On Sunday, the 1st Bahman, a reward of 1,000 darb (Rs. 500) was given to Ḥāfiz̤ Nād ʿAlī,[172] the reciter. For a long time past Muḥibb ʿAlī, s. Budāg͟h[173] K. Chikanī, and Abū-l-Qāsim Gīlānī, whom the Ruler of Īrān had blinded and driven into the desert of exile, have passed their days in ease under the refuge of this State. To each of them, according to his condition, an allowance for living had been granted. On this day they came from Agra, and had the good fortune to kiss the threshold, and each of them was presented with Rs. 1,000. The Mubārak-s͟hamba entertainment was held in state in the palace, and my private servants were gladdened with cups of pleasure. Naṣru-llah, whom my son, Sult̤ān Parwīz, had sent to Court with the elephant Kūh-damān,[174] took his leave and returned. A copy (jild) of the Jahāngīr-nāma, together with a special tipchāq horse, were given to him to take to my son. On Sunday, the 8th, Kunwar Karan, son of Rānā Amar Singh, was presented with a horse, an elephant, a dress of honour, a jewelled khapwa, and a phūl-kaṭāra. I gave him leave to go to his jagir, and sent a horse with him for the Rānā. On the same day I went out sporting to Amānābād. As there was an order that no one should kill the antelope of that region, in the course of six years many antelope had come together, and they had grown very tame. On Thursday, the 12th, I returned to the palace, and on that day, according to custom, a feast of cups was prepared.
On the eve of Friday, the 13th (Bahman), I went to the mausoleum of the refuge of pardon, S͟haik͟h Salīm Chis͟htī, a little concerning whose blessed qualities has been written in the preface[175] to this record of prosperity, and the fātiḥa was recited. Although the manifestation of miracles and wonders is not approved by the elect of the throne of God, and from humility and a feeling of their low rank (as saints) they avoid such display, yet occasionally in the excitement of ecstasy an appearance is manifested unintentionally and without control,[176] or for the sake of teaching someone the exhibition is made. Among these was this, that he before my birth gave my father the good news of the advent of this suppliant and of my two brothers. Again, one day my father incidentally asked him how old he was, and when would he depart to the abiding regions. He replied: “The glorious God knows what is secret and hidden.” After much urgency he indicated this suppliant (Prince Salīm), and said: “When the Prince, by the instruction of a teacher or in any other way, shall commit something to memory and shall recite it, this will be a sign of my union with God.” In consequence of this, His Majesty gave strict orders to all who were in attendance on me that no one should teach me anything in prose or verse. At length when two years and seven months had passed away, it happened one day that one of the privileged[177] women was in the palace. She used to burn rue constantly in order to avert the evil eye, and on this pretext had access to me. She used to partake of the alms and charities. She found me alone and regardless of (or ignorant of) what had been said (by Akbar), she taught me this couplet:
“O God, open the rosebud of hope
Display a flower from the everlasting garden.”[178]
I went to the S͟haik͟h and repeated this couplet. He involuntarily rose up and hastened to wait on the King, and informed him of what had occurred. In accordance with Fate, the same night the traces of fever appeared, and the next day he sent someone to the King (with the request) to call Tān Sen Kalāwant, who was unequalled as a singer. Tān Sen, having gone to wait upon him, began to sing. After this he sent some one to call the King. When H.M. came, he said: “The promised time of union has come, and I must take leave of you.” Taking his turban from his head, he placed it on mine, and said: “We have made Sult̤ān Salīm our successor, and have made him over to God, the protector and preserver.” Gradually his weakness increased, and the signs of passing[179] away became more evident, till he attained union with the “True Beloved.”
One of the greatest monuments of my father’s reign is this mosque and cemetery (rauẓa). Certainly they are exceedingly lofty and solid buildings. There is nothing like this mosque in any other country. It is all built of beautiful stone, and five lakhs of rupees were expended from the public treasury upon it. Qut̤bu-d-dīn K. Kokaltās͟h made the marble railing (maḥjar) round[180] the cemetery, the flooring (fars͟h) of the dome and portico, and these are not included in the five lakhs. The mosque has two great gateways. The one[181] towards the south is extremely lofty, and is very beautiful. The archway (pīs͟htāq) is 12 yards broad, 16 long, and 52 high. One must mount thirty-two steps to get to the top of it. The other gateway is smaller, and is towards the east. The length of the mosque from east to west, including the width of the walls, is 212 yards. Out of this, the Maqṣūra (the chancel) is 25½ yards, the middle is 15 yards by 15, the portico (pīs͟htāq) is 7 yards broad, 14 yards long, and 25 yards high. On each side of the large dome are two smaller domes 10 yards by 10. Then there is a veranda (aiwān) which is pillared. The breadth of the mosque from north to south is 172 yards. Round it are ninety verandas (aiwān) and eighty-four cells. The breadth of each cell is 4 yards,[182] and the length 5 yards. The verandas are 7½ yards broad. The courtyard (ṣaḥn) of the mosque, exclusive of the maqṣūra, and the verandas, and the gates, is 169 yards long and 143 yards broad. Above the verandas, the gates, and the mosque, small domes have been constructed, and on the eves of anniversaries and on holy days lamps are placed in these, and they are enveloped in coloured[183] cloths, so that they look like lamp-shades (?). Under the courtyard they have made a well, and they fill this with rainwater. As Fatḥpūr has little water, and what there is is bad, this well[184] yields a sufficient supply for the whole year for the members of the family (of Salīm Chis͟htī) and for the dervishes who are the mujāwirs (caretakers) of the mosque. Opposite the great entrance and towards the north-north-east is the tomb of the S͟haik͟h. The middle dome is 7 yards, and round the dome is a portico of marble, and on the front side of this is a marble lattice. It is very beautiful. Opposite this tomb on the west, at a little distance, is another dome, in which are laid to rest the sons-in-law and sons of the S͟haik͟h, such as Qut̤bu-d-dīn K., Islām K., Muʿaz̤z̤am K.,[185] and others, who were all connected with this family, and rose to the position of Amirs and to lofty rank. Accordingly, the circumstances of each have been recorded in their places. At present the son of Islām K., who is distinguished by the title of Ikrām K., is the lord of the prayer-carpet. The signs of auspiciousness are manifest in him; I am much inclined to cherish him.
On Thursday, the 19th, I promoted ʿAbdu-l-ʿAzīz K. to the mansab of 2,000 personal and 1,000 horse, and nominated him to the duty of taking the fort of Kāngṛa, and the overthrow of the ungrateful Sūraj Mal. I bestowed on him an elephant, a horse, and a dress of honour. Tursūn Bahādur was also dispatched on this duty, and his mansab was fixed at 1,200 personal and 450 horse. He was given a horse, and took his leave. As the house of Iʿtimādu-d-daula was on the bank of a tank, and people praised it greatly as a delightful place and enchanting residence, at his request on Thursday, the 26th, an entertainment was held there. That pillar of the kingdom engaged in the dues of prostration and offerings, and prepared a grand meeting. At night, after eating food, I returned to the palace. On Thursday, the 3rd of the Divine month of Isfand-armuz, Sayyid ʿAbdu-l-Wahhāb Bārha, who had done active service in Gujarat, was promoted to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 500 horse, and was honoured with the title of Dilīr K. On Saturday, the 12th, I went out to Amānābād for sport, and until Sunday, with the ladies, employed myself in the pleasure of hunting. On the eve of Thursday, the 27th[186] (17th), I returned to the palace.
By chance, on Tuesday, during the hunting, a string of pearls and rubies that Nūr-Jahān Begam had on her neck was broken, and a ruby of the value of Rs. 10,000 and a pearl worth Rs. 1,000 were lost. Although the huntsmen made every search for it on Wednesday, it did not fall into their hands. It occurred to me that as the name of the day was Kam-s͟hamba, it was impossible to find it on that day. On the contrary, as Mubārak-s͟hamba (Thursday) was always a lucky day for me, and had been blessed to me, the huntsmen on that day with but a little search found both in that track-less place (without head or foundation) and brought them to me. The best of coincidences was that on the same propitious day the entertainment for my lunar weighing and the feast of Basant-bārī (Spring festival) also took place, and the good news of the conquest of the fort of Mau and the defeat of that evil-fortuned Sūraj Mal arrived.
The particulars of this are that when Rāja Bikramājīt with the victorious army arrived in that region, the ill-fated Sūraj Mal desired to delay him for some days by trickery and babblement, but the aforesaid knew the real state of the case and did not pay attention to his words, but advanced with the foot of valour. That abandoned one, letting fall from his hand the thread of plan, neither planted the foot of intrepidity firmly for battle nor had the courage to defend the fort. After a slight struggle, and when many of his people had been slaughtered, he took to flight, and the forts of Mau[187] and Mahrī (?), which were the chief reliance of that ill-fated man, were both taken without difficulty. A country which he had held by hereditary right from his fathers was trodden under foot by the victorious troops, and he became a wanderer and a vagabond. He retired to the ravines of the hills, and cast the dust of ruin and contempt on the head of his Fortune. Rāja Bikramājīt, leaving his country behind, hastened in pursuit of him with the victorious army. When the state of affairs reached the royal ears, in reward for this becoming service I ordered drums for the Raja, and a fateful farman was issued from the Sovereign of Wrath that they should overthrow from their foundation the fort and buildings that had been erected by Sūraj Mal’s father and himself, and leave not a trace of them on the face of the earth. A strange thing is that the unfortunate Sūraj Mal had a brother called Jagat Singh. When I promoted Sūraj Mal to the title of Raja, and made him an Amir, and gave him dominion, etc., without a partner or sharer, I, in order to please him, gave a small mansab to Jagat Singh, who did not get on well with him, and sent him to Bengal. This wretched one was passing his days in a poor condition far from his home, in contempt, and to the delight of his enemies, and waiting for some hidden aid, until by his good fortune this affair took place, and that unblessed one struck an axe on his own foot. Summoning Jagat Singh in all haste to Court, I honoured him with the title of Raja and the mansab of 1,000 personal and 500 horse, and bestowed 20,000 darbs[188] on him out of the public treasury for his expenses. Giving him a jewelled khapwa, a robe of honour, a horse, and an elephant, I sent him to Rāja Bikramājīt, and issued a farman that if the aforesaid, by the guidance of a good destiny, should perform laudable service, and display loyalty, that country should be given over into his hand.[189]
As the praise of the garden of Nūr-manzil and the buildings that had been newly-erected there continually reached me, I on Monday mounted my steed, and went to the stage of Bustān-sarāy, and passed Tuesday in pleasure and at ease in that entrancing rose-garden. On the eve of Wednesday the garden of Nūr-manzil (the abode of light) was adorned by the alighting of the hosts of prosperity. This garden contains 330 jarībs (bīghās), according to the Ilāhī gaz. Around it there has been built a wall, lofty and broad, of bricks and cement, exceedingly strong. In the garden there is a lofty building and a residence, highly decorated. Pleasant reservoirs have been constructed, and outside the gate a large well has been made, from which thirty-two pairs of bullocks continually draw water. The canal passes through the garden, and pours water into the reservoirs. Besides this, there are other wells, the water of which is distributed to the reservoirs and plots. The beauty is increased by all kinds of fountains and cascades and there is a tank in the exact middle of the garden which is filled by rainwater. If by chance its water should fail in the extreme heat, they supplement it by water from the wells, so that it may always be full to the brim. Nearly Rs. 150,000 have been spent up to now on this garden, and it is still unfinished, and large sums will be expended in making avenues and laying down plants. It has also been settled that the middle garden shall be newly walled[190] round, and the channels for the coming and going of the water shall be made so strong that it may always remain full of water and the water shall not leak out in any way, and no damage accrue. It is possible that before it is complete nearly Rs. 200,000 will have been spent on it.