Although he be brought up with man.”
On Tuesday,[43] the 1st Ẕī-l-qaʿda (10th November, 1616), corresponding with the 21st Ābān, after two watches and five gharis of the day had passed, in good condition and with a right purpose I mounted the Frank carriage, which had four horses attached to it, and left the city of Ajmir. I ordered many of the Amirs to accompany me in carriages, and at about sunset alighted at a halting-place about 1¾ kos distant, in the village of Deo Rāy (Dorāī?).[44] It is the custom of the people of India that if the movement of kings or great men for the conquest of a country is towards the east they should ride a tusked elephant, and if the movement is towards the west on a horse of one colour; if towards the north in a palanquin or a litter (singhāsan), and if towards the south, that is, in the direction of the Deccan (as on this occasion), on a rath, which is a kind of cart (arāba) or bahal (two-wheeled car). I had stayed at Ajmir for five days less than three years.[45] They consider the city of Ajmir, which is the place of the blessed tomb of the revered K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn, to be in the second clime. Its air is nearly equable. The capital of Agra is to the east of it; on the north are the townships (district) of Delhi, and on the south the Subah of Gujarat. On the west lie Multan and Deālpūr. The soil of this province is all sandy; water is found with difficulty in the land, and the reliance for cultivation is on moist[46] soil and on the rainfall. The cold season is very equable, and the hot season is milder than in Agra. From this subah in time of war 86,000[47] horse and 304,000 Rajput foot are provided. There are two large lakes in this city; they call one of these the Bīsal[48] and the other the Ānāsāgar. The Bīsal tank is in ruins and its embankment is broken. At this time I ordered it to be repaired. The Ānāsāgar at the time that the royal standards were there was always full of water and waves. This tāl is 1½ kos and 5 t̤anāb (lit. tent-ropes) (in circumference?). Whilst at Ajmir I visited nine times the mausoleum of the revered K͟hwāja, and fifteen times went to look at the Pushkar lake; to the Chashma-i-Nūr I went thirty-eight times. I went out to hunt tigers, etc., fifty times. I killed 15 tigers, 1 cheetah, 1 black-ear (lynx), 53 nilgaw, 33 gazelle (gawazn), 90 antelope, 80 boars, and 340 water-fowl. I encamped seven times at Deo Rāy (Deo Rānī) (Dorāī?). At this halt 5 nilgaw and 12 water-fowl were killed. Marching on the 29th from Deo Rāy, my camp was pitched at the village of Dāsāwalī, 2 kos and 1½ quarters distant from Deo Rāy. On this day I gave an elephant to Muʿtamad K͟hān. I stayed the next day at this village. On this day a nilgaw was killed, and I sent two of my falcons to my son K͟hurram. I marched from this village on the 3rd Āẕar, and pitched at the village of Bādhal (Māwal?), 2¼ kos distant. On the road six water-fowl, etc., were killed. On the 4th, having gone 1½ kos, Rāmsar,[49] which belongs to Nūr-Jahān Begam, became the place for the alighting of honour and glory. A halt was made at this place for eight days. In the place of K͟hidmat-gār K͟hān I here appointed Hidāyatu-llah mīr-tūzak (master of ceremonies). On the 5th day 7 antelope, 1 kulang (crane), and 15 fish were killed. The next day Jagat Singh, son of Kunwar Karan, received a horse and a robe of honour and took leave for his native place. A horse was also given to Kes͟ho Dās Lālā and an elephant to Allah-dād K͟hān Afg͟han. On the same day I killed a gazelle, 3 antelope, 7 fish, and 2 water-fowl. On that day was heard the news of the death of Rāja Syām Singh, who belonged to the army of Bangash. On the 7th day 3 antelope, 5 water-fowl, and a qas͟hqaldāg͟h[50] (coot) were killed. On Thursday and the eve of Friday, as Rāmsar belongs to the jagir of Nūr-Jahān, a feast and entertainment were prepared. Jewels, jewelled ornaments, fine cloths, sewn tapestry, and every kind of jewellery were presented as offerings. At night on all sides and in the middle of the lake, which is very broad, lamps were displayed. An excellent entertainment was arranged. In the end of the said Thursday, having also sent for the Amirs, I ordered cups for most[51] of the servants. On my journeys by land some boats are always taken along with the victorious camp; the boatmen convey them on carts. On the day after this entertainment I went to fish in these boats, and in a short time 208 large fish came into one net. Half of these were of the species of rakū. At night I divided them among the servants in my own presence. On the 13th Āẕar I marched from Rāmsar, and hunting for 4 kos along the road, the camp was pitched at the village of Balodā.[52] Here I stayed for two days. On the 16th, moving 3¼ kos, I alighted at the village of Nihāl.[53] On the 18th the march was one of 2¼ kos. On this day I gave an elephant to Muḥammad Riẓā Beg, ambassador of the ruler of Persia. The village of Jonsā became the halting-place of the tents of greatness and prosperity. On the 20th I marched to the halting-place of Deogāon; I hunted along the road for a distance of 3 kos. I stayed at this place for two days, and at the end of the day went out to hunt. At this stage a strange affair was witnessed. Before the royal standards arrived at this halting-place, an eunuch went to the bank of a large tank there is in the village, and caught two young sāras, which are a kind of crane; at night, when we stopped at this halting-place, two large saras appeared making loud cries near the ghusul-khana (parlour), which they had placed on the edge of the tank, as if somebody were exercising oppression on them. They fearlessly began their cries and came forward. It occurred to me that certainly some kind of wrong had been done to them, and probably their young had been taken. After enquiry was made the eunuch who had taken the young saras brought them before me. When the saras heard the cries of these young ones, they without control threw themselves upon them, and suspecting that they had had no food, each of the two saras placed food in the mouths of the young ones, and made much lamentation. Taking the two young ones between them, and stretching out their wings and fondling them, they went off to their nest. Marching on the 23rd 3¾ kos, I alighted at the village of Bahāsū (Bhālū?). Here there was a halt of two days, and each day I rode to hunt. On the 26th the royal standards moved and the halt was outside of the village of Kākal. A halt was made after traversing 2 kos. On the 27th the mansab of Badīʿu-z-zamān, son of Mīrzā S͟hāhruk͟h, original and increased, was fixed at 1,500 personal and 750 horse. Marching on the 29th 2¾ kos, a halt was made at the village of Lāsā, near parganah Boda.[54] This day corresponded with the festival of Qurbān (19th December, 1616). I ordered them to observe the ordinances of that day. From the date on which I left Ajmir up to the end of the aforesaid month, viz. the 30th Āẕar, 67 nilgaw, antelope, etc., and 37 water-fowl etc., had been killed. A march was made from Lāsā on the 2nd Day, and I marched and hunted for 3 kos 10 jarīb, and halted in the neighbourhood of the village of Kānṛā. On the 4th a march of 3¼ kos was made to the village of Sūraṭh. Marching 4½ kos on the 6th, a halt was made near the village of Barora (Bardaṛā?). On the 7th, when there was a halt, 50 water-fowl and 14 qashqaldagh (coot) were killed. The next day was a halt as well. On this day 27 water-fowl became a prey. On the 9th a march of 4⅛ kos was made. Hunting and overthrowing prey, I alighted at the halting-place of K͟hūs͟h Tāl. At this stage a report came from Muʿtamad K͟hān that when the territory of the Rānā became the halting-place of S͟hāh K͟hurram, though there had been no agreement to this effect (i.e. to the Rānā’s meeting him), the fame and dignity of the victorious army had introduced a commotion into the pillars of his patience and firmness, and he had come and paid his respects to him when he halted at Dūdpūr,[55] which was on the border of his jagir, and observing all the dues and ceremonies of service he had neglected not the smallest portion of them. S͟hāh K͟hurram had paid him every attention, and pleased him with the gift of a dress of honour, a chārqab, a jewelled sword, a jewelled khapwa, Persian and Turki horses, and an elephant, and dismissed him with every honour. He had also favoured his sons and relations with dresses of honour, and out of his offering, which consisted of five elephants, twenty-seven horses, and a tray full of jewels and jewelled ornaments, had taken three horses and given back the remainder. It was settled that his son Karan should attend on the stirrup of Bābā K͟hurram in this expedition with 1,500 horse. On the 10th the sons of Rāja Mahā Singh came from their jagir and native place (Amber) and waited on me in the neighbourhood of Ranṭambhor, making an offering of three elephants and nine horses. Each one of them, according to his condition, received an increase of mansab. As the neighbourhood of the said fort became a halting-place for the royal standards, I released some of the prisoners who were confined in that fort. At this place I halted for two days and each day went to hunt. Thirty-eight water-fowl and qashqaldagh (coot) were taken. On the 12th I marched, and after going 4 kos halted at the village of Koyalā. On the road I killed fourteen water-fowl and an antelope. On the 14th, having traversed 3¾ kos, I halted in the neighbourhood of the village of Ekṭorā,[56] killing on the road a blue bull, twelve herons (karwānak), etc. On the same day Āg͟hā Fāẓil, who had been appointed deputy for Iʿtimādu-d-daulah at Lahore, was dignified with the title of Fāẓil K͟hān. At this stage they had erected the royal lodging (daulat-k͟hāna) on the bank of a tank, which was exceedingly bright and pleasant. On account of the pleasantness of the place I halted two days there, and at the end of each went to hunt water-fowl. To this place the younger son of Mahābat K͟hān, by name Bahra-war, came from the fort of Ranṭambhor, which is his father’s jagir, to pay his respects to me. He had brought two elephants, both of which were included in my private stud. I promoted Ṣafī, son of Amānat K͟hān, to the title of K͟hān, and, increasing his mansab, made him bakhshi and news-writer of the Subah of Gujarat. Having travelled 4½ kos on the 17th, I halted at the village of Lasāyā.[57] During the halt I killed one water-fowl and twenty-three sand-grouse (durrāj). As I had sent for Las͟hkar K͟hān to Court on account of the disagreement that had occurred between him and K͟hān Daurān, I at this place appointed ʿĀbid K͟hān,[58] bakhshi and news-writer, in his stead. On the 19th, having made a march of 2¼ kos, an encampment was made in the neighbourhood of the village of Kūrāka (Korāṉ?),[59] which is situated on the bank of the Chambal. On account of the excellence of the place and the pleasantness of its air and water, a halt took place here for three days. Every day I sat in a boat and went to hunt water-fowl and to wander over the river. On the 22nd[60] there was a march, and having traversed 4½ kos, shooting on the road, the victorious camp was pitched at the villages of Sult̤ānpūr and Chīla Mala (Chīlāmīlā?). On this day of halt I bestowed on Mīrān Ṣadr Jahān 5,000 rupees, and gave him leave to proceed to the place assigned to him as his jagir. Another 1,000 rupees were given to S͟haik͟h Pīr. On the 25th I marched and hunted for 3½ kos and encamped at the village of Bāsūr.[61] According to fixed rules one halt and one march took place, and on the 27th I marched and hunted 4⅛ kos and encamped at the village of Chārdūha (Varadhā?). Two days halt took place here. In this month of Day 416 animals were killed, namely, 97 sand-grouse (durraj), 192 qashqaldagh, 1 saras, 7 herons, 118 water-fowl, and 1 hare. On the 1st Bahman, corresponding with the 12th Muharram, 1026 (20th January, 1617), seating myself in boats with the ladies, I went forward one stage. When one ghari of day remained I arrived at the village of Rūpāheṛā, the halting-place, the distance being 4 kos and 15 jarib. I shot five sand-grouse. On the same day I sent by the hands of Kaikana winter dresses of honour to twenty-one Amirs on duty in the Deccan, and ordered him to take 10,000[62] rupees from those Amirs as a thanksgiving for the dresses of honour. This halting-place had much verdure and pleasantness. On the 3rd a march took place. As on the previous day, I embarked in a boat, and after traversing 2⅛ kos the village of Kākhā-dās (Kākhāvās?)[63] became the encamping place of the victorious camp. As I came hunting on the way, a sand-grouse fell flying into a thicket. After much search it was marked, and I ordered one of the beaters to surround the thicket and catch it, and went towards it myself. Meanwhile another sand-grouse rose, and this I made a falcon seize. Soon afterwards the beater came and laid the sand-grouse before me. I ordered them to satisfy the falcon with this sand-grouse, and to keep the one we had caught, as it was a young bird. (But) before the order reached him the head huntsman fed the falcon with the sand-grouse (the second one, viz. that which the falcon had caught). After a while the beater represented to me that if he did not kill the sand-grouse it would die (and then could not be eaten as not properly killed). I ordered him to kill it if that was the case. As he laid his sword on its throat, it with a slight movement freed itself from the sword and flew away. After I had left the boat and mounted my horse, suddenly a sparrow (kunjis͟hk) by the force of the wind struck the head of an arrow that one of the beaters who was in my retinue had in his hand, and immediately fell down and died. I was amazed and bewildered at the tricks of destiny; on one side it preserved the sand-grouse, whose time had not arrived, in a short time from three such dangers, and on the other hand made captive in the hand of destruction on the arrow of fate the sparrow whose hour of death had come—
“The world-sword may move from its place,
But it will cut no vein till God wills.”
Dresses of honour for the winter had also been sent by the hand of Qarā, the yasāwul (usher), to the Amirs at Kabul. I halted at this place on account of the pleasantness of the spot and the excellence of the air. On this day there came the news of the death of Nād ʿAlī K͟hān Maidāni at Kabul. I honoured his sons with mansabs, and at the request of Ibrāhīm K͟hān Fīrūz-jang[64] increased the mansab of Rāwat S͟hankar by 500 personal and 1,000 horse. On the 6th there was a march, and going for 4⅛ kos by the pass known as Ghāṭe Chāndā, the royal camp was pitched at the village of Amḥār (Amjār?). This valley is very green and pleasant and good trees are seen in it. Up to this stage, which is the limit of the country of the Subah of Ajmir, 84 kos had been traversed. It was also a pleasant stage. Nūr-Jahān Begam here shot with a gun a qarīs͟ha(?), the like of which for size and beauty of colour had never been seen. I ordered them to weigh it, and it came to 19 tolas and 5 mashas. The aforesaid village is the commencement of the Subah of Malwa, which is in the second clime. The length[65] of this Subah from the extremity of the province of Gaṛha to the province of Bānswāla (Bānswaṛā?) is 245 kos, and its breadth from the parganah of Chanderī to the parganah of Nandarbār is 230 kos. On the east is the province of Bāndho, and on the north the fort of Narwar, on the south the province of Baglānā, and on the west the Subahs of Gujarat and Ajmir. Malwa is a large province abounding in water and of a pleasant climate. There are five rivers in it in addition to streams, canals, and springs, namely, the Godavarī,[66] Bhīmā, Kālīsindh, Nīrā, and Narbada. Its climate is nearly equable. The land of this province is low, but part of it is high. In the district of Dhār, which is one of the noted places of Malwa, the vine gives grapes twice in the year, in the beginning of Pisces and the beginning of Leo, but the grapes of Pisces are the sweeter. Its husbandmen and artificers are not without arms. The revenue of the province is 24,700,000 dams. When needful there are obtained from it about 9,300[67] horse and four lakhs, 70,300 foot-soldiers, with 100 elephants. On the 8th, moving on 3½ kos, an encampment was made near K͟hairābād. On the road 14 sand-grouse and 3 herons were killed, and having traversed and shot over 3 kos the camp was pitched at the village of Sidhārā. On the 11th, while there was a halt, I mounted at the end of the day to hunt, and killed a blue bull. On the 12th, after traversing 4¼ kos, a halt was made at the village of Bachhayārī. On that day Rānā Amar Singh had sent some baskets of figs. In truth it is a fine fruit, and I had never seen such delicious figs in India. But one must eat only a few of them; it does harm to eat many. On the 14th there was a march; having traversed 4⅛ kos, I encamped at the village of Balbalī. Rāja Jānbā who is an influential zamindar in these regions, had sent two elephants as an offering, and they were brought before me. At the same stage they brought many melons grown in Kārīz near Herat. K͟hān ʿĀlam had also sent 50 camels. In former years they had never brought melons in such abundance. On one tray they brought many kinds of fruit—Kārīz melons, melons from Badakhshan and Kabul, grapes from Samarkand[68] and Badakhshan, apples from Samarkand, Kashmir, Kabul, and from Jalalabad, which is a dependency of Kabul, and pineapples, a fruit that comes from the European ports, plants of which have been set in Agra. Every year some thousands are gathered in the gardens there which appertain to the private domains (k͟hāliṣa-i-s͟harīfa)[69]; kaula,[70] which are similar in form to an orange, but smaller and better in flavour. They grow very well in the Subah of Bengal. In what language can one give thanks for such favours? My revered father had a great liking for fruit, especially for melons, pomegranates, and grapes. During his time the Kārīz melons, which are the finest kind, and pomegranates from Yezd, which are celebrated throughout the world and Samarkand grapes had not been brought to Hindustan. Whenever I see these fruits they cause me great regret. Would that such fruit had come in those days, so that he might have enjoyed them!
On the 15th, which was a halting day, news came of the death of Mīr ʿAlī, son of Farīdūn K͟hān Barlās, who was one of the trusted amīr-zādas (descended from amirs) of this family (the Timurides). On the 16th a march took place. Having traversed 4⅛ kos, the camp of heavenly dignity was pitched near the village of Girī. On the road the scouts brought news that there was a lion in this neighbourhood. I went to hunt him and finished him with one shot. As the braveness of the lion (shīr babar) has been established, I wished to look at his intestines. After they were extracted, it appeared that in a manner contrary to other animals, whose gall-bladder is outside their livers, the gall-bladder of the lion is within his liver(?). It occurred to me that the courage of the lion may be from this cause. On the 18th, after traversing 2¾ kos, the village of Amriyā was our halting-place. On the 19th, which was a halt, I went out to hunt. After going 2 kos, a village came to view exceedingly sweet and pleasant. Nearly 100 mango-trees were seen in one garden; I had seldom seen mango-trees so large and green and pleasant. In the same garden I saw a bar-tree (a banyan), exceedingly large. I ordered them to measure its length, breadth, and height in yards (gaz). Its height from the surface to the highest branch (sar-s͟hāk͟h) was 74 cubits (z̤iraʿ). The circumference of its trunk was 44½ cubits and its breadth[71] 175½ measured by the gaz. This has been recorded as it is very unusual. On the 20th was a march, and on the road a blue bull was shot with a gun. On the 21st, which was a halt, I went out to hunt at the end of the day. After returning, I came to the house of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah for the festival of K͟hwāja K͟hiẓr, whom they call K͟hiẓrī; I remained there till a watch of the night had passed, and then feeling inclined for food I went back to the royal quarters. On this day I honoured Iʿtimādu-d-daulah as an intimate friend by directing the ladies of the harem not to veil their faces from him. By this favour I bestowed everlasting honour on him. On the 22nd an order was given to march, and after 3⅛ kos were traversed the camp was pitched at the village of Būlgharī (Nawalkheṛī?). On the road two blue bulls were killed. On the 23rd day of Tīr, which was a halt, I killed a blue bull with a gun. On the 24th, traversing 5 kos, the village of Qāsim-kheṛā was the halting-place. On the road a white animal[72] was killed, which resembled the kūtāh pāya (hog-deer); it had four horns, two of which were opposite the extremities of its eyes, and two finger-breadths in height, and the two other horns four finger-breadths towards the nape of the neck. These were four finger-breadths in height. The people of India call this animal dūdhādhārīt (dudhāriyā?). The male has four horns and the female none. It was said that this kind of antelope has no gall-bladder, but when they looked at its intestines the gall-bladder was apparent, and it became clear that this report has no foundation. On the 25th, which was a halt, at the end of the day I rode out to hunt and killed a female nilgaw with my gun. Bāljū, nephew of Qilīj K͟hān, who held the mansab of 1,000 personal and 850 horse, and had a jagir in Oudh, I promoted to 2,000 personal and 1,200 horse, dignified him with the title of Qilīj K͟hān, and appointed him to the Subah of Bengal. On the 26th a march took place, and after traversing 4¾ kos a halt was made at the village of Dih Qāẓiyān, which is in the neighbourhood of Ujjain. A number of mango-trees in this place had blossomed. They had pitched the tents on the bank of a lake, and had prepared an enchanting place. Pahāṛ, son of G͟haznīn[73] K͟hān, was capitally punished at this stage. Cherishing this unlucky one after the death of his father, I had given him the fort and province of Jālaur, which was the place of his ancestors. As he was of tender years, his mother used to forbid him certain evil practices. That eternally black-faced one with some of his companions one night came into the house and killed his own full mother with his own hand. This news reached me and I ordered them to bring him. After his crime was proved against him, I ordered them to put him to death (kih ba biyāsā rasānīdand). At this halting-place a tamarind[74]-tree came to view, the form and habit of which were somewhat strange. The original tree had one trunk; when it had grown to 6 gaz, it turned into two branches, one of which was 10 and the other 9½ gaz. The distance between the two branches was 4½ gaz. From the ground to the place where the branches and leaves came to an end(?), there were on the side of the large branch 16 gaz, and on the other branch 15½ gaz. From the place whence the branches and green leaves began(?) to the top (trunk?) of the tree was 2½ gaz, and the circumference was 2¾ gaz. I ordered them to make a chabūtara (platform) round it of the height of 3 gaz. As the trunk was very straight and well-shaped, I told my artists to depict it in the illustrations to the Jahāngīr-nāma. A march was made on the 27th. After traversing 2⅛ kos, a halt was made at the village of Hinduwāl[75]; on the road a blue bull was killed. On the 28th, after traversing 2 kos, the village of Kāliyādaha became the halting-place. Kāliyādaha is a building which was made by Nāsiru-d-dīn, son of G͟hiyās̤u-d-dīn, son of Sult̤ān Maḥmūd K͟haljī, who was ruler of Malwa. In the time of his rule he had made it in the neighbourhood of Ujjain, which is one of the most celebrated cities in the Subah of Malwa. They say that the heat overcame him so much that he passed his time in the water. He made this building in the middle of the river, and divided its waters into canals, and brought the water on all sides, as well as inside and outside, of the house, and made large and small reservoirs suited to the place. It is a very pleasant and enjoyable place, and one of the noted habitations of Hindustan. Before it was decided to halt at this place I sent architects and ordered them to clean up the place again. On account of its pleasantness I remained in this place for three days. At the same place S͟hajāʿat K͟hān came from his jagir and waited on me. Ujjain is one of the old cities, and is one of the seven established places of worship of the Hindus. Rāja Bikramājīt, who introduced the observation of the heavens and stars into Hindustan, lived in this city and province. From the time of his observations until now, which is the 1026th Hijra year (1617 A.D.) and the 11th year from my accession, 1,675[76] years have passed. The deductions of the astronomers of India are all based on his observations. This city is on the bank of the River Sipra. The belief[77] of the Hindus is that once in some year at an uncertain time the water of this river turns into milk. In the reign of my revered father, at the time when he had sent Abū-l-faẓl to set in order the affairs of my brother S͟hāh Murād, he sent a report from that city that a large body of Hindus and Musulmans had borne testimony that some days previously at night this river had become milk, so that people who took water from it that night found in the morning their pots full of milk.[78] As this obtained currency it has been recorded, but my intelligence will in no way agree to it. The real truth of this affair is known to Allah. On the 2nd Isfandārmuẕ I embarked in a boat from Kāliyādaha, and went to the next stage. I had frequently heard that an austere Sanyāsī[79] of the name of Jadrūp many years ago retired from the city of Ujjain to a corner of the desert and employed himself in the worship of the true God. I had a great desire for his acquaintance, and when I was at the capital of Agra I was desirous of sending for and seeing him. In the end, thinking of the trouble it would give him, I did not send for him. When I arrived in the neighbourhood of the city I alighted from the boat and went ⅛ kos on foot to see him. The place he had chosen to live in was a hole on the side of a hill which had been dug out and a door made. At the entrance there is an opening in the shape of a miḥrāb,[80] which is in length (? height) 1 gaz and in breadth 10 gira, (knots, each 1/16 of a gaz), and the distance from this door to a hole which is his real abode is 2 gaz and 5 knots in length and in breadth 11¼ knots. The height from the ground to the roof is 1 gaz and 3 knots. The hole whence is the entrance to the abode is in length 5½ knots and its breadth 3½ knots. A person of weak body (thin?) can only enter it with a hundred difficulties. The length and breadth of the hole are such. It has no mat and no straw. In this narrow and dark hole he passes his time in solitude. In the cold days of winter, though he is quite naked, with the exception of a piece of rag that he has in front and behind, he never lights a fire. The Mulla of Rūm (Jalālu-d-dīn) has put into rhyme the language of a dervish—
“By day our clothes are the sun,
By night our mattress and blanket the moon’s rays.”
He bathes twice a day in a piece of water near his abode, and once a day goes into the city of Ujjain, and nowhere but to the houses of three brahmins whom he has selected out of seven, who have wives and children and whom he believes to have religious feelings and contentment. He takes by way of alms five mouthfuls of food out of what they have prepared for their own eating, which he swallows without chewing, in order that he may not enjoy their flavour; always provided that no misfortune has happened to their three houses, that there has been no birth, and there be no menstruous woman in the house. This is his method of living, just as it is now written. He does not desire to associate with men, but as he has obtained great notoriety people go to see him. He is not devoid of knowledge, for he has thoroughly mastered the science of the Vedānta, which is the science of Sufism. I conversed with him for six gharis; he spoke well, so much so as to make a great impression on me. My society also suited him. At the time when my revered father conquered the fort of Āsīr, in the province of Khandesh, and was returning to Agra, he saw him in the very same place, and always remembered him well.
The learned of India have established four modes of life for the caste of brahmins, which is the most honoured of the castes of Hindus, and have divided their lives into four periods. These four periods they call the four āsram.[81] The boy who is born in a brahmin’s house they do not call brahmin till he is 7 years old, and take no trouble on the subject. After he has arrived at the age of 8 years, they have a meeting and collect the brahmins together. They make a cord of mūnj grass, which they call mūnjī, in length 2¼ gaz, and having caused prayers and incantations to be repeated over it, and having had it made into three strands, which they call sih tan, by one in whom they have confidence, they fasten it on his waist. Having woven a zunnār (girdle or thread) out of the loose threads, they hang it over his right[82] shoulder. Having given into his hand a stick of the length of a little over 1 gaz to defend himself with from hurtful things and a copper vessel for drinking-water, they hand him over to a learned brahmin that he may remain in his house for twelve years, and employ himself in reading the Vedas, which they believe in as God’s book. From this day forward they call him a brahmin. During this time it is necessary that he should altogether abstain from bodily pleasures. When midday is passed he goes as a beggar to the houses of other brahmins, and bringing what is given him to his preceptor, eats it with his permission. For clothing, with the exception of a loin cloth (lungī) of cotton to cover his private parts, and 2 or 3 more gaz of cotton which he throws over his back, he has nothing else. This state is called brahmacharya, that is, being busied with the Divine books. After this period has passed, with the leave of his preceptor and his father, he marries, and is allowed to enjoy all the pleasures of his five senses until the time when he has a son who shall have attained the age of 16 years. If he does not have a son, he passes his days till he is 48 in the social life. During this time they call him a grihast, that is, householder. After that time, separating himself from relatives, connections, strangers, and friends, and giving up all things of enjoyment and pleasure, he retires to a place of solitude from the place of attachment to sociality (taʿalluq-i-ābād-i-kas̤rat), and passes his days in the jungle. They call this condition bānprasta,[83] that is, abode in the jungle. As it is a maxim of the Hindus that no good deed can be thoroughly performed by men in the social state without the partnership of the presence of a wife, whom they have styled the half of a man, and as a portion of the ceremonies and worshippings is yet before him (has to be accomplished), he takes his wife with him into the jungle. If she should be pregnant, he puts off his going until she bear a child and it arrive at the age of 5 years. Then he entrusts the child to his eldest son or other relation, and carries out his intention. In the same way, if his wife be menstruous, he puts off going until she is purified. After this he has no connection with her, and does not defile himself with communication with her, and at night he sleeps apart.[84] He passes twelve years in this place, and lives on vegetables which may have sprung up of themselves in the desert and jungle. He keeps his zunnar by him and worships fire. He does not waste his time in looking after his nails or the hair of his head, or in trimming his beard and moustaches. When he completes this period in the manner related, he returns to his own house, and having commended his wife to his children and brothers and sons-in-law, goes to pay his respects to his spiritual guide, and burns by throwing into the fire in his presence whatever he has in the way of a zunnar, the hair of his head, etc., and says to him: “Whatever attachment (taʿalluq) I may have had, even to abstinence and worshipping and will, I have rooted up out of my heart.” Then he closes the road to his heart and to his desires and is always employed in contemplation of God, and knows no one except the True Cause of Being (God). If he speak of science it is the science of Vedānta, the purport of which Bābā Fig͟hānī has versified in this couplet—