A chiraghdānee (the place of a lamp), of white marble, finely carved, stands at the head of the grave. It is a tomb worthy of him who reposes beneath it. The unfortunate Emperors of Delhi! shadows of royalty! well may they look at the tomb of Akbar, and exclaim, “My dead are better than your living[129].”
The lower verandah of this building is immense; you may judge of its capacity, when I mention, it was once used as a barrack, and held a whole regiment of dragoons! Ten of the arches contain tombs; in one of them are two monuments of carved white marble; on the larger of the two is this inscription in Persian,—“This is the grave of Arām Banū.” The tomb of the infant daughter, Asalut Banū, is at the side, which is of plain, undecorated marble; on the top of it is a hollow space, which used to be filled with milk. The followers of the prophet make a difference in the architecture of a tomb for a man or woman: on the slab of a man’s tomb a portion is raised and finished with stone, on which there is often an inscription; the tomb of a woman is hollowed out at the top some few inches in depth, to receive earth, in which flowers are planted; and, for the water to run off, there is a small hole at the end. The first archway on the left contains the grave of Shuker Nisa Begam, another of the daughters of the Emperor; the pavement is inlaid, and the tomb of carved white marble. The second archway contains the tomb of Sultan Banū, in the same style as the former; the screens in front of the arches are of exquisite open-work in white marble.
The daughters of the Emperor were destined to remain single, there being no prince worthy of alliance with the family of Akbar. Jahāngeer married the Jodh Baee, the daughter of Rao Sing of Bikaner; she was the mother of Shāhjahān; her tomb is at Secundra. The natives call the garden Bihishtabād, or the Paradise. The Government keep this noble tomb in repair.
Our tents having been pitched under one of the fine trees in the garden, we partook of a most luxurious tiffin; and the wine, which was iced to perfection, proved very acceptable after the fatigues of the day.
In the cool of the evening we visited the tomb of Miriam Zumanee, one of the wives of Akbar: it is a large building of carved red granite, half a mile from the Emperor’s monument. The sarcophagus is below; the cenotaph, of plain white marble, above in the open air; and the structure is ornamented with turrets of red granite. The whole is rapidly falling to decay.
Driving to Secundra, I observed two of the Kos Minār, which were erected by Akbar, at a distance of every two miles on the road from Agra to Delhi; one of them was in a very perfect state of preservation. As they will be mentioned hereafter, I will close this account of a pleasant day in the East.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
REVELATIONS OF LIFE IN THE ZENĀNA.
“WHOEVER HATH GIVEN HIS HEART TO A BELOVED OBJECT, HATH PUT HIS BEARD INTO THE HANDS OF ANOTHER[130].”
Invitation to Khasgunge—Kutchowra—The Zenāna—A Timoorian Princess—Opium-eating—Native Dishes—The Evening Party—The beautiful Begam—Musalmanī Attire and Ornaments—Timūr-lung—Gold and Silver Beds—Atr of various sorts—Perfume of the Body of the Prophet—Dye for the Hands and Feet—Churees.