Bagh O Bahar, or Tales of the Four Darweshes

by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi

At this moment, another unforeseen calamity overwhelmed us. The horse on which I was mounted was perhaps the colt of the mare on which the princess rode, or they had been perhaps always together, for seeing my horse plunge into the river, the mare became restive, followed my horse, and likewise plunged into the river with the princess, and began to swim. The princess being alarmed, pulled the bridle; the mare was tender mouthed and turned over; the princess struggled, and sank with the mare, so that not a trace of either was ever seen again. On seeing this circumstance, Bihzad Khan dashed into the river on horseback to afford assistance to the princess; he got into a whirlpool and could not extricate himself; all his efforts with his hands and feet were vain, and he also sank. The king seeing these sad circumstances, sent for nets and had them thrown into the river, and ordered the boatmen and divers [to look for the bodies]; they swept the whole river, but could find nothing. [381] O Darweshes! this dreadful occurrence affected me so much that I became mad and frantic; I became a pilgrim, and wandered about, ever repeating these words,—"Such has been the fate of these three; that you have seen, now view the other side." If the princess had vanished or died anywhere, I should then have some kind of consolation for my heart, for I would have gone in search of her, or have borne the loss with patience; but when she perished before my eyes [in this dreadful manner], I could not support [the shock]. At last, I determined to perish with her in the stream, that I might perhaps meet my beloved one in death.

I according plunged into that same river one night in order to drown myself, and went up to the neck in the water; I was on the point of stepping forward and diving down, when the same veiled horseman who saved you two, [382] came up and seized my arm; he consoled me, and said to me, "Be comforted; the princess and Bihzad Khan are alive; why do you uselessly throw away your life? such events do occur in the world. Do not despair of the help of God; if you live, you will some day or other meet the two persons [for whom you are going to sacrifice your life]. Proceed now to the empire of Rum; two other unfortunate Darweshes are gone there already; when you meet them, you will attain your wishes." O Darweshes! I am come here to you, according to the advice of my heavenly Mentor; I firmly hope that each of us will gain the desires of his heart. These have been this pilgrim's adventures, which he hath related to you fully and entirely.

ADVENTURES OF THE FOURTH DARWESH.

The fourth Darwesh began with tears the relation of his adventures in the following manner:—

"The sad tale of my misfortunes now hear,
Pay some attention, and my whole story hear;
From what causes I distressed have come thus far,
I will relate it all,—do you the reason hear."

O, guides [to the path] of God, [383] bestow a little attention. This pilgrim, who is reduced to this wretched state, is the son of the king of China; I was brought up with tenderness and delicacy, and well educated. I was utterly unacquainted with the good and evil of this world, and imagined [my life] would ever pass in the same manner. In the midst of this extreme thoughtlessness this sad event took place; the king, who was the father of this orphan, departed [this life]. In his last moments, he sent for his younger brother, who was my uncle, and said to him, "I now leave my kingdom and wealth behind me, and am going to depart; but do you perform my last wishes, and act the part of an elder. Until the prince, who is the heir to my throne, has become of age, and has sense to govern his kingdom; do you act as regent, and do not permit the army and the husbandmen to be injured or oppressed. When the prince has arrived at the years of maturity, give him advice, and deliver over to him the government; and having married him to your daughter, Roshan Akhtar, retire yourself from the throne. By this conduct, the sovereignty will remain in my family, and no harm will accrue to it."

After this speech, [the king] himself expired; my uncle became ruler, and began to regulate the affairs of government. He ordered me to remain in the seraglio, and that I should not come out of it until I reached [the years of] manhood. Until my fourteenth year I was brought up among the princesses and female attendants, and used to play and frisk about. Having heard of [my intended] marriage with my uncle's daughter, I was quite happy, and on this hope I became thoughtless, and said to myself, that I shall now in a short time ascend the throne and be married; "the world is established on hope." [384] I used often to go and sit with Mubarak, a negro slave, who had been brought up in my late father's service, and in whom much confidence was [placed], as he was sensible and faithful. He also had a great regard for me, and seeing me advancing to the years of manhood, he was much pleased, and used to say, "God be praised, O prince, you are now a young man, and, God willing, your uncle, the shadow of Omnipotence, will shortly fulfil the injunctions [of your late father], and give you his daughter, and your father's throne."

One day, it happened that a common female slave gave me, without cause, such a slap, that the marks of her five fingers remained on my cheek. I went, weeping, to Mubarak; he clasped me to his bosom, and wiped away my tears with his sleeve, and said, "Come, I will conduct you to-day to the king; he will perhaps be kind to you on seeing yon, and, conceiving you qualified [in years], he may give up to you your rights." He led me immediately to my uncle's presence; my uncle showed me great affection before the court, and asked me, "why are you so sad, and wherefore are you come here to-day?" Mubarak replied, "He is come here to say something [to your majesty]." On hearing this, he said of himself, "I will shortly marry the young prince." Mubarak answered, "It will be a most joyful event." The king immediately sent for the astrologers and diviners into his presence, and with feigned interest asked them, "In this year what month, what day, and what hour is auspicious, that I may order the preparations for the prince's marriage?" They perceiving what were [the king's real wishes], made their calculations, and said, "Mighty sire, the whole of this year is unpropitious; no day in any of the lunar months appears happy; if this whole year pass in safety, then the next is most propitious for a happy marriage."

The king looked towards Mubarak, and said, "Reconduct the prince to the seraglio, if God willing, after this year is over, I will deliver up my trust to him; let him make himself perfectly easy, and attend to his studies," Mubarak made his salam, and taking me along with him, reconducted me to the seraglio. Two or three days after this, I went to Mubarak; on seeing me, he began to weep; I was surprised, and asked him, saying, "My father, is all well? what is the cause of your weeping?" Then, that well wisher, (who loved me with heart and soul), said, "I conducted you the other day to that tyrant; if I had known it, I would not have carried you there," I was alarmed, and asked him, "What harm has occurred from my going? pray tell me truly," He then said, "All the nobles, ministers, and officers of state, small and great, of your father's time, were greatly rejoiced on seeing you, and began to offer up thanks to God, saying, 'Now, our prince is of age, and fit to reign. Now, in a short time, the right will devolve upon the rightful [heir]; then he will do justice to our merits, and appreciate the length of our services.' This news reached the ears of that faithless wretch, [385] and entered his breast like a serpent. He sent for me in private, and said, 'O Mubarak, act now in such a manner, that by some stratagem or other the prince may be destroyed; and remove the dread of his [existence] from my heart, that I may feel secure.' Since then I am quite confounded, for your uncle is become the enemy of your life." When I heard this dreadful news from Mubarak, I was dead without being murdered, and fell at his feet from fear of my life, and said, "For God's sake, I relinquish my throne; by any means, let my life be saved." That faithful slave lifted up my head, clasped me to his breast, and said, "There is no danger, a thought has struck me; if it turns out well, then there is nothing to fear; whilst we have life, we have everything. "It is probable that, by this scheme [of mine] your life will be preserved, and you will attain your wishes."

Giving me these hopes, he took me with him, and went to the apartment where the deceased king, my father, used to sit and sleep; and gave me every confidence. There a stool was placed; he told me to lay hold of one of its legs, and taking hold of the other himself, we removed the stool, and he lifted up the carpet that was beneath it, and began to dig the floor. A window appeared suddenly, to which were attached a chain and lock. He called me near him; I apprehended within myself that he wished to butcher me, and bury me in the place he had dug. Death appeared [in all its horrors] before my eyes; but having no other alternative, I advanced slowly and in silence towards him, repeating within myself my prayers to God. I then saw a building with four rooms inside of that window, and in every room ten large vases of gold were suspended by chains; on the mouth of each vase was placed a brick of gold, on which was set the figure of a monkey inlaid with precious stones. I counted thirty-nine vases of this kind in the four rooms, and saw one vase filled with pieces of gold, on the mouth of which there was neither the brick, nor the figure of the monkey, and I also saw a vat filled to the brim with precious stones. I asked Mubarak, "O my father, what talisman is this? whose place is this, and for what use are those figures?" He replied, "The following is the story of those figures of monkeys which you see:—Your father from his youth formed a friendship and kept up an intercourse with Maliki Sadik, who is the king of the jinns.