected with
the royal family, this old man effected his escape to the
mountains last mentioned, accompanied by three domestics,
scarcely knowing whither he was going. Wandering from
place to place, he found himself at length in the midst of
a small but beautiful district, where he was no sooner
known than he experienced a cordial reception. The
happy man was laden with presents, and in the evening
the handsomest girls were presented by their parents, and
he was entreated to make his choice from them, that the
country might be honoured with his offspring. My friend
proceeded to another district in the vicinity and was
received with equal kindness and respect : the evening
ceremony was different, however, in one particular ; as

1 Probably the goat-skins, tanned and coloured red, Idkhi, for which
there is still a great demand all over these hills, more particularly
in Ladak, and Yarkand, where bright-coloured leathers are largely
employed in the manufacture of boots, and for bridles and trappings
of horses. See Cunningham's Laddk. London, 1854.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 421

the husbands brought their wives,1 not the fathers their
daughters ; observing that their neighbours were simpletons
in having supplied him with the latter, because the
children might not continue in their household, but must
follow the footsteps of the daughters' future husbands.

Some few years since there existed great dissensions in
the royal family of Little Tibet,2 a country bordering on
Kachemire. One of the pretenders to the crown having
applied secretly to the Governor of this kingdom for
assistance, the latter was commanded by Chah-Jehan to
afford all the succour he might need. The Governor
accordingly invaded Little Tibet, slew or put to flight the
other competitors, and left this prince in undisputed
possession of the throne, subject to an annual tribute of
crystal, musk, and wool. Thus circumstanced, this petty
King has not well been able to avoid paying his personal
obeisance to Aureng-Zebe, bringing with him some of these
articles as presents; but he is come with so wretched a
retinue that I should never have taken him for a person
of distinguished rank. My Navaab invited this personage
to dinner, hoping to obtain some information concerning
those mountainous regions. He informed us that his
kingdom was bounded on the east by Great Tibet ; that it
was thirty or forty leagues in breadth ; that he was very
poor, notwithstanding the crystal, musk, and wool, which
he had in small quantities ; and that the opinion generally
entertained of his possessing gold mines was quite erroneous.

1 The system of polyandry, strictly confined to brothers, still prevails
in Ladak. ' Each family of brothers has only one wife in common.
The most usual number of husbands is two, but three, and even four
husbands, are not uncommon. This system prevails, of course, only
among the poorer classes, for the rich, as in all Eastern countries,
generally have two or three wives, according to their circumstances.
Polyandry is the principal check to the increase of population, and how-
ever revolting it may be to our feelings, it was a most politic measure
for a poor country which does not produce sufficient food for its inhabi-
tants.'— Cunningham's Laddk, p. 306. London, 1854.

2 Or Baltistan, as it is now called.

422 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

The country, in certain parts/ he added, 'produces ex-
cellent fruit, particularly melons, but the winters are most
severe, because of the deep snows/ The inhabitants
heretofore were Gentiles, but the great majority have
become Mahometan, as well as himself ; of the sect of the
Chias, which is that of all Persia.

He spoke also of the attempt made by Chah-Jehan,
seventeen or eighteen years ago, to conquer Great Tibet, a
country frequently invaded by the Kings of Kachcmire.1
The army, after a difficult march of sixteen days through
the mountains, besieged and took a fortress, which threw
the inhabitants into such consternation that the conquest
of the kingdom would no doubt have been completed if
the army had immediately crossed a certain celebrated and
rapid river, and marched boldly to the capital city. The
season, however, was advanced, and the governor of Kache-
mire, who commanded the troops, apprehending he might
be overtaken by the snow, determined to retreat. He
placed a garrison in the fortress just captured, intending to
resume the invasion of the countiy early in the spring ; but
that garrison most strangely and unexpectedly evacuated
the castle, either through fear of the enemy, or from wanjt
of provisions, and Great Tibet escaped the meditated attack
that had been deferred to the next spring. That kingdom
being threatened with war by Aureng-Zebe, the King
despatched an ambassador when informed of the Mogol's
arrival in Kachemire. The embassy was accompanied by
various presents, the productions of the country ; such as
crystal, musk, a piece of jade,2 and those valuable white
tails taken from a species of cow peculiar to Great Tibet,
which are attached by way of ornament to the ears of
elephants.3 The jade stone presented upon this occasion
was of an extraordinary size, and therefore very precious.

1 In 1638 when AH MardSn Khan was Governor of Kashmir, t.t
about twenty-seven years before Bernier visited Kashmir.

2 Jachen in the original, a corruption of Yashin, the Persian came
for this mineral, see p. 298. 3 See p. 251.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 423

Jachcn is in great estimation in the court of the Mogol : its
colour is greenish, with white veins, and it is so hard as to
be wrought only with diamond powder. Cups and vases are
made of this stone. I have some of most exquisite work-
manship, inlaid with strings of gold, and enriched with
precious stones. The ambassador's train consisted of three
or four cavaliers, and ten or twelve tall men, dried-up
looking and lean, with very scanty beards like the Chinese,
and common red caps,1 such as our seamen wear. The

1 The Red Cap sect of the Tibet Buddhists, called Dukpa or Sham-
mar, in contradistinction to the Yellow Cap or Gelugpa sect, the
followers of the great reforming Lama, named Tsong-khapa, born in
1358, died 1419. He forbade clerical marriages, prohibited necro-
mancy, and introduced the custom of frequent conferences among the
Lamas. His reforms led to a schism in the Tibetan Church.

Bogle in his narrative of his mission to Tibet in 1774, pp. I79> 180
(edited by Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S. London, 1876), gives
an interesting account of an interview he had with a party of Red Caps,
in April 1775, when on his return to Bengal : 'A blind man, with a
young wife, came into the court and serenaded us. He played on the
fiddle underhandwise ; she sang ; and both, assisted by a young boy,
beat time hoppingly with their feet. The object of this compliment
I fancy, it is needless to explain. Our musicians gave way to a parcel
of mendicant priests. It may be necessary to state that there are two
sets of clergy in Tibet, distinguished by, and classed under the names
of, Yellow Caps and Red Caps. The Dalai and Teshu Lamas are at
the head of the Yellow Caps ; the Red Caps have their own Lamas and
monasteries. In times of old there were violent disputes between them,
in which the Yellow Caps got the victory, as well by the assistance of
the Tartars as by their superior sanctity. But as I adhere to the
tenets of this sect, and have acquired my knowledge of religion from
its votaries, I will not here say much upon the subject lest it should be
thought spiteful. I may be allowed, however, just to mention two
things, which must convince every unprejudiced person of the wicked
lives and false doctrines of the Red Caps. In the first place, many of
the clergy marry ; and in the next, they persist, in opposition to religion
and common sense, in wearing Red Caps. The priests who now
visited us were of the last sect. There might be about eight of them.
Each held a staff in one hand and a rosary in the other. They formed
into a circle, and began to chant their prayers, which, as I understood
they were put up for my welfare, I was in no haste to interrupt. At
length, to show them that however hostile to their principles I bore them
no personal grudge, I dismissed them with a few small pieces of silver.'

424 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

remainder of the apparel was worthy of their head-gear.
I rather think that four or five of these gentlemen wore
swords, but the others followed the ambassador without
staves or sticks. He entered into a negotiation with
Aureng-Zebe, and promised on the part of his master that
a mosque should be built in the capital, wherein prayers
in the Mahometan form should be offered ; that the coin
should bear on one side the impress of Aureng-Zebe ; and
that the Mogol should receive an annual tribute. But no
person doubts that this treaty will be totally disregarded
as soon as Aureng-Zebe has quitted Kachemire, and that the
King of Great Tibet will no more fulfil its stipulations than
he did those of the treaty concluded between him and
Chah-Jehan.

There was in the suite of the ambassador a physician,
said to be from the kingdom of Kassa,1 and of the Lamy
or Lama tribe ; a tribe which is the depositary of the law
in Lassa as that of the Brehmens is in the Indies, with
this difference, that the Brehmens of the Indies have no
Calife or Pontiff, which these people have, who is not
only recognised as such in the kingdom of Lassa, but
throughout all Tarlary, and is honoured and reverenced
as a divine personage. The physician had a book of
receipts which I could not persuade him to sell; the
writing at a distance looked something like ours. We
induced him to write down the alphabet, but he did this
with so much difficulty, and his writing was so wretchedly
bad in comparison with that in his book, that we pro-
nounced him an ignoramus. He was an ardent believer
in metempsychosis, and entertained us with wonderful
tales. Among others, he mentioned that when his Grand
Lama was very old and on the point of death, he as-
sembled the council, and declared to them that his soul
was going to pass into the body of an infant recently
born. The child was nourished with tender care ; and
when he had attained his sixth or seventh year, a large

1 Lhasa, the capital of the U province of Tibet.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 425

quantity of household furniture and wearing apparel was
placed before him, mixed up with his own, and he had the
sagacity to discern which part was his own property, and
which was not; a decisive proof, the physician observed,
how true is the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. At
first I thought the man was speaking in irony, but I soon
discovered that he was perfectly serious. One day I went
to see him at the ambassador's, taking a Kachemirian mer-
chant acquainted with the language of Tibet with me as
an interpreter, on the pretence that I desired to purchase
certain stuffs which he had for sale, a species of felt about
a foot wide ; but the real object of the visit was to obtain
information concerning those imperfectly known regions.
But I learnt little or nothing new : he only said generally
that Great Tibet would bear no comparison with his own
country ; that the latter was covered with snow more than
five months in the year, and that it was frequently engaged
in war with the Tartars ; but which Tartars these were he
could not say. At length I found that the time passed
with this man was misspent, for he was incapable of
answering any one of the numerous questions I intended
to ask.

The following which I now relate is such a well-
established fact that no one here doubts it, namely that
it is not twenty years since caravans went annually from
Kachemire to Katay.1 They used to traverse the mountains
of Great Tibet, enter Tartary, and reach Katay in about
three months. It is an extremely difficult road, and there
are impetuous torrents that can be crossed only by means
of cords extended from rock to rock.2 The caravans re-
turned with music, China-wood [bois de Chine],3 rhubarb and

1 See p. 427, footnote 4.

1 This is an early mention of the rope suspension-bridges, jholas,
which are common in Kashmir and Tibet, the ropes being made of
hemp, or willow or birch twigs.

3 Also known as China-root, used in the same way as sarsaparilla, to
which species it belongs. It is held in great esteem at the present day
in the native pharmacopoeias of India and China.

426 JOURNEY TO RACHEMIRE

mamtron,1 a small root in great repute for the cure of bad
eyes ; and in returning through Great Tibet they further
loaded themselves with the produce of that country, such
as musk, crystal, jade, and especially with a quantity of very
fine wool of two kinds, the first from the sheep of that
country, and the latter which is known by the name of touz,
and resembles, as already observed, the beaver, and should
rather be called hair than wool. But since Chah-Jehans
irruption into Great Tibet, the King has not only inter-
dicted the passage of caravans, but forbidden any person
from Kachcmire to enter his dominions. This is the reason
why the caravans now take their departure from Palna on
the Ganges so as to avoid his territories : they leave Great
Tibet on the left and proceed directly to the kingdom of
slaves, Lassa?

In regard to the kingdom known here by the name of
Kacheguer, which is in my opinion the same as our maps
call Kascar, I shall relate all the information I have col-
lected from merchants, natives of that country, who when
they heard that Aureng-Zebe intended to visit Kachemire,
brought into this kingdom for sale a great number of young
slaves, girls and boys.

They say that Kacheguer lies to the east of Kachemire
inclining somewhat to the northward ; 3 that the shortest
route from one kingdom to the other is through Great Tibet,
but, that passage being now shut, they were under the
necessity of taking the road of Little Tibet. The first town
they passed in returning was Gourtchef the last town de-

1 Still, under the name of Mamiran-i-Chiniy a popular drug in the
bazaars of the Punjab. It is ground up with rose-Avater and then
applied to the eyes. See Balfour, Cyclop, of India, s.v.

2 The route from Patna to Lhasa was through Nepal, and vid the
Kuti (Nialam) Pass to Shigatze, and thence to Lhasa. From Lhasa
there was a trade-route to Sining Fu on the Chinese frontier, north-east
through Kokosai and the Charing Nor. This being the Patna-China
route mentioned by Bernier on the next page.

8 As a matter of fact the town of Kashgar is in 76° 6' 47" E. long.,
and Srinagar is in 74° 50'. 4 Gurez or Gurais.

pendent upon Kachcmire, and four days' journey from the
city of Kachcmire : from Gourtche, they were eight days in
reaching Eskerdou,1 the capital of Little Tibet ; and in two
days more they came to a small town called Cheker,2 also
within the territory of Little Tibet, and situated on a river
celebrated for its medicinal waters. In fifteen days they
came to a large forest, on the confines of Little Tibet, and
in fifteen days more they arrived at Kachcguer, a small
town which was formerly the royal residence, though now
the King of Kacheguer resides at Jourkend,5 a little more to
the north, and ten days' journey from Kacheguer. These
merchants added that the distance from the town of Kache-
guer- to Katay 4 is not more than a two months' voyage ;
that caravans go thither every year, which return laden
with the articles I have enumerated, and proceed to Persia
by way of Usbek ; as there are others that go from Katay
to Patna, in Hindoustan. They also informed me that the
way from Kacheguer to Katay is through a small town,
eight days' journey from Coten, and that Coten 5 is the last
town on that side in the kingdom of Kacheguer. The road
from Kachemire to Kachcguer, they said, is extremely bad,
and among other difficult paths, there is the place where, in
every season, you must go a quarter of a league over ice.6

1 Skardu, taken by the Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1840. Vid Gurez,
it is fourteen marches from Srinagar ; the marches may have been
longer in Bernier's time.

2 Shigar, on the river of that name.

8 Yarkand is to the south-east of the town of Kashgar.

4 It is interesting to note Bernier's use of this word here. It is the
name for China which would be used by his informants, the merchants
from Kashgar, see p. 426, although he was probably under the im-
pression, a very common one at his time, that Katay or Cathay was a
country to the north of China. Father Martini, in his Novus Atlas
Sinensis (1655), was one of the first to fully recognise its identity with
China. See p. 155 text, and footnote *.

6 Khotan.

6 This refers to a route from Skardu to Yarkand, which crossed the
Baltero Glacier, which now, owing to changes in the ice, is no longer
passable.

428 JOURNEY TO KACHEMIRE

This is all the information I could collect concern!
these regions ; it is certainly confused and scanty, but after
all will be found tolerably complete considering the igno-
rance of these people, seldom able to give reasons for any-
thing, and that I had also to deal with interpreters who
experienced the utmost difficulty both in clearly stating
my interrogatories, and in explaining satisfactorily the
answers.1

Here I intended to close this letter, or rather this book,
and take my leave of you until our return to Dehli ; but my
inclination for writing is still strong, and I enjoy some
leisure. I shall endeavour, therefore, to answer the five
questions which you put to me in your last letter, on be-
half of the industrious and inquisitive Monsieur Thevenot,2
who makes greater and more important discoveries in his
study than others who circumnavigate the globe.

His first inquiry is, whether it be true that Jews have
for a long period resided, in the kingdom of Kachemire :
whether they be in possession of the Holy Scriptures, and,
if so, whether there be any discrepancy between their Old
Testament and our own.

The second request is, that I should communicate what-
ever observations I may have made concerning the Moisson,
or Season of the periodical rains in the Indies.

The third, that I make him acquainted with my remarks
and opinions upon the singular regularity of the winds and
currents in the seas of the Indies.

The fourth, whether the kingdom of Bengale be as
fertile, rich, and beautiful as is commonly reported.

The fifth, that I give a decisive opinion on the old con-
troversies as to the causes of the Nile's increase.

1 Hence doubtless arose the errors in stating the relative bearings of
Kashmir and Kashgar, and Kashgar, Yarkand.

2 Melchisedec, the uncle of the Traveller, Jean de Thevenot (1633-
1667), is the well-known Publisher of travels (Fol. Paris, 1663 et seq.),
and was born about 1620, and died in 1692. He was the French
Hakluyt and Purchas.

THE PARADISE OF THE INDIES 429

Answer to the first Inquiry, concerning the Jews.

I would be as much pleased as Monsieur Thevenot him-
self if Jews were found in these mountainous regions; I
mean such Jews as he would no doubt desire to find, —
Jews descended from the tribes transported by Shalmaneser :
but you may assure that gentleman that although there
seems ground for believing that some of them were for-
merly settled in these countries, yet the whole population
is at present either Gentile or Mahometan. In China, indeed,
there are probably people of that nation, for I have lately
seen letters in the hands of our reverend Father the Jesuit
of Dehli, written by a German Jesuit from Pekin, wherein he
states that he had conversed with Jews in that city, who
adhered to the forms of Judaism and retained the books
of the Old Testament.1 They were totally ignorant of

1 The first settlement of the Jews in China is said to have taken place
in A.D. 1163 (Encycl. Brit.) nth ed.). John de Marignolli, who was
Papal Legate to the court of the Great Khan, and was in Peking
(Cambalec) in 1341, states that he had many and glorious disputations
with the Jews and other sectaries, and also made a great harvest of
souls in that Empire.

The German Jesuit referred to was in all probability Father Johann
Adam Schall, or Schaal as sometimes given, a German from Zell (Celle
in Hanover), not Cologne, as has been stated by some writers. Father
Schall was born in 1591, came to China in 1622, and died at Peking in
1666. He was a great mathematician, and was one of those ' followers
of the doctrine of the Lord of Heaven' (i.e. Christians), who were
appointed to reform the Chinese calendar, the calculations of which
had fallen into disorder. This was by a special decree of the Emperor,
and the work was duly finished ' by means of the new system of the
Foreigners ' in 1628. Father Schall was held in great esteem by the
Emneror of China, who conferred upon him the Mandarin's button of
the first grade, and as we know from independent Chinese sources the
very great esteem in which this missionary from Je-rh-ma-ni (Germany)
was held by all classes in the Chinese Empire, at Peking and elsewhere, it
is quite likely that the Chinese Jews would ask him to rule over them.
Schall was a constant contributor to Kircher's stores of learning, and
his portrait in Chinese official dress will be found at p. 113 of China
Illustrate in which work a copy of the inscription tablets on the Jesuit
church at Peking, built by Schall, is given at p. 107, from which we
learn his birthplace as follows, . . PATER • JOANNES • ADAM us

SCHAL • A • ZELL • GERMANUS • . . .

4SO JEWS IN KACHEMTRE

the death of JESUS CHRIST and had expressed a wish to
appoint the Jesuit their Kakan l if he would abstain from
swine's flesh.

There are, however, many signs of Judaism to be found
in this country. On entering the kingdom after crossing
the Pire-penjale mountains, the inhabitants in the frontier
villages struck me as resembling Jews. Their countenance
and manner, and that indescribable peculiarity which en-
ables a traveller to distinguish the inhabitants of different
nations, all seemed to belong to that ancient people. You
are not to ascribe what I say to mere fancy, the Jewish
appearance of these villagers having been remarked by
our Jesuit Father, and by several other Europeans, long
before I visited Kachemire.

A second sign is the prevalence of the name of Mousa,
which means Moses, among the inhabitants of this city,
notwithstanding they are all Mahometans.

A third is the common tradition that Solomon visited
this country, and that it was he who opened a passage for
the waters by cutting the mountain of Baramoule.

A fourth, the belief that Moses died in the city of
Kachemire, and that his tomb is within a league of it.

And a fifth may be found in the generally received
opinion that the small and extremely ancient edifice seen
on one of the high hills was built by Solomon ; and it is
therefore called the Throne of Solomon to this day.2

You will see then, that I am not disposed to deny that
Jews may have taken up their residence in Kachemire.3

1 Khakan, or more properly Khaqan, the Xaydvos of the Byzantine
historians, the title of the Mogol Chingiz, and those who succeeded him
on the throne of Northern China. The Great Caan of the early
travellers. 2 See p. 399.

3 In recent times visitors to Kashmir seeing the names Rahimju, Lusju,
Julju, etc., etc., common ones among the tradespeople who cater for
foreign visitors in Srinagar, written up as RAHIM JEW, Lus JEW, JUL
JEW, have imagined that the bearers of these names were Jews by
nationality ! ! The Jewish cast of features of many of the inhabitants of
Kashmir is noticed by many modern travellers.

PERIODICAL RAINS IN THE INDIES 431

The purity of their law, after a lapse of ages, may have
been corrupted, until, having long degenerated into
idolatry, they were induced, like many other pagans, to
adopt the creed of Mahomet.1

It is certain that many Jews are settled in Persia, at Lar
and Hyspan ; and in Hindoustan, towards Goa and Cochin.21
I also learn that in Ethiopia, where they are veiy numer-
ous, these people are remarkable for courage and military
prowess; and if I am to believe two ambassadors from
the Ethiopian King, lately at this court, there was a Jew,
fifteen or sixteen years ago, grown so formidable, that he
endeavoured to erect an independent kingdom in a certain
small and mountainous district difficult of access.

Answer to the second Inquiry, concerning the
Periodical Rains in the Indies.

The sun is so strong and oppressive in the Indies during
the whole year, particularly during eight months, that the
ground would be completely burnt, and rendered sterile
and uninhabitable, if Providence did not kindly provide
a remedy, and wisely ordain that in the month of July,
when the heat is most intense, rains begin to fall, which
continue three successive months. The temperature of

1 The Moslem historian known as Alberunf , who was born in A. D.
973, says in his description of Kashmir, talking of the inhabitants :
'They are particularly anxious about the natural strength of their
country, and therefore take always much care to keep a strong hold
upon the entrances and roads leading into it. In consequence it is very
difficult to have any commerce with them. In former times they used
to allow one or two foreigners to enter their country, particularly Jews,
but at present they do not allow any Hindu whom they do not know
personally to enter, much less other people.' — P. 20 5, vol. i., English
Ed. by Dr. Edward C. Sachau. London : Trubner, 1888.

2 It is said that Jews settled in Cochin in the first year of the
Christian era, and from copperplates still extant it is put beyond doubt
that the Jewish church was firmly established there by the eighth cen-
tury. There is a regular Jews' quarter in the town of Cochin.

432 PERIODICAL RAINS IN THE INDIES

the air thus becomes supportable, and the earth is rendered
fruitful. These rains are not, however, so exactly regular
as to descend undeviatingly on the same day or week.
According to the observations I have made in various
places, particularly in Dehli, where I resided a long time,
they are never the same two years together. Sometimes
they commence or terminate a fortnight or three weeks
sooner or later, and one year they may be more abundant
than another. I have even known two entire years pass
without scarcely a drop of rain, and the consequences of
that extraordinary drought were wide-spreading sickness
and famine. It should be observed too that the rainy
season is earlier or later, and more or less plentiful, in
different countries, in proportion to their proximity or
remoteness from one another. In Bengale, for instance,
and along the coast of Koromandel, as far as the Island of
Ceylon, the rains begin and end a month sooner than to-
ward the coast of Malabar • and in Bengale they fall very
violently for four months, in the course of which it some-
times pours during eight days and nights without the least
intermission. In Dehli and Agra, however, the rains are
neither so abundant nor of such long continuance ; two or
three days often elapsing without the slightest shower ; and
from dawn of day to nine or ten o'clock in the morning,
it commonly rains very little, and sometimes not at all. It
struck me very particularly that the rains come from dif-
ferent quarters in different countries. In the neighbour-
hood of Dehli they come from the east, where Bengale is
situated ; in the province of Bengale and on the coast of
Koromandel, from the south ; and on the coast of Malabar
almost invariably from the west.

I have also remarked one thing, about which, indeed,
there is a perfect agreement of opinion in these parts, —
that accordingly as the heat of summer comes earlier or
later, is more or less violent, or lasts a longer or shorter
time, so the rains come sooner or later, are more or less
abundant, and continue a longer or a shorter period.

PERIODICAL RAINS IN THE INDIES 433

From these observations I have been led to believe that
the heat of the earth and the rarefaction of the air are
the principal causes of these rains which they attract.
The atmosphere of the circumjacent seas being colder,
more condensed, and thicker, is filled with clouds drawn
from the water by the great heat of the summer, and
which, driven and agitated by the winds, discharge them-
selves naturally upon land, where the atmosphere is hotter,
more rarefied, lighter, and less resisting than on the sea ;
and thus this discharge is more or less tardy and plentiful,
according as the heat comes early or late, and is more or
less intense.

It is also in accord with the observations contained in
this dissertation to suppose that if the rains commence
sooner on the coast of Koromandel than on the coast of
Malabar, it is only because the summer is earlier; and
that it is earlier may be owing to particular causes which it
would not perhaps be difficult to ascertain if the country
were properly examined. We know that according to the
different situations of lands, in respect of seas or mountains,
and in proportion as they are sandy, hilly, or covered with
wood, summer is felt more or less early, and with greater
or less violence.

Nor is it surprising that the rains come from different
quarters; that on the coast of Koromandel, for example,
they come from the south, and on the Malabar coast from
the west ; because it is apparently the nearest sea which
sends the rain ; and the sea nearest the Koromandel coast,
and to which it is more immediately exposed, lies to the
south; as the sea which washes the coast of Malabar is to
the west, extending itself towards Bab-el-mandel, Arabia,
and the Persian Gulf.

I have imagined, in fine, that although we see at Dehli
the rainy clouds come from the east, yet their origin may
be in the seas which lie to the south of that city : and
being intercepted by some mountains or lands whose at-
mosphere is colder, more condensed and resisting, they

2 E

434 CURRENTS OF THE SEA

are forced to turn aside and discharge themselves in
country where the air is more rarefied, and which conse-
quently offers less resistance.

I had almost forgotten to notice another fact which fell
under my observation while living in DchlL There never
falls any heavy rain until a great quantity of clouds have
passed, during several days, to the westward ; as if it were
necessary that the expanse of atmosphere to the west of
Dehli should be first filled with clouds, and that those
clouds finding some impediment, such as air less hot and
less rarefied, and therefore more condensed and more cap-
able of resistance ; or encountering other clouds and con-
trary winds, they become so thick, overcharged and heavy,
as to burst and descend in rain ; in the same manner as it
happens when clouds are driven by the wind against some
lofty mountain.

Answer to the third Inquiry ', concerning the Regularity of
the Currents of the Sea, and the Winds in the Indies.

As soon as the rains cease, which happens commonly
about the beginning of October, the sea takes its course
toward the South, and the cold North wind rises. This
wind continues four or five months without any intermis-
sion. It blows the whole of this time with equal force,
unattended with tempests, and always from the same quar-
ter, excepting sometimes for a single day when it changes
or lulls. After the expiration of this period, the winds
blow for about two months without any regularity. This
is called the intermediate season, or, as the Dutch have very
correctly named it, the time of the doubtful and variable
winds. These two months being passed, the sea resumes
its course from the South to the North, and the South wind
commences and continues to blow and the current continues
to run four or five months from the same quarter. There
then elapse about two months more, which constitute the
other intermediate season. In these intervals Navigation

AND WINDS IN THE INDIES 435

is extremely difficult and perilous, but during the two sea-
sons it is very easy, pleasant, and safe, excepting only the
latter part of the South-wind season. It ought not, there-
fore, to excite your surprise that the Indians, who are a very
timid people and ignorant of the art of navigation, under-
take pretty long and important voyages ; such as from Ben-
gale to Tanasscry, Achem, Malacca, Siam, and Makascar, or to^
Maslipatam, Ceylon, the Maldives, Moka, and Bender- Abbassy.
They are of course very careful to avail themselves of the
favourable Season for going and the favourable season for
returning. It often happens, however, that they are de-
tained beyond the proper time, overtaken by bad weather,
and wrecked. This is indeed sometimes the case with
Europeans, although they be far better Sea-men, bolder
and more skilful, and the condition and equipment of
whose vessels are so greatly superior. Of the two inter-
mediate Seasons, the one which follows the South wind is
without comparison the more dangerous, being much more
subject to storms and sudden squalls. That wind, even
during the season, is generally more impetuous and unequal
than the North wind. I must not omit to notice in this
place, that toward the end of the Season of the South-wind
and during the rains, although there be a perfect calm out
at sea, yet near the coasts, for a distance of fifteen or twenty
leagues, the weather is extremely tempestuous. The cap-
tains of European and other vessels should consequently be
careful to approach the coast of the Indies, that of Surale or
Maslipatam, for instance, just after the termination of the
rains ; otherwise they incur great risk of being dashed on
shore.

Such is the order of the seasons in the Indies, so far at
least as my observations justify me in speaking upon the
subject. I wish it were in my power to trace every effect
to its true cause ; but how is it possible to unravel these
profound secrets of Nature ! I have imagined, in the first
place, that the air by which our Globe is surrounded ought
to be considered one of its component parts, just as much

436 WINDS AND CURRENTS IN THE INDIES

as the waters of the sea and rivers ; because both the one
and the other gravitating on this globe, and tending to the
same common centre, are in this manner united to our
sphere. The Globe then is formed of three bodies, — air,
water, and earth. Secondly, our Globe being suspended
and balanced in that free and unresisting space wherein
it pleased the Creator to place it, would be easily displaced
if it came in contact with any unknown body. Thirdly,
the sun, after having crossed the line, while moving toward
one of the Poles, towards the Arctic Pole, for example,
darting its beams that way, produces sufficient impression
to depress in some measure the Arctic Pole, which is
depressed more and more in proportion as the sun advances
towards the Tropic ; and in the same manner, the sun
permits it again to rise gradually in proportion as it
returns toward the Equator ; until the same effect is pro-
duced by the power of its rays on the side of the Antarctic
Pole.

Taking for granted the truth of these suppositions, and
considering them conjointly with the diurnal motion of the
earth, it is not without reason that the Indians affirm that
the sun conducts and draws along with it both the sea and
the wind ; because, if it be true that, having passed the
line on its way toward one of the Poles, the sun causes a
change in the direction of the earth's axis and a depression
of the Pole, it follows as a necessary consequence, that the
other Pole is elevated, and that the sea and air, which are
two fluid and heavy bodies, run in this declension. It is
therefore correct to say, that the sun advancing toward
one Pole causes on that side two great and regular
currents, — the current of the sea and the current of the
air, which latter constitutes the Monsoon-wind ; as the sun
is the cause of two opposite currents when it returns
toward the other Pole.

Upon this theory it may, I think, be said that there are
only two main and contrary flows [flux] of the sea, one from
the Northern and the other from the Southern Pole ; that if

WEALTH OF THE KINGDOM OF BENGALE 437

there existed a sea from one Pole to the other, which
passed through Europe, we should there find these two
currents regulated in every respect as in the Indies, and that
the reason why this regularity is not general is that the
seas are intercepted by lands, which obstruct, break, and
diversify their course ; in the same manner as some
persons allege that the usual flux and reflux of the sea is
prevented in those seas which, like the Mediterranean,
stretch from East to West. According to this theory,
it might also, in my opinion, be maintained that there
are only two principal and opposite currents of air or
wind, and that in regard to them the same regularity
would reign generally, if the earth were also perfectly and
generally smooth, and similar throughout.

Answer to the fourth Inquiry r, as to the fertility* wealth
and beauty of the Kingdom of Bengale.

Egypt has been represented in every age as the finest
and most fruitful country in the world, and even our modern
writers deny that there is any other land so peculiarly
favoured by nature : but the knowledge I have acquired of
Bengale, during two visits paid to that kingdom, inclines
me to believe that the pre-eminence ascribed to Egypt is
rather due to Bengale. The latter country produces rice
in such abundance that it supplies not only the neigh-
bouring but remote states. It is carried up the Ganges as
far as Palna, and exported b*y sea to Maslipatam and many
other ports on the coast of Koromandel. It is also sent to
foreign kingdoms, principally to the island of Ceylon and
the Maldives. Bengale abounds likewise in sugar, with
which it supplies the kingdoms of Golkonda and the
Karnalic, where very little is grown, Arabia and Mesopo-
tamia, through the towns of Moka and Bassora, and even
Persia, by way of Bender- Abbasi. Bengale likewise is cele-
brated for its sweetmeats, especially in places inhabited
by Portuguese, who are skilful in the art of preparing

438 FERTILITY WEALTH AND BEAUTY

them, and with whom they are an article of considerable
trade. Among other fruits, they preserve large citrons,
such as we have in Europe, a certain delicate root about
the length of sarsaparilla, that common fruit of the Indies
called amba,1 another called ananas? small mirobolans?
which are excellent, limes, and ginger.

Bengale, it is true, yields not so much wheat as Egypt ;
but if this be a defect, it is attributable to the inhabitants,
who live a great deal more upon rice than the Egyptians,
and seldom taste bread. Nevertheless, wheat is cultivated
in sufficient quantity for the consumption of the country,
and for the making of excellent and cheap sea-biscuits,
with which the crews of European ships, English, Dutch
and Portuguese, are supplied. The three or four sorts of
vegetables which, together with rice and butter,4 form the
chief food of the common people, are purchased for the
merest trifle, and for a single roupie twenty or more good
fowls may be bought. Geese and ducks are proportionably
cheap. There are also goats and sheep in abundance ;
and pigs are obtained at so low a price that the Por-
tuguese, settled in the country, live almost entirely
upon pork. This meat is salted at a cheap rate by the
Dutch and English, for the supply of their vessels. Fish
of every species, whether fresh or salt, is in the same
profusion. In a word, Bengale abounds with every

1 See p. 249.

2 This is the name, from the Brazilian nana or nanas, of the pine-
apple in every country where it has been introduced from its original
habitat in America, except England. This fruit is now very common
in many parts of India, especially in those places that were Portuguese
settlements, or came under the influence of that people.

3 Myrobalans, the dried fruit of Terminalia Be/erica, T. chebnfa,
etc,, exported from India from a very remote period, and which had
a high reputation in the mediaeval pharmacopoeia.

4 That is, ghee, which is clarified butter. In preparing it, the butter
is boiled until all the watery particles and curds have been thrown off
by repeated skimmings. When the liquid is clear oil, it is poured into
a vessel to cool, which it does in a granulated form, and if originally
well boiled, will keep for years without taint.

OF THE KINGDOM OF BENGALE 439

necessary of life ; and it is this abundance that has
induced so many Portuguese, Half-castes,1 and other
Christians, driven from their different settlements by the
Dutch, to seek an asylum in this fertile kingdom. The
Jesuits and Augustins, who have large churches and are
permitted the free and unmolested exercise of their
religion, assured me that Ogouli alone contains from eight
to nine thousand Christians, and that in other parts of the
kingdom their number exceeded five-and-twenty thousand.
The rich exuberance of the country, together with the
beauty and amiable disposition of the native women, has
given rise to a proverb in common use among thei
Portuguese, English, and Dutch, that the Kingdom of Bengale \
has a hundred gates open for entrance, but not one for
departure.

In regard to valuable commodities of a nature to attract
foreign merchants, I am acquainted with no country
where so great a variety is found. Besides the sugar I
have spoken of, and which may be placed in the list of
valuable commodities, there is in Bengale such a quantity
of cotton and silks, that the kingdom may be called the
common storehouse for those two kinds of merchandise,
not of Hindoustan or the Empire of the Great Mogol only,
but of all the neighbouring kingdoms, and even of Europe.
I have been sometimes amazed at the vast quantity of
cotton cloths, of every sort, fine and coarse, white and
coloured, which the Hollanders alone export to different
places, especially to Japan and Europe. The English, the
Portuguese, and the native merchants deal also in these
articles to a considerable extent. The same may be said
of the silks and silk stuffs of all sorts. It is not possible
to conceive the quantity drawn every year from Bengale
for the supply of the whole of the Mogol Empire, as far
as Lahor and Cabol, and generally of all those foreign
nations to which the cotton cloths are sent. The silks
are not certainly so fine as those of Persia, Syria, Sayd,

) in the original.

440 FERTILITY WEALTH AND BEAUTY

and Barut,1 but they are of a much lower price ; and I
know from indisputable authority that, if they were well
selected and wrought with care, they might be manu-
factured into most beautiful stuffs. The Dutch have some-
times seven or eight hundred natives employed in their silk
factory at Kass em-Bazar, where, in like manner, the English
and other merchants employ a proportionate number.

Bengale is also the principal emporium for saltpetre. A
prodigious quantity is imported from Patna? It is carried
down the Ganges with great facility, and the Dutch and
English send large cargoes to many parts of the Indies,
and to Europe.

Lastly, it is from this fruitful kingdom, that the best
lac, opium, wax, civet, long pepper, and various drugs are
obtained; and butter,3 which may appear to you an in-
considerable article, is in such plenty, that although it
be a bulky article4 to export, yet it is sent by sea to num-
berless places.

1 Saida and Beirut (Beyrout), still great silk-producing places, on the
shores of the Levant. Saida, close to the ancient site of Sidon, and
Beirut about 25 miles to the north.

2 One of the principal refineries of saltpetre was at Chuprah, about
25 miles from Patna, where the French, Dutch, and Portuguese had
factories.

3 Ghee, see p. 438. There is still a large export trade in this
article, and the following table shows the quantity and value of ghee
consigned from India, to foreign countries, from recent returns :

Three months, 1st April to ipth June.

1889.

1890.

1891.

Quantity in Ibs., .

469,581

611,254

530,543

Value in Rupees, .

1,69,905

2,26,940

2,00,117

4 On account of the unwieldy nature of the large vessels made of
dried skins (kuppd in Hindostanee), in which it was then exported.
At the present time ghee is as a rule shipped in iron ' drums ' or large
tin canisters.

OF THE KINGDOM OF BENGALE 441

It is fair to acknowledge, however, that strangers seldom
find the air salubrious, particularly near the sea. There
was a great mortality among the Dutch and English when
they first settled in Bengale ; and I saw in Balasor1 two
very fine English vessels, which had remained in that port
a twelvemonth in consequence of the war with Holland,
and at the expiration of that period, were unable to put to
sea, because the greater part of the crews had died. Both
the English and Dutch now live with more caution and the
mortality is diminished. The masters of vessels take care
that their crews drink less punch ; 2 nor do they permit
them so frequently to visit the Indian women, or the dealers
in arac3 and tobacco. Good Vin de Grave or Canary and
Chiras wines, taken in moderation, are found excellent
preservatives against the effects of bad air, therefore I
maintain that those who live carefully need not be sick,
nor will the mortality be greater among them than with
the rest of the world. Bouleponge is a drink composed of
arac, a spirit distilled from molasses, mixed with lemon
juice, water and nutmeg; it is pleasant enough to the
taste, but most hurtful to body and health.

In describing the beauty of Bengale, it should be re-
marked that throughout a country extending nearly an
hundred leagues in length, on both banks of the Ganges,

1 The port of Balasor on the Orissa coast is still frequented by sloops
from the Madras coast and Ceylon. In the Balasor District were
several considerable ports in Bernier's time.

2 ' Bouleponges ' in the original. A curious combination of the name
of the drink and the vessel in which it was brewed. Bole-Ponjis
containing the tale of the Bticaneer: A Bottle of Red Ink : The Decline
and Fall of Ghosts, and other ingredients, 2 vols. 8vo, was the name
adopted in 1852 by H. Meredith Parker, a Bengal civilian well known
in the Lower Provinces for his literary and dramatic tastes, as the title
of a book which he wrote. Bowie is still the German name for punch,
and the allied drinks.

3 The Bengal arrack was held in great repute in those days. Oving-
ton, in A royage to Snratt in the Year 1686, Lond., 1696, says of it,
* Bengal is a much stronger spirit than that of Goa, though both are
ipadc use of by the Europeans in making punch.

442 FERTILITY WEALTH AND BEAUTY

from Raje-Mehale to the sea, is an endless number of
channels,1 cut, in bygone ages, from that river with im-
mense labour, for the conveyance of merchandise and of
the water itself, which is reputed by the Indians to be
superior to any in the world. These channels are lined on
both sides with towns and villages, thickly peopled with
Gentiles', and with extensive fields of rice, sugar, corn,
three or four sorts of vegetables, mustard, sesame for oil,
and small mulberry-trees, two or three feet in height,
for the food of silk-worms. But the most striking and
peculiar beauty of Bengale is the innumerable islands filling
the vast space between the two banks of the Ganges, in
some places six or seven days' journey asunder. These
islands vary in size, but are all extremely fertile, surrounded
with wood, and abounding in fruit-trees, and pine-apples,
and covered with verdure ; a thousand water-channels run
through them, stretching beyond the sight, and resembling
long walks arched with trees. Several of the islands,
nearest to the sea, are now abandoned by the inhabitants,2
who were exposed to the attacks and ravages of the
Arracan3 pirates, spoken of in another place. At present
they are a dreary waste, wherein no living creature is seen
except antelopes, hogs, and wild fowls,4 that attract tiger

1 In the original canaux, from which it would almost appear that
the artificial river embankments of Bengal led Bernier to believe that
the rivers themselves were canals, the work of human agency in times
past ; although further on, at p. 453, he states that the periodical rains
in Bengal obviate the necessity of cutting irrigation canals in that
country, as has to be done in Egypt.

2 Remains of houses and embankments have been found in isolated
parts of this tract, called the Sundarbans ; and various attempts, which
have been to some extent successful in the northern portion, at reclaim-
ing and cultivating the land have been made from time to time since
the British acquired Bengal.

8 In the original, ' Corsaires Franguys de Rakan ;' see p. 175.

4 Jungle fowl. In the original, volailles devemis sauvages> Bernier
being apparently under the impression that the jungle fowl to be met
with in the Sundarbans were descended from domestic poultry that
escaped and became

OF THE KINGDOM OF BENGALE 443

which sometimes swim from one island to another. In
traversing the Ganges in small rowing boats, the usual
mode of conveyance among these islands, it is in many
places dangerous to land, and great care must be had that
the boat, which during the night is fastened to a tree, be
kept at some distance from the shore, for it constantly
happens that some person or another falls a prey to tigers.
These ferocious animals are very apt, it is said, to enter
into the boat itself, while the people are asleep, and to
carry away some victim, who, if we are to believe the
boatmen of the country, generally happens to be the
stoutest and fattest of the party.

I remember a nine days' voyage that I made from Pipli
to Ogouli, among these islands and channels, which I can-
not omit relating, as no day passed without some extra-
ordinary accident or adventure. When my seven-oared
scallop had conveyed us out of the river of Pipli} and we
had advanced three or four leagues at sea, along the coast,
on our way to the islands and channels, we saw the sea
covered with fish, apparently large carp, which were pur-
sued by a great number of dolphins. I desired my men to
row that way, and perceived that most of them were lying
on their side as if they had been dead ; some moved slowly
along, and others seemed to be struggling and turning
about as if stupefied. We caught four-and-twenty with our
hands, and observed that out of the mouth of every one
issued a bladder, like that of a carp, which was full of air
and of a reddish colour at the end. I easily conceived that

1 Pippli (Pipilipatam of Blaeu's map), at one time a very famous
port, and the most important harbour on the Orissa coast, on the
Subarnareka River, about 16 miles from its mouth, the earliest mari-
time settlement of the English in Bengal, founded in 1634, on the ruins
of the Portuguese factory. Owing to changes in the course of the river
not one stone now remains to mark the spot where the famous port once
stood. It was probably here that Bernier saw the English vessels he
mentions at p. 441. Subarnareka, about 12 miles from the mouth of
the river, now a mere resort for fishing boats, was also at one time a
considerable harbour of the Balasor district, after the decay of Pippli.

444. FERTILITY WEALTH AND BEAUTY

it was this bladder which prevented the fish from sinking,
but could never understand why it thus protruded, unless
it were that having been long and closely pursued by the
dolphins, they made such violent efforts to escape, that the
bladder swelled, became red, and was forced out of the
mouth. I have recounted this circumstance to a hundred
sailors, whom I found incredulous ; with the exception, in-
deed, of a Dutch pilot, who informed me that, sailing in a
large vessel along the coasts of China, his attention was
arrested by a similar appearance, and that putting out their
boat they caught, as we did, with only their hands, many
of the fish.

The day following we arrived, at rather a late hour,
among the islands ; and having chosen a spot that appeared
free from tigers, we landed and lighted a fire. I ordered
a couple of fowls and some of the fish to be dressed, and
we made an excellent supper. The fish was delicious. I
then re-embarked, and ordered my men to row on till night.
There would have been danger in losing our way in the
dark among the different channels, and therefore we re-
tired out of a main channel in search of a snug creek,
where we passed the night ; the boat being fastened to a
thick branch of a tree, at a prudent distance from the
shore. While keeping watch, I witnessed a Phenomenon
of Nature such as I had twice observed at DehlL I beheld
a lunar rainbow, and awoke the whole of my company,
who all expressed much surprise, especially two Portuguese
pilots, whom I had received into the boat at the request
of a friend. They declared that they had neither seen
nor heard of such a rainbow.

The third day, we lost ourselves among the channels,
and I know not how we should have recovered our right
course, had we not met with some Portuguese, who were
employed in making salt on one of the islands. This night
again, our boat being under shelter in a small channel, my
Portuguese, who were full of the strange appearance on the
preceding night, and kept their eyes constantly fixed

OF THE KINGDOM OF BENGALE 445

toward the heavens, roused me from my sleep and pointed
out another rainbow as beautiful and as well denned as the
last. You are not to imagine that I mistake a halo for an
iris. I am familiar with the former, because during the
rainy season at Dehli, there is scarcely a month in which a
halo is not frequently seen round the moon. But they
appear only when that luminary is very high above the
horizon : I have observed them three and four nights
successively, and sometimes I have seen them doubled.
The iris of which I speak was not a circle about the moon,
but was placed in an opposite direction, in the same
relative position as a solar rainbow. Whenever I have
seen a night iris, the moon has been at the west and the
iris at the east. The moon was also nearly complete in its
orb, because otherwise the beams of light would not, I
conceive, be sufficiently powerful to form the rainbow ; nor
was the iris so white as the halo, but more strongly marked,
and a variety of colours was even discernible. Thus you
see that I am more happy than the ancients, who, accord-
ing to Aristotle, had observed no lunar rainbows before his
time.

In the evening of the fourth day we withdrew, as usual,
out of the main channel to a place of security, and passed
a most extraordinary night. Not a breath of wind was
felt, and the air became so hot and suffocating that we
could scarcely breathe. The bushes around us were so full
of glow-worms that they seemed ignited ; and fires resem-
bling flames arose every moment to the great alarm of our
sailors, who did not doubt that they were so many devils.
Two of these luminous appearances were very remarkable.
One was a great globe of fire, which continued longer than
the time necessary to repeat a Pater, the other looked like
a small tree all in flames, and lasted above a quarter of an
hour.

The night of the fifth day was altogether dreadful and
perilous. A storm arose so violent, that although we were,
as we thought, in excellent shelter under trees, and our

44,6 PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE

boat carefully fastened, yet our cable was broken, and we
should have been driven into the main channel, there
inevitably to perish, if I and my two Portuguese had not,
by a sudden and spontaneous movement, entwined oui
arms round the branches of trees, which we held tightly
for the space of two hours, while the tempest was raging
with unabated force. No assistance was to be expected
from my Indian boatmen, whose fears completely over-
came them. Our situation while clinging for our lives to
the trees was indeed most painful; the rain fell as if
poured into the boat from buckets, and the lightning arid
thunder were so vivid and loud, and so near our heads, that
we despaired of surviving this horrible night.1

Nothing, however, could be more pleasant than the
remainder of the voyage. We arrived at Ogouly on the
ninth day, and my eyes seemed never sated with gazing on
the delightful country through which we passed. My
trunk, however, and all my wearing-apparel were wet, the
poultry dead, the fish spoilt, and the whole of my biscuits
soaked with rain.

Answer to ihejifih Inquiry ^ concerning the Periodical
Rising of the Nile.

I know not whether my solution of this fifth question
will be satisfactory; but I shall impart opinions formed
after having been twice a witness of the increase, after
having given to the subject the whole of my attention, and
after making certain observations in the Indies which afford
some facilities for the disquisition, which must have been
wanting to the great man who has written so ingeniously
and learnedly 011 this interesting topic, although he never
saw Egypt but in his study.

1 Bernier appears to have travelled from Pippli to Hooghly, not by
the main channel of the river, but through minor channels. All those
who are familiar with the nature of the Sundarban tracts will be able
to testify to the vividness of the traveller's description of his journey.

PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE 447

I have already mentioned that while the two Ethiopian
ambassadors were at Dehli, my Agah, Danechmend-kan,
whose thirst for knowledge is incessant, invited them
frequently to his house, and that I was always one of the
party.1 His object was to be made acquainted with the
state of their country, and the nature of its government.
Among other subjects, we spoke a great deal about the
source of the Nile, which is called by them Abbabile.
They spoke of its source as of a thing generally well
known, and concerning which no one entertained any
doubt. One of the ambassadors had even seen it, accom-
panied by a Mogol who had returned with him to
Hindoustan. They told us that the source of the river
Nile is in the country of the Agaus ; that it gushes out of
the earth by two large and bubbling springs near one
another, and forming a small lake of about thirty or forty
paces in length ; that the river issuing from this lake is of
considerable size, and that in its progress it receives many
tributary waters, which swell it to an important stream.
They went on to observe, that this stream pursues a
winding course, and forms an extensive peninsula; and
that^after descending from several steep rocks, it falls into
a large lake, in the country of Dumbia, only four or five
days' journey from the source, and three short journeys
from Gonder, the capital of Ethiopia ; that having traversed
this lake, the river leaves it, with the accession of all the
waters which fall into the lake ; passes through Sonnar, the
chief city of the Funges or Barberis, tributaries to the King
of Ethiopia, whence, tumbling among the cataracts, it
pursues its way into the plains of Messer,2 that is, Egypt.

When the ambassadors had furnished these particulars
as to the source and course of the Nile, I wished to form
some idea of the situation of the country where the source

1 See p. 134 et seq.

1 The Arabic Misr. This name and the Hebrew Mizraim certainly
are of Semitic origin, and perhaps mean * frontier-land ' (EncycL Brit.,
iith ed., ix. 41).

448 PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE

is found : I therefore inquired in what part of Africa,
relatively to Bab-el-mandel, Dumbia is situated. But they
could return no other answer than that it lay toward the
West. I was surprised to hear this observation, especially
from the Mahometan ambassador, who ought to be better
informed than a Christian of the relative bearings of places,
because all Mahometans are bound, when repeating their
prayers, to look toward Meca. He also persisted in saying
that Dumbia is situated to the west of Bab-el-mandel; so
that the source of the river Nile, according to these
ambassadors, is considerably to the north of the equator,
and not to the south, where it is placed by Ptolemy, and in
all our maps.

We inquired further of them when it rained in Ethiopia,
and whether the rains were periodical in that country
as in the Indies. They answered that it seldom or never
rained along the coast of the Red Sea, from Suaken,
Arkiko, and the island of Masouva, to Bab-cl-mandel, any
more than at Moka, in Arabia Felix, on the opposite shore
of that sea. In the interior of the country, however, in
the province of the Agaus, in Dumbia, and the circumjacent
provinces, the rains were veiy heavy during the two hottest
months of summer, those months when it also rains in the
Indies, and exactly the time when, according to my com-
putation, the increase of the Nile in Egypt takes place.
They were quite aware, the ambassadors added, that the
swelling of that river and the inundations of Egypt were
caused by the rains of Ethiopia ; and that the former
country owed its fecundity to the slime conveyed and
deposited thither by the Nile. It was from these circum-
stances, they observed, that the Kings of Ethiopia derived
the right of exacting tribute from Egypt ; and when that
kingdom was subdued by the Mahometans, and its Christian
population became oppressed and exposed to every in-
dignity, the Ethiopian Monarch had thoughts of turning
the course of the river toward the Red Sea, a measure
which would have destroyed the fertility of Egypt, and

PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE 449

consequently proved ruinous to the country : but the
project appeared so gigantic, if not impracticable, that the
attempt was never made to carry it into execution.1

All these particulars I had already been made acquainted
with when at Moka, in the course of various conversations
with ten or a dozen Gonder merchants, sent every year to
that city by the King of Ethiopia for purposes of traffic

1 This is a very curious version of the mediaeval belief in Europe that
the Abyssinian King, Prester John, received a large tribute from the
Sultan of Egypt to prevent him from diverting the course of the Nile.
Simon Sijoli, who travelled in the Levant in 1384, states that the tribute
was a ball of gold with a cross upon it, worth 3000 golden bezants, and
many other references to this subject could be quoted, for some of which
see Yule's Cathay and the Way 7'hither, vol. ii. pp. 348-350. London.
Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1866. Ariosto alludes to the belief
in his Orlando Furioso, Canto xxxni. v. 106, as follows : —

1 'Tis said, the Sultan, Egypt's Sovereign,
As subject to the King, does tribute pay ;
Since he the Nile is able to restrain
From its right course, and elsewhere cause it stray
And Cairo, thus afflicted, cause remain,
With famine, and the parts that round it lay,
Senapus named, by those his Empire own,
We call him Presto, or else Prester John.'

TEMPLE HENRY CHOKER'S Translation,
London, 1753.

In our own time the feasibility of diverting the Nile into the Red
Sea so as to ' put pressure on ' Egypt has been several times mooted.
In 1851 the late Dr. Beke forwarded to Lord Palmerston, then
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of his Memoir on the
possibility of diverting the "waters of the Nile so as to prevent the Irriga-
tion of Egypt.

In The Times newspaper of the Qth October 1888 will be found a
letter from Sir Samuel W. Baker, in which he attributes the then
abnormally low state of the Nile to some 'unexplained interference
with the river,' one of the results in his opinion of the abandonment of
the Soudan ; and he goes on to reiterate his views as to the immense
importance of the Soudan to Egypt, and the necessity for keeping a
firm hand upon the basin of the Nile, ' As an enemy in possession of
the Blue Nile, and the Atbara River could by throwing a dam across
the empty bed . . . prevent the necessary flow towards Egypt. . . »
I have seen a spot, about 230 miles from the mouth of the Atbara, where
the river might be deflected without difficulty, and be forced to an
eastern course towards the Red Sea. '

2 F

450 PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE

with the vessels from the Indies. The information is
useful, as tending to demonstrate that the Nile increases
only by means of the rains which fall near its source, and
at a distance from Egypt. But I attach still greater
importance to my own observations, made upon two
separate occasions during the overflowing of that river,
because they expose the fallacy of some popular opinions,
and prove them to be merely vulgar and idle tales, the
inventions of a people much given to superstition, and lost
in astonishment at witnessing the increase of a river during
the heat of summer, in a country where rain is unknown.
I allude, among other conceits, to the notion that there is
a certain determinate day on which the Nile begins its
increase ; that a particular dew, called the Goute, falls on
this first day of the increase, which puts an end to the
plague, no person dying of that disease when the Goute has
begun to descend ; and that the overflowing of the Nile is
owing to particular and secret causes. I have discovered
that this celebrated stream, like other rivers, swells and
overflows in consequence of abundant rains, and that we
are not to ascribe its increase to the fermentation of the
nitrous soil of Egypt.1

I have seen it rise more than a foot, and become very
turbid, nearly a month before the pretended determinate
day of the increase.

I have remarked, in the time of its increase, and
before the opening of the irrigation channels, that after
the water had swollen during some days a foot or two, it
decreased little by little, and then began to increase anew ;
and in this manner the river augmented or lessened, just

1 The great cold in Western Tartary was attributed to the saltpetre
in the soil. ' The saltpetre with which these countries abound may
also contribute to this great cold, which is so violent that in digging the
ground to three or four feet deep they take out clods quite frozen, as
well as pieces of ice,' page 86 of 1 "he History of the Tartar Conquerors
of China. From the French of Pere Pierre Joseph D' Orleans, S.J.
Translated by the Earl of Ellesmere, with an Introduction by
R. H. Major of the Brit. Mus. London. Hakluyt Soc., 1854.

PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE 451

according as the rains did or did not fall near its source.
The same thing is observable in our Loire ; it increases or
diminishes in proportion to the rains on the mountains
whence that river flows.

Once, on my return from Jerusalem, I ascended the Nile
from Damietta to Cairo, about a month before the day on
which it is said that the Goute falls ; and in the morning
our clothes were soaked in consequence of the dew that
had fallen during the night.

I supped with M. de Bermon, our vice-consul at Rosetta,
eight or ten days after the fall of the Goute. Three of the
party were that same evening seized with the plague, of
whom two died on the eighth day ; and the other patient,
who happened to be M. de Bermon himself, would perhaps
have fallen a victim to the disease if I had not ventured to
prescribe a remedy, and lanced his abscess. I caught the
infection, and but for the butler of antimony,1 to which I
had immediate recourse, it might have been, seen in my
case also that men die of the plague after the descent of
the Goute. The emetic, taken at the commencement of
the disorder, performed wonders, and I was not confined
to the house more than three or four days. A Bedouin
servant attended me; he endeavoured to keep up my
spirits by swallowing, without a moment's hesitation, what
remained of the soup I was taking ; and being a predes-
tinarian, he laughed at the idea of danger from the plague.

I am far from denying that this distemper is generally
attended with less danger after the fall of the Goute. All
I maintain is, that the decrease of danger should not be
attributed to the Goute. In my opinion the mitigation of
the disease is owing to the heat of the weather, then
become intense, which opens the pores and expels the
pestiferous and malignant humours that remained con-
fined in the body.

Moreover I have carefully inquired of several Rays,* or

1 Now called, antimony trichloride.

* Read rdis, the Arabic for a captain of a boat, a pilot.

452 PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE

masters of boats, who have ascended the Nile to the ex-
tremity of the plains of Egypt, as far as the rocks and
cataracts. They assured me that when the river overflows
the Egyptian plains, the soil of which is represented as
nitrous and fermentative, the Nile is greatly increased
between the mountains of the cataracts, which it inundates
in a surprising manner, although the soil upon those
mountains is not apparently impregnated with nitre.

I was also very particular in making the necessary in-
quiries of the Sonnar negroes who repair to Cairo for employ-
ment, and whose country, tributary to the King of Ethiopia,
is situated on the Nile among the mountainous tracts to the
south of Egypt. These negroes all agreed in asserting, that
at the time when the Nile inundates the plains of Egypt,
it is swollen and impetuous in their own country, because
of the rains which then fall, not only in their mountains,
but higher up, in the region of Habeche or Ethiopia.

The observations made by me on the periodical rains of
the Indies, which fall during the time that the Nile is in-
creasing in Egypt, throw considerable light upon this
subject, and will lead you to imagine that the Indus, the
Ganges, and all the other rivers in this part of the globe
are so many rivers Nile, and the countries contiguous to
their mouths so many lands of Egypt. Such were the
ideas which suggested themselves to my mind when in
Bengale, and the following is, word for word, what I then
wrote concerning this matter.

The numerous islands in the gulf of Bengale, at the
mouth of the Ganges, which the course of ages has united
together,1 and at length has joined to the continent, recall

1 Or, as so well described in The Imperial Gazetteer of India, ' The
country' [i.e. the Sundarban district] 'is one vast alluvial plain, where
the continual process of land-making has not yet ceased. It abounds
in morasses and swamps now gradually filling up, and is intersected by
large rivers and estuaries running from north to south. These are
connected with each other by innumerable smaller channels ; so that
the whole tract is a tangled network of streams, rivers, and water-
courses, enclosing a large number of islands of various shapes and sizes.'

PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE 453

to my mind the mouths of the river Nile. When in Egypt
I remarked the same process of nature ; and as it is often
said, in the language of Aristotle, that Egypt is the work-
manship of the Nile, so may it be observed that Bengale
is the production of the Ganges. There is only this differ-
ence between the two rivers, that the Ganges being in-
comparably larger 1 than the Nile, it carries toward the sea
a much greater quantity of earth ; and thus forms a num-
ber of islands more numerous and larger than those of
the Nile. The islands of the Nile too are destitute of trees ;
but those of the Ganges are all covered with them, owing
to the four months of regular and excessive rains that fall
in the midst of summer. These rains obviate the necessity
of cutting canals in Bengale, as is done in Egypt, for the

1 This statement, and in fact the entire passage, is a striking ex-
ample of Bernier's wonderful powers of correct observation ; the
ordinary low water discharge of the Nile being 51,500 cubic feet per
second, while that of the Ganges is 207,000; although the length of the
stream of the Nile greatly exceeds that of the Ganges, the figures being
3370 and 1557 miles respectively. As has been so well and graphically
stated by Sir W. W. Hunter in The Imperial Gazetteer of India : —

' After the lapse of twenty centuries, and the rise and fall of rival religions, venera-
tion for the Ganges still figures as a chief article in the creed of modern Hinduism.
. . . To bathe in the Ganges, especially at the great stated festivals, will wash
away the stain of sin ; and those who have thus purified themselves carry back
bottles of the sacred water to their less fortunate relations. To die and be buried
on the river bank is a passport to eternal bliss. Even to exclaim "Ganga, Ganga,"
at the distance of a hundred leagues, will atone for the sins committed during three
previous lives.

' The river thus reverenced by the Hindus deserves their homage by reason of its
exceptional utility for agriculture and navigation. None of the other rivers of
India approach the Ganges in beneficence. The Brahmaputra and the Indus may
have longer streams, as measured by the geographer, but the upper courses of both
lie hidden within the unknown recesses of the Himalayas. Not one of the great
rivers A central or Southern India is navigable in the proper sense of the term.
The Ganges begins to distribute fertility as soon as it reaches the plains, within
200 miles of its sources ; and at the same point it becomes in some sort navigable.
Thenceforwards it rolls majestically down to the sea in a bountiful stream, which
never becomes a mere destructive torrent in the rains, and never dwindles away in
the hottest summer. If somewhat diminished by irrigation, its volume is forthwith
restored by numerous great tributaries ; and the wide area of its river-basin receives
annually a sufficient rainfall to maintain the supply in every part. Embankments
are in few places required to restrain its inundations, for the alluvial silt which it
spills over its banks year by year affords to the fields a top-dressing of inexhaust-
ible fertility. If one crop be drowned by the flood, the cultivator calculates that
his second crop will abundantly requite him.'

454 PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE

purpose of irrigating and enriching the land. They could
indeed be made with as much facility in the one country
as in the other, the Ganges and other rivers of Hindoustan
increasing, the same as the Nile, in summer in consequence
of the rains which regularly fall at that season. There is
this difference between the two countries : that in Egypt
no rain is known, neither in summer nor scarcely at any
other time, excepting occasionally in a small quantity to-
ward the sea. It is only near the source of the Nile, in
Ethiopia, that rain falls ; whereas throughout the Indies it
rains periodically in the countries through which the rivers
flow. It should be observed, however, that this is not the
case universally ; for in the king<lom of Scymdy, toward the
Persian Gulf, where the mouth of the Indus is situated, there
are years during which no rain whatever falls, although the
Indus be greatly swollen. The fields are then irrigated,
as in Egypt, by means of kalis,1 or artificial channels.

In regard to the wish expressed by Monsieur Thevenot
that I should send you a detailed narration of my Adven-
tures in the Red Sea, at Suez, Tor, Mount Sinai, Gidda (in
that pretended holy land of Mahomet, half a day's jour-
ney from Meca), in the island of Kamarane and at Lou-
haya,2 together with all the information which I obtained
at Moka concerning the Kingdom of Ethiopia, and the best
route for entering therein, it is my intention to gratify
that wish when I have had time to put in order, God
helping me, my Papers.

1 Khdl, the name in Bengal for an inlet of the sea or of a large
river, a creek ; the water being baled from the khdl, and then dis-
tributed over the fields by means of small artificial channels.

2 Kameran, now a British possession, off the coast of Arabia, in the
same latitude as Annesley Bay in Abyssinia. Loheia, a town on the
mainland of Arabia, about 20 miles to the north of the island of
Kameran.

FINIS.

A MEMORANDUM omitted to be included in my first Work, to
complete the Map of Hindoustan, and make known the
revenues of the Great Mogol.

JL HE better to understand what follows it is necessary
to know the signification of the following terras.

1. Soubahj1 that is to say, Government and Province.

2. Pragna? that is, the chief City, Burgh or Village

which has many others subordinate to it, and where
the Rents are paid to the King, who is the absolute
Lord [Seigneur] of all the lands of his Empire.

3. Serkarf that is the Exchequer of the King's income

from all sources [Tresors du Roy].

4. Kazinef that is, Treasury.

5. Roupie,5 the money of the Country, worth about thirty

sols.

1 Stibah, derived from the Arabic, originally a heap of money, or a
granary, hence a Province.

2 Pargana, a tract of country comprising the lands of many villages ;
there are several Parganas in a Zilla (or Shire), and several Zillas
go to make up a Province.

3 Sarkdr, more familiarly 'circar,' as the ' Northern Circars. ' The
word literally means a chief, a superior ; Bernier seems to use it in
the sense of a sub-division of a Province in which a ' treasury ' for rent
collection was situated.

4 Khaz&na, Bernier's rendering is the original meaning. It may
also be translated as the public revenue, the land-tax or rent.

3 Which is the value assumed by Manucci and Tavernier, and
makes the rupee then = 2s. 3d. ; see page 200, footnote1.

456

456 REVENUES OF

6. Lecque,1 that is, one hundred thousand.

7. Kourour,2 a hundred Lecques.

1. Jehan-Abad or Dekliis the first Soubah; it has sixteen

Serkars dependent upon it, and two hundred and

thirty Pragnas. It yields to the King

in Roupies B 1,95,25,000

2. Agra, otherwise called Akber-abad, is

the second; it comprises fourteen
Serkars, two hundred and sixteen
Pragnas, and yields to the King 2,52,25,000

3. Lahor has fourteen Serkars, and three

hundred and fourteen Pragnas, yield-
ing to the King 2,46,95,000

4. Hasrner, which belongs to a Rajaf pays

to the King a tribute of 2,19,70,000

5. Gusarate, of which the capital is Ahrned-

abad, has nine Serkars and one hundred
and ninety Pragnas, yielding to the
King 1,33,95,000

6. The Kingdom of Candahar belongs to

the King of Persia, but the Pragnas
which still remain united to the King-
dom of the Great Mogol are fifteen,
and yield him a rental of 19,92,500

Carry forward, 10,68,02,500

1 Lack, from the Hindostanee lakh from the Sanskrit lakska, origi-
nally meaning a mark.

2 Crore, from the Hindostanee karor. Arb is the name for IOO
erores.

3 For facility of reference the totals have been extended in this form,
Bernier giving the figures in words only, which are difficult to add up.

4 Ajmere, although nominally a province of the Mogul Empire in
Bernier's time, was also to a great extent under the influence of the
Rahtor Princes of Marwar. It was with the object of consolidating
the Mogul power there, that Ajmere was made the capital of the
Empire during several years of Jahangfr's reign.

THE GREAT MOGOL 457

Brought forward, 10,68,02,500

7. Maloua comprises nine Serkars, one

hundred and ninety Pragnas, yielding 91,62,500

8. Patna, or Beara, has eight Serkars, two

hundred and forty-five Pragnas, yield-
ing 95,80,000

9- Elabas has seventeen Serkars, two hun-
dred and sixteen Pragnas, and yields 94,70,000

10. Haoud comprises five Serkars, one hun-

dred and forty-nine Pragnas, yielding 68,30,000

11. Moultan has four Serkars , ninety-six

Pragnas, and yields 1,18,40,500

12. Jagannat, in which is included Ben-

gale,1 has eleven Serkars, twelve Prag-
nas, and yields 72,70,000

13. Kachemire has five Serkars, forty-five

Pragnas, and yields (sic) 2 3,50,000

14. Caboul has thirty-five Pragnas, yield-

ing a rental of 32,72,500

15. Tata3 has four Serkars and fifty-four

Pragnas, yielding a rental of 23,20,000

16. Aureng-abad, formerly called Daulet-

abad, has eight Serkars, seventy-nine

Pragnas, and yields a rental of 1,72,27,500

17. Varada* comprises twenty Serkars, one

hundred and ninety-one Pragnas,

yielding 1,58,75,000

1 By Jagannat is meant Orissa, the Province in which is situated
the celebrated Juggernaut (for Jagannath) temple. A tax upon the
offerings at that Hindoo shrine was probably very remunerative to the
•Moguls.

2 Apparently a clerical error for 35,00,000. In a Dastiir ul Amal
(Revenue Manual) of the third year of Aurangzeb, 1654-55, quoted
by Thomas, in the work cited over leaf, the Revenue of Kashmir is
given as Rs. 28,59,750. 8 Sind. 4 Berar.

458

REVENUES OF

Brought forward,

18. Candeys, of which the chief town is

Brampour, has three Serkars, three
hundred Pragnas, yielding

19. Talengand,1 which marches on the King-

dom of Golkonda, in the direction of
Maslipatam, has forty-three Pragnas,
yielding a rental of

Baganala,2 which borders the territory
of the Portuguese and the mountain
strongholds of Seva-gi, the Raja who
plundered Sour ate, has twelve Ser-
kars, and eight Pragnas, and yields a
rental of

20,00,00,500

1,85,50,000

5,00,

TOTAL,

22,59,35,500

According to this Memorandum, which I do not believe to be
very exact or credible, the Great Mogol has an annual revenue
from his lands alone of more than two [sic] Kouroures 3 oj
Roupies.

NOTE on the foregoing Memorandum.

The late Mr. Edward Thomas, F.R.S., formerly in the service
of the Honourable East India Company in Bengal, in his ex-
ceedingly valuable work, The Revenue Resources of the Mughal
Empire in India, from A.D. 1593 to A.D. 1707 (London, Triibner,
1871) estimates the value of the above return very highly,
although Bernier is apologetic for the table itself and expresses
his distrust of the grand total, which he clearly considered to
be far too large in amount. Mr. Thomas then goes on to say
that 'so far from any excess in the grand total, I am disposed to
impute a deficiency, especially in the complete omission of any

1 Telingana.

2 Baglan or Baglana ; now a subdivision of the Na"sik District,
Bombay (see Imp. Gazr., 1908, s.v.}.

8 In the original, plus de deux Kouroures, the word twenty being
omitted. This mistake has been copied by all Bernier's subsequent
editors and translators, but see No. 5 of the Bibliography.

THE GREAT MOGOL

459

return for the Province of Bengal, and the manifest absence of
a nought in the sum assigned for Kashmir.' I would venture,
however, to point out that Bernier distinctly states (Item 12.)
that the revenue from Bengal is included in that for 'Jag-
annat,' which I hold to be Orissa. Rs. 72,70,000 is certainly a
comparatively small sum for the combined revenues, one of the
Provinces, Bengal, being, according to Bernier's own showing
(pp. 437-446) the richest in all the Indies ; but it should be
borne in mind, that in his time Bengal had revolted, under
Prince Shujah (see pp. 80 and 92), and it is not likely that
the Emperor derived a large revenue from that Province
during the period of rebellion. Bernier, however, does not
tell us anything of the source from which he derived his figures,
nor the exact period to which they refer, but as Mr. Thomas
says ' they bear the stamp of a certain degree of authenticity,
and allowing for deficiencies, they fairly fit in with the prior
and subsequent returns.' It would be quite beyond the scope
of the present publication to even attempt to deal tentatively
with such an important subject as the revenues of Hindostan
under the Moguls, but I believe that the following table, com-
piled from Mr. Thomas's masterly work, !may be of consider-
able interest to many. It would be quite possible to explain
the variations approximately, as due to the changing bound-
aries of the Empire at various periods, or to the agricultural
advance or retrogression of the several Provinces, the result of
famines or other causes. The effect of the residence of the
Court upon the material prosperity of the favoured locality,
as pointed out by Mr. Thomas, might also be learnt by an ex-
haustive analysis of the Provincial totals— the latter a factor
of prosperity or otherwise, which Bernier with his keen insight
has not failed to notice, as may be learnt from pp. 220, 271,
381 and 384 of this volume.

THE GROSS PROVINCIAL REVENUES OF THE MOGUL EMPIRE
AT VARIOUS PERIODS.

Date uncer-

tSome year

tain, but

PERIOD.

AD 1594.
Akbar.

A.D. 1648.
SMh-Jahan.

A.D. 1654.
Aurang-
zeb.

between
1656-1667.
BEKNIER'S

held to be
between
1667-1691.

A.D. 1697.
Aurang-
zeb.

A.D. 1707.
Aurang.
zeb.

return.

Official re-

turns.

RUPEES.

14.19.09.576

S3, 00, 00,000
(I)

26.74.39,703

aa.59. 35.500
(3)

35,64.14.308
(4)

38,62,46,802
(5)

30, « 7. 96,859

460

Increases and decreases may then be accounted for, broadly,
as follows : —

i, 2. Increases due to gradual consolidation of Akbar's
conquered Provinces.

3. Decrease accounted for by the effects of the Rebellion,
the richest Province, Bengal, in partial revolt for several years.

4, 5. Returning prosperity, and conquests in the Deccan,
adding new Provinces to the Empire.

6. The Mogul rule waning, the Marathds increasing in
power, and incessantly harrying many of the Mogul Provinces,
'levying chauth1 and sardesmukhi* with the alternative of fire
and sword : cutting off the sources of revenue, and wearying out
the disorganised armies of the Empire.' A. C. Lyall, Berar
Gazetteer ; Bombay, 1870, p. 122.

1 A payment equal to one-fourth, hence the name, of the actual
revenue collections of the State, demanded as the price for forbearing to
ravage, blackmail in fact. In Robert Mabon's Sketches Illustrative of
Oriental Manners and Customs, Calcutta, 1797, will be found (plate vi. )
a very graphic illustration of the levying of chauth, entitled ' Mahratta
Pendairees returning to camp after a plundering Excursion.'

2 The proportion of ten per cent, exacted from the revenues of the
Muhammadan territories of the Deccan, in addition to the chaittk. It
was originally claimed by Sivaji as head Desmukh (a hereditary native
officer who exercised the chief police and revenue authority over a
district), whence the name.

Abstract of the King's Licence.

By the Favour and Licence of the King, dated the 25th April 1670,
given at Paris and signed MASCLARAY : The Sieur BERNIER is per-
mitted to print, sell and dispose of a book entitled Memoirs by the
Sieur Bernier on the Empire of the Great Mogol, and this during the
time and space of ten years ; all persons of whatever rank and occu-
pation they may be, are hereby forbidden to print, sell or otherwise
dispose of any other editions than those of the said Sieur BERNIER, or
others which he may authorise, under a penalty of a fine of three
thousand livres^ and other punishments which are set forth at length
in the Letters of the said Licence.

The said Sieur Bernier has disposed of his Licence to Claude Barbin
for his benefit, in terms of an agreement entered into between them.

Registered in the Book of the Society of Booksellers <5r* Printers of
Paris, the \^th August 1670. Signed, Lovis SEVESTRE, Syndic.

4tt

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I.

Regarding Dryden s Tragedy of AURENG-ZEBE

Aureng-Zebe, A tragedy. Acted at the Royal Theatre. Written
by John Dryden, Servant to his Majesty — is entered in the Stationers'
Register on November 29th, 1675, and Malone is of opinion that it had
probably been acted in the spring of that year. The dramatis persona
and plot are as follows, from which, and from what follows, will be
seen what poetical licence the Author has taken with the text of the
History he used :

THE OLD EMPEROUR [in love with Indamora].
AURENG-ZEBE, his son [in love with Indamora].
MORAT, his younger Son [son of Nourmahal].
ARIMANT, Governour of Agra [in love with Indamora].
DIANET, 1

SOLYMAN AGAH,

,,, -D Indian Lords, or

MIR BABA, /

ABBAS \ Omrahs of

ASAPH'CHAWN, several Factions.

FAZEL CHAWN,

NOURMAHAL, : the Empress.

INDAMORA, a captive Queen [of Cassimere, in love with

Aureng-Zebe].
MELESINDA, wife to Morat.
ZAYDA, favourite Slave to the Empress.

SCENE, Agra, in the year 1660.

The Emperour, who is 70 years of age, had been so ill that his
death was expected — his four sons had taken up arms to contend for
the Empire — Aureng-Zebe, who remains loyal to his Father, defeats

1 Nur Mahal was the wife of the Emperor Jahdngtr, and died, aged 72, in
1645. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's wife, and she died in 1631, and is
buried in the Taj. Many compilers of books of Indian History have confounded
the one with the other. Dryden has of course availed himself of a poet's licence.

466 APPENDIX I.

two of his brothers and enters Agra, but without his forces ; the
Emperour endeavours to persuade Aureng-Zebe to resign Indamora
to him — he refuses — and the Emperour admits Morat and his troops
into the City, Aureng-Zebe is placed in confinement — Morat falls in
love with Indamora — Nourmahal makes love to Aureng-Zebe — he
rejects her advances with horror — she, in revenge, summons her mutes
and offers him a cup of poison — Morat enters and takes away the cup.
This is a passage which most of the critics who have discussed this
Tragedy, but apparently without any knowledge whatever of Bernier's
book, have thought unworthy of its Author. I do not think, however,
that, after a careful perusal of Bernier's narrative, their verdict will
be generally concurred in, especially when it is borne in mind that
Bernier's entire work formed the leit motif t nay a good deal more than
that, of Dryden's drama. In support of this opinion, the passage in
question, in Act iv., is here given : —

As he is going to drink, enter Morat, attended.

Mor. Make not such haste, you must my leisure stay :
Your Fate's deferr'd, you shall not die to-day.

[ Taking the Cup from him
Nour. What foolish pity has possess'd your mind,

To alter what your prudence once design'd P1
Mor. What if I please to lengthen out his date
A day, and take a pride to cozen Fate?
Nour. 'Twill not be safe to let him live an hour.
Mor. I'll do't, to show my Arbitrary pow'r.
Nour. Fortune may take him from your hands again,

And you repent th' occasion lost in vain.
Mor. I smile at what your Female fear foresees ;
I'm in Fate's place, and dictate her Decrees.
Let Arimant be called.

Morat and his father quarrel — the Emperour reconciles himself to
Aureng-Zebe — the latter defeats the forces of Morat— Nourmahal is
going to stab Indamora, but is prevented by Morat — Morat dies of his
wounds — Melesinda -determines to burn herself on his funeral pile —
Nourmahal poisons herself, and dies mad — the Emperour resigns
Indamora to Aurenge-Zebe.

Dryden has of course taken great liberties with history, the manners
and customs of the Indies, and so forth, but it is pleasing to see his
keen appreciation of the genius of Bernier, which is well illustrated
in a passage which will be found at the end of the Tragedy, Act v.,

1 Compare Raushan Ara Begum's conduct towards her brother Dara, when his
fate was being decided, at p. 100.

APPENDIX I. 467

where Morat's wife is about to become a Suttee. With this may be
compared pp. 306-315 of Bernier's narrative : —

A Procession of Priests, Slaves following, and last, Melesinda in white.

Ind. Alas ! what means this pomp ?

Aur. "Tis the Procession of a Funeral Vow,

Which cruel Laws to Indian Wives allow,

When fatally their Virtue they approve ;

Chearful in flames, and Martyrs of their lovCt
Ind. Oh my foreboding heart ! th' event I fear ;

And see ! sad Melesinda does appear.
Mel. You wrong my love ; what grief do I betray?

This is the Triumph of my Nuptial day.

My better Nuptials ; which, in spight of Fate,

For ever joyn me to my dear Morat.

Now I am pleas'd ; my jealousies are o'er :

He's mine; and I can lose him now no more.
Emp. Let no false show of Fame your reason blind.
Ind. You have no right to die ; he was not kind.
Mel. Had he been kind, I could no love have shown :

Each vulgar Virtue would as much have done.

My love was such, it needed no return ;

But could, though he supplied no fuel, burn.

Rich in it self, like Elemental fire,

Whose pureness does no Aliment require.

In vain you would bereave me of my Lord ;

For I will die : Die is too base a word ;

I'll seek his breast, and, kindling by his side,

Adorn'd with flames, I'll mount a glorious Bride.

[Exit.

Davies, in his Dramatic Miscellanies, London 1784, pp. 157-158
vol. iii., styles it Dryden's last and most perfect tragedy in ryme : — ' In
this play the passions are strongly depicted, the characters were dis-
criminated, and the diction more familiar and dramatic than in any of
his preceding pieces. . . . The Court greatly encouraged the play of
Aureng-Zebe. The Author tells us, in his dedication, that Charles II.
altered an incident in the plot, and pronounced it to be the best of all
Dryden's tragedies.' It was revived in 1708, 1709, and 1721, when it
was performed on the nth December at Drury Lane.

Addison considered Aureng-Zebe's complaint of the vicissitudes and
disappointments of life, Act iv. Scene I, the best lines in the play : —

Aur. When I consider Life, 'tis all a cheat ;

Yet, fool'd with hope, men favour the deceit ;

468 APPENDIX I.

Trust on and think to-morrow will repay :
To morrow 's falser than the former day ;
Lies worse ; and, while it says, we shall be blest
With some new joys, cuts off what we possest.
Strange couzenage ! none would live past years again,
Yet all hope pleasure in what yet remain ;
And, from the dregs of life, think to receive
What the first sprightly running could not give.
I'm tired with waiting for the Chymick Gold,
Which fools us young, and beggars us when old.

Davies tells us that he had heard Dr. Johnson highly commend the
full and pertinent answer given by Nounnahal : —

Nour. 'Tis not for nothing that we life pursue ;

It pays our hopes with something still that 's new :
Each day's a Mistris, unenjoy'd before ;
Like Travellers, we 're pleas'd with seeing more.
Did you but know what joys your way attend,
You would not hurry to your journey's end.

As stated in our Preface, Dryden founded his play on the English
translation, 1671-72, of Bernier's Travels, and even a cursory perusal
of his Tragedy will show many passages which are mere paraphrases,
so to speak, of Bernier's text — a remarkable instance being met with
in Act I. Scene i., where Arimant, Asaph Chawn, Fazel Chawn,
and Solyman Agah are discussing the situation of affairs. In the course
of their councils, they thus give their opinions as to the character of
the Emperor's rebellious sons : —

Asaph. The name of Father hateful to him grows,

Which, for one Son, produces him three foes.
Fazel. Darah, the eldest, bears a generous mind ;

But to implacable revenge inclined.

Too openly does Love and hatred show ;

A bounteous Master, but a deadly foe.
Solym. From Sujatis valour I should much expect,

But he 's a Bigot of the Persian Sect,

And, by a Foreign Int'rest seeks to Reign,

Hopeless by Love the Sceptre to obtain.
Asaph. Morafs too insolent, too much a Brave,

His Courage to his Envy is a Slave.

What he attempts, if his endeavours fail

T' effect, he is resolved no other shall.
Arim. But AureHg-Zebe, by no strong passion sway'd,

Except his Love, more temp'rate is, and weigh'd :

APPENDIX II. 469

This Atlas must our sinking State uphold ;
In Council cool, but in performance bold :
He sums their Virtues in himself alone,
And adds the greatest, of a Loyal Son :
His Father's Cause upon his Sword he wears,
And with his Arms, we hope, his fortune bears.
Solym. Two vast Rewards may well his courage move,
A parent's blessing, and a Mistris Love.
If he succeed, his recompense, we hear,
Must be the Captive Queen of Cassimere.

Which may be compared with pp. 6-u, of Bernier's text.

APPENDIX II.

On the identity of the ' Great Mogul's diamond '
with the Koh-i-nur.

Catrou states that Mirza Mula (otherwise Mergi Mola) served for
some time in the army of the Mogul (i.e. Shah Jahan) and rose to high
command, but that, disgusted with the contempt of Prince Dara, he
entered the service of the King of Golconda, by whom he was appointed
'superintendent over the customs and the traffic of the King.' Profit-
ing by so advantageous a post, and trading on his own account, he soon
amassed immense wealth, which at first he used to gain the good graces
of his master, procuring for him as presents rarities from Europe,
cabinets from China, and elephants from Ceylon. ' His magnificence
caused him to be taken notice of at Court, and as soon as he became
known, he attained to the first distinctions. What brought him into
chief notice was an intrigue of gallantry, which he carried on in private
with the mother of the King. She was a princess who still preserved
her beauty, at a rather advanced period of life. The King's acquaint-
ance with the irregular conduct of his mother served only to advance
the fortunes of Mirza Mula. He was sent to a distance from the Court,
that the queen-mother might be prevented from giving occasion to
scandal ; and the government of the province of the Carnatic was
bestowed upon him. The artful Persian knew how to turn his dis-
grace to his advantage. The diamond mine, which adds so much
to the wealth of the kingdom of Golconda, was within the limits of his
government. He consequently determined to make the best use of
his time. He retained for his own use the largest and the most perfect

470 APPENDIX II.

of the diamonds. One, which he gave in the sequel to the Mogu
Emperor, was unparalleled in its kind. It is still the admiration of all
connoisseurs.'

Tavernier tells us that the Great Mogul's diamond was obtained by
the Amir Jumla, from the Coulour (Kolhir) mine {Travels^ English
Trans, by V. Ball, vol. ii., p. 74). Dr. V. Ball, now Director of the
Science and Art Museum, Dublin, but formerly of the Geological
Survey of India, when in that country traced out by means of the routes
given to it by Tavernier, who visited it personally, the position of this
mine, which, known by its modern name Kollur, is situated on the
Kistna river in N. latitude 16° 42' 30", E. longitude 80° 5', and on an
old route from Masulipatam to Golconda (Haidarabad). This identi-
fication has since been further proved by the discovery of the remains
of the old mining settlement at Kollur.

The exact date of the discovery of the gem is not known, but about
1656 or 1657 it was presented, while still uncut, to Shah Jahan by Mir
Jumla. It then weighed 756 English carats. Dr. Ball has shown
that the carats used in his descriptions of stones by Tavernier were the
Florentine, the lightest of all carats. Vide p. 17, footnote 3.

Tavernier was invited by Aurangzeb to see all his jewels, and among
them the great diamond, which he was allowed to examine, make a
drawing of, and weigh. He found it to weigh 268!$ English carats.
The loss in weight is thus explained by Tavernier (vol. i. p. 396) : — ' If
this stone had been in Europe it would have been treated in a different
manner, for some good pieces would have been taken from it, and it
would have weighed more than it does, instead of which it has been
all ground down. It was the Sieur HORTENSIO BORGIO, a Venetian,
who cut it, for which he was badly rewarded, for when it was cut he
was reproached with having spoilt the stone, which ought to have re-
tained a greater weight ; and instead of paying him for his work, the
King fined him ten thousand rupees, and would have taken more if he
had possessed it. If the Sieur HORTENSIO had understood his trade
well, he would have been able to take a large piece from this stone
without doing injury to the King, and without having had so much
trouble grinding it ; but he was not a very accomplished diamond
cutter.' By this latter phrase, Dr. Ball, in opposition to a view held
by Mr. King and others, is of opinion that Tavernier meant, not that
Hortensio might have defrauded the Mogul by taking off a large piece,
but that he might with advantage have cleaved the stone instead of
grinding it ; the pieces so cleaved would then have been the property
of the Mogul, not the perquisite of Hortensio. This, after a careful
examination of the original lext, appears to me also to be the correct
reading.

In 1739 the diamond was plundered from Aurangzeb's descendant,

APPENDIX III. 471

Muhammad Shah, by Nadir Shah when he sacked Delhi, and carried
it away, with an immense amount of other loot, to Persia. On first
beholding it he is reported to have conferred upon it the title Koh-i-mir
(' Mountain of Light,' or Lustre), a most suitable name for the stone
described by Tavernier as ' a round "rose," very high at one side, of
beautiful water, and a splendid stone.'

Dr. Ball then traces its history through the hands of Ahmed Shah
Durani in 1751, Shah Zaman in 1793, Shah Shuja in 1795, Ranjit
$ingh, in 1813, and, on the annexation of the Punjab in 1849, to the
custody of the British Government, by whom it was sent — John
Lawrence, afterwards Lord Lawrence, having been for a short time its
custodian — to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. It then weighed i86T*g
carats English, and Dr. Ball ascribes the loss in weight, about 83
carats, to mutilation, to which it was subjected as he proves by the
marks of cleavage apparent when it was received in England, and
which took place, he believes, when in the possession of either Shah
Rukh, Shah Zaman, or Shah Shuja, whose necessities may have
caused them to have had pieces removed to furnish them with ready
money.

In 1851 the Koh-i-niir was exhibited in the first great Exhibition,
and in 1852 the re-cutting of the stone was intrusted by Her Majesty
to the Messrs. Canards, who employed Voorsanger, a diamond-cutter
from M. Coster's atelier at Amsterdam. The actual cutting lasted
thirty-eight days, and by it the weight was reduced to io6TV carats.
The cost of the cutting amounted to

APPENDIX III.

Tavernier s description of the Peacock Throne of the
Great Mogul.

It should be stated that the GREAT MOGUL has seven magnificent
thrones, one wholly covered with diamonds, the others with rubies,
emeralds, or pearls.

The principal throne, which is placed in the hall of the first court, is
nearly of the form and size of our camp-beds ; that is to say, it is about
6 feet long and 4 wide. Upon the four feet, which are very massive,
and from 20 to 25 inches high, are fixed the four bars which support the
base of the throne, and upon these bars are ranged twelve columns,
which sustain the canopy on three sides, there not being any on that
which faces the court. Both the feet and the bars, which are more

472 APPENDIX TIT.

than 18 inches long, are covered with gold inlaid and enriched with
numerous diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. In the middle of each bar
there is a large balass x \balet in orig. ] ruby, cut en eabuchon, with four
emeralds round it, which form a square cross. Next in succession, from
one side to the other along the length of the bars there are similar crosses,
arranged so that in one the ruby is in the middle of four emeralds, and in
another the emerald is in the middle and four balass rubies surround it.
The emeralds are table-cut, and the intervals between the rubies and
emeralds are covered with diamonds, the largest of which do not
exceed 10 to 12 carats in weight, all being showy stones, but very flat.
There are also in some parts pearls set in gold, and upon one of the
longer sides of the throne there are four steps to ascend it. Of the
three cushions or pillows which are upon the throne, that which is
placed behind the King's back is large and round like one of our
bolsters, and the two others that are placed at his sides are flat. There
is to be seen, moreover, a sword suspended from this throne, a mace,
a round shield, a bow and quiver with arrows ; and all these weapons,
as also the cushions and steps, both of this throne and the other six,
are covered over with stones which match those with which each of
the thrones is respectively enriched.

I counted the large balass rubies on the great throne, and there are
about 108, all cabuchons, the least of which weighs 100 carats,2 but
there are some which weigh apparently 200 and more. As for the
emeralds, there are plenty of good colour, but they have many flaws ;
the largest may weigh 60 carats and the least 30 carats. I counted
about one hundred and sixteen (116); thus there are more emeralds
than rubies.

The underside of the canopy is covered with diamonds and pearls,
with a fringe of pearls all round, and above the canopy, which is
a quadrangular-shaped dome, there is to be seen a peacock with
elevated tail made of blue sapphires and other coloured stones, the
body being of gold inlaid with precious stones, having a large ruby in
front of the breast, from whence hangs a pear-shaped pearl of 50 carats
or thereabouts, and of a somewhat yellow water. On both sides of the
peacock there is a large bouquet of the same height as the bird, and
consisting of many kinds of flowers made of gold inlaid with
precious stones. On the side of the throne which is opposite the court
there is to be seen a jewel consisting of a diamond of from So to 90
carats weight, with rubies and emeralds round it, and when the King
is seated he has this jewel in full view. But that which in my opinion

1 A corruption of Balakhshaf, a popular form of Badakhshaty because these
rubies came from the famous mines on the Upper Oxus, in one of the districts
subject to Badakhshan. A.C.

2 Rubies of good quality weighing 100 carats would be worth more than diamonds
of equal weight, but it is probable that these were not perfect in every respect V.B.

APPENDIX IV. 47S

is the most costly thing about this magnificent throne is, that the twelve
columns supporting the canopy are surrounded with beautiful rows of
pearls, which are round and of fine water, and weigh from 6 to 10
carats each. At 4 feet distance from the throne there are fixed, on
either side, two umbrellas, the sticks of which for 7 or 8 feet in height
are covered with diamonds, rubies, and pearls. The umbrellas are of
red velvet, and are embroidered and fringed all round with pearls.

This is what I have been able to observe regarding this famous
throne, commenced by TAMERLANE and completed by SHAH JAHAN ;
and those who keep the accounts of the King's jewels, and of what this
great work has cost, have assured me that it amounts to one hundred
and seven thousand lakhs of rupees [su] (i.e. 10,700,000,000), which
amount to one hundred and sixty millions five hundred thousand livres
of our money (i.e. i6o,5oo,ooo).1

Behind this grand and magnificent throne there is placed a smaller
one, which has the form of a bathing tub. It is of an oval shape of
about 7 feet in length and 5 in breadth, and the outside is covered over
with diamonds and pearls, but it has no canopy. — Travels, vol. i. pp.

38i, 385.

APPENDIX IV.

Note on the letter to Monseigneur Colbert concerning the
absorption of the precious metals in India.

Numberless writers have treated on the subject of the buried
treasure of India, among others, Tavernier, who in his account of the
Belief of the Idolaters touching the Condition of the Soul of man after
Death, explains the reason for treasure being hoarded as follows : —

' There are some among them who are foolish enough to bury their
treasures during their lifetime, as, for instance, nearly all the rich men
of the kingdom of ASSAM, so that if they enter, after death, the body
of any poor and miserable mendicant, they can have recourse to the
money which they have buried in order to draw from it at necessity.
This is the reason why so much gold and silver and so many precious
stones are buried in INDIA, and an idolater must be poor indeed if he
has not money buried in the earth.' — Travels^ vol. ii. pp. 204, 205.

All recent authorities agree in stating that within the last fifty years

1 As Dr. V. Ball has pointed out, there appears to be a clerical error here. The
figure should be 107,000,000, namely one thousand and seventy lakhs, which at ]
of a rupee to the livre would be equal to 160,500,000 livres, or ^£12,037,500, the
rupee being as. 3d. and the livre is. 6d.

474 APPENDIX IV.

there has been an enormous increase to the amount of capital lying
idle in India, in the shape of hoarded treasure and in the ornaments
used by the people in all parts of that country, and one of the greatest
of all Indian economic problems is the provision of means whereby the
owners of this wealth could be induced to utilise part of it in such a
way as would materially benefit themselves and others.

Mr. Clarmont J. Daniell, the well-known advocate for remonetising
gold in India, estimates1 that at the beginning of the year 1889 there
was * lying in India a stock of gold bullion wholly useless for com-
mercial purposes, and increasing at the rate of nearly three millions,
annually, of the value of not less than ^"270,000,000 at the market,
being probably two and a half times as great as all the gold money
in circulation in the United Kingdom.' — P. 249, op. cit.

In 1886-87 the Indian Government was able to utilise for coining
purposes 31,837,783 obsolete silver coins which had been buried in
pits and wells in the palace of the Maharaja Scindia, and were thus
credited as part of the sum forming the Gwalior Durbar loan, yielding
interest, instead of remaining useless as they had done for a very long
period.

Bernier did not fail to observe the large consumption of gold and
silver in India for the making of jewellery, and in other articles of
personal adornment ; see pp. 223, 224. Of late years such a use of
the precious metals has largely increased, and reliable and convincing
evidence of this, as regards the Punjab, may be found in a recent
account of the gold and silver works of the Punjab,2 compiled by
Mr. E. D. Maclagan, B. C. S., who finds after careful investigation
that the forty years' peace that Province has now enjoyed under British
rule has brought about a threefold change in the goldsmiths' trade in
that part of India, viz. : ' a decrease in the merely ostentatious class
of work : an increase but a concentration of the better forms of orna-
ment industry, and a large development of the simplest and coarsest
kinds.' — Para. 12.

Mr. Maclagan concludes his very valuable and exhaustive Monograph
as follows: —

THE FUTURE OF GOLD AND SILVER ORNAMENTS.— 'The use of
ornaments appears in this country so universal, and to most minds so
excessive, that the subject has attracted some attention from a social
point of view. The Punjabi is probably as profuse in ornamentation
as the native of any other part of the plains of India ; foreigners in this
Province at any rate, such as Parsis, Bangalis, and the like, are far

1 The Industrial Competition of Asia. An Inquiry into the Influence of
Currency on tJie Commerce cfthe Empire in the East. London. 1890,

2 Monograph on the Gold and Silver Works of the Punjab. 1888-89. Published
by Authority. Lahore. 1890.

APPENDIX IV. 475

more sparing than the native Punjabi in the ornamentation of them-
selves and their wives. The actual amount of potential wealth that
the native locks up in jewellery is something beyond conception.
Europeans in dealing with the subject are far more inclined to under-
than to over-value the amount of ornaments which a native family,. in
whatever rank of life, possesses. And yet every day in large civil
cases, in suits for dower, in dealing with wards' estates, in cases of
elopements, thefts, burglaries, murders, and a thousand other ways,
civil officers are constantly being confronted with this enormous mass
of wealth lying in the coffers of the people. A competent authority
guesses that in Amritsar city alone there are jewels to the value of two
million pounds sterling. In Kulu the ornaments are estimated at a
lakh-and-a-half ; and the gold and silver attached to deotas [idols and
their shrines] at three lakhs. The Jullundur estimate is four lakhs,
which is probably below the mark ; that of Montgomery — fifty lakhs
— is possibly above it. In Jhelum two-fifths of the wealth of the
district is said to be in ornaments. If we estimate the existing
ornaments at twelve times the annual out-turn, those of the Gurgaon
District must be valued at over ten lakhs. In Dera Ismail Khan,
at five rupees to each woman, the ornaments of the district must
exceed ten lakhs in value ; and we should probably add two lakhs
to this estimate for the ornaments in the families of the Nawabs and
other Raises [Gentry]. In Kohat, again (probably one of the poorest
districts of the Province in this respect), the estimate is taken
at Rs. 800 for each Hindu family, and Rs. 10 for each Mussalman
family, and a lakh in aggregate for the Nawab and other Raises;
making a total for the district of seventy-five lakhs. This estimate is
doubtless an exaggeration, but even a more exact calculation would
probably surprise us in its results. These isolated instances will serve
better than any formal estimate to show the extent to which the system
is carried in the Province.

* The main evil which is laid at the door of this system is the loss of
wealth. Another is the incentive to crime ; in Dera Ismail Khan, for
instance, it has been calculated that in one year, out of 968 cases of
burglary, house-breaking, and dacoity, 824 were connected with jewel-
lery. Advocates, therefore, of economic and social progress look for-
ward to a diminution of the stock of ornaments in the country, and it
is not improbable that under our rule such a diminution will take place.
The steps taken to reduce marriage expenses will doubtless do some-
thing, though perhaps not very much, in the direction. The spread of
English or Anglicised education will probably do more; for it is noticed
that the classes so educated are on the whole simple in their habits in
this respect. And if anything occurs to give a general impetus to com-
mercial enterprise and mutual confidence, opening opportunities for
investment, the use of ornaments may be extensively diminished. But

476 APPENDIX IV.

any such changes can only be most gradual, and there are obstacle
their way. The " female vote" is one. The enormous respect for
jewellery among the people as a criterion of respectability is another.
And the distinctly agricultural, and the commercially unenterprising
character of the class which mainly upholds the system is another.
There is no fear, therefore, of the practice of ornamentation dying out;
and the position of the sundrs [workers of gold or silver jewellery]
appears a fairly assured one. European competition has as yet had
little influence on the articles prepared for native custom. False
jewellery, except in large towns or among the very poorest classes,
is not largely sought after. The general character of the popular type
of gold and silver work is rough and unfinished ; it is more likely to
improve than to deteriorate, and for its improvement it is at present
being left to itself.'

Manucci, the Venetian Doctor, from whose Memoirs I have
frequently quoted, gives a very graphic picture of the buried treasures
of the Emperor Shah Jahan in the following words : —

'As the Emperor grew old, his passions changed with his years.
Avarice took the place of prodigality. It may be said, that this pas-
sion equalled, or even surpassed, all his other vices. He rewarded the
principal officers of his court and of the armies by permitting them to
plunder the people with impunity, and as soon as the Omrhas [sic'} had
become enriched by their extortions, the Emperor seized on their
wealth, and appropriated to himself the spoil. In order to preserve
with greater security the immense wealth, which tributes and extor-
tions augmented every year, he caused to be constructed, under his
palace of Dely, two deep caves, supported by vast marble pillars.
Piles of gold were stored in the one, and of silver in the other ; and to
render more difficult any attempt to convey away his treasure, he
caused, of both metals, pieces to be made of so prodigious a size as to
render them useless for the purposes of commerce [i.e. currency]. In
these caves Cha-Jaham passed a great part of the day, under the pre-
tence of enjoying their refreshing coolness ; but, in reality, for the
purpose of feasting his eyes on the prodigious wealth he had accumu-
lated.'

At a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, held at Calcutta on the
3d January 1883, the Vice-President, the late Hon. Mr. Gibbs, C.S.I.,
C.I.E., F.R.G.S., exhibited a drawing and an estampage of a 'two
hundred gold mohur piece ' struck by the Emperor Shah Jahan ' in the
Palace of Shah Jehanabad ' [Delhi, see my text, p. 241.] A.H. 1064
[A.D. 1653]. The drawing and estampage were sent by General Cun-
ningham, who, in a note accompanying them, was of opinion that the
coin was a piece used for the purpose of presentation to the Emperor
by a Noble as a mizzer (or ceremonial present from an inferior to a
superior). Manucci'i account, which I believe has been hitherto over-

APPENDIX V. 477

looked, is, as will be seen, somewhat different. For a facsimile drawing
of the two hundred gold mohur piece, intrinsically worth, probably,
£450 sterling, see p. 3, Proc. As. Soc. Bengal^ for 1883.

APPENDIX V.

Some particulars relating to Mr. H[enry] 0[uldinburgti\.

For a long time I was unable to discover the name of the Translator
of the first English edition, 1671-1672, of Bernier's Travels, simply
stated as H. O. on the title-page thereof. At last, when examining
the 1684 edition, No. 10 of the Bibliography, I found out that it was
Henry Ouldinburgh.

Other investigations followed, and at length I identified the trans-
lator as the first Secretary of the Royal Society. By the gracious per-
mission of the President and Council of that Society I was permitted to
examine the Oldenburg (for so he spells his name) MSS. in their posses-
sion, where in a letter-book — M. I., and indexed as 62 — I found a
transcript, 6 pp. folio, of the portion of the letter from M. de Monceaux,
which is printed in the first volume of the History of the late Revo-
lution, etc., London, 1671, as 'giving a character of the book here
Englished, and its author,' and which I have reprinted at pp. xlix.-li.
of my edition.

This transcript, in a contemporary hand, not that of Henry Olden-
burg, however, is headed Extraict (Tune Lettre de \ Monsieur De
Monceaux \ A Monsieur Oldenbourg Secretaire — De la societe Royale \
and is dated Paris, 26th July 1670, not i6th as printed in the London
edition of 1671, an error which has been copied in all subsequent issues.

I am also permitted by the Council of the Royal Society to reprint
the following biographical sketch of their first Secretary, which was'
compiled in 1860 by Charles Richard Welch, Assistant Secretary and
Librarian, in connection with a descriptive catalogue of the portraits in
the possession of the Society : —

Henry Oldenburg, F.R.S., Painted by John van Cleef, born at
Bremen 1626, died at Charlton> Kentt 1676.

' Oldenburg descended from the Counts of Oldenburg in Westphalia,
from whom he derived his name. He came to England as Consul for
Bremen, and on losing that appointment undertook the education of
Lord O'Brien. In 1656 he entered as student in the University of
Oxford, and while there made the acquaintance of those philosophers
who originated the Royal Society. On the incorporation of this

478 APPENDIX V.

Institution Oldenburg was appointed Secretary. He performed the
duties of his office with extraordinary zeal, carried on an extensive
correspondence with learned foreigners, and published the Philosophical
Transactions from 1664 to 1677, contributing largely to them himself.
His constant epistolary communication with foreign savants, sometimes
carried on under the anagrammatic name of Grubendol,1 led to his being
suspected of treasonable practices, and to his imprisonment in the
Tower. He was, however, quickly liberated. His correspondence, so
far as preserved, has been of the greatest importance in all questions
relating to the scientific history of the time.

* Towards the close of his life he was much distressed by a controversy
with Hooke respecting the mechanism of watches, which was terminated
by the Council deciding in his favour. His portrait represents him
holding a watch in his hand, probably in allusion to this controversy.'

For the following account of the Oldenburg portrait I am indebted to
Mr. George Scharf, C.B., the Keeper and Secretary of the National
Portrait Gallery, who, through his assistant Mr. L. G. Holland, caused
it to be examined for the purpose, and whose description is as follows :—

'A life-sized figure, seen to the waist, turned to the right [spectator's],
.face seen in three-quarters to the left, his dark chestnut eyes look
piercingly at the spectator, with a severe expression, thick aquiline nose,
thin dark grey eyebrows, tanned complexion, fat cheeks and full neck,
double, cloven chin, compressed thin lips and peculiar long scanty
dark moustaches, which only cover the middle space between his
nostrils and upper lip. His dark auburn hair is parted in the middle
and hangs down in masses on each side to his shoulders. His dress is
of sombre black, only relieved by a broad lie-down collar and cuffs of
blue-grey. His right hand rests on a table holding a gold watch-case,
the upper lid of which is open, by a handle ; while his left hand, dis-
playing a ring on the little finger, is raised to his left breast. The
shadows are very dark, and background plain dark brown.'

1 When examining the Oldenburg MSS. I chanced to find the following passage in
.the 'office copy" of a letter, dated London, June aoth, 1669, and addressed to Mr.
George Cotton in Rome, concerning a philosophical correspondence : — ' And I
would desire that the Inscription of your Letters to mee may only run thus :— A
Monsieur Monsr. Grubendol, k Londres : No more but soe, and all will come more
safely to my hands, than if they were directed to my owne name.' A. c.

INDEX

Abbs (Abak), presented to Abyssinian

Embassy, 139 and n.
Abdullah Kutb-Shah, Sultan of Gol-

konda, 18 n, 19; betrayed by Mir

Jumla, 19, 20.
Achar(Achara), Hindoo name of 'God,'

325 and n.

(The Immovable), 347.

Achem (Acheen), in Sumatra, 203 n.
Achiavel(Achibal), Royal Gardens, etc.,

of, 413 and n.

Adalet-Kanay, Justice Chamber, 263.

Adrican (Dirk Van Adrickem), director
of Dutch factory at Surat, 127 n ;
received by Aurangzeb, 127, 128.

Agra, account of city of, 284; differences
oetween Dehli and, 284, 285; houses
of Gentile merchants in, 285 ; Jesuit
Church in, 286 ; Dutch factory at,
292, 293 ; Tomb of Akbar at, 293 ;
Tomb of Taj Mahal at, 293 seq.

Chah-hest-kan, appointed Gover-
nor of, 66,

Christian Church at, destroyed

by Shah Jahan, 177, 287.

fortress of, seized by Sultr.n Mah-

moud, 61, 62.

Province, revenue of, 456.

Aguacy-die(Akdsdiah), 'sky-lamp,' 369

and n.
Akbar (Ekbar) the Great, departments

of State organised by, 216 n.

believes in truth of Christianity,

287 n.

captures Chittor, 257 n ; fond

of sport, 262 n.

encourages shawl industry in

Kashmir, 403 n.

tomb of, near Agra, 293 and «.

Alachas or striped silken stuffs, 139.

— •. — silk stuffs interwoven with gold
and silver, 120 «.

Alberuni, Moslem historian, quoted, 43 1

Alexander the Great, 383.
Ali Naki a Sayed, put to death by

Murad Bakhsh, 108 and n.
Allah-Couly, bribed by Aurangzeb, 68.
Allah-verdi-kan (Aliwardi Khan),

governor of Patna, 77 ;/.
Aly Merdankan (AH Marddn Khan},

governor of Kandahar, 184 and n, 185.
Ambas (Skt. amra). North Indian name

for mangoe, 249 n.
Ambrose, Capuchin missionary, house

of, at Surat, spared by Sivaji, 188.
Amed-Abad (Ahmadabdd), city of, 73,

74, ».

Am-Kas(Anj-Khas), place of audience,
259, 261, 263, 266, 268 ; dancing
girls salute the Mogol in the, 274.
tent of justice, 360, 362, 365, 370.

Ananas fruit (pine apples) preserved in

Bengal, 438.
Anaporam, brother of King of Aracan,

178 ft.

Anatomy, Hindoos ignorant of, 339.
Anil (Arab, al-m'l), indigo, 283 and n.
Antelopes hunted with leopards, 376,

377-

At-act spirit distilled from unrefined
sugar, 253, 441.

used in Bengal, 441 and n.

Aracan (Rakan), punitive expedition by

Shaista Khan against King of, 174,

179, 182 and n.
Armenians, compete with Dutch in

trade, 292.
Artillery of Aurangzeb, 352, 363.

of the Mogol's array, 217, 218.

Arts in India, condition of, 228, 254

255> 256.
Ashwameda (Horse sacrifice), shield

with story of the, 255 n.

INDEX

Assam, war with Raja of, 171-173.
Astrologers of Dehli, jugglery of, 243,

245-

Astrology in India, implicit belief in,
161-163.

Astronomy, ideas of Hindoo on, 339.

Augans (Afghans), mountaineers on
Persian frontier, 205, 206, 219.

Aureng-abad, revenue of, 457.

Aureng-zebe (Azirangzeb), son of Great
Mogol, 5 n, 7, 10; appointed gover-
nor of the Deccan, 15 ; invades
kingdom of Golkonda, 20, 21 ; as-
pires to throne of Shah Jahan, 26.

gains over Sulaiman Shikoh's

troops to his cause, 58 ; arrives at
Agra, 60 ; appoints Etbarkan gover-
nor of Agra fortress, 64 ; defends his
conduct in a letter to Shah Jahan, 64.

persuades Murad Bakhsh to join

him, 27 ; wins over Mir Jumla, 29,
30 ; advances on Agra, 33 ; crosses
river near Burhanpur, 36 ; gains battle
near Narbada river, 38, 39.

treachery of, to Murad Bakhsh, 66-

68 ; bribes officers and army against
do., 69.

receives troops of Murad Bakhsh

into his service, 70; bribes Raja
Jesseingue, 72, 73 ; gains battle of
Khajua, 75-78.

— — imprisons his son Muhammad in
Gwalior, 83 ; warns his second son
Sultan Mu'azzam, 84 ; imprisons
Murad Bakhsh in Gwalior, 85 ; ad-
vances against Dara at Ajmere, 86.

consents to Dara's death, 101 ;

sends Dara's head to Shah Jahan,
103 n.

embassy from Usbec Tartars to,

116 seq.; presents ambassadors with
rich strapahs, etc., 118, 120; seized
with illness, 123; wives of, 126 n ;
receives embassy from the Dutch, 127
seq.

— incessant occupations of, 129, 130;
receives embassies from different coun-
tries, 133 ; gives presents to Ethi-
opian embassy, 139; aids rebuilding
of mosque in Abyssinia, 140.

— selects preceptor for Sultan Akbar,
144 ; receives embassy from Persia,
146; presents to, from Persin, 147,

148 ; letters from King of Persia to,
149.

Aureng-zebe, demeans himself to Persian
embassy, 151; orders ambassador to be
intercepted at frontier, ib. ; reception
of his teacher Mullah Sale by, 154;
discourse on classical (Arabic) educa-
tion of youth by, 155-161.

pardoned by Shah Jahan, 166 ;

correspondence between, 166 n, 167,
168 ; on the duties of kings, 168 ; at
war with Assam, 171-173; orders
Sultan Mu'azzam to kill a lion, 182,
183; rewards Mahabat Khan, 183.

appoints governors of provinces,

186 ; cashiers Nejabatkan, ib. ; ap-
points Sivaji a Raja, 190; forgives
Begum Saheb, 198.

journey of, to Lahore, 350 et seq. ;

body-guard of, 352 ; travelling car-
riages of, 370.

entry into Kashmir, 391, 392.

embassy to, from Great Tibet, 422.

Dryden's Tragedy of, 465-469.

Ava, attempted capture of, by Chinese,

235 and n.
Azam Khan shoebeaten by Shah Jahan,

53 «•
Azam, Prince Muhammad's son, steals

Murad Bakhsh's weapons, 68 n.
Azo, fortress of, captured by Mir Jumla,

172, 173.

BAB - EL - MANDEL (Bab • el - Mandeb),

Straits of, 2, 3, 448.
Baganala, revenue of, 458.
Bagnaguer (Bhdgnagar), City of, 19 n.
Bajazet (Sultan Baiazid I. of Turkey),

167 and n.

Balasor, Port of, in Orissa, 441 and n.
Balass (Balakhshal) rubies, 472 and n.
Ball (Dr. Valentine), History of Koh-i-

nur diamond by, 470, 471.
Balouches, mountaineers on Persian

frontiers, 205, 206, 219.
Banyane, name applied to foreign

traders, 164.
Gentile merchants, houses of, in

Agra, 285.

Banyan-trees in India, 309 n.
Baramoulay (Baramuld], mosque and

sacred stone at, 414, 415.

INDEX

483

Barattes (Bardfs), orders for payment
of money, 216 and n.

Barbin (Claude), receives transfer of
rights of publication from Bernier, xxi.

Bassora, embassy from Prince of, to
Aurangzeb, 133.

Bastian Consalve. See Sebastian Gon-
zales Tibao.

Batavia, governor of, co-operates against
pirates of Chittagong, 180, 181.

governor of, 128 w.

Baute (Buddha), religion of, 336 and n.

Bawan, Sacred Spring at, 410 and n,
412 ft.

Bazar-bread of Dehli, 354 and n.

Bazar dealers, 43 and n.

in camp of Great Mogol, 365.

Beclien ( Vishnu), the preserver, 342
and n.

Bedmuskk) cases of, presented to Au-
rangzeb, 147 and n.

Begum-Saheb, daughter of Great Mogol.
5, II et seq.; amours of, 12, 13; re-
ferred to, 21, 25, 57, 61.

influence of, over Shah Jahan, 63 ;

confined in fortress of Agra, 64.

presents Aurangzeb with precious

stones, 199.

builder of a Serai near Delhi, 280,

281.

Beig (Bey) of the Red Sea, I ».
Bembcr (Bhimbar), town of, 385 «;

description of, 390 and n ; Bernier's

journey from, 405 seq.
Benares, schools of, 334, 335.

temple at, 341 «.

Bengal, fertility, wealth, and beauty of
kingdom of, 437 ~et seq. ; sugar pro-
duced in, 437 ; fruit in, 438 ; fowls,
ib. ; Jesuits in, 4v<9 ; cotton and silks
of, ib.) 440; saltpetre, 440; export
of ghee, ib.

wines used in, 441 ; islands of, 442

Bernard, French physician at Court of,
Jahangir, 274, 275.

Bernier (Fra^ois), birth of, xix ;
baptism of, ib. ; European travels of,
ib. ; matriculates at Montpellier, xx ;
takes his degree, ib. ; tends Gassendi
in his last illness, ib. ; visits Egypt,
and has the plague, ib. ; sails for
Surat, ib. ; summary of Indian travels,
ib., and xxi.

Bernier, quits Grand Cairo, I ; de-
tained at Gidda, ib. ; reaches Moka,
2 ; arrives at Surate (Surat), 3.

at Marseilles, xxi; receives licence

to print, ib. ; transfers rights in his
book to Claude Barbin, ib. ; visits
England, ib. ; death of, ib., and xxii;
legacies bequeathed by, xxii ; dedica-
tion of his book to King, xlv, xlvi ;
epistle to reader, xlvii ; bibliography,
xxv seq.

account of army of Dara, 47, 48

account of battle of Samugarh by
49-54 ; comments on, 55.

remarks on capture of Agra by

Sultan Mahmoud, 62, 63 ; on conduct
of Sultan Mu'azzam, 85.

accompanies Dara in his flight,

89, 90; detained by 'Koullys,' 91,
92.

account. of reception of Usbec

ambassadors by Aurangzeb, 116 seq.\
on habits of the Usbecs, 119-121 ;
bravery of Usbec women, 122-123;
receives ambassador from Abyssinia,
1 38 ; promised a zebra skin, 144 ; com-
ments on the upbringing of princes,
144-146.

on philosophy of the Hindoos, 1 60.

account of kingdom of Kandahar,

183 seq. ; obtains copy of History
of Kashmir in Persian, 186.

returns to France, 198 ; Letter to

Colbert, 200; account of Mogol army,
209-220 ; in service of an Omrah, 213.
on wealth and income of Great

Mogol, 221-223 '•> on slavery and sub-
jection of the peasantry of India, 225,
226, 230; on neglect of tillage, etc.,
226, 227 ; on enslaved condition of
Egypt, 227, 228.

on neglect of education and com-

merce in India, 229, 230; on sale of
governments in India and Persia,
230-232 ; on degraded condition of
Turkey, 234 ; Letter to Monsieur de
la Mothe le Vayer, 239-299.
— compares Delhi to a military en-
campment, 246 ; on meat and bread
of Dehli, 250, 251 ; on living
in Dehli, 252 ; tastes wine at Amen-
Abad and Golkonda, 252 ; on price
of wine 253 ; on native painters, 255.

484

INDEX

Bernier, on flattery among the Hindoos,
264, 265 ; account of seraglio, 267 ;
account of throne of great Mogol,
268, 269 ; describes elephant combat,
276 et seq. ; account of chief mosque,
the Jama Masjid at Dehli, 278 seq.

account of Agra, 284 et seq. ; on

the Jesuits and their missions, 286,
289 et seq. ; description of mausoleum
of Taj Mahal, 293 et seq. ; Letter to
Monsieur Chapelain, 300-349.

on two solar eclipses, 300-303 ;

account of festival of Juggernaut, 304,
305, 306 ; widow burning witnessed
by, 306-315 ; witnesses funeral rites
on the Ganges, 316; translates Des-
cartes into Persian, 324.

on religious books and beliefs of

Hindoos, 325 seq.
— questions Pundits

on nature of

Hindoo gods, chronology, etc., 341-
345 ; on doctrines of Hindoos, 346-
349 ; Letter to M. Chapelle, 349 n.

first letter to Monsieur De Mer-

veilles, 350-357 ; equipment of, 353 ;
second letter to Monsieur De Mer-
veilles, 358-382.

the league (lieue) of, 367 n ; loses

his way in camp, 368, 369.

third letter to M. cle Merveilles,

383, 384 ; description of Lahore, 384 ;
fourth letter to M. de Merveilles,
385 ; fifth letter to M. de Merveilles,
386, 387 ; crosses river Chinab, ib.
and n ; sixth letter to M. de Mer-
veilles, 388 ; seized with illness, ib.

seventh letter, to M. de Merveilles

389; suffers from intense heat, ib.,
390; eighth letter to M. de Merveilles,
390-392 ; ninth letter to M. de Mer-
veilles, 393 et seq. ; on beauty of
Kashmir women, 404, 405 ; account
of journey from Bhimbar to Kashmir,
405 et seq.

crosses Ratan Mountains, 406 and

n ; crosses Fir Panjal Pass, 407 et
seq. ; visits sacred spring at Bawnn,
410 and n, 411 ; on origin of, 412
and n, 413 ; visits gardens of Achi-
bal, 413; visits gardens of Vernag,
ib. n, 414 : visits shrine and mosque
at Baramula, 414.

— — takes part in lifting sacred stone

at mosque of Baramula, 415, 416;
visits Wular Lake, 416 and n ; account
of bubbling spring, 417, 418; visits
Lake Gungabal, 418 and » ; ac-
count of kingdom of Kashgar, 426
seq. ; on Jews in Kashmir and China,
429 and n, 430.

Bernier, on periodical rains in India, 431
et seq. ; on regularity of currents of
the sea and winds in Indies, 434 et
seq. ; on fertility, wealth, and beauty
of Bengal, 437 et seq. ; witnesses a
lunar rainbow, 444, 445.

caught in a storm, 445, 446 ; on

periodical rising of the Nile, 446 et
seq. ; illness of, in Egypt, 451 ;
account of revenue of Great Mogol,
455 et seq. ; abstract of the French
king's licence to print his travels,
461.

letter to Monseigneur Colbert,

note on, 473 seq.
Beths (Vedas) religious books of the

Hindoos, 325 and «, 335 ; on the

creation of the world, 328 and n.
Betel (Piper betel, Lin.), 13 n.
Bet-U (Betel) chewed to sweeten the

breath, 283, 364.
Bhadur-Kan (Bahadur Khan}, conducts

Dara through streets of Delhi, 98,

99.
Biapek (Vyapaka), all pervading, 344

and «, 348.
Bibliography of Bernier's Travels and

other works, xxv seq.
Bider (Bidar) captured by Aurangzeb,

22 and «, 197 n.

Bihsthi, Pathan water-carrier, 207 n.
Billah (Bi-'lld/ii), 'By God,' 153 ;/.
Bisnaguer (Vi/ayanagar), kingdom of,

193 «.

Bokhara prunes (Alu Bokhara), 118 n.
Bouleponge (punch), of Bengal, 441 and

n.
Brahma, the eternal creative power,

328 n.
Brama of Pegu, cruelties of, 234 and n

235-
Brampour (Burhdnpur), city of, 31 «;

river, crossed by Aurangzeb at, 36.
Buddhists of Tibet, sects of, 423 n.
Burning of widows, account of custom

of, 306-315.

INDEX

485

Buzee (Reverend Father), 6, ^ n ;
attends on Dara in his last moments
101 «, 244, 289.

CABOUL (Kabul), Mir-Kan appointed

governor of, 186.

revenue of, 457.

Calil-ullah-Kan commands Dara's right

wing at Samiigarh, 48 ; treachery

of, to Dara, 52-54 ; shoebeaten by

Dara, 53 ; offers his services to Au-

rangzeb, 56 ; urges Dara's being put

to death, 100.
Camp of Great Mogol, number of people

in, 380, 381.

Candahar, revenue of, 456.
Candeys (Khandish), revenue of, 458.
Capuchin missionaries in India, 289.
Caste, divisions of Hindoos into, 325,

and n.
Catay, name of a country other than

China, 155 n.

Caucasus mountain range, 395 n.
Chah Abas (Khwaja Shdhbdz), lays

siege to Castle of Surat, 28 and n ;

cautions Murad Bakhsh against Au-

rangzeb, 32.
Chah-Abas (Shah 'Abbas the Great),

King of Persia, 1 50 n.
trees planted by astrologers of,

162, 163.
Chah-Hestkan (Shdista Khan), uncle

of Aurangzeb, 13 n.
Chah-hest-kan (Shdista Khan), uncle

of Aurangzeb, promotes his views,

56.

appointed governor of Agra, 66 ;

urges Dara's being put to death,
loo.

nominated governor of the Decan,

etc., 174, 186 ; undertakes expedition
against King of Arakan, 174, 179 et
scq. ; wins over pirates of Chittagong,
181, 182.

Chah-Jehan (Shah- J aha n}, the great
Mogol, 3, 4 n; has secret corre-
spondence with Auranezeb, 16 ; re-
ferred to, 21 ; illness of, 24, 25 ; re-
ferred to, 33, 34, 37, 41, 42, 43.

" proposes assuming command
against Aurangzeb, 44; influenced
by Begum Sahib, 63 ; delivers up
keys of Agra, 63 ; confined in the

fortress, 64 ; accused of sending
money to Dara, 64, 65.
Chah-Jehan, refuses Aurangzeb certain
jewels, 127.

arrogance of Persian ambassador

to, 151-153-

— outwitted by Neik-nam-Kan, 164 ;
pardons Aurangzeb, 166 ; letters to,
from Aurangzeb, 167, 168.

— punishes Portuguese of Hughli,
176, 177 and n ; demolishes churches
at Agra and Lahore, 177, 287.

— death of, 198 and n.

— city of Jehan Abad built by, 241.
See Dehli, account of the city of.

encourages dancing girls, 273,

274.

• invades Little Tibet, 421 ; attempts
conquest of Great Tibet, 422.
Chah-limar (Shahlamar), country house
of Mogol, 283 and n.

country residence of Aurangzeb,

351-
(Shdlawdr] Gardens, Kashmir,

399 and n, 400.
Chah-Navaze-Kan (Shdhnaivaz Khan},

father-in-law of Aurangzeb, 73 ns ;

receives Dara at Ahmadabad, 74;

betrays him to Aurangzeb, 87 ; slain

in battle of Deora, ib.
Chamdara, city of, captured by Mir

Jumla, 172.
Chapelain, letter from Bernier to

Monsieur, on customs, etc., of

Hindoos, 300-349.
Chapelle (Claude-Emmanuel Luillier),

letter to, from Bernier, 349 «.
Chardin, celebrated French traveller,

312 ».

Chatigon (Chittagong), pirates inhabi-
tants of, 174-176.

Chat resale (Raja Chhattar Sat), com-
mander in Dara's army at Samiigarh,

48 ; killed in the battle, 51.
Chauth levied by Marathas, 460.
Cheetah, hunting leopard, 375 and n.
Cheker (Shigar), town of, 427.
Chempet (Champa t Rdi), chief of the

Bundelas, 46 and n.
Cherif (Shereef) of Mecca, embassy

from, to Aurangzeb, 133 and n.
Cherky (Charkhi}> fireworks used to

separate fighting elephants, 277 n.

486

INDEX

Chias (Shiahs), Mogul courtiers of the

sect of, 209, 211.
China, Tartar conquest of, 121 n.
China and Matchine ( Tchine et Mat-

chine, 156 w.-

China-wood (China-root), 425 n.
China, first settlement of Jews in 429

Chittor, captured by Akbar, 257 n.
Christianity, favoured by Akbar and

Jahangir, 287 and n.
Christians in India, irreverent behaviour

in churches of, 292.
Chronology among the Hindoos, 343.
Churches, at Agra and Lahore, des-

troyed by Shah Jahan, 177, 287.
Civet, horn filled with, sent to Aurang-

zeb, 135, 137, 144-
Colbert, note on Bernier's letter to,

473 seq.
Comory (fCumdri, Comorin), Cape, 23

Comori {Comorin], Cape, 192 n.
Compass, mariner's, used for purposes

of divination in China, 244 n.
Constantinople, beauty of view of, 286.
Cotoiial (Grand Provost), guards

mounted by, 369.
Cours (Kurs) or Standards carried on

march, 371 and «.
Cow held in great respect in India,

326

Cranes, manner of hunting, 377.
Currents of the sea in the Indies,

regularity of, 434 seq.

DABIR (Dabir-ul-MulK), court official,

2O n.
Dacca, capital of Bengal, 171, 181, and

n.
D'Acosta, Joseph, Superior of the

Jesuits in Agra, 288 n.
Damascus Cutlasses, presented to

Aurnngzeb, 148.

Persian merchant, 4 n, 100.

appointed governor of Delhi, 186.

- studies of, 353.

- endeavours to convert Bernier,
414.

Daoud-Kan, commander in army of

Sulaiman Shikoh, 159 and n.
DarA (Ddrd Shikoh}, son of Great

Mogol, 5 w, 6, 7 ; suspects Aurangzeb
10 ; appointed governor of Caboul
and Moultan, 15 ; reigns with his
father, 15 n, 21, 25.

Dara, concerned in death of Sadullah-
Khan, 23, 24.

assembles two armies against his

brothers, 34 ; numbers of, 43 ; dis-
suaded from attacking Aurangzeb,
44 ; reasons for attacking, 45 ; takes
the field against Aurangzeb, 46, 47 ;
bravery of, at Samugarh, 49, 50.

defeated, 54 and n; marriage and

family of, 57 n, 103 n ; departs with
family for Dehli, 57, 58.

advances on Lahore, 70 ; seeks

refuge in fortress of Tata-bakar, 71,
73 ; European gunners in army of,
73 ; admitted into city of Ahmada-
bad, 74.

quits Guzarate with army, 85 ;

advances on city of Ajmere, 86 ;
defeated at battle of Deora, 88 ; re-
treats to Ahmadabad, 89 ; retreats
again to Tata-bakar, 91 ; made
prisoner by Malik Jiwan, 96, 97;
delivered to Aurangzeb, 97.

conducted in disgrace through

streets of Delhi, 98, 99 ; confined in
garden of Heider-Abad, 100 ; mur-
dered by a slave, 101, 102 ; head
carried to Aurangzeb, 102, 103.
— Mulla Shah, spiritual guide of,
154 n.

Upanishads translated into Per-

sian by authority of, 323 n, 324.
— Heresy of, 345 n.

referred to, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34,

35. 36, 37, 4i, 42, 64, 65.
Daulet-Abad (Daulatdbdd), Fort of, 19

n ; Aurangzeb to reside at, 24.
Days (Dhye), curdled milk, 354 and n.
Decankou, war-cry of Mir Jumla, 76.
Deccan, proverbial saying anent the,

197 and n.
Dedication to King of France, xlv,

xlvi.
Deh Hazary, lord of ten thousand

horse, 212.

Delhi (Dehli), Danechmend-Kan, ap-
pointed governor of, 186.

— account of city of, 241 et seq.

Fortifications of, 242 ; citadel of,

INDEX

487

242, 257-258 ; garden and square of,

243 ; Bazar held in square, ib. ;

arcades and merchants' houses in,

245 ; thatched cottages in, 246 ; fires

frequent in, ib.
Delhi, dwellings of Omrahs in, 246,247;

construction of houses in, 247, 248 ;

shops of, 248, 249 ; fruit market of,

249 ; confectioners' shops in, 250 ;

bakers in, ib. ; flesh meat sold in, ib.,

51 ; fowls and fish in, 251, 252.
price of wine in, 253 ; Seraglio

and royal apartment in, 256 and n ;

statues of Rajas Jaimal and Patta

of Chittor in 256, 257 and n ; streets

in, 245, 246, 257, 258 ; canal in,

257, 258.

place of audience in, 259,261, 263.

- sacked by Nadir Shah, 269 n ;

Throne of Great Mogol at, 268, 269 ;

Mosque, the Jama Masjid, 278 seq. ;

Serai of, 280, 281 ; population of,

281, 282.

country around, extremely fertile

283 ; compared with Agra, 284, 285.
— bazar bread of, 354 and n, 387;
water of, 355 ; distance from Lahore,

358.

province of, revenue of, 456.

Delale (Ddldl), Gentile Broker, 188,
189 n.

Delil-kan (Diler Khan\ 35 n ; plun-
ders Sulaiman Shikoh's baggage,
60.

Deora, Battle between Aurangzeb and
Dara at, 87, 88.

Deiila (Deotah], an incarnate deity,
causes eclipses, 303.

Deiitas, sun, moon and stars called,
339. 34°; nature of the, 344, 348.

Dgen (Arab, jinn], evil spirit, 217.

Dgugues ( Yttgas) of Hindoos, 343 and
n.

Diamond, Great, of Great Mogol iden-
tical with the Koh-i-nur, 469-471.

Dianet-Kan appointed governor of
Kashmir, 186.

Didar-Kan, principal eunuch of the
Seraglio, amours of, 131 ; murdered,

131'

Doctors of Goa, 338 n.

Douazdeh Hazary, lord of twelve thou-
sand horse, 212.

Dou Hazary, lord of two thousand
horse, 212.

Dryden's Tragedy of Aureng-Zebe, 465-
469.

Dtib grass (Cynodon Dactylori), 382
and n.

Dutch, teach Murad Bakhsh military
mining, 31.

lay embargo on Golkonda mer-
chant vessels, 195, 196.

factories of, in Agra and Lucknow,

292 and n ; trade of, 293.

Silk factory of, in Bengal, 440.

EARTHQUAKES in Kashmir, 395 n.

Ebeche or Ethiopia, embassy from King
of, to Aurangzeb, 133 ; personnel of
embassy, 134; plundered, 137; re-
ceived by Aurangzeb, 138, 139.

Eclipses witnessed by Bernier, 300 ;
caused by an incarnate deity, 303.

Egypt an enslaved country, 227, 228.

Eiedeha (Azhdaha), dragon insignia,
266.

Elabas (Ilahbas), Allahabad, victory of
Sulaiman Shikoh near, 36 and n.
Mir-baba appointed governor of,

186,

revenue of, 457.

El Bahrein, Persian Gulf, pearl fishery
at, 204, n.

Elephants, combats between, 276, 277,
278 and n.

Emasculation of eunuchs, 131, 132.

Embargo laid on Golkonda merchant
vessels by Dutch, 195, 196.

Embary (Amdri], Murad Bakhsh con-
fined in an, 69 ; Sultan Muham-
mad confined in an, 83.

Emir-Jemla (Mir /ui/ila, Mir Mtiham-
mad Said Ardastani), 16, et seq.) 1 6
n ; betrays King of Golkonda to
Aurangzeb, 19, 20.

presents the Koh-i-Ntir diamond

to Shah-Jahan, 22 and n ; pretended
imprisonment of, 29, 30.

joins Aurangzeb at battle of

Khajua, 75; war cry of, 76; sent
against Sultan Sujah, 79 ; goes into
winter quarters at Rajmahal, 81.

defeats Sultan Sujah, 169; created

principal Amir, 171 ; confirmed in
Government of Bengal, ib. ; offered

488

INDEX

management of war against Assam,

171 ; death of, 173,
Eskerdo (Skardzi), capital of Little

Tibet, 427 and «.
Etbarkan appointed governor of fortress

of Agra, 64 ; cruelty of, to Shah

Jahan, 125.
Ethiopia (Abyssinia), no coined money

in, 139.
Polygamy in, 142, 143 ; numerous

children of king of, 143.

Account of source of Nile by

Ambassadors of, 447 seq.
Eugenes ( Ujjain, £^7«)(theNerbudda),
crossed by Aurangzeb, 36 n.

FACTORY, Dutch, in Agra, 292, 293.
Fairs held in the royal seraglio, 272 and
n 273 ; opposed by orthodox Moslems

273 «•

Fakir of Pir Panjal Pass, 432, 410, 414.
Fakires (fakirs), religious devotees,

317,^318, 321, 322.
Fanndn (concession), obtained from

Aurangzeb by Dutch, 127, 129.
Fazelkan appointed Grand Chamber-
lain, 1 86.
Feday-Kan (Fidal Khdn}> foster-brother

to Aurangzeb, 124 n.
Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, travels of in

Pegu, 234 n.

Feringhees of Chittagong, 182 n.
Feringhi niahal, Frank's quarter at

Lucknow, 292 «.
Flud (or Fludd), Robert, Physician and

Rosicrucian, 346 n.
Fra-Joan, an Augustine monk, rules in

Sundeep, 179.
Franguis (Firinghees), 3 n.
Franguistan, name for Europe, 155.
Franks allowed free access to palace in

time of Jahangir, 274 n.
French, superstition of, concerning

eclipses, 300, 301.

Fruit imported into India, 203, 204.
Fruit sold in Dehli, variety of, 249, 250.

GALEASSES, half-decked boats, 109 //.
Galleasses of pirates of Chittagong, 175,

179, 181.

Gamon (Jummod), Raja of, 395 n.
Ganges water for use of Mogul, 221 n.

Ganges water, carried on march, 356, 364.

funeral rites on the, 315.

account of river, 453 n.

discharge contrasted with that of

the Nile, 453.

Gassendi (Pierre), teacher of Bernier,

xx, 1.

Gavani (Bavani), wife of Siva, 342.
Genich (Ganesh), son of Siva, 342.
Gentils (Gentiles, Gentoos), 3 n.
Gentiles burn their dead, 315.
believe in transmigration of souls,

326 ; respect for animal life, ib. ;

daily prayers and ablutions of, 327 ;

Trinity of, 328, 329 n, 330 ; doctrines

of, 330-334-
Geography, knowledge of, among

Hindoos, 340.
Ghee, method of preparing, 438 n ;

export of, 440 n.
Gilles, Personne de Roberval, French

mathematician, 301 n.
Gion-kan (Malik Jhvan Ayytib), terri-
tory of, 95 n ; receives Dara, 96 ;

makes him and his son prisoners, 96

«, 29 ; receives title of Bakhtiyar

Khan, 99 « ; assassinated, 104.
Girolamo Cardan, mathematician, 319

n.
Gladstone (Right Hon. W. E.), quoted

on education in Greek, 158 n.
Goa, doctors of, 338 n.
Gold in India, quantity and use of, 223,

224.
Gold absorption in India, note on, 473

seq.
Golkonda, coinage of, to bear the arms

of Shah-Jahan, 21.

kingdom of, preserves its inde-
pendence, 193, 194, 208; pays tribute,

194 ; practically ruled by Aurangzeb,

195 ; debased coinage of, 196.
Queen of, accused of immorality,

197.
Gondar (Guendar), capital of Abyssinia,

2 n.
Gosel- Kane ( Ghusl Khdnah} bath room,

265 and n ; private audiences held in

ib, , 266 and n.
Goul-tchen-raz (Gulshan fiaz), 346 »,

348.

Gourtche {Gum), town of, 426.
Gourze-Berdars (Gurz-burdar), mace-

INDEX

489

bearers, 263, 267 ; attend on Mogol,

280.
Gourze-Berdars, couriers with maces,

371 ; assist in hunting, 378.
Goute, dew in Egypt called, 450, 451 ;

disease caused by, ib,
Governments sold openly in India,

Persia, and Turkey, 230-232.
Grand Bakchis (Mir Bakhshi), title of,

conferred on Mahmet-Emir-Khan,

171 and n.

- Grand Prevost de la campagne,' 188 ».
Great Mogol, a Mahometan of the sect

of the Sounnys, 208 ; a descendant
of Tamerlane, 209 ; armies of, 209 ;
cavalry of, 211.

horsemen in army of, 216, 217 ;

foot soldiers of, 217, 219; artillery of,
217. 218 ; provincial army of, 218,
219 ; camp followers of army of, 219,
220.

horses and elephants of, 221 : ser-
aglio of, 222 ; income of, ib. ; officers
of state of, 230 ; court of audience of,
261 ; receptions held by, 261, 266;
procession of animals and cavalry be-
fore, 262, 263 ; adulation before, 263,
264.

standard of the, 266 n.

ceremony of weighing the, 270 ;

large presents to, from Omrahs, 271 ;
repairs to Jama Masjid to pray, 280.
— journey of, to Lahore, 350 seq.
artillery of, 352 ; tents of, 359, 360,

363, 364 ; furnishings of tents of, 362 ;
mode of travelling by, 370 ; field
sports of, 374 seq. ; varies direction
of entering camp, 382.
— revenues of Provinces of, 456 et
seq. ; gross revenue of, at various
periods, 459.

the Koh-i-nur identical with the

great diamond of the, 469-471 ; ac-
count of peacock throne of, 471-473.

Great seal of Aurangzeb, 125.

Great Tibet, attempted conquest of, by
Shah Jahan, 422; embassy from King
of, to Aurangzeb, 422 seq.

Guerguon, capital of Assam, captured
by MIT Jumla, 172.

Guinea-worm caused by impure water,

355 «•
Gungabal Lake, festival held at, 418 n.

' Gunga Din,' Bihsthl (water-carrier),

206 ; ballad of, 207.
Gusarate (Gujerat), revenue of, 456.
Gwalior, I)ara and his sons confined in,

57 n ; Sultan Muhammad confined in,

83 ; Murad Bakhsh confined in, 85 ;

state prison of, 106 n.

HABECH (Habesh), Arabic name of

Abyssinia, 2 n.
Halal-khors, sweepers or scavengers,

313 «•

Haidar Malik, abridgment of Kashmir

history by, 393 n.

Hakim Daoud, medical attendant on
Shah Sufi I., 100 ;/.

Haoud (Oudh), revenue of, 457.

Harvey, discoverer of circulation of the
blood, 324 «.

Haryperbet (Hari Parbat), verdant
mountain, 398.

Has/tier (Ajmere), revenue of, 456.

Hatkipul) or Elephant's Gateway, 106 ;/.

Hauze, travelling chair of Great Mogol,
370.

Hawks kept by Great Mogol, 377 n.

Hazaryy lord of a thousand horse, 212.

Heat intense on the march, 385, 389.

Hecht Hazary, lord of seven thousand
horse, 212.

Heir, the King sole, of those who die
in his service, 163, 164, 165, 167.

Hens with black skin, 251 and n.

Ilindoustan, extent and fertility of, 202;
absorption of gold and silver in, 203,
supplied with copper and spices by
Dutch, 203 ; obtains lead from Eng-
land, ib. ; broadcloths from France,
ib. ; horses from Usbec, etc., ib.

fruits imported into, 203, 204 ;

i f \s*

imports shells for money from Mal-
dives, 204 ; ambergris from Maldives
and Mozambique, ib. ; slaves and ivory
from Ethiopia, ib. ; musk and por-
celain from China, ib. ; pearls from
El- Bahrein, ib. ; destitute of mines,
205 ; hardships of peasantry of, ib. ;
petty sovereignties of, on Persian
frontiers, ib.

— quantity and use of gold in, 223,
224; state of arts in, 228; universal
ignorance in, 229; neglect of com-

490

INDEX

merce, ib. ; sale of governorships in,
230, 231.

Hindoustan, travelling in, 233; tyranny
of governors in, 236 ; administration of
justice in, 236-238 : heat in, 240, 241 ;
diseases in, 254; fine workmanship
in, 254, 255 ; workmen tyrannised by
Omrahs, 256.

Hindoos, superstitious practices of,
during an eclipse, 301-303; believed
to be caused by an incarnate deity,

303, festival of Juggernaut, 304-306.

widow burning among the, 306-314.

philosophy of, 337, 338 ; ignorant

of anatomy, 339; knowledge of astro-
nomy, ib. ; ignorant of geography, 340.

Horses of Tartary, 118 n.
of Great Mogol, 363.

branding of, 243.

Howdah (Arabic haudaj), note on word,
53 n ; used by Murad Baksh, 56 n.

Hunting by the Great Mogul, manner
of, 374 seq.

Hyeman ( Yemen), embassy from King
of, to Aurangzeb, 133.

INDIA, Muhammadanism never thor-
oughly established in, 40 n.

Southern, united under Ramras, 192.

periodical rains in, 431 et seq.

regularity of currents of sea and

winds of, 434 seq. (See Hindoustan. )

Isaac Comnenus, King of Cyprus, 105 n.

JACHEN ( Yaskm), Jade, 298, 422 n, 426.
Jafer-kan(Jdfar Khan), Prime Minister
to Aurangzeb, 271 n.

appointed Governor of Scinde,

1 86 and n.

Jagannat (Juggernaut}, the festival of,

304. 305. 306.

revenue of, 457.

Jah-ghirs, lands assigned to Omralis

for salary, 213 ; meaning of, 224.
Jamdhar ( Yama-dhdra), or dagger,

67 n.
Jauguis (Jogl, Yoga), religious sect,

316 and n, 319.
Jehan-Abad, near Dehli, built by Shah

Jahan, 241. See Dehli, account of

the city of.
— — revenue of, 456.

Jehan-Guyre (Jahangfr), * Conqueror of
the World,' 3, 5.

allows Portuguese to settle at

Hiighli, 176.

allows Europeans free access to

palace, 274.

favours Christianity, 287, 288.

animals hunted by, 379 n.

death of, 401 n.

Jelapour ( faldlpiir-Nahir), town of,
292 n.

Jemel (Raja JaimaJ) of Chittor, statue
of, in Dehli, 256, 257.

Jesseingue (Rdjd Jai Singh /. ), Coun-
sellor to Sulaiman Shikoh, 34 and «,
35 ; referred to 71 ; bribed by Au-
rangzeb, 72, 73 ; gains over Jessom-
seinque to Aurangzeb's side, 86.

intrigues with Raja Katche against

Dara, 91.

takes command of army in Deccan,

190 ; dies at Burhanpur, 191.

Jessomseingue (Rdjd faswant Singh).
See Maharaja Jaswant Singh ; defeat
of, at Narbada, 39 ; disowned by his
wife in consequence, 40, 41 ; referred
to, 71.

plunders baggage of Aurangzeb's

rear guard, 76 ; raises strong army,
85 ; gained over to Aurangzeb, 86.
recalled from Deccan, 188.

Jesuits in Agra, 286 ; invited there and
maintained by Akbar, 286, 287 ;
oppressed by Shah Jahan, 287 and n
favoured by Jahangir, 287, 289 ;
missions of, 289, 290 seq.
in Bengal, 439.

Jews in China, first settlement of, 429
n\ in Kashmir, 430; in Cochin, 431 n.

Jhelum river, Kashmir, 396, 397 n.

Jholas, rope-suspension bridges of Tibet,
425 n.

Jonrkend ( Yarkand), town of, 427.

Joue, Bernier's birthplace registered in
archives of parish of, xix.

KACIIEH (Persian for Kasyupa), son of

Marichi, 393 n.
Kacheguer, account of kingdom of, 426

seq.
Kachemire (Kashmir), Dianet - Kan

appointed governor of, 186 ; native

histories of, ib»

INDEX

491

Kachemire, entry of Auiangzeb into, 391 ;
account of, 393 et seq. ; earthquakes
in, 395 n. ; mountains of 396 ; ani-
mals of, ib. ; rivers of, ib. ; capital
of, 397 ; fruits of, ib. ; poets of, 401.

shawl and art industries of, 402,

403 ; form and complexion of people
of, 404, 405 ; trees and plants of,
406 ; tribute of districts of, 419, 420 ;
caravan routes from, to Katay, 425,
426; Jews in, 430, 431 «.

revenue of, 457.

Kadis or Judges, 225, 237, 263.
Kadjoiie (Khajua), battle between

Aurangzeb and Sultan Sujah at, 75-

78.
Kakan (Khakan), Chinese Mongol

title, 430 n.
Kaliane (Kdlidni), besieged by Mir

Jumla, 24, 28.
Kalil-ullah-Kan slaughters governor

and garrison of Tata-bakar, 104.
• appointed governor of Lahore,

1 86.
Kalis (Khal) inlet of sea or river,

454 n.
Kaluet-kane, place of privy council,

361.
Kamarane (Kameran), island of, 454,

and n.
Kanates (Khanats} folding screens, 360

and n, 361, 366.
Kandahar, captures and sieges of, 184,

185.
Kane-saman (Khamanian} ' Grand

Chamberlain,' 186.
Karguais (Khargdhs), folding tents, 359

and n, 362.
Kar-kanays (Khar khan ah s} artisan's

workshops, 258 n, 259,
Karnates (Karnatic), Lc Royaume de,

17 «.
Katwansara of Dehli, account of, 280,

281.

Karavan-Serrahs in India, 233.
Kasem-Kan (Nawab A'asitn Khan

Jaw ltd), 37 n ; ilies from field at

battle near the Narbada, 39.
Kas-kanays, rooms formed of odorifer-
ous roots, 247 and n.
Katay, caravan routes from Kashmir

to, 425, 426 ; the use of the name,

427 n.

Kauve (Arab. Kahwa), coffee, 364 n.
Kazint (Khazdna), treasury, 455.
Kenchens, dancing girls, 273, 274.
Kettle-drums (nakdrahs), presented to

Abyssinia embassy, 139 and n.
Khafi Khan, historian, quoted, 19 nt

28 n, 36 n, 37 n, 39 n, 48 n, 52 n,

54 n, 56 n, 87 n, 91 n, 102 n, 103 n ;

on mock trial of Murad Bakhsh,

1 08 n.

on correspondence between Au-

rangzeb and Shah Jahan, 166 n.
Khas Mahal, tower in Seraglio of

Dehli, 268 and n.
Kichery (Kedgeree), native dish, 152 n.

how prepared, 381.

Kichmiches (Kishmish), stoneless

raisins, 119 and n.
Kobat-kan, muster-master of cavalry,

243-

Koh-i-nur diamond presented to Shah-
Jahan, 22 and «.

identical with the 'Great Mogul'

diamond, 469-471.
Koia Kotub-eddine (Koh-i-Kutab-ud-

din), temple of, 283 and n.
Korrah, whip used by Omrahs, 228,

252, 256.
Kosd-niinars, between Dehli and Agra,

284 n.
Koullys (Tamil ktili), robber peasantry,

88, 89 ns ; assail Dara, 91.
Kourour (Hind Karor), a hundred

Lacks, 456.
Kours, insignia of royalty, 266 and «.

LADAK, polyandry in, 421 n.

Lahore, church at, destroyed by Shah
Jahan, 177, 287.

Kalilullah-Kan, appointed gover-
nor of, 1 86.

Lahor (Lahore), Aurangzeb's journey
to, 350 seq. ; distance from Dehli,

358.
situation and description of, 383,

384.

revenue of, 456.

•

Lanka Island, stone with Persian in-
scription found on, 416 » ; mosque
on, 417 n.

I.apis-lazuli, 1 18 n.

Lasker-Kan, appointed governor of
Patna, 186.

492

INDEX

Lecque (Hind. Lakh), a hundred thou-
sand rupees, 456.

- Lemonade ' used in Dehli, 253 and n.
Lengue-cherire, doctrine of, 344 and «.
Licence to Bernier to print and sell his

Travels, 461.
Lion hunting, by Great Mogul, 378,

.379-

Little Tibet invaded by Shah Jahan,42i.
Lord, Henry, Anglican chaplain at

Surat, 333 n.
LouJiaya (Loheia), town in Arabia,

454 and «.

Louvre, Paris, completion of, 286 n.
Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, quoted,

3H, 315 «•

Lunar-Rainbow witnessed by Bernier,

444, 445-
Lynx employed in the chase, 375 n.

MACHATE, Mascate (Muscat), chief

town of Oman, 73 //.
Maclagan (E. D. ), on use of precious

metals in India, 474 seq.
Mdhdbdrata, shield with story of the,

255 "-,
Maharaja Jaswant Singh, of Jodhpur,

7 », 37 »•

Mahmet Emir-kan, Mir Jumla's son,
retained at Agra by Aurangzeb, 80.

created Grand Master of Horse

171 ; befriended by Aurangzeb, 173.

Malotia (Malwa), revenue of, 457.

Mangues (Mangoes), esteemed in India,
249 ; origin of name, ib. n.

Mamiron (Mamiran-i-Chini), drug,
426 n.

Mansebdars (Mansabdars), comman-
ders, 59 ».

paid horsemen in service of

Mogol, 211, 215 ; pay of, 215.

evening salutation of King by,

266 ; attend on Mogol to the Mosque,
280 ; in square of Delhi, 282.

tents of, 367 ; accompany Mogol

on march, 371.

Maperle (Mahd-i>raiaya), total dissolu-
tion, 347 and n. See Pralea.

Marshal Turenne, 55 and n.

Mascarenhas (Dom Philippe de), Vice-
roy of Goa, 17, 1 8 n,

Massipatam(-Mwtt///ta/dW/), ' Fishtown,'
112 n.

Maturas (Mathura, Muttra), city of, 66
and n.

ancient temple at, 284.

Mausoleums of Akbar and Taj Mahal at

Agra, 293, 294.

Mecca, Ka'bah of, 133 n.

Mehadeu (Mahd-Deva], Siva, 342.

Mehale or Seraglio, fairs held in the,
272 and n, 273.

Melons highly esteemed in India, 249.

Merveilles, Bernier's first letter to Mon-
sieur de, 350-357 ; second letter to,
358-382.

third letter to, 383, 384 ; fourth

letter, 385; fifth letter, 386, 387;
sixth letter, 388 ; seventh letter, 389 ;
eighth letter, 390, 391 ; ninth letter,

393-

Mtkdember (Meghdambhar), travelling
litter of Great Mogol, 370 ; used by
Raushan Ara Begum, 372.

Mir-baba, watches Dara, 71 ; besieges
fortress of Tata-bakar, 93.

appointed governor of Elabas, 186.

Mir-Kan appointed governor of Caboul,

186.
Mir-manzil (Grand Quartermaster),

duties of, 365.
Mir Shikar, ' Grand Master of the

Hunt,' 182 n.
Mir-ul-Ormah, title of, conferred on

Mir Jumla, 171 ; conferred on Shaista

Khan, 174.
Mirobolans (Myrobalans), dried fruits,

438 and n.

Mirza Rdjd. See Jesseingue, 34.
Mirza-Zulkartnin embraces Christian-
ity, 287.

Moguiere (Monghyr), town of, 80 n.
Mohabet-Kan, governor of Caboul, 7 1,

95-
appointed governor of Gnjerat,

183-

Mohur gold piece, note on a two hun-
dred, 476, 477.

Mohurs called Gold Roupies, 60 n.

Moisson du vent, 109 «.

Moka, slave-market of, 136.

Monceaux the younger (M. de), letter
from to H[enry] Ofuldinburgh] con-
cerning Bernier's book, xlix-li.

Mondas Parek, Gentile broker at Surat,
189 n.

INDEX

493

Monsoon-wind of India, 436.

Morad-Bakche (Murdd Bakhsh), son of
Great Mogol, 5 n, 10, II ; appointed
governor of Gujerat, 15 ; unites with
Aurangzeb, 27, 28 ; instructed in
mining by Dutch, 31.

wounded at battle of Samugarh,

51 ; kills Raja Ram Singh Rautela,

52 ; arrives at Agra, 60.

advised to stay at Agra, 66 ; plot

against by Aurangzeb, 66-67 ; made
a prisoner, 68 ; confined in an
embary (amart), 69 ; imprisoned in
Salimghar, 69.

imprisoned n Gwalior, 85 ; fetters

of, 105 n ; mock trial and execution

of, 1 08.
Mosque, the Jama Masjid, account of,

278 seq.
Mothe le Vayer, letter from Bernier to,

239-299.

Moultan, revenue of, 457.
Muhammadanism, principal sects of, 8.
never thoroughly established in

India, 40 n.

a pernicious belief, 291.

Muhammadans firmly believe in their

doctrines, 290, 291 ; respect of, for

Christ, 289.
Muhrattib-i-mahi) insignia of the fish,

266 n.
Mullah Sale, teacher of Aurangzeb,

reception of, by Aurangzeb, 154 ;
Mullah Shah, spiritual guide of Dara,

154 n.
Mumtaz Mahal, daughter of Asaf Khan,

5«-

wife of Shah Jahan, 465 n,

Murat (Chodja Moraad), a Christian

merchant, 134, 135, 139, 140.

NADIRA, daughter of Sultan Parwez
married to Dara Shikoh, 57 «.

103 n.

Nagar-Kanay (Nakdrah khanah), drum

room, 260 n.
Nagar-kane (Nakdrah khanah), tent for

trumpets, 363 and «.
Nctique (Naik, Skt. ndyaka), a leader,

193 n.
Nazer, a slave, murders Dara, 101, 102,

187.
Nazeikan, Persian steward of Begum

Saheb, poisoned by Shah-Jahan, 13,

14.
Neik-nam-Kan evades the King becom-

ing his heir, 163, 164.
Nejabatkan cashiered by Aurangzeb,

1 86, 187.
Nejam-Chah (Nizam Shah) conquered

by Mogol, 193 and n.
Nerbudda (Narbadd) River, 37 n ;

battle fought at, 38, 39 ; river ranks

second to Ganges in religious sanc-

tity, 42 n.

Nile, source of the, 141, 142.
- account of periodical rising of

the, 446 seq. ; low water discharge

of contrasted with that of the Ganges,

453 »•

Nil-ghaux (Nilgau) blue cow, 364 and
n ; manner of hunting, 377, 378.

wife of Jahangir, 5.
Nour-Mehalle (Niir Mahal), wife of
Jahangir, 5.
465 n.

Nur-i-chasm waterfall in Kashmir, 407
and n.

OGOULI (H-dghli), Portuguese settle-

ment at, 176 and n.
Oldenburg (Ouldinburgh), Henry, first

English translator of Bernier, notice

of, 477, 478.
Omrah ( Umard), plural of Arabic Anur,

4«.

Omrahs, names assumed by, 6.
-- unite with Aurangzeb, 65 ; in-

comes of, ib.
- in service of Mogol, 210, 211-215;

military grades of, 212 ; pay of, 213 ;

splendour of, 214 ; ornaments of, 224.
attend on King twice daily, 265,

266.

— ceremony of weighing the, 270 ;
large presents from, to Mogol, 271 ;
attend Mogol to Mosque, 280.

— tents of the, 366 ; manner of
travelling of, 371 ; present purse to
Mogol on entering camp, 382.

Ormuz (Ormus), captured by Persians
and English, 1 80 n.

O[uldinburgh], Hfenry], Letter to, from
M. de Monceaux, the Younger, con-
cerning Bernier's book, xlix-li.

494

INDEX

Oxindon (Sir George), chief of English
Factory at, 182 n.

PADRE, name applied to Roman priests,

323 «•

Pagys, lackeys or footmen, 373 and n.

Pain de Gonesse, 250 and n.

Painting in India, ideas regarding, 255
and n.

Paleky (Pdlki], a palanquin, 14 n.

Paleky of King, 214.

used by ladies of Seraglio, 372.

used by Omrahs, 283.

Paranda (Purandhar), sanitarium for
European troops, 192 and n ; fort
surrendered to Mogul, 197 and n.

Patan (Lodi Pathan) dynasty of Delhi,
24 », 94.

Patans of India, Race of, 206, 207 and
w, 210, 211, 223.

Pateques (Arab. al-battikh), water-
melons, 250 and n.

Patna, Lasker-Kan appointed governor
of, 1 86.

revenue of, 457,

Peacock throne of the Great Mogol,
account of, 471-473.

Peasantry of India, slavery of, 225, 226.

Pecquet, . famous French anatomist,

324 »•

Pegu, cruelties of Brama of, 234 and «,

235-
Peiche-kanes (Patsh-khanah), double set

of tents, 359 and n, 360, 366, 368.
Peking, Jews in, 429, 430.
Pelau (Pers. Palao), a Muhammadan

dish, 121 ;/.

Pendets (Pundits], 337, 338, 341, 342.
Penge Hazary, lord of five thousand

horse, 212, 213.
Persia, embassy from, to Aurangzeb,

146, 147 ; presents of, to Aurangzeb,

147, 148.

contemptuous speeches of Ambas-
sador of, to Shah Jahan, 151-153.

governments sold openly in, 232.

Philosophy of the Hindoos, 160.

337, 338.

Philosophy, schools of, in India, 336

and n.

Physic, Hindoo books on, 338.
Picquedent (Hind, ptk-ddn), a spitoon,

214 and n. See Piqnedans.

Pipli (Pippli), Port on Orissa coast, 443.
Piquedans (Hindi pik-dan), spitoons,

use of, 283.
Pire-penjale (Pir Panjdl), mountain

pass, accident at, 407, 408 ; Fakir

on, 409, 410 ; meaning of name

Pir Panjal, 409 n.
Pistole, value of a, 271 n.
Plie (Plica Polonica), disease called, 316.
Polta (Raja Pattd), statue of, in Dehli,

256, 257.

Polyandry in Ladak, 421 n.
Polygamy in Ethiopia, 142, 143.
Portuguese Missionaries favoured by

Sultan Sujah, 82.
Portuguese purchase slaves from pirates

of Chittagong, 176.
Poust, poison administered to princes

in state prisons, 106, 107 n.
Pragna (Pargana), a tract of country,

455-
Pralea (Pralaya), 347 and n. See

Maperle.

Prester John, and the river Nile, 449 n.
Prince Conde (Louis de Bourbon), 55

and n.
Purandhar, sanitarium for European

troops, 192 ; fort surrendered to

Mogul, 197 n.
Purane (Purdnas), religious books,

335 «» 336.

RACH (Rakshasas), giants, 339 n.

Rage-Mehalle (Rdjtnakdl), town occu-
pied by Sultan Sujah, 81 ; abandoned,
82 ; Mir Jumla in winter quarters at,
82.

Ragipous (Rajputs), devotion of to
Jaswant Singh, 39 ; meaning of the
name, ib. ; accustomed to the use of
opium, 39 ; bravery of, in battle, 40 ;
custom of anointing their faces and
hands with turmeric, 52 n.

military occupation of hereditary,

208 ; in Mogol army, 209, 210.

Rains in India, account of periodical,
431 seq.

Rajas, power and riches of the. 208.

Rakan. See Aracan.

Ramayana, shield bearing the story of,

254 »•

Ram-guyre (Rdmgirt) fortress of, 22 «.
Ram-ras, King of Southern India, IQ2

INDEX

495

Ramseingue Routle (Raja Ram Singh
Rautela], commander in army of
Dara at Samugarh, 48 ; killed by
Murad Bakhsh, 51, 52.

Rana Sanga, 'Emperorof the Rajas, '208.

Rantipore (Ranthambhor), state prison
of, 107 n.

Ratan Mountains and Pass, 406 n.

Rau (Rohu), river fish resembling carp,
252 and n.

Rauchenara-Begum ( Raushan-Ara-Be-
gum), daughter of Great Mogol, 5,
14 ; informs Aurangzeb of plots
against him, 65 ; urges Dara's being
put to death, 100.

— — illicit amours of, 132, 133.

ambition of, 351.

mode of travelling of, 372, 373.

Rays (Arab, rats], captain of a boat,

451 ; an overflow of Nile, 452.

Revenues of Provinces of Great Mogul,
456 seq.

Rivers, commonly without bridges, 380.

Roa (Father Heinrich Roth), Jesuit
missionary, 329 n, 330.

Roger, Abraham, first Dutch chaplain
at Pulicat, 334 n.

Rosewater, cases of, presented to
Aurangzeb, 147.

Rotas (Rohtdsgarh), state prisonof, 10772.

Roupie (Rupee), value of a, 200 n, 223
n, 269 n, 455.

Rouzindars, paid cavalry in service of
Mogul, 211, 215, 216; different
duties of, 216.

-Rustam-Kan Dakny (Dakhani), com-
mands Dara's left wing at Samugarh,
48 ; killed in the battle, 51.

Sadullah-Kan (SddnUah Khan), Vizier,
death of, 23.

Sahet, also Saiet (Arabic scftd), cere-
mony of, 161 and n, 163, 244.

Saltpetre used for cooling water, 356,
357, 364-

export from Bengal, 440 and n ;

in the soil, said to cause intense cold
in Tartary, 450 n.

Samarcande (Samarkand], city and

colleges of, 119 n.
Samonguer (Samugarh), battle between

Dara and Aurangzeb at, 49-54.
Sanskrit studied by Jesuit missionaries,

329 «>33° » books written in, 335, 341.

San Thome (St. Thomas' Mount) Portu-
guese settlement at, 196.
Santon, Moslem religious sect, 316 n.
Sardesmukhi, tax levied by Marathas,

460.
Sarmet, Fakir named, decapitated by

Aurangzeb, 317.
Sarr-i- Asrar, Persian translation of

Upanishads, 323 n.
Sayurghal, lands given for benevolent

purposes, 374 n.
Scales, insignia of the, 267 n.
Schall (Father Johann Adam), German

Jesuit in Peking, 429 n.
Scindy (Scinde), Jafar Khan appointed

governor of, 186 and n.
Sea in the Indies, regularity of currents

of, 434 seq.
Sebastian Gonzales Tibao, chief of

Chittagong pirates, 178 and n.
Sekander Filifous (Alexander the Great),

383-
Selim-guer (Salim-ghar), Murad Bakhsh

confined in, 69.
Send-brary (Sandrahan), sacred spring

of, 411, 412,414.
Sengsafed (Sang-i-safaid), 'Whitestone,'

418 n, 419.
Sepe-Chekouh (Sipihr Shikoh), son of

Dara, 96 n, 97 ; conducted with Dara

through streets of Delhi in disgrace,

98} 99 ; poisoned, 107.
Seraglio at Delhi, account of the, 267.

fairs held in the, 272 and n, 273.

modes of travelling by ladies of the,

371, 272; penalty for approaching

too near, 373, 374.
Seraphas (Sar-o-pa), robes of honour,

80 n, 1 1 8, 1 20.

presented to Abyssinian embassy,

I38? !39> presented to Persian em-
bassy, 147, 149.

Serenaguer (Srinagar), mountains of,

59 and n ; 60, 92.
Serkar (Sirkar), exchequer of King's

income, 455.
Serrafs (Arab, sarrdf), money-changers,

302.
Seva-Gi (Sivaji), founder of the Mar-

atha power, 136 n.

attempts to seize Shaista Khan,

187; plunders Surat, 188; beaten off
by English and Dutch, 189; tortures a

496

INDEX

Jew, 190; created a Raja by Aurang-
zeb, 190; escapes from Delhi, 190,
191 and n.

captures strongholds in Golkonda,

197, 198 and n.

Shahin> name for the * Royal Falcon, '
47 n.

Shawls of Kashmir, 403 n.

Shields in metal repousse work, made
by native workmen, bearing scenes
from Indian history, 254, 255.

*Shoebeating,' the indignityof, 53 and ».

Siam, coming of age of Heir Apparent
of, 224 n.

Silk in Bengal, 439.

Silver absorption in India, note on, 473
seq.

Sing-ala, a fish resembling pike, 252
and n.

Slaves captured by pirates of Chitta-
gong, 17$, 176.

Soliman-Chekouh (Sulaimdn Shikoh],
Dara's eldest son, commands army
against Sultan Sujah, 34 ; gams vic-
tory, 35, 36 ; returns to capital, 35 ;
referred to, 43, 45, 57.

seeks safety in Srinagar, 59, 60 ;

given up by Raja to Aurangzeb, 59 n,
105 ; threatens Aurangzeb from brin-
agar, 92, 93 ; brought before Aurang,
zeb, 105, 1 06 ; poisoned by poppies,
107.

Someire (Su-meru), the Golden Meru,

340.
Sondiva (Sundeep, Sandwip), at mouth

of Ganges, 178 n.

Sonnar negroes on overflow of Nile, 452.
Soubah (Arab. Siibah), a province, 455.
Soufra (Sufra) tablecloth, 353 and «.
So-ufys, religious sect of, 320 and n.
Sounnys, Mahometan sect of, 208, 211.
Sourai, tin flagon for water, 356.
Sourate(Surat), besieged by Chah-Abas,

28 ; ransom of, 28 n ; surrender of,

30, 31 ; treasure found in, 31.

pillaged by Sivaji, 136, 137.

Srinagar, capital of Kashmir, 397 ^,398.
St. Barthelemy, Paris, Bernier's death

in register of burials in church of, xxi.
State prisons of the Great Mogol, 106,

107 n.

Suakin (Sawdkiri), port on Red Sea, 2 n.
Sufism, doctrines of, 345 w, 346, 348.

Sultan Banque sent on mission to King
of Arakan, 109; made prisoner, in,
112; plots against King of Arakan,
114, beheaded, 115.

Sultan Ekbar (Akbar), son of Aurang-
zeb, 124, 126.
preceptor for, etc. , 144 and n.

Sultan Mahmoud (Sultan Muhammad^
son of Aurangzeb, married to King
of Golkonda's daughter, 21 ; sent on
mission to Mir Jumla, 28 ; seizes for-
tress of Agra, 61, 62.

sent against Sultan Sujah, 79, 80 ;

deserts from Rajmahal, 82, 83 ; im-
prisoned in Gwalior, 83 n.
still in Gwalior, 182.

Sultan Mazum (MtSazzam], successfully
conducts mission to Mir Jumla, 28 n.

second son of Aurangzeb, 84, 85

and n,

intrigues against Aurangzeb, 124.

kills a dangerous lion, 182, 183 ;

made govenor of the Deccan, 183.

Sultan Sujah (Shujdh), son of Great
Mogol, 5 n, 7 et seq. ; appointed
governor of Bengal, 15 ; takes the
field against his brothers, 26.

defeat of, at Ilahbas, 35, 36.

defeated at Khajua, 75-78.

pursuedto Rajmahal, 81 ; abandons

that place, 82 ; conciliates the Portu-
guese, 82 ; activity of, in Bengal, 92.
flies to Decca, 109 ; departs with

his family to Moka, ib. ; detained by

King of Arakan, 1 10 ; plots to escape,

ill, H2; conflicting rumours anent,

112-114.

robbed by pirates, 179.

Sundarbans, desolated tracts in Bengal,

442 n, 446 n, 452 «.
Surat plundered by Sivaji, 188; English

factory at, 189 n ; pilgrims embark

from, for Mecca, 190 n.

TACK-RAVEN (Tukht-i-rawan)t travel-
ling throne, 128 and n.

travelling throne, 214.

travelling throne of Mogol, 370.

Tage Mehalle (Taj Mehal), wife of Shah
Jahan, 5.

exasperates Shah Jahan against

Jesuits, 287 n ; tomb of, at Agra,
293 seq.

INDEX

497

Takarrub-Kan. See Hakim Daoud.
Talab ( Talao), artificial pond, 75 n.
Talengand (Telingana), revenue of, 458.
Tamerlan (Amir Timor), 3 n.
Tanaiser (Thaneswar), holy tank at,

30 and n.
Tanasseri (Tenasserim), Lower Burmah,

203 n.

Tandiir, portable stove, 387.
Taptapa agent of Mahmet-Emir-Kan in

Golkonda, 195.

Tarbiet-Kan (Shafi-ulldh Jfhdn), am-
bassador to Persia, 185 and n.
Tartary, great cold of, attributed to

salpetre in the soil, 450 n.
Taslim ( Jasltm), salutation of, 214 and n.

performance of, for meals and

presents, 258 and n, 262.
Tata, revenue of, 457.
Tatabakar, fortress of, 71 ; besieged
by Mir-baba, 93 ; surrenders, 104 ;
governor and garrison of, slaughtered,
ib.

Tavernier journeys with Bernier, 1 13 n.

Tavernier's account of the Koh-i-nur

diamond, 470 ; account of Peacock

Throne, 471-473-

Tchaudoules (chaudols), carriages of

Seraglio, 371, 372.
Tchauky-Kant (chauki-khanah), guard

tent, 363 and n.

Tchembel (Chumbul), the river, 46.
Tchenau (Chinab), river crossed by

Bernier, 386.

Tents of Great Mogol, '359, 360, 363,

364 ; furnishings of, 362 ; tents of

Omrahs and Rajas, 366 ; of Manseb-

dars, 367.

Thomas (Edward), on revenue of Great

Mogol, 458 seq,

Throne of the Great Mogul, 268, 269,
and n.

- account of Peacock, 471-473.
Tibet, Buddhists sects of, 423 n.
Timar, Timariots, holders of land,

224, 225, 227, 230.
Topaz of the Great Mogul, 268 and ;/.
'Jouras (Pers. turreh), fringes of gold

lace, 224 and n.
' Tragedy of Aureng-zebe,' Dryden's,

465-469.

Translator of first English edition of
Bernier, notice of, 477, 478.

Trees planted by direction of the astro-
logers of Shah Abbas of Persia, 162,

163-
Truchemens (Dragomans), interpreters,

237.

Trumpets (Karands), presented to
Abyssinian embassy, 139 and n.

Turkey, governments sold openly in,
231, 232 ; low condition of, 234.

Turquoises of the old rock, 148 n.

Tus ' shawl goat ' of Kashmir, 403 n,
426.

Tutucoury (Tuticorin), seaport in Ma-
dras Presidency, 204 n.

USBEC TARTARS send embassy to
Aurangzeb, 116 el S6q.; manners and
customs of, 120-123.

VAKEA-NEVIS (Pers. Wdki'ahnawts),

a newswriter, 231 and n.
Val-de-Grace, Paris, dome of, 297 «.
Varada (Berar), revenue of, 457.
Vedas. See Beths.
Vernag, royal gardens of, 413 «, 414.
Visapour (Bijdpur), Moslem state, 22

», 24.
account of kingdom of, 196, 197 ;

at perpetual war with the Mogol, 207,

208; aided by king of Golkonda, 208.

WEAPONS of army of Dara at battle of

Samiigarh, 47, 48.
Widow-burning among the Hindoos,

account of, 306-314.

buried alive by Brahmins, 315.

William of Germany, Emperor, speech
on classical education by, 157 n.

Winds in the Indies, regularity of, 434,
et seq.

Wine brought to India, 252, 253.

Wines used in Bengal, 441.

Worms in legs caused by impure water
in Dehli, 355. See Guinea-worm.

Wular Lake, Kashmir, visited by Ber-
nier, 416.

YAKASPAH (one horse), trooper, pay of,
217 ».

ZAIIKR-KAN (Sher Khan Siir), king of

the Patai.s, 71 ;;.

ZatfiMra'/, camel swivel guns, 47 n.
Zebra presented to Aurangzeb, 135 ;

skin of, promised to Bernier, 144.

81 QVID LECTOR BENEVOLE
IN PAGINIS HISCE INVENERI3
QVOD REI TANTAE TAMQVE
NOBILIS DIGNVM VIDEATVR
ILLVD QVIDQV1IO EST EXEMPLO
VIRORVM QVINQVE A-C D-C H-S-C
T-C ET H-Y QVI 1AM QVIETE
AETERNA FRVVNTVR DEBITVM
8CIA3

Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty
at tlie Edinburgh University Press

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

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