In Kis͟htwār there are produced much wheat, barley, lentils, millet, and pulse. Differing from Kashmir, it produces little rice. Its saffron is finer than that of Kashmir. About a hundred hawks and falcons are caught there (annually). Oranges, citrons, and water-melons of the finest kind are obtained. Its melons are of the same kind as those of Kashmir, and other fruits, such as grapes, apricots, peaches, and sour pears, are grown. If they were cultivated, it is possible they would improve. A coin[23] of the name of sanhasī[24] is a relic of the old rulers of Kashmir, one and a half of which equal a rupee. In their business transactions they reckon fifteen sanhasī, or ten rupees, as one pāds͟hāhī muhar. They call two seers of Hindustani weight a man (maund). It is not the custom for the Raja to take revenue from cultivation; he takes annually six sanhasī—that is, four rupees—from each house. All the saffron is assigned, as pay, to a body of Rajputs and to 700 musketeers (tūpchī) who are old retainers. When the saffron is sold, four rupees per maund, or two seers, are taken from the purchaser. The whole income of the Raja consists of fines, and for a small offence he takes a heavy sum. From whomsoever is wealthy and in comfortable circumstances the Raja, on some pretext, clears out all that he has. From all sources his income is about Rs. 100,000. In time of war 6,000 or 7,000 men on foot collect together; there are but few horses among them. The Raja and the chief men have about fifty between them. I bestowed a year’s revenue on Dilāwar K. by way of reward. By conjecture, his jagir was worth about 1,000 personal and 1,000 horse, according to the Jahāngīrī rules. When the chief diwans calculate the allowances to the jagirdars, the exact amount will be ascertained.
On Monday, the 11th, after two watches and four gharis had passed, the royal cortege alighted auspiciously and happily at the buildings lately erected on the bank of the lake (the Dal lake). By order of my father, a very strong fort of stone and lime had been built. It is not quite completed, one side being unfinished. It is hoped that hereafter it will be completed. From Ḥasan Abdāl to Kashmir by the road I came is a distance of 75 koss; this was accomplished in nineteen marches and six halts—that is, in twenty-five days. From Agra to Kashmir, in the space of 168 days, a distance of 376 koss was traversed in 102 marches and 63 halts. By land[25] and the ordinary route the distance is 304½ koss.
On Tuesday, the 12th, Dilāwar K., according to order, brought the Raja[26] of Kis͟htwār, chained, into my presence, and did homage. He (the Raja) is not wanting in dignity. His dress is after the Indian fashion, and he knows both the Hindi and the Kashmiri languages. Contrary to other Zamindars of these regions, he looked like the inhabitant of a town. I told him that, notwithstanding his offences, if he would bring his sons to Court, he should be released from confinement, and might live at ease under the shadow of the eternal State, or else he would be imprisoned in one of the forts of Hindustan. He said that he would bring his people, his family, and his sons to wait on me, and was hopeful of my clemency.
I shall now give a brief account of the country of Kashmir and of its peculiarities.
Kashmir[27] belongs to the fourth climate. Its latitude is 35° N., and its longitude, from the White Islands, 105°. In old times the country was in the possession of Rajas. Their dynasty lasted for 4,000 years. An account of them, and a list of their names, are given in the Rāja-tarang, which, by my father’s order, was translated[28] from the Sanskrit (Hindi in text) into Persian. In the Hijrī year 712 (1312–13) Kashmir was illumined by the religion of Islam. Thirty-two Muhammadan princes reigned over it for 282 years, until, in 994 (1586), my father conquered it. From that date till now, being a period of thirty-five years, the country has been in the possession of the Crown. Kashmir, from the Pass of Būlīyāsa[29] to Qambarbar, is 56 Jahāngīrī koss long, and its breadth is never more than 27 koss, or less than 10 koss. S͟haik͟h Abū-l-Faẓl has, in the Akbar-nāma, stated, by guess and conjecture, that the length of Kashmir from the Kis͟han Gangā to Qambarbar is 120 koss, and its breadth from 10 to 25 koss. I, out of prudence and caution, appointed a number of trustworthy and intelligent men to measure the length and breadth with ropes (t̤anāb). The result was that what the S͟haik͟h wrote as 120 koss came out as 67. As it is agreed that the boundary of a country is the place up to which people speak the language of that country, it follows that the boundary of Kashmir is Būlīyāsa, which is 11 koss on this side (i.e., east) of the Kis͟han Gangā. So, according to the preceding figures, the length of Kashmir is 56 (67 - 11) koss. The variations in breadth were found to be not more than 2 koss. The koss[30] which is in use during my reign is that prescribed by my father. That is, a koss is 5,000 yards, and the yard is 2 s͟harʿī yards, each of the latter (yards) being 24 digits[31] (angus͟ht̤). Wherever the koss or gaz is mentioned, the reference is to the above koss and the above gaz. The name of the city is Srīnagar, and the Bihat river flows through the midst of it. They call its fountain-head Vīr-nāg.[32] It is 14 koss to the south. By my order they have made a building and a garden at that source. There have been built in the city four very strong stone and wooden bridges, over which people come and go. They call a bridge in the language of this country kadal. There is a very lofty mosque in the city, one of the marks of Sult̤ān Sikandar,[33] made in 795 (1393). After a time it was burnt, but was rebuilt by Sult̤ān Ḥusain. It had not been completed when the mansion of his life fell down. In 909 (1503–04) Ibrāhīm Māqrī, Vizier of Sult̤ān Ḥusain, finished it handsomely. From that day till now it is 120 years since it has been in existence. From the Miḥrāb to the eastern wall it is 145 yards, and its breadth is 144 yards, containing four (t̤āq) alcoves. On all sides of the hall they have erected beautiful cloisters and pillars. In short, no better memorial of the rulers of Kashmir has been left than this. Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī of Hamadan (may his grave be sanctified!) was for some time in this city. There is a monastery[34] to his memory. Near the city there are two[35] large lakes full of water all the year round. Their flavour[36] does not vary; they are the means for coming and going of the people, and for the conveyance of grain and firewood on boats. In the city and parganas there are 5,700 boats, with 7,400[37] boatmen. The country of Kashmir has thirty-eight parganas. It is divided into two provinces; the territory on the upper part of the river they call Marrāj, and that on the lower Kāmrāj. It is not the custom to use gold and silver for payment of the revenue from land or in commerce, except for a portion of the cesses (sāʾir-jihāt).[38] They reckon the value of things in k͟harwārs of rice, each k͟harwār being three maunds and eight seers of the current weight. The Kashmiris reckon two seers as one maund, and four maunds, or eight seers, make one tark. The revenue of Kashmir is 30,63,050 k͟harwārs and 11 tarks, which in cash represents 7,46,70,000 dāms. Ordinarily it maintains 8,500 horse. It is very difficult to enter Kashmir. The routes by Bhimbhar[39] and Paklī are the best. Though that by Bhimbhar is the shorter, yet if one wishes to find spring in Kashmir, he is confined to the road by Paklī, for the other roads at this season are blocked with snow. If one were to take to praise Kashmir, whole books would have to be written. Accordingly a mere summary will be recorded.
Kashmir is a garden[40] of eternal spring, or an iron fort to a palace of kings—a delightful flower-bed, and a heart-expanding heritage for dervishes. Its pleasant meads and enchanting cascades are beyond all description. There are running streams and fountains beyond count. Wherever the eye reaches, there are verdure and running water. The red rose, the violet, and the narcissus grow of themselves; in the fields, there are all kinds of flowers and all sorts of sweet-scented herbs more than can be calculated. In the soul-enchanting spring the hills and plains are filled with blossoms; the gates, the walls, the courts, the roofs, are lighted up by the torches of banquet-adorning tulips. What shall we say of these things or of the wide meadows (julgahā) and the fragrant trefoil?
Verse.
“The garden-nymphs[41] were brilliant,
Their cheeks shone like lamps;
There were fragrant buds on their stems (or ‘under their rind’),