1.

On the night of Tuesday, the 21st, I marched from the stage mentioned, and turned the reins of the army of prosperity towards Ahmadabad. As in consequence of the great heat and the corruption of the air I would have had to undergo much hardship, and would have had to traverse a long distance before reaching Agra, it occurred to me not to proceed at this hot season to the capital. As I heard much praise of the rainy season in Gujarat, and there was no report about the evil reputation of Ahmadabad (see infra for account of epidemic there), I finally conceived the idea of remaining there. Inasmuch as the protection and guardianship of God (to Him be praise) was in all places and at all times extended to this suppliant, just at this crisis news arrived that signs of the plague (wabā) had shown themselves again at Agra, and many people were dying, my intention of not going to Agra, which had thrown its rays on my mind through Divine inspiration, was confirmed. The entertainment of Thursday, the 23rd, was held at the station of Jalod.

2.

In these days, in consequence of the great heat and the corruption of the air, sickness had broken out among the people, and of those in the city and the camp there were few who for two or three days had not been ill. Inflammatory fever or pains in the limbs attacked them, and in the course of two or three days they became exceedingly ill so much so that even after recovery they remained for a long time weak and languid. They mostly at last recovered, so that but few were in danger of their lives. I heard from old men who resided in this country that thirty years before this the same kind of fever prevailed, and passed away happily. Anyhow, there appeared some deterioration in the climate of Gujarat, and I much regretted having come here. I trust that the great and glorious God, in His mercy and grace, will lift up this burden, which is a source of uneasiness to my mind, from off the people.

3.

I am amazed to think what pleasure or goodness the founder of this city could have seen in a spot so devoid of the favour (of God) as to build a city on it. After him, others, too, have passed their lives in precious trouble in this dust-bin. Its air is poisonous, and its soil has little water, and is of sand and dust, as has already been described. Its water is very bad and unpalatable, and the river, which is by the side of the city, is always dry except in the rainy season. Its wells are mostly salt and bitter, and the tanks in the neighbourhood of the city have become like buttermilk from washermen's soap. The upper classes who have some property have made reservoirs in their houses, which they fill with rainwater in the rainy season, and they drink that water until the next year. The evils of water to which the air never penetrates, and which has no way for the vapour to come out by, are evident. Outside the city, in place of green grass and flowers, all is an open plain full of thorn-brakes (zaqqum), and as for the breeze that blows off the thorns, its excellence is known :

4.

On Thursday, the 31st, Mir Jumla, who had come from Irān- a summary of what had happened to him has been already written- was honoured with the mansab of 1,500 personal and 200 horse. On this day, in consequence of the weakness I suffered from, I bestowed as alms on deserving people an elephant, a horse, and varieties of quadrupeds, with a quantity of gold and silver and other valuable things. Most of my servants also brought alms according to their means. I told them that if their object was to parade their loyalty, their proceeding was not acceptable, and if they were acting from genuine piety there was no need for bringing their alms into the Presence ; they could secretly and personally distribute them to the poor and needy.

5.

On the eve of Sunday, the 31st of the month of Tir, heavy rain fell, and it went on raining with great violence till Tues-day, the 1st of Amurdād. For sixteen days there were constantly clouds and (? or) rain. As this is a sandy country, and the buildings in it are weak, many houses fell, and many lives were lost. I heard from the inhabitants of the city that they remembered no rain like that of this year. Although the channel of the Sābarmati appears full of water, it is in most places fordable, and elephants can always cross it. If for a day there has been no rain, horses and men can ford it. The fountain head of this river is in the hill-country of the Rānā.

6.

On the bank of the Kānkriya tank a sanyāsi, one of the most austere sects of Hindus, had made a hut after the dervish manner, and lived as a hermit. As I was always inclined to associate with dervishes, I hastened without ceremony to interview him, and for a while enjoyed his society. He was not wanting in information and reason-ableness, and was well informed according to the rules of his own faith in the doctrines of Sufism. He had conformed to the ways of people of religious poverty and mortification, and given up all desires and ambitions. One might say that a better than he of his class was never seen.

7.

On this day it was made known to me in the contents of a report from Bahādur K., the Governor of Qandahar, that in the Hijri year 1026 that is, last year the number of mice in Qandahar and the neighbourhood was so great that they destroyed all the crops and grain and cultivation and the fruits of the trees of the province, so that there had been no produce. They (the mice) cut off the ears of corn and ate them. When the cultivators gathered their crops, before they were threshed and cleaned, another half was destroyed, so that perhaps one-fourth of the crops only came to hand. In the same way no vestige was left of the melons (melonbeds) or garden produce. After some time the mice dis-appeared.

8.

Whenever all the energies and purposes of justice-observing Kings are devoted to the comfort of the people and the contentment of their subjects, the manifesta-tions of well-being and the productions of fields and gardens are not far off. God be praised that in this age-enduring State no tax has ever been levied on the fruit of trees, and is not levied now. In the whole of the dominion not a dām nor one grain (habba) on this account enters the public treasury, or is collected by the State. Moreover, there is an order that whoever makes a garden on arable land, its produce is exempted. I trust that God (to whom be glory !) will always incline this suppliant towards what is good.

9.

At this time, again, it appeared from the reports of the loyal that the disease of the plague was prevalent in Agra, so that daily about 100 people, more or less, were dying of it. Under the armpits, or in the groin, or below the throat, buboes formed, and they died. This is the third year that it has raged in the cold weather, and disappeared in the commence-ment of the hot season. It is a strange thing that in these three years the infection has spread to all the towns and villages in the neighbourhood of Agra, while there has been no trace of it at Fathpur. It has come as far as Amānābād, which is 2 ^1/2 koss from Fathpur, and the people of that place (Amānābād) have forsaken their homes and gone to other villages. There being no choice, and considering the obser-vance of caution necessary, it was decided that at this pro-pitious hour the victorious army should enter the inhabited part of Fathpur in all joy and auspiciousness, and after the [Page 66] sickness and scarcity had subsided and another auspicious hour had been chosen, I should enter the capital, please the Almighty and most holy Allah !

10.

On this day, going over in detail the buildings of the palace of the late King (Akbar), I showed them to my son, Shāh-Jahān. Inside of them a large and very clear reservoir of cut stone has been constructed, and is called the Kapurtalāo (camphor tank). It is a square of 36 yards by 36, with [Page 69] a depth of 4^1/2 yards. By the order of that revered one, the officials of the public treasury had filled it with fulus(copper coins) and rupees. It came to 34 krors, and 48 lakhs, and 46,000 dāms, and 1,679,400 rupees, or a total of 10,300,000 (one kror and three lakhs) according to Hindustani reckoning, and 343,000 tumān according to Persian. For a long time the thirsty-lipped ones of the desert of desire were satisfied from that fountain of benignity.

11.

As the praise of the garden of Nur-manzil and the buildings that had been newly-erected there continually reached me, I [Page 76] on Monday mounted my steed, and went to the stage of Bustān-sarāy, and passed Tuesday in pleasure and at ease in that entrancing rose-garden. On the eve of Wednesday the garden of Nur-manzil (the abode of light) was adorned by the alight-ing of the hosts of prosperity. This garden contains 330 jaribs (bighas), according to the Ilāhi gaz. Around it there has been built a wall, lofty and broad, of bricks and cement, exceedingly strong. In the garden there is a lofty building and a residence, highly decorated. Pleasant reservoirs have been constructed, and outside the gate a large well has been made, from which thirty-two pairs of bullocks continually draw water. The canal passes through the garden, and pours water into the reservoirs. Besides this, there are other wells, the water of which is distributed to the reservoirs and plots. The beauty is increased by all kinds of fountains and cascades and there is a tank in the exact middle of the garden which is filled by rainwater. If by chance its water should fail in the extreme heat, they supplement it by water from the wells, so that it may always be full to the brim. Nearly Rs. 150,000 have been spent up to now on this garden, and it is still un-finished, and large sums will be expended in making avenues and laying down plants. It has also been settled that the middle garden shall be newly walled*^* round, and the channels for the coming and going of the water shall be made so strong that it may always remain full of water and the water shall not leak out in any way, and no damage accrue. It is possible that before it is complete nearly Rs. 200,000 will have been spent on it.

12.

On Sunday, the 16th, I marched from Delhi, and on Friday, [Page 112] the 21st, halted in the pargana of Kairana. This pargana is the native place of Muqarrab K. Its climate is equable and its soil good. Muqarrab had made buildings and gardens there. As I had often heard praise of his garden, I wished much to see it. On Saturday, the 22nd, I and my ladies were much pleased in going round it. Truly, it is a very fine and enjoyable garden. Within a masonry (pukhta, pucca) wall, flower-beds have been laid out to the extent of 140 bighas. In the middle of the garden he has constructed a pond, in length 220 yards, and in breadth 200 yards. In the middle of the pond is a māh-tāb terrace (for use in moonlight) 22 yards square. There is no kind of tree belonging to a warm or cold climate that is not to be found in it. Of fruit-bearing trees belonging to Persia I saw green pistachio-trees, and cypresses of graceful form, such as I have never seen before. I ordered the cypresses to be counted, and they came to 300. All round the pond suitable buildings have been begun and are in progress.

On Thursday, the 12th, I was pleased with going round to see the garden of Sirhind. It is one of the old gardens, and has old trees in it. It has not the freshness it formerly had, but it is still valuable. Khwāja Waisi, who is well acquainted with agriculture and buildings, was appointed the karori of Sirhind for the purpose of keeping the garden in order. I had sent him off from Agra before I marched from the capital, and he had put it somewhat in order. I strictly enjoined him again that he should remove all the old trees that had no freshness in them, and put in fresh plants, to clean up the 'irqbandi (it is 'irāq-bandi in the text. The word does not occur in the B.M. MS. but is in the I.O. MS.), and repair the old buildings, and erect other buildings in the shape of baths, etc., in fitting places.

13.

I heard from people of this country that when it is not the rainy season, and there is no sign of a cloud or lightning, a noise like the voice of the clouds comes from this hill, which they called Garj (thunder). This noise is heard every year or at least every two years. I had repeatedly heard of this also when I was in attendance on the late king. I have written this as it is not devoid of strangeness, but wisdom is from Allah.

14.

In this country they make buza (a beverage) from bread and rice, which they call sar. It is much stronger than buza, and the older it is the better. This sar is their chief sustenance. They put this sar into a jar, and fastening it up, keep it for two or three years in the house. Then they take off the scum and call the liquor āchhi. The āchhi can be kept for ten years, and according to them, the older it is the better, and the shortest time in which they use it is a year.

The fruits are apricots, peaches, and pears (?) (amrud). [Page 127] As they do not cultivate them, but they spring up of them-selves, they are harsh-flavoured and unpleasant. Their blossoms are a joy. Their houses are of wood, and are built after the Kashmiri fashion. They have hawks, and horses, camels, cattle, and buffaloes, and many goats and fowls. Their mules are small and are not fit for heavy loads. As it was represented to me that some stages farther on the cultivation was not such as to provide sufficient grain for the royal camp, I gave an order that they should only take a small advanced camp, sufficient for our needs and the necessary establishments, and diminish the number of elephants, and take with them provisions for three or four days;

15.

In Kishtwar there are produced much wheat, barley, lentils, millet, and pulse. Differing from Kashmir, it produces little rice. Its saffron is finer than that of Kashmir. About a hundred hawks and falcons are caught there (annually). Oranges, citrons, and water-melons of the finest kind are obtained. Its melons are of the same kind as those of Kash-mir, and other fruits, such as grapes, apricots, peaches, and sour pears, are grown. If they were cultivated, it is possible they would improve. A coin of the name of sanhasi is a relic of the old rulers of Kashmir, one and a half of which [Page 139] equal a rupee. In their business transactions they reckon fifteen sarihasi, or ten rupees, as one pādshāhi muhar. They call two seers of Hindustani weight a man (maund). It is not the custom for the Raja to take revenue from cultivation; he takes annually six sanhasi-that is, four rupees-from each house. All the saffron is assigned, as pay, to a body of Raj-puts and to 700 musketeers (tupchi) who are old retainers. When the saffron is sold, four rupees per maund, or two seers, are taken from the purchaser. The whole income of the Raja consists of fines, and for a small offence he takes a heavy sum. From whomsoever is wealthy and in comfortable circum-stances the Raja, on some pretext, clears out all that he has. From all sources his income is about Rs. 100,000. In time of war 6,000 or 7,000 men on foot collect together ; there are but few horses among them. The Raja and the chief men have about fifty between them. I bestowed a year's revenue on Dilawar K. by way of reward. By conjecture, his jagir was worth about 1,000 personal and 1,000 horse, according to the Jahāngiri rules. When the chief diwans calculate the allow-ances to the jagirdars, the exact amount will be ascertained.

16.

The country of Kashmir has thirty-eight parganas. It is divided into two provinces ; the territory on the upper part of the river they call Marrāj, and that on the lower Kāmrāj. It is not the custom to use gold and silver for payment of the revenue from land or in commerce, except for a portion of the cesses (sā'ir-jihāt). They reckon the value of things in kharwārs of rice, each kharwār being three maunds and eight seers of the current weight. The Kash-miris reckon two seers as one maund, and four maunds, or eight seers, make one tark. The revenue of Kashmir is 30,63,050 kharwārs and 11 tarks, which in cash represents 7,46,70,000 dāms.

17.

Rice is the principal crop. Probably there are three parts under rice and one under all other grains. The chief food of the people of Kashmir is rice, but it is inferior. They boil it fresh, and allow it to get cold, and then eat it, and call it batha. It is not usual to [Page 147] take their food warm, but people of small means keep a portion of the batha for a night, and eat it next day. Salt is brought from India. It is not the custom to put salt into the batha. They boil vegetables in water, and throw in a little salt in order to alter the flavour, and then eat them along with the batha.

18.

The merchants and artificers of this country are mostly Sunnis, while the soldiers are Imāmiyya Shias. There is also the sect of Nur-bakhshis. There is also a body of Faqirs whom they call Rishis. Though they have not religiova knowledge or learning of any sort, yet they possess simplicity, and are without pretence. They abuse no one, they restrain [Page 150] the tongue of desire, and the foot of seeking; they eat no flesh, they have no wives, and always plant fruit-bearing trees in the fields, so that men may benefit by them, themselves deriving no advantage. There are about 2,000 of these people. There is also a body of brahmans living from of old in this country, who still remain there and talk in the Kash-miri tongue.

19.

When a child of four years of age falls headlong from a place ten ordinary (shar'i) gaz in height, and no harm happens to his limbs, it is a cause for amazement. Having performed my prostrations for this fresh act of goodness, I distributed alms, and ordered that deserving people and the poor who lived in the city should be brought before me in order that I might assure them their means of livelihood.

20.

In Kashmir the most juicy(?)fruit is the ashkan(?)(askami in the MSS.). It is subacid (mai-khush), smaller than the ālu bālu (sour cherry), much better flavoured, and more delicate. When drinking wine, one cannot eat more than three or four ālu bālu, but of these one can take as many as a hundred in twenty-four hours, especially of the paiwandi(?) sort. I ordered that the ashkan should hereafter be called the khushkan. It grows in the hills of Badakhshan and in Khurasan; the people there call it jamdami. The largest of them weigh ^{1\2 misqāl}. The shāh-alu (cherry), on the 4th Urdi- bihisht, appeared of the size of a grain of pulse; on the 27th it reddened, and on the 15th Khurdād it was ripe, and new fruit (nau-bar) had formed (?). The shāh-ālu (cherry), to my taste, is better than most fruits.

21.

On Monday, the 30th, I first visited the fountain of Inch. This village had been given by my father to Rām Dās Kachhwāha, and he had erected buildings and basins at the spring. Undoubtedly, it is an exceedingly sweet and delightful place. Its water is perfectly clear and pure, and many fish swim in it.

22.

There is a river at Rājaur. Its water during the rainy season becomes much poisoned. Many of the people there get a swelling (bughma) under the throat, and are yellow and weak. The rice of Rājaur is much better than the rice of Kashmir.

23.

On the night of Saturday, the 13th of the same month, a lunar eclipse took place. Having performed the dues of humility at the throne of the highest and most powerful God, cash and goods were distributed by way of charity among the faqirs and poor, and deserving people.

24.

At this auspicious time when the standards of victory and conquest were in Kashmir, the province of eternal spring, happily employed in sight-seeing and sport, representations constantly came from the officials in the Southern territories to the effect that when the victorious standards went to a distance from the centre of the Khalifate, the rulers of the Deccan, owing to their wickedness, broke their promises and raised their heads by giving trouble and exciting sedition, and placing their feet beyond their own boundary, took possession of many of the districts of Ahmadnagar and Berar. It was constantly reported that the chief object of these evil-fortuned ones was to plunder and ruin the cultivated fields and the grazing-lands. When at the first time the world-opening standards had proceeded to the conquest of the regions of the south and the overthrow of that band, and Khurram, with the vanguard, had gone to Burhanpur, they, by feline tricks suitable to such seditious people, made him their intercessor and evacuated the royal dominions. They also sent by way of tribute large sums in cash and goods, and promised that they would not let loose from their hands the rope of service, and would not place their feet beyond the boundary of respect, as has been recorded in the preceding [Page 189] pages. At the request of Khurram, I had halted for a few days at the Fort of Shādi'ābād Māndu, and at his inter-cession, and on their humiliation and bewailing, they were pardoned.

As they had now broken their agreement through evil dis-position and quarrelsomeness, and had turned back from the way of obedience and service, I sent off the hosts of good fortune again under his leadership, that they might receive retribution for their evil deeds, and be an example to all those of crooked fortune and turned heads. But as the important business of Kangra had been entrusted to him, he had sent most of his experienced men there. For some days, accord-ingly, he could not arrange the matter. At last, report followed on report one after another, that the enemy had gathered strength, and that nearly 60,000 vagabond horsemen had collected together and taken possession of royal territory, and wherever there were posts, had removed them, and joined together in the town of Mahakar. For three months the imperialists had passed their days in strife and fighting with their rascally enemies, and during this time three pitched battles had taken place, and each time the self-sacrificing servants (of the State) had proved superior to the evil- fortuned rebels. As grain and provisions could not reach the camp by any road, and the enemy was plundering on all sides of the army of good fortune, a great scarcity of grain resulted, and the animals were in bad plight. Having no choice, they came down from the Bālāghāt, and took up their position at Bālāpur. The rebels, waxing valiant in their pursuit, engaged in plundering in the neighbourhood of Bālāpur. Of the servants of the Court 6,000 or 7,000 horsemen, well mounted, were selected, and they made an attack on the enemy's camp. They (the enemy) numbered about 60,000 cavalry. Briefly, a great fight took place, and their camp was plundered. Having killed and taken prisoners many of them, they re-turned in safety and with plunder. When they turned back those wretches again attacked them from all sides, and they came on, fighting as far as the camp. On both sides about 1,000 were killed. After this fight they (the imperialists) [Page 190] remained about four months at Bālāpur. When the scarcity of grain became excessive, many of the qulaqchis (servants) ran away and joined the enemy, and constantly bands of them, taking to the road of disloyalty, were enrolled among the rebels. On this account, not considering it advisable to delay any longer, they (the imperialists) came to Burhanpur. Again, those wretches followed them and besieged Burhanpur, and they were six months shut up there. Many parganas of the provinces of Berar and Khandesh passed into their possession, and they stretched out the hand of oppression over the cultivators and poor, and engaged in collecting the revenues. As the army had undergone great hardships and the animals had fallen into bad condition, they could not leave the city to inflict substantial punishment. Thus the pride and conceit of those short-sighted ones became greater. Just at this time the royal standards returned to the capital, and by the grace of God Kāngra was conquered.

25.

As the imperial servants had been contending with the rebels for two years, they had suffered much hardship from want of land (bi-jāgiri,* non-possession of fiefs, landlessness) and scarcity of corn, and their horses were worn out by continued service. Accordingly, they had to delay nine days in order to recruit. During this period, thirty lakhs of rupees and many cuirasses were distributed among the soldiers, and sazāwuls had been sent out and had brought many men out of the city (Burhanpur). The gallant troops had not yet put their hands to the work, when the black-fated rebels felt that they could not resist, and scattered like "the daughters of the Bier"(the stars of the constellation of the Great Bear, which are dispersed over the heavens, instead of being clustered like the Pleiades). The brave and swift cavaliers followed them, and with the sword of vengeance cast many of them upon the earth of perdition. They gave them no rest, but smiting and slaying them, pursued them as far as Khirki, which was the residence of the Nizamu-l-mulk and the other rebels. One day before this the ill-starred one (Malik 'Ambar) had got information of the approach of the imperialists, and had removed the Nizāmu-l-mulk and his family and effects to the fort of Daulatabad. There he had encamped, with his back resting on the fort, while in front of him there were marshes and quagmires. Most of his men became scattered in all directions. The leaders of the victorious army, with their vengeance-seeking soldiers, halted three days in the town of Khirki, and so destroyed a city [Page 208] which had taken twenty years to build, that it is not known if it will regain its splendour in other twenty years. In fine, after throwing down its buildings, all agreed in opinion that as an army of rebels was still besieging Ahmadnagar, they must at once go there, and inflict condign punishment on the originators of the disturbance, renew the supplies (of the Ahmadnagar garrison), and leave assistance there, and then return. With this view they set out, and came as far as the town of Patan (in Berar, Jarrett II. 233). Mean-while, the crafty 'Ambar sent agents and officers, and said : "After this I will not drop the thread of service and loyalty from my hand, nor put out my foot beyond orders, and will regard whatever tribute and fine be commanded as a favour, and will send it to the government." It happened that just then there was great scarcity in the camp in consequence of the dearness of provisions, and also that news came that the rebel force which was besieging Ahmadnagar had withdrawn on hearing of the approach of the imperialists. Accordingly, a force was sent to help Khanjar K. (the governor of Fort Ahmadnagar), and a sum of money for his charges. There-upon the imperialists were relieved from all anxiety and returned (across the Narbada ?). After much entreaty and lamentation (on the part of 'Ambar) it was settled that in addition to the territory which of old had belonged to the empire, the rebels should surrender 14 koss of the adjoining country, and should pay into the public treasury fifty lakhs of rupees as tribute.

26.

Some days before this, petitions came from the officials in Qandahar reporting the intention of the ruler of Persia to conquer Qandahar, but my mind, which is actuated by sin-cerity, looking to past and present relations, placed no reliance on the truth of this until the report of my son Khān Jahān arrived that Shāh 'Abbās, with the armies of Iraq and Khurasan, had come and besieged Qandahar. I ordered them to fix an hour for leaving Kashmir. Khwāja Abu-l- Hasan, the Diwan, and Bakhshi Sādiq K. hastened to Lahore in advance of the victorious army to expedite the arrival of the princes of high degree with the armies of the Deccan, Gujarat, Bengal, and Behar, and to send on the Amirs who were present with the victorious stirrups, and those who one after another should come in from the districts of their jagirs to my son Khan Jāhān at Multan. At the same time the artillery, with the strings of warlike elephants, and the armoury were to be prepared and forwarded. As there was little cultivation between Multan and Qandahar, the despatch of a large army without provisions was not to be thought of. It was therefore decided to encourage the grain-sellers, who in the language of India are called banjārā, and, providing them with money, to take them along with the victorious army, so that there might be no difficulty about supplies. The Banjārās are a tribe. Some of them have 1,000 bullocks, and some more or less. They take grain from different districts (bulukāt) into the towns and sell it. They go along with the armies, and with such an army there would be [Page 234] 100,000 bullocks or more. It is hoped that by the grace of the Creator, the army will be furnished with numbers and arms so that there may be no delay or hesitation until it reach Isfahan, which is his (the Shah's) capital. A farman was sent to Khān Jahān to beware and not start in that direction (Qandahar) from Multan before the arrival of the victorious army, and not be disturbed, but attend to orders. Bahādur K. Uzbeg was selected to go as an auxiliary to the army of Qandahar, and favoured with a horse and dress of honour. Fāzil K. was given the mansab of 2,000 personal and 750 horse.

As it had been brought to notice that the poor of Kashmir suffer hardships in the winter from the excessive cold, and live with difficulty, I ordered that a village of the rental of Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 should be entrusted to Mullā Tālib Isfahāni, to be expended in providing clothes for the poor, and for warming water, for purposes of ablution, in the mosques.

27.

At this time I gave orders to the yasāwuls and men of the yasāq (guards) that hereafter at the time when I came out of the palace they should keep away defective people, such as the blind, and those whose noses and ears had been cut off, the leprous and the maimed, and all kinds of sick people, and not permit them to be seen.