Verse.
“At midnight came the thought of thee. I was ashamed and resigned my life.
The poor man was abashed when suddenly the guest arrived.”
All that was in his store (bisāt̤) in the way of money and goods, of live stock or dead, he offered for me to tread upon. I gave them all back, and said: “What do worldly goods appear worth to the eye of our magnanimity? We buy the jewel of loyalty at a high figure. Such an event arising out of his devotion should be reckoned as the rising of his good star, in that a king like me with the people of his harem should remain in his house in comfort and at ease for a night and a day. It would be a cause of honour to him among his contemporaries and comrades.” On Tuesday, the 5th, having traversed 2 koss, I alighted at the village of Kahāʾī.[5] I presented the dress (sar u pāy) I had on to Muʿtamid K., and an order was given assigning him the mansab of 1,500 personal and l,500[6] horse. From this stage we entered within the boundary of Kashmīr. In the same kotal of Bhūlbās, Yaʿqūb, s. Yūsuf K. Kas͟hmīrī, fought with the victorious army of my father, of which Rāja Bhagwān Dās, father of Rāja Mān Singh, was the leader.
On this day, the news came that Suhrāb K., s. Rustam Mīrzā, had been drowned in the Jhelam. The details are as follows: He, according to orders, was coming up one stage in the rear, and on the road it came into his mind that he would have a bathe in the river, though warm water was ready. The people forbade him, and said that when the air was so cold, unnecessarily to get into a river so agitated and bloodthirsty that it would roll over a war-elephant, was contrary to the dictates of caution. He was not restrained by their words, and as the unavoidable destined time had arrived, got in. From excessive self-will and pride and carelessness, in reliance on his powers of swimming, in which art he was unequalled, he was more determined than ever, and with a k͟hidmatīyya (Blochmann 252) and another servant, both of whom could swim, mounted a rock on the river bank and threw himself in. Immediately he fell, from the violent movement of the waves, he could not pull himself together or try to swim; to fall in and go were the same thing, and Suhrāb K.[7] and the k͟hidmatīyya thus gave away the goods of their lives to the flood of destruction. The boatman,[8] with a hundred difficulties, brought the boat of his being (himself) in safety to the shore. Mīrzā Rustam was much attached to this son. On hearing of this fatal news on the Pūnch road, he rent the robe of patience, and showed great agitation. With all his dependants, clothed in mourning garments, with head and feet bare, he came to wait on me. What shall I write of the grief of the mother? Although the Mīrzā has other sons, his heart was bound up in this one. His age was twenty-six years. In shooting with a gun he was an excellent pupil of his father, and knew well how to drive elephants and carriages. On the expedition to Gujarat he was often ordered to ride on the front part of my private elephant, and he was an active soldier.[9]
On Wednesday, the 6th, marching 3 koss, I pitched at the village of Rīwand. On Thursday, the 7th, crossing the kotal of Kuwārmat,[10] which is the most difficult on this road (MS.), I alighted at the village of Wachaha (MS. and print differ). The distance of this stage is 4¼ koss. The kotal of Kuwārmat (Kulāmat in the MS.) is a difficult one, and is the last of the kotals on the road. On Friday, the 8th, having traversed nearly 4 koss, I halted at the village of Baltār.[11] There was no kotal on this road. It was broad, and plain after plain, and mead after mead, of flowers. Sweet-smelling plants of narcissus, violet, and strange flowers that grow in this country, came to view. Among these flowers I saw (noticed especially) one extraordinary one. It had five or six orange flowers blooming with their heads downwards. From the middle of the flowers there came out some green leaves, as in the case[12] of the pineapple (?). This is the būlānīk[13] flower. There is another flower like the pūy (?), round which are small flowers of the shape and colour of the jessamine, some blue in colour and some red, with yellow points in the middle, exceedingly pretty in appearance: its name is “ladar pūs͟h.” They call it pūs͟h-i-ʿaliyyu-l-ʿumūm[14] (the common pūs͟h?). There are many yellow arg͟hawān (Judas-trees) on the road as well. The flowers of Kashmīr are beyond counting and calculation. Which shall I write of? And how many can I describe? I have only mentioned the most remarkable. There is a waterfall on this road, very high and fine. It flows down from a high place. No other waterfall of such beauty was seen on the road. I delayed a moment at it, and filled my eye and heart with gazing on it from a high spot. On Saturday, the 9th, I marched 4¾ koss, and crossed over at Bāramūla.[15] It is one of the noted towns of Kashmīr, and 14 koss[16] distant from the city, situated on the bank of the Bihat. A number of the merchants of Kashmir live in it, and have built houses and mosques on the bank of the river, and spend their days in ease and contentment. According to orders, before the arrival of the host of prosperity, they had prepared decorated boats at the place. As[17] the hour for entry (into Srinagar) had been fixed for Monday, when two watches of the day had passed, on Sunday, the 10th, I entered S͟hihābu-d-dīn-pūr. On this day Dilāwar K. Kākar, the Governor of Kashmir, came from Kis͟htwār,[18] and had the good fortune to kiss the threshold. He was exalted with various royal favours and all kinds of imperial gratifications. He had done his duty here in an acceptable manner, and it is hoped that the great Giver of favours may light up the foreheads of all my servants with honour.
Kis͟htwār is to the south of Kashmir. From the city of Kashmir (Srinagar) to the stage of Alkah (?),[19] which is the capital of Kis͟htwār, the distance is 60 koss by measurement. On the 10th of the Ilāhī month of S͟hahriwar, in my 14th year, Dilāwar K., with 10,000 horse and foot, determined to conquer Kis͟htwār. He appointed his son, Ḥasan by name, with Gird ʿAlī Mīr-baḥr (admiral) to guard the city and administer the territory. And as Gohar Chak and Aiba Chak laid claim to Kashmir as heirs, and were stirring up strife in Kis͟htwār, and were wandering in the valley of confusion and ruin, he left Haibat, one of his brothers, with a force at Desū, which is near the kotal of Pīr Panjāl, by way of caution, and, dividing his forces at that place, he himself hastened with a force by the road of Sangīnpūr, sending his son Jalāl, with Naṣru-llah ʿArab, and ʿAlī Malik Kas͟hmīrī, and a band of Jahāngīrī servants by another road, and his elder son Jamāl with a band of zealous young men as an advanced guard to his own force. At the same time he placed two other forces to move forward on his right and left. As no horses could go on the road, by way of precaution he took some with him, but left nearly[20] all his sipahis’ horses behind, and sent them to Kashmir (i.e., Srinagar). The young men girded the belt of duty on their waists, and went up the hills on foot. The g͟hāzīs of the army of Islam fought from post to post with the ill-fated unbelievers as far as Narkot, which was one of the enemy’s strongholds. There the corps of Jalāl and Jamāl, which had been sent by different roads, met, and the enemy, not having the power to oppose them, took to flight. The brave ones who offered their lives traversed many ups and downs with the courage of determination, and hastened on to the Mārū river. On the bank of that river the fire of slaughter was lighted, and the g͟hāzīs of the army of Islam displayed approved activity. The ill-fated Aiba Chak, with many of the people of ruin, were slain. By the death of Aiba the Raja became powerless and without heart, and took the road of flight, and, crossing by the bridge, stopped at Bhandarkoṭ, which is on the other side. A band of the brave ones (bahādurān) quickly advanced, wishing to cross the bridge. A great fight took place at its head, and some of the young men attained to martyrdom. In this way for twenty days and nights the servants of the Court tried to cross the river, and the unbelievers of darkened fortune did not fail to attack and try to drive them back, until Dilāwar K., after establishing thānas and arranging for the commissariat, arrived with his army. The Raja, by way of stratagem and vulpine trickery, sent his Vakils to Dilāwar K., and begged that he might send his brother with offerings to the Court, so that when his offences obtained pardon, and his mind were freed from fear and trouble, he could also himself proceed to the Court, the refuge of the world, and kiss the threshold. Dilāwar K. did not lend his ear to these deceitful words, and did not throw away from his hand the coin of opportunity. He dismissed the envoys of the Raja without the attainment of their object, and made every exertion to cross the bridge. His eldest son Jamāl, with a band of the crocodiles of the sea of bravery and valour, went up the river, and by bravely swimming it although swollen crossed over, and engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. The devoted servants of the Court made an attack from the other side, and made matters tight for these ruined people. These, when they found they had no longer the strength to oppose them, broke down the planking of the bridge, and took to flight. The victorious servants made the bridge strong again, and transported the remainder of the army. Dilāwar K͟hān drew up his forces at Bhandarkoṭ. From the aforesaid river (the Mārū) to the Chenāb, which is a strong support of these unfortunate people, is a distance of two bow-shots, and on the bank of the Chenāb there is a lofty hill. The crossing of the water is a difficult matter, and, with a view to the coming and going of people on foot, they attach strong ropes, and place planks of the width of a cubit between two ropes, and fasten one rope’s end to the top of the hill, and the other on the other side of the water. Then they attach two other ropes a gaz higher than these, that foot-passengers may place their feet on the planks, and, taking hold of the upper ropes, may descend from the top of the hill to the bottom, and so cross the river. This bridge they call zampa, in the language of the people of the hill country. Wherever they apprehended that a rope bridge might be constructed, they stationed musketeers and archers and men-at-arms, and so felt secure. Dilāwar K. made rafts (jhāla), and, placing on them eighty of his valiant young men, sent them across the river at night. As the water was flowing with great violence, the rafts were carried down by the flood of destruction, and sixty-eight of these gallant men were drowned in the sea of non-existence, and obtained the renown of martyrdom, whilst ten, by the aid of swimming, reached the shore of safety (i.e., returned), and two on the other side became prisoners in the hands of the infidels. In short, for four months and ten days Dilāwar K͟hān, having planted the foot of courage at Bhandarkoṭ, made endeavours to cross over; but the arrow of stratagem did not reach the target of intent until a Zamindar pointed out a place which the enemy had no idea of. There, having constructed a zampah, in the heart of night, Jalāl, Dilāwar K.’s son, with some of the servants of the Court and a band of Afghans, about 200 in number, crossed over in safety, made unawares in the morning an attack on the Raja, and blew loudly the trumpets of victory. A few who were around and before the Raja rushed out, bewildered, half asleep and half awake, and most of them became the harvest of the blood-drinking sword, while the rest quickly withdrew themselves from that whirlpool of calamity. In that encounter one of the soldiers came upon the Raja, and wished to finish him with a sword. He called out: “I am the Raja; take me alive to Dilāwar K͟hān.” The men rushed on him and made him prisoner. After the Raja was made prisoner, his people all fled. When Dilāwar K͟hān heard this good news of victory, he prostrated himself in thankfulness to Allah, and, having crossed the river with the victorious army, came to Mandal Badr,[21] which was the capital of the country, and is 3 koss from the river. The daughter[22] of Sangrām Raja of Jammu, and the daughter of the abandoned Sūraj Mal, s. Rāja Bāso, were in the Raja’s house (i.e., married to him). By Sangrām’s daughter he had children. Before the victory he had, by way of caution, sent his family for refuge to the Raja of Jaswāl and other Zamindars. When my victorious retinue approached, Dilāwar K͟hān, according to order, took the Raja with him, and came to kiss the threshold, leaving Naṣru-llah ʿArab with a body of horse and foot to guard the country.
In Kis͟htwār 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 Kashmir, 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[23] of the name of sanhasī[24] is a relic of the old rulers of Kashmir, one and a half of which equal a rupee. In their business transactions they reckon fifteen sanhasī, or ten rupees, as one pāds͟hāhī 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 sanhasī—that is, four rupees—from each house. All the saffron is assigned, as pay, to a body of Rajputs and to 700 musketeers (tūpchī) 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 circumstances 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 Dilāwar K. by way of reward. By conjecture, his jagir was worth about 1,000 personal and 1,000 horse, according to the Jahāngīrī rules. When the chief diwans calculate the allowances to the jagirdars, the exact amount will be ascertained.
On Monday, the 11th, after two watches and four gharis had passed, the royal cortege alighted auspiciously and happily at the buildings lately erected on the bank of the lake (the Dal lake). By order of my father, a very strong fort of stone and lime had been built. It is not quite completed, one side being unfinished. It is hoped that hereafter it will be completed. From Ḥasan Abdāl to Kashmir by the road I came is a distance of 75 koss; this was accomplished in nineteen marches and six halts—that is, in twenty-five days. From Agra to Kashmir, in the space of 168 days, a distance of 376 koss was traversed in 102 marches and 63 halts. By land[25] and the ordinary route the distance is 304½ koss.
On Tuesday, the 12th, Dilāwar K., according to order, brought the Raja[26] of Kis͟htwār, chained, into my presence, and did homage. He (the Raja) is not wanting in dignity. His dress is after the Indian fashion, and he knows both the Hindi and the Kashmiri languages. Contrary to other Zamindars of these regions, he looked like the inhabitant of a town. I told him that, notwithstanding his offences, if he would bring his sons to Court, he should be released from confinement, and might live at ease under the shadow of the eternal State, or else he would be imprisoned in one of the forts of Hindustan. He said that he would bring his people, his family, and his sons to wait on me, and was hopeful of my clemency.
I shall now give a brief account of the country of Kashmir and of its peculiarities.
Kashmir[27] belongs to the fourth climate. Its latitude is 35° N., and its longitude, from the White Islands, 105°. In old times the country was in the possession of Rajas. Their dynasty lasted for 4,000 years. An account of them, and a list of their names, are given in the Rāja-tarang, which, by my father’s order, was translated[28] from the Sanskrit (Hindi in text) into Persian. In the Hijrī year 712 (1312–13) Kashmir was illumined by the religion of Islam. Thirty-two Muhammadan princes reigned over it for 282 years, until, in 994 (1586), my father conquered it. From that date till now, being a period of thirty-five years, the country has been in the possession of the Crown. Kashmir, from the Pass of Būlīyāsa[29] to Qambarbar, is 56 Jahāngīrī koss long, and its breadth is never more than 27 koss, or less than 10 koss. S͟haik͟h Abū-l-Faẓl has, in the Akbar-nāma, stated, by guess and conjecture, that the length of Kashmir from the Kis͟han Gangā to Qambarbar is 120 koss, and its breadth from 10 to 25 koss. I, out of prudence and caution, appointed a number of trustworthy and intelligent men to measure the length and breadth with ropes (t̤anāb). The result was that what the S͟haik͟h wrote as 120 koss came out as 67. As it is agreed that the boundary of a country is the place up to which people speak the language of that country, it follows that the boundary of Kashmir is Būlīyāsa, which is 11 koss on this side (i.e., east) of the Kis͟han Gangā. So, according to the preceding figures, the length of Kashmir is 56 (67 - 11) koss. The variations in breadth were found to be not more than 2 koss. The koss[30] which is in use during my reign is that prescribed by my father. That is, a koss is 5,000 yards, and the yard is 2 s͟harʿī yards, each of the latter (yards) being 24 digits[31] (angus͟ht̤). Wherever the koss or gaz is mentioned, the reference is to the above koss and the above gaz. The name of the city is Srīnagar, and the Bihat river flows through the midst of it. They call its fountain-head Vīr-nāg.[32] It is 14 koss to the south. By my order they have made a building and a garden at that source. There have been built in the city four very strong stone and wooden bridges, over which people come and go. They call a bridge in the language of this country kadal. There is a very lofty mosque in the city, one of the marks of Sult̤ān Sikandar,[33] made in 795 (1393). After a time it was burnt, but was rebuilt by Sult̤ān Ḥusain. It had not been completed when the mansion of his life fell down. In 909 (1503–04) Ibrāhīm Māqrī, Vizier of Sult̤ān Ḥusain, finished it handsomely. From that day till now it is 120 years since it has been in existence. From the Miḥrāb to the eastern wall it is 145 yards, and its breadth is 144 yards, containing four (t̤āq) alcoves. On all sides of the hall they have erected beautiful cloisters and pillars. In short, no better memorial of the rulers of Kashmir has been left than this. Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī of Hamadan (may his grave be sanctified!) was for some time in this city. There is a monastery[34] to his memory. Near the city there are two[35] large lakes full of water all the year round. Their flavour[36] does not vary; they are the means for coming and going of the people, and for the conveyance of grain and firewood on boats. In the city and parganas there are 5,700 boats, with 7,400[37] boatmen. 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 (sāʾir-jihāt).[38] They reckon the value of things in k͟harwārs of rice, each k͟harwār being three maunds and eight seers of the current weight. The Kashmiris reckon two seers as one maund, and four maunds, or eight seers, make one tark. The revenue of Kashmir is 30,63,050 k͟harwārs and 11 tarks, which in cash represents 7,46,70,000 dāms. Ordinarily it maintains 8,500 horse. It is very difficult to enter Kashmir. The routes by Bhimbhar[39] and Paklī are the best. Though that by Bhimbhar is the shorter, yet if one wishes to find spring in Kashmir, he is confined to the road by Paklī, for the other roads at this season are blocked with snow. If one were to take to praise Kashmir, whole books would have to be written. Accordingly a mere summary will be recorded.
Kashmir is a garden[40] of eternal spring, or an iron fort to a palace of kings—a delightful flower-bed, and a heart-expanding heritage for dervishes. Its pleasant meads and enchanting cascades are beyond all description. There are running streams and fountains beyond count. Wherever the eye reaches, there are verdure and running water. The red rose, the violet, and the narcissus grow of themselves; in the fields, there are all kinds of flowers and all sorts of sweet-scented herbs more than can be calculated. In the soul-enchanting spring the hills and plains are filled with blossoms; the gates, the walls, the courts, the roofs, are lighted up by the torches of banquet-adorning tulips. What shall we say of these things or of the wide meadows (julgahā) and the fragrant trefoil?