On the 3rd of the month of Tīr, Muz̤affar K͟hān came from Thatta[6] and waited on me. He made an offering of twelve muhrs and a Koran with a jewelled cover, and two jewelled roses(?) (dū gul). On the 14th of the same month Ṣafdar K͟hān came from the Subah of Behar and waited on me, offering 101 muhrs. After Muz̤affar K͟hān had been some days in attendance, I increased his former mansab by 500 personal, and giving him a standard and a private shawl dismissed him to Thatta.[7]
I knew that every animal or living thing bitten by a mad dog died, but this had not been ascertained in the case of an elephant. In my time it so happened that one night a mad dog came into the place where was tied one of my private elephants, Gajpatī[8] by name, and bit the foot of a female elephant that was with mine. She at once cried out. The elephant-keepers at once ran in, and the dog fled away into a thorn-brake that is there. After a little while it came in again and bit my private elephant’s fore-foot as well. The elephant killed it. When a month and five days had passed after this event, one day when it was cloudy the growling of thunder came to the ear of the female elephant, that was in the act of eating, and it of a sudden raised a cry and its limbs began to tremble. It threw itself on the ground, but rose again. For seven days water ran out of its mouth, then suddenly it uttered a cry and showed distress. The remedies the drivers gave it had no effect, and on the eighth day it fell and died. A month after the death of the female elephant they took the large elephant to the edge of the river in the plain. It was cloudy and thundery in the same way. The said elephant in the height of excitement all at once began to tremble and sat down on the ground. With a thousand difficulties the drivers took it to its own place. After the same interval and in the same way that had happened to the female elephant this elephant also died. Great amazement was caused by this affair, and in truth it is a matter to be wondered at that an animal of such size and bulk should be so much affected by a little wound inflicted on it by such a weak creature.
As K͟hānk͟hānan had repeatedly begged for leave to be given to his son S͟hāh-nawāz K͟hān, on the 4th Amurdād I gave him a horse and a robe of honour and dismissed him to the Deccan. I promoted Yaʿqūb Badak͟hs͟hī, whose mansab was 150, to 1,500 personal and 1,000 horse, on account of the bravery he had displayed, and gave him the title of K͟hān as well as a standard.
The Hindus are in four divisions, and each of these acts according to its own rules and ways. In every year they keep a fixed day. The first is the caste of the Brahmans,[9] that is those who know the Incomparable God. Their duties are of six kinds—(1) to acquire religious knowledge, (2) to give instructions to others, (3) to worship fire, (4) to lead men to the worship of fire, (5) giving something to the needy, (6) taking gifts. There is for this caste an appointed day, and that is the last day of the month of Sāwan, the second month of the rainy season.[10] They consider this an auspicious day, and the worshippers go on that day to the banks of rivers and tanks, and recite enchantments, breathe upon cords and coloured threads; on another day, which is the first of the New Year, they fasten them on the hands of the Rajas and great men of the time, and look on them as (good) omens. They call this thread rākhī,[11] that is, preservation (nigāh-dās͟ht). This day occurs in the month of Tīr, when the world-heating sun is in the constellation of Cancer. The second caste is that of the Chhatrī, which is known as Khatrī. Their duty is to protect the oppressed from the evil of the oppressors. The customs of this caste are three things—(1) that they study religious science themselves but do not teach others; (2) that they worship fire, but do not teach others to do so; (3) that they give to the needy, but although they are needy take nothing themselves. The day of this caste is the Bijay dasamīn, ‘the victorious tenth.’[12] On this day with them it is lucky to mount and go against one’s enemy with an army. Rām Chand, whom they worship as their god, leading his army on that day against his enemy won a victory, and they consider this a great day, and, decorating their elephants and horses, perform worship. This day falls in the month of S͟hahrīwar,[13] when the Sun is in the mansion of Virgo, and on it they give presents to those who look after their horses and elephants. The third caste is that of Bais͟h (Vais͟hya). Its custom is this, that they serve the other two castes of which mention has been made. They practise agriculture and buying and selling, and are employed in the business of profit and interest. This caste has also a fixed day which they call the Dewālī; this day occurs in the month of Mihr when the sun is in the constellation of Libra, the 28th day of the lunar month. On the night of that day they light lamps, and friends and those who are dear assemble in each other’s houses and pass their time busily in gambling. As the eyes of this caste are on profit and interest, they consider carrying over and opening new accounts on that day auspicious. The fourth caste is the Sudras, who are the lowest caste of the Hindus. They are the servants of all, and derive no profit from those things which are the specialities of every (other) caste. Thursday is the Holī, which in their belief is the last day of the year. This day occurs in the month of Isfandārmuẕ, when the sun is in the constellation of Pisces. On the night of this day they light fires at the head of the streets and ways, and when it becomes day they for one watch scatter the ashes on each other’s heads and faces, and make a wonderful noise and disturbance, and after this wash themselves, put on their apparel, and walk about in the gardens and on the plains. As it is an established custom of the Hindus to burn the dead, to light fires on this night, which is the last night of the year that has passed, signifies that they burn the last year, which has gone to the abode of the dead. In the time of my revered father the Hindu Amirs and others in imitation of them performed the ceremony of rakhi in adorning him, making strings of rubies and royal pearls and flowers jewelled with gems of great value and binding them on his auspicious arms. This custom was carried on for some years. As they carried this extravagance to excess, and he disliked it, he forbade it. The brahmans by way of auguries used to tie these strings and (pieces of) silk according to their custom. I also in this year carried out this laudable religious practice, and ordered that the Hindu Amirs and the heads of the caste[14] should fasten rakhis on my arms. On the day of the rakhi, which was the 9th Amurdād, they performed the same rites, and other castes by way of imitation did not give up this bigotry; this year I agreed to it, and ordered that the brahmans should bind strings (of cotton) and silk after the ancient manner. On this day by chance fell the anniversary of the death of the late king.[15] The commemoration of such an anniversary is one of the standing rules and customs in Hindustan. Every year on the day of the death of their fathers and those who are dear to them, each according to his circumstances and ability prepares food and all kinds of perfumes, and the learned men, the respectable and other men assemble, and these assemblies sometimes last a week. On this day I sent Bābā K͟hurram to the venerated tomb to arrange the assemblage, and 10,000 rupees were given to ten trustworthy servants to divide among fakirs and those who were in want.
On the 15th of the month of Amurdād the offering of Islām K͟hān was laid before me. He had sent 28 elephants, 40 horses of that part of the country which are known as ṭānghan, 50 eunuchs, 500 pargāla nafīs sitārkāṅī.[16]
It had been made a rule that the events of the Subahs should be reported according to the boundaries of each, and news-writers from the Court had been appointed for this duty. This being the rule that my revered father had laid down, I also observe it, and much gain and great advantage are to be brought about by it and information is acquired about the world and its inhabitants. If the advantages of this were to be written down it would become a long affair. At this time the news-writer of Lahore reported that at the end of the month of Tīr ten men had gone from the city to Amānābād, which lies at a distance of 12 kos. As the air was very hot, they took shelter under a tree. Soon afterwards wind and a dust-storm (chakrī) sprang up, and when it blew on that band of men they trembled, and nine of them died under the tree, and only one remained alive; he was ill for a long time, and recovered with great difficulty. In that neighbourhood such bad air was created that numerous birds who had their nests in that tree all fell down and died, and that the wild beasts (beasts of the plain, perhaps cattle) came and threw themselves on to the cultivated fields, and, rolling about on the grass, gave up their lives. In short, many animals perished. On Thursday, the 13th Amurdād, having said my prayers (lit. counted my rosary), I embarked on board a boat for the purpose of hunting in the village of Samonagar, which is one of my fixed hunting-places. On the 3rd S͟hahrīwar, K͟hān ʿĀlam, whom I had sent for from the Deccan in order to despatch him to Iraq in company with the ambassador of the ruler of Iran, came and waited on me at this place. He offered 100 muhrs. As Samonagar was in Mahābat K͟hān’s jagir, he had prepared a delightful halting-place there on the bank of the river, and it pleased me greatly. He presented offerings of an elephant and an emerald ring. The former was put into my private stud. Up to the 6th S͟hahrīwar I was employed in hunting. In these few days 47 head of antelope, male and female, and other animals were killed. At this time Dilāwar K͟hān sent as an offering a ruby, which was accepted. I sent a special sword for Islām K͟hān. I increased the mansab of Hasan ʿAlī Turkumān, which was 1,000 personal and 700 horse, by 500 personal and 100 horse. At the end of Thursday, the 20th of the same month, in the house of Maryam-zamānī, my solar weighing took place. I weighed myself according to the usual custom against metals and other things. I had this year attained to the age of 44 solar years. On the same day Yādgār ʿAlī, ambassador of the ruler of Iran, and K͟hān ʿĀlam, who had been nominated to accompany him from this side, received their leave to go. On Yādgār ʿAlī there were bestowed a horse with a jewelled saddle, a jewelled sword, a vest without sleeves with gold embroidery, an aigrette with feathers and a jīg͟ha (turban ornament), and 30,000 rupees in cash, altogether 40,000 rupees, and on K͟hān ʿĀlam a jewelled khapwa or phūl kaṭāra (a sort of dagger) with a pendant of royal pearls. On the 22nd of the same month I visited the venerated mausoleum of my revered father at Bihis͟htābād, riding on an elephant. On the way 5,000 rupees in small coin were scattered round, and I gave other 5,000 rupees to K͟hwāja Jahān to divide among the dervishes. Having said my evening prayers, I went back to the city in a boat. As the house of Iʿtimādu-d-daulah was on the bank of the river Jumna, I alighted there until the end of the next day. Having accepted what pleased me of his offerings, I went towards the palace; Iʿtiqād K͟hān’s house was also on the bank of the river Jumna; at his request I disembarked there with the ladies, and walked round the houses he had lately built there. This delightful place pleased me greatly. He had produced suitable offerings of cloth stuffs and jewels and other things; these were all laid before me and most of them were approved. When it was near evening I entered the auspicious palace. As the astrologers had fixed an hour in this night for starting for Ajmir, when seven gharis of the night of Monday, the 2nd S͟haʿbān, corresponding with the 24th S͟hahrīwar, had passed, I started in happiness and prosperity with intent to go there from the capital of Agra. In this undertaking two things were agreeable to me, one a pilgrimage to the splendid mausoleum of K͟hwāja Muʿīnu-d-dīn Chis͟htī, from the blessing of whose illustrious soul great advantages had been derived by this dignified family, and whose venerable shrine I had not visited after my accession to the throne. The second was the defeat and beating back of the rebel Rānā Amar Singh, who is one of the most considerable of the Zamindars and Rajas of Hindustan, and whose headship and leadership and those of his ancestors all the Rajas and Rays of this province agree to. The administration has for long been in the hands of this family, and they have long borne rule towards the East, that is the Pūrab. They became in that time well known under the title of Rajas. After this they fell on the Deccan[17] and took possession of many of the countries of that region. In the place of Raja they have taken the title of Rāwal. After this they came into the hill country of Mewāt, and by degrees got into their possession the fort of Chitor. From that date until this day, which is in the eighth year after my accession, 1,471 years have passed.[18]
There are twenty-six others of this caste who have ruled for 1,010 years. They have the title of Rāwal, and from the Rāwal who was first known as Rāwal down to Rānā Amar Singh, the present Rānā, there are twenty-six individuals who have ruled for the space of 461 years. During this long time they have never bent their necks in obedience to any of the kings of the country of Hindustan, and have for most of the time been rebellious and troublesome, so much so that in the reign of the late king Bābar, Rānā Sāngā collected together all the Rajas, Rays, and Zamindars of this province, and fought a battle in the neighbourhood of Biyāna with 180,000 horse and several lakhs of foot-soldiers. By the aid of Almighty God and the assistance of fortune the victorious army of Islām prevailed against the infidel forces, and a great defeat happened to them. The details of this battle have been given in the Memoirs of King Bābar. My revered father (may his bright tomb be the abode of unending Grace) exerted himself greatly to put down these rebels, and several times sent armies against them. In the twelfth year after his accession he set himself to capture the fort of Chitor, which is one of the strongest forts of the inhabited world, and to overthrow the kingdom of the Rānā, and after four months and ten days of siege took it by force from the men of Amar Singh’s father, after much fighting, and returned after destroying the fort. Every time the victorious forces pressed him hard in order to capture him or make him a fugitive, but it so happened that this was not effected. In the end of his reign, on the same day and hour that he proceeded to the conquest of the Deccan, he sent me with a large army and reliable Sardars against the Rānā. By chance these two affairs, for reasons which it would take too long to recount, did not succeed. At last I came to the throne, and as this matter was only half done, the first army I sent to the borders was this one. Making my son Parwīz its leader, the leading nobles who were at the capital were appointed to this duty. I sent abundant treasure and artillery with him. As every matter depends on its own season, at this juncture the unhappy affair of K͟husrau occurred, and I had to pursue him to the Panjab. The province and the capital of Agra remained void. I had necessarily to write that Parwīz should return with some of the Amirs and take charge of Agra and the neighbourhood. In short, this time again the matter of the Rānā did not go off as it should. When by the favour of Allah my mind was at rest from K͟husrau’s disturbance, and Agra became again the alighting place of the royal standards, a victorious army was appointed under the leadership of Mahābat K͟hān, ʿAbdu-llah K͟hān, and other leaders, and from that date up to the time when the royal standards started for Ajmir his country was trodden under foot by the victorious forces. As finally the affair did not assume an approved form, it occurred to me that, as I had nothing to do at Agra, and I was convinced that until I myself went there the affair would not be set to rights, I left the fort of Agra and alighted at the Dahrah garden. On the next day the festival of the Dasahrā took place. According to the usual custom they decorated the elephants and horses, and I had them before me. As the mothers and sisters of K͟husrau repeatedly represented to me that he was very repentant of his deeds, the feelings (lit. sweat) of fatherly affection having come into movement, I sent for him and determined that he should come every day to pay his respects to me. I remained for eight days in that garden. On the 28th news arrived that Rāja Rām Dās, who was doing service in Bangash and the neighbourhood of Kabul with Qilīj K͟hān, had died. On the 1st of the month of Mihr I marched from the garden, and dismissed K͟hwāja Jahān to look after the capital of Agra and guard the treasure and the palace, and gave him an elephant and a special robe (fargul). On the 2nd Mihr news arrived that Rāja Bāso had died in the thanah of Shahabad,[19] which is on the border of the territory of Amar. On the 10th of the same month I halted at Rūp Bās, which has now been named Amānābād. Formerly this district had been given as jagir to Rūp K͟hawāṣṣ. Afterwards, bestowing it on Amānu-llah, son of Mahābat K͟hān, I ordered it to be called by his name. Eleven days were passed at this halting-place. As it is a fixed hunting-place, I every day mounted to go hunting, and in these few days 158 antelopes, male and female, and other animals were killed. On the 25th of the month I marched from Amānābād. On the 31st, corresponding with the 8th Ramaẓān, K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan, whom I had sent for from Burhanpur, came and waited on me, and presented as offerings 50 muhrs, 15 jewelled vessels, and an elephant, which I placed in my private stud. On the 2nd Ābān, corresponding with the 10th Ramaẓān, news came of the death of Qilīj K͟hān. He was one of the ancient servants of the State, and obtained the mercy of God in the 80th year of his age. He was employed at Peshawar in the duty of keeping in order the Afghans full of darkness.[20] His rank was 6,000 personal and 5,000 horse. Murtaẓā K͟hān Dakhanī was unrivalled in the art of pūlta-bāzī, which in the language of the Dakhanis they call yagānagī, and the Moguls s͟hams͟hīr-bāzī, ‘sword-play’ (fencing). For some time I studied it with him. At this time I exalted him with the title of Warzis͟h K͟hān (Exercise-K͟hān). I had established a custom that deserving people and dervishes should be brought before me every night, so that I might bestow on them, after personal enquiry into their condition, land, or gold, or clothes. Amongst these was a man who represented to me that the name Jahāngīr, according to the science of abjad (numerals reckoned by letters), corresponded to the great name “Allah Akbar.”[21] Considering this a good omen, I gave him who discovered (this coincidence) land, a horse, cash, and clothing. On Monday, the 5th S͟hawwāl, corresponding to the 26th Ābān, the hour for entering Ajmir was fixed. On the morning of the said day I went towards it. When the fort and the buildings of the shrine of the revered K͟hwāja appeared in sight, I traversed on foot the remainder of the road, about a kos. I placed trustworthy men on both sides of the road, who went along giving money to fakirs and the necessitous. When four gharis of day had passed, I entered the city and its inhabited portion, and in the fifth ghari had the honour of visiting the venerated mausoleum. After visiting it I proceeded to the auspicious palace, and the next day ordered all those present in this honoured resting-place, both small and great, belonging to the city, and travellers, to be brought before me, that they might be made happy with numerous gifts according to their real circumstances. On the 7th Āẕar I went to see and shoot on the tank of Pushkar, which is one of the established praying-places of the Hindus, with regard to the perfection of which they give (excellent) accounts that are incredible to any intelligence, and which is situated at a distance of three kos from Ajmir. For two or three days I shot water-fowl on that tank, and returned to Ajmir. Old and new temples which, in the language of the infidels, they call Deohara[22] are to be seen around this tank. Among them Rānā S͟hankar, who is the uncle of the rebel Amar, and in my kingdom is among the high nobles, had built a Deohara of great magnificence, on which 100,000 rupees had been spent. I went to see that temple. I found a form cut out of black stone, which from the neck above was in the shape of a pig’s head, and the rest of the body was like that of a man. The worthless religion of the Hindus is this, that once on a time for some particular object the Supreme Ruler thought it necessary to show himself in this shape; on this account they hold it dear and worship it.[23] I ordered them to break that hideous form and throw it into the tank. After looking at this building there appeared a white dome on the top of a hill, to which men were coming from all quarters. When I asked about this they said that a Jogī lived there, and when the simpletons come to see him he places in their hands a handful[24] of flour, which they put into their mouths and imitate the cry of an animal which these fools have at some time injured, in order that by this act their sins may be blotted out. I ordered them to break down that place and turn the Jogī out of it, as well as to destroy the form of an idol there was in the dome. Another belief they have is that there is no bottom to this tank. After enquiry it appeared that it is nowhere deeper than 12 cubits. I also measured it round and it was about 1½ kos.
On the 16th Āẕar news came that the watchmen had marked down a tigress. I immediately went there and killed it with a gun and returned. After a few days a nilgaw (blue bull) was killed, of which I ordered them to take off the skin in my presence and cook it as food for the poor. Over 200 people assembled and ate it, and I gave money with my own hand to each of them. In the same month news came that the Franks of Goa had, contrary to treaty, plundered four cargo vessels[25] that frequented the port of Surat in the neighbourhood of that port: and, making prisoners a large number of Musulmans, had taken possession of the goods and chattels that were in those ships. This being very disagreeable to my mind, I despatched Muqarrab K͟hān, who is in charge of the port, on the 18th Āẕar, giving him a horse and elephant and a dress of honour, to obtain compensation for this affair. On account of the great activity and good services of Yūsuf K͟hān and Bahāduru-l-mulk in the Subah of the Deccan, I sent standards for them.
It has been written that my chief object, after my visit to the K͟hwāja, was to put a stop to the affair of the rebel Rānā. On this account I determined to remain myself at Ajmir and send on Bābā K͟hurram, my fortunate son. This idea was a very good one, and on this account, on the 6th of Day, at the hour fixed upon, I despatched him in happiness and triumph. I presented him with a qabā (outer coat) of gold brocade with jewelled flowers and pearls round the flowers, a brocaded turban with strings of pearls, a gold woven sash with chains of pearls, one of my private elephants called Fatḥ Gaj, with trappings, a special horse, a jewelled sword, and a jewelled khapwa, with a phūl kaṭāra. In addition to the men first appointed to this duty under the leadership of K͟hān Aʿz̤am, I sent 12,000 more horse with my son, and honoured their leaders, each according to his condition, with special horses and elephants and robes of honour, and dismissed them. Fidāʾī K͟hān was nominated to the paymastership of this army. At the same time Ṣafdar K͟hān was despatched to the government of Kashmir in place of Hāshim K͟hān. He received a horse and robe of honour. On Wednesday, the 11th, K͟hwāja Abū-l-ḥasan was made general paymaster (bak͟hs͟hī-kul), and received a dress of honour. I had ordered them to make a large caldron[26] at Agra for the revered mausoleum of the K͟hwāja. On this day it was brought, and I ordered them to cook food for the poor in that pot, and collect together the poor of Ajmir to feed them whilst I was there. Five thousand people assembled, and all ate of this food to their fill. After the food I gave money to each of the dervishes with my own hand. At this time Islām K͟hān, governor of Bengal, was promoted to the mansab of 6,000 personal and horse, and a flag was given to Mukarram K͟hān, son of Muʿāz̤z̤am K͟hān.
On the 1st of Isfandārmuẕ, corresponding with the 10th Muḥarram, 1023 (20th February, 1614), I left Ajmir to hunt nilgaw, and returned on the 9th. I halted at the fountain of Ḥāfiz̤ Jamāl,[27] two kos from the city, and passed the night of Friday[28] there. At the end of the day I entered the city. In these twenty days ten nilgaw had been killed. As the good service of K͟hwāja Jahān and the smallness of his force for the defence and government of Agra and that neighbourhood were brought to my notice, I increased his mansab by 500 personal and 100 horse. On the same day Abū-l-fatḥ Dakhanī came from his jagir and waited on me. On the 3rd of the same month news came of the death of Islām K͟hān; he had died on Thursday, the 5th Rajab, in the year 1022 (21st August, 1613). In one day, without any previous illness, this inevitable event occurred. He was one of those born and brought up in the house (house-born). The naturally good disposition and knowledge of affairs that showed themselves in him were seen in no one else. He ruled Bengal with entire authority, and brought within the civil jurisdiction of the province countries that had never previously come under the sway of any of the jagirdars or into the possession of any of the Chiefs of the State. If death had not overtaken him he would have done perfect service.