[39] Literally, "the supreme camp or market."
[40] A Persian expression.
[41] Shah 'Alam the emperor of Dilli, was then towards Patna a tool in the hands of Shuja'u-d-Daula, the Nawwab of Lakhnau, and Kasim 'Ala Khan, the Nawwab of Murshid-abad.
[42] Alluding to the confusion which reigned in Upper Hindustan after the assassination of 'Alamgir the Second, and the flight of Shah 'Alam. Upper Hindustan was then in a sad plight, ravaged alternately by the Abdalis, the Marhattas, and the Jats—the king a pageant, the nobles rebellious, the subjects plundered and oppressed, and the country open to every invader—though this was near 100 years ago, and although they had some government, justice, and security from 1782 to 1802, yet the country had not even then recovered from the severe shock.
[43] The word is used in the singular, both by Mir Amman and the original author, Amir Khusru according to a well-known rule in Persian syntax, viz., "a substantive accompanied by a numerical adjective dispenses with the plural termination," as "haft roz," "seven days," not "haft rozha. The Persian term darwesh, in a general sense, denotes a person who has adopted what by extreme courtesy is called a religious life, closely akin to the "mendicant friar" of the middle ages; i.e., a lazy, dirty, hypocrital vagabond, living upon the credulous public. The corresponding term in Arabic is Fakir; and in Hindi, Jogi.
[44] The word Rum means that empire of which Constantinople is the capital, and sometimes called, in modern times, Romania. It was originally applied to the Eastern Roman Empire, and, at present, it denotes Turkey in Europe and Asia.
[45] Naushirwan was a king of Persia, who died in A.D. 578. He is celebrated in oriental history for his wisdom and justice. During his reign Muhammad the prophet was born. The Persian writings are full of anecdotes of Naushirwan's justice and wisdom.
[46] Hatim or rather Hatim Tai, is the name of an Arab chief, who is celebrated for his generosity and his mad adventures, in an elegant Persian work called Kissae Hatim Tai. This work was translated into English for the Asiatic Translation Fund in 1830.
[47] Called also Kustuntuniya by the Persians, and Istambol, also Islambol, by the Turks.
[48] The shabi barat is a Mahometan festival which happens on the full moon of the month of Sha'ban; illuminations are made at night, and fire-works displayed; prayers are said for the repose of the dead, and offerings of sweetmeats and viands made to their manes. A luminous night-scene is therefore compared to the shabi barat.