On Monday, the 19th, I marched. A horse and dress of honour were given to Rāja Bhāo Singh, who had been ordered to the support of the army of the Deccan. From this day, till Wednesday, the 28th, I made successive marches. On Thursday, the 29th, Delhi, the abode of blessings, was adorned by the alighting of the army of good fortune. At first I hastened with my children and the ladies on a visit to the enlightened shrine of Humāyūn (may the lights of God be his testimony!), and having made our offerings there, went off to circumambulate the blessed mausoleum of the king of holy men (S͟haik͟h Niz̤āmu-d-dīn Chis͟htī), and strengthened my courage, and at the end of the day alighted at the palace, which had been got ready in Salīmgaṛh. On Friday, the 30th, I halted. As they had at this time preserved the hunting-place of the pargana of Pālam, according to order, it was represented that a great number of antelope had collected there. Accordingly, on the 1st of the Divine month of Āẕar I started to hunt[52] with cheetahs. At the end of the day, during the hunt, much hail fell of the size of apples, and made the air very cold. On this day three antelope were caught. On Sunday, the 2nd, I hunted 46 antelope, and on Monday, the 3rd, 24 antelope were caught with cheetahs. My son S͟hāh-Jahān killed two antelope with his gun. On Tuesday, the 4th, five antelope were caught. On Wednesday, the 5th, 27 antelope were caught. On Thursday, the 6th, Sayyid Bahwa Buk͟hārī, who was in charge of the government of Delhi, made an offering of three elephants and eighteen horses, and other things. One elephant and other things were accepted, and I gave the rest to him. Hās͟him of K͟host, faujdār of some parganas in Mewāt, had the honour of kissing the threshold. I employed myself within the limits of Pālam until Thursday, the 13th, in hunting with cheetahs. In the space of twelve days 426 antelopes were caught, and I returned to Delhi. I had heard, when in attendance on my father, that it is impossible for an antelope that has escaped from the grasp of a cheetah to live, although it has not been injured by its claws. In this hunt I, in order to ascertain the fact, released several antelopes of handsome appearance and strong bodies, before they had received any wounds from teeth or claws, and ordered them to be kept in my presence, and that they should be taken the greatest care of. For a whole day and night they remained at ease in their natural conditions: on the second day a change was observed, and they threw about their legs as if they were drunk, without any reason, and fell down and rose up. However much tiryāq-i-fārūqī (preparation of opium) and other suitable medicines were administered to them, they had no effect, and when one watch had passed in this condition, they died.
On this day the bad news arrived that the eldest son of S͟hāh Parwīz had died at Agra. As he was somewhat grown-up,[53] and was very attached and affectionate towards his father, the latter was exceedingly grieved and wounded at heart at this event, and great bewilderment and weakness manifested themselves in him. In order to console and please him, I sent him gracious letters, and covered over the deadly wound of his heart with the balm of affection and kindness. I hope that God, the great and glorious, may grant him patience and resignation, for in this kind of calamities there can be no better driver away of grief than endurance and resignation.
On Friday, the 14th, at the request of Āqā[54] Āqāyān, I went to her house. On account of her previous service and her hereditary attachment to this illustrious family, when the late king made me a married man, he took her from my sister S͟hāh-zāda K͟hānam, and placed her in charge of my Zanana. It is 33 years from that date that she has been in my service, and I esteem her greatly, for she has served me with sincerity. In no journey or expedition had she of her own will remained absent from attendance on me. When she felt her increasing age, she requested me to order her to remain at Delhi, and to spend the remainder of her life in prayer for me, for she had no longer the power to move about, and found it a great hardship and trouble to come and go (as she used). One of her felicities was that she was of the same age[55] as ʿArs͟h-ās͟hyānī (Akbar). In brief, with a view to giving her rest, I ordered her to remain at Delhi, and in that place she had made for herself a garden, a saray, and a tomb, in the constructing which she has employed herself for some time past. In short, to please this ancient servitor, I went to her house, and strictly ordered Sayyid Bahwa, the governor of the city, to serve and guard her in such a manner that no dust from any road of vexation might settle on the hem of her contentment.
On this day Rāja Kis͟han Dās was promoted to the mansab of 2,000 personal and 300 horse, original and increased. As Sayyid Bahwa[56] had performed satisfactorily the duties of faujdār of Delhi, and the people of the place were much pleased with his excellent conduct, according to previous custom, the protection and administration of the city of Delhi and the faujdārship of the surrounding country were entrusted to him, and he was promoted to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 600 horse, original and increased, and he was presented with an elephant, and allowed to take leave. On Saturday, the 15th, I honoured Mīrzā Wālī with the mansab of 2,000 and 1,000 horse, and presenting him with a standard and an elephant, appointed him to the Deccan. S͟haik͟h ʿAbdu-l-Ḥaqq Dihlawī,[57] who was a pious and estimable man, had the good fortune to pay his respects to me. He had composed a book containing the biographies of the S͟haik͟hs of India, and produced it to me. He had endured some hardships, and for a long time had lived in Delhi in seclusion, and the practice of reliance on God, and of asceticism. He is a very worthy man, and his company is not without pleasure (for me). Bestowing various kinds of kindnesses on him, I dismissed him.
On Sunday, the 16th, I marched from Delhi, and on Friday, the 21st, halted in the pargana of Kairāna.[58] This pargana is the native place of Muqarrab K. Its climate is equable and its soil good. Muqarrab had made buildings and gardens there. As I had often heard praise of his garden, I wished much to see it. On Saturday, the 22nd, I and my ladies were much pleased in going round it. Truly, it is a very fine and enjoyable garden. Within a masonry (puk͟hta, pucca) wall, flower-beds have been laid out to the extent of 140 bighas. In the middle of the garden he has constructed a pond, in length 220 yards, and in breadth 200 yards. In the middle of the pond is a māh-tāb terrace (for use in moonlight) 22 yards square. There is no kind of tree belonging to a warm or cold climate that is not to be found in it. Of fruit-bearing trees belonging to Persia I saw green pistachio-trees, and cypresses of graceful form, such as I have never seen before. I ordered the cypresses to be counted, and they came to 300. All round the pond suitable buildings have been begun and are in progress.
On Monday, the 24th, K͟hanjar K., in whose charge is the Fort of Ahmadnagar, was promoted to the mansab of 2,500 personal and 1,600 horse. On Wednesday, the 26th, the Giver of Bounties gave my son S͟hāh-Jahān a son by the daughter of Āṣaf K͟hān. He presented an offering of 1,000 muhars, and begged for a name for him. I gave him the name of Umīd-bak͟hs͟h (bestower of hope). I hope his advent[59] may be auspicious to this State. On Thursday, the 27th, I halted. In these few days I was delighted with hawking the jarz[60] (bustard or florican) and tūg͟h-dārī (also a kind of bustard). I ordered the jarz-i-būr (the red bustard?) to be weighed. It came to 2¼ Jahāngīrī sirs, and the variegated (ablaq) one to 2⅛ sirs. The large tūg͟h-dārī was ¼ sir heavier than the jarz-i-būr. On Thursday, the 5th of the Divine month of Day, I left the boat at Akbarpur, and the victorious army then marched by land. From Agra to this halting-place, which is situated within two koss of the pargana of Buriya,[61] is by river 123 koss or 91 koss by road. I did it in 34 marches and 17 halts. In addition to this I delayed a week in leaving the city, and 12 days in sporting in Pālam: altogether (I took) 70 days. On this day Jahāngīr Qulī K. came from Bihār, and had the good fortune to pay his respects. He presented 100 muhars and Rs. 100. From the last Thursday to Wednesday, the 11th, I marched every day. On Thursday, the 12th, I was pleased with going round to see the garden of Sirhind. It is one of the old gardens, and has old trees in it. It has not the freshness it formerly had, but it is still valuable. K͟hwāja Waisī, who is well acquainted with agriculture and buildings, was appointed the karorī of Sirhind for the purpose of keeping the garden in order. I had sent him off from Agra before I marched from the capital, and he had put it somewhat in order. I strictly enjoined him again that he should remove all the old trees that had no freshness in them, and put in fresh plants, to clean up the ʿirqbandī[62] (it is ʿirāq-bandī in the text. The word does not occur in the B.M. MS. but is in the I.O. MS.), and repair the old buildings, and erect other buildings in the shape of baths, etc., in fitting places. On this date Dūst Beg, who was one of the auxiliaries of ʿAbdu-llah K., was promoted to the mansab of 700 personal and 50 horse, Muz̤affar Ḥusain, s. Wazīr K., to that of 600 personal and 300 horse. S͟haik͟h Qāsim was sent to duty in the Deccan. On Thursday, the 19th, at the request of my auspicious son S͟hāh-Jahān, I went to his house. On account of the birth of the son that God Almighty had bestowed on him a grand entertainment was given, and he presented offerings. Among these was a short, broad sword[63] (s͟hams͟hīr-i-nīmcha), which was of Venetian workmanship. The hilt and fastenings were made of a sapphire[64] cut in Europe: in short, it had been beautifully made. Another offering was an elephant which the Raja of Baglāna had presented to my son in Burhānpur. As that elephant was handsome and well-behaved, it was ordered to be included among the private elephants. The value of the offerings that were accepted was Rs. 130,000, and he offered about Rs. 4,000 to his mothers and benefactors. On this day Sayyid Bāyazīd Buk͟hārī, faujdār of Bhakkar, sent as an offering a rang (ibex), which he had brought from the hills when it was small and brought up in his house. It pleased me greatly. Of mār-k͟hūr and hill sheep I have seen many brought up in the house, but I never saw a rang (tame). I ordered them to keep it with the Barbary goats, in order that they might pair and produce young ones. Without doubt, it is not allied to the mār-k͟hūr or the quchqār. Sayyid Bāyazīd was raised to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 700 horse. On Monday, the 23rd, having honoured Muqīm K. with a robe of honour, a horse, an elephant, and jewelled khapwa, I appointed him to Bihār. On Sunday, the 29th, a feast was prepared for my auspicious son S͟hāh-Jahān on the bank of the Biya (Beas), and on the same day Rāja Bikramājīt, who was employed in the siege of Kāngṛa, came to Court, by order, to represent certain requirements, and had the good fortune to kiss the threshold. On Monday, the 30th, my son S͟hāh-Jahān took ten days’ leave, and hastened to Lahore in order to see the palace buildings lately erected. Rāja Bikramājīt was presented with a special dagger, a robe of honour, and a horse, and returned to duty on the siege of Kāngṛa. On Wednesday, the 2nd of the Divine month of Bahman, the garden of Kalānaur was honoured by my halting there. At this place my father had ascended the throne.
When the news of the speedy arrival of K͟hān ʿĀlam reached the Court, every day I sent one of my servants to meet him. I loaded him with all kinds of favours and kindnesses, and added to his rank and dignity, and I decked the headings of the farmans sent to him with an impromptu hemistich or couplet suitable to the occasion, and so filled him with favours. Once I sent him some Jahāngīrī (otto of roses), and this opening verse came on my tongue:
Verse.[65]
“To thee I’ve sent the scent of myself.
That I may bring thee the more quickly to myself.”