The Jahangir-nama -- events of the year 1616/7
[206] On the sixth [January 15], we decamped, proceeded four and an eighth kos through the valley known as Chati Chanda, and stopped in the village of Amjar. The valley is extremely green, lush, and filled with trees. To this station, which is the end of the province of Ajmer, we had gone eighty-four kos. This station was also one of the fine ones. Here Nurjahan Begam shot a qarisha [a small bird, perhaps a swallow] with a musket. Until now such a large and fine-colored one had not been seen. I ordered it weighed, and it was nineteen tolas and five mashas. The above-mentioned village is the beginning of Malwa.
A Description of Malwa
Malwa is in the second clime. It extends lengthwise 245 kos from the end of the province of Garha to the province of Banswala and in breadth 230 kos from the pargana of Chanderi to the pargana of Nandurbar. To the east lies Bandhu, to the north Narwar, to the south Baglana, and to the west the soubas of Gujarat and Ajmer. It is a land filled with rivers and good air. Aside from canals, streams, and springs, five rivers flow through it, the Godi, the Bhima, the Kali Sindh, the Parwan, and the Narbada.
The climate is nearly temperate. The terrain is a bit higher in elevation than its surroundings. In the town of Dhar, one of the major places of Malwa, vines produce grapes twice a year, at the beginning of Pisces [February] and at the beginning of Leo [July]. The grapes in Pisces are sweeter. The farmers and craftsmen are not unarmed. The total revenue of the province is twenty-four crores and seven lacs of dams [i.e., 6,017,500 rupees]. In wartime 9,300-odd horsemen, 470,300 foot soldiers, and 100 elephants can be raised from the province.
On the eighth [January 17], we proceeded three and five-eighths kos and stopped in the vicinity of Khairabad. Along the way three herons were hunted. Then, proceeding three kos while hunting, we stopped in the vicinity of the village of Arrah.
On the eleventh [January 20], a halt was made. Toward the end of the day I mounted to go hunting and shot a nilgai.
On the twelfth [January 21], after traversing four and a quarter kos, camp was made outside the village of Bachhayari. Recently Rana Amar Singh had sent several baskets of figs. It was truly delicious fruit. Until now I hadn't seen such good figs in India, but in my opinion one should eat only a few.
On the fourteenth [January 23] we decamped, went four and an eighth kos, and stopped in Bil. Raja Chamba, one of the important landholders of the area, sent two elephants as an offering, and they were inspected. At this same station many melons were brought from Kariz, which is in the vicinity of Herat. Khan Alam had also sent fifty camel [load]s. In past years so many [melons] had not been brought. On one tray several varieties of fruit were offered-- melon from Kariz, melon from Badakhshan and Kabul, grapes from Samarkand and Kabul, sweet pomegranates from Yazd, apricots from Farah, pears from Badakhshan, apples from Samarkand, Kashmir, Kabul, and ]alalabad (a dependency of Kabul), and pineapple, which is a fruit that comes from the Franks' [=Europeans'] ports. Pineapple bushes were planted in Agra, and every year they produce several thousand in the Agra orchards attached to the royal demesne. There was also a kaunla, in size and shape like an orange but smaller, and in taste rather inclined to the sweet side. It grows well in Bengal. How can one express one's gratitude for such abundance? My exalted father was very fond of fruit, particularly melons, pomegranates, grapes, and mangoes. Since in his day they had [not] yet brought to India Kariz [207] melons, the finest of their kind, Yazd pomegranates, which are renowned, or Samarkand grapes, every time 1 see these fruits 1 wish they had come in his time so that he could have tasted them.
On the fifteenth [January 24], a day of halt, the news was heard of the death of Faridun Khan Barlas's son Mihr-Ali, the son of one of the great amirs of this nation.
On the sixteenth [January 25], we decamped. After marching four and an eighth kos we stopped in the vicinity of the village of Ghiri. Along the way the scouts brought word of a lion in the area. I set out, intending to hunt it down, and polished it off with one shot.
A Scientific Experiment
Inasmuch as the bravery and valor of lions and tigers are established facts, I wanted to open it up and have a look. After it was cut open it was apparent that, unlike other animals, whose gall bladders are outside the liver, lions' and tigers' gall bladders are located inside their livers. It occurs to me that lions' and tigers' courage is due to this fact.
On the eighteenth [January 27], after traveling two and seven-eighths kos, we camped in the village of Amriya.
On the nineteenth [January 28], a day of halt, I rode out hunting. After traveling two kos a spot of the utmost delight and beauty came into view. In an orchard there were a hundred mango trees of a size, greenness, and lushness that had seldom been seen. In the same orchard I saw a banyan tree so huge that I ordered it measured. From the ground to the top branch it was seventy-four cubits tall. The circumference of the trunk was forty-four and a half cubits. In breadth it was 175 1/2 ells. Since it was so extremely strange, it has been recorded.
On the twenty-first [January 30], a day of halt, I rode out hunting toward the end of the day. When I returned I went to I'timaduddawla's quarters for the celebration of Khwaja Khizr's feast, which is called the Khizri. I remained there through the first watch of the night, partook of some food, and returned to the royal tent. On this day I honored I'timaduddawla by making him an intimate, and I told the inmates of the harem not to veil their faces from him, a favor by which he was very honored.
On the twenty-second [January 31 ], a march was ordered, and we proceeded three and an eighth kos and stopped in the village of Borkheri. I hunted along the way.
On the twenty-third [February 1], also a day of halt, I shot a nilgai.
On the twenty-fourth [February 2], we traveled five kos and stopped outside the village of Qasimgarh. Along the way I hunted a white animal something like a hog deer, but it had four horns. The two horns opposite the corners of its eyes were two fingers long, and the other two were four fingers behind the first two and four fingers long. The people of India call this animal a dudhara. It is an established fact that the males have horns and the females do not. It is often said that the antelope species does not have a gall bladder, but when the insides of this one were examined, a gall bladder was plainly there, so the report has no basis in fact.
On the twenty-fifth [February 3], a day of halt, a hunt was held toward the end of the day. I shot a nilgai doe. I promoted Qilich Khan's nephew Balju, who had the rank of 1000/750 and held a jagir in Oudh, to 2000/200, gave him the title of Qilich Khan, and assigned him to the souba of Bengal.
We decamped, marched four and three-quarters kos, and stopped in Dih-i-Qazian [208] in the vicinity of Ujjain. Many mango trees had blossomed in the area. Camp had been from pitched beside a stream, and it was a very pleasant spot. Ghazni Khan's son Pahar was executed here. After his father's death I had patronized the wretch and given him the fortress and province of Jalaur, the place of his ancestors. Since he was young, his mother forbade him to engage in certain evil practices, and one night he (may he be eternally damned) and some of his liege men went into his mother's quarters, and he killed his mother with his own hand. When I heard this I ordered him brought, and, after his guilt was proven, I commanded that he be executed.
A Strange Palm Tree
At this station I saw a palm tree that had a very strange shape. It originally had only one trunk, but when it had grown to a height of six ells, it had forked into two branches, one ten ells and the other nine and a half ells. The distance between the two branches was four and a half ells. The distance from the ground to the place where the branches and leaves had come out was sixteen ells for the larger branch and fifteen and a half ells for the other. From the place where the branches and leaves were green to the top of the tree was two and a half ells, and the circumference was two and an eighth ells. I ordered a terrace three ells high made around it. Since it was so very straight and and harmonious, I ordered the painters to draw a picture of it for the Jahangirnama.
On the twenty-seventh [February 5], we decamped, covered a distance of two and an eighth kos, and camped outside the village of Hindwal. A nilgai was taken along the way.
On the twenty-eighth [February 6], we traveled two kos and camped at Kaliadeh.
Nasiruddin's Kaliadeh
The Kaliadeh is a building constructed by Nasiruddin [r.1500-1511], son of Sultan Ghiyasuddin [r.1469-1500], son of Sultan Mahmud Khalji [r.1436-1469], the ruler of Malwa. He built it during his reign in the vicinity of Ujjain, one of the best-known and most famous cities of Malwa. They say he was so hot-natured that he had to live in water. He built this building in the middle of the river, diverted the river water into canals, and channeled it all around and inside and outside the building to fill pools large and small in proportion to their locations. It is a very pleasant and delightful place and one of the major attractions of Hindustan. Before stopping here I sent architects to restore it. We stayed here three days because it was so nice. While we were here Shaja'at Khan came from his jagir and paid homage.
A Description of Ujjain
Ujjain is one of the ancient cities of India and one of the seven major sites of Hindu worship. Raja Vikramaditya, who catalogued the stars in Hindustan, was in this city and province. From the time of hls catalog until the present, which is the year 1026 of the Hegira and the eleventh year of my reign, it has been 1,675 years. Indian astronomy is based on his observations. The city is situated on the banks of the River Sipra.
The Hindus believe that once a year, but not at any particular time, the water of this river turns to milk. During my exalted father's time, when Shaykh Abu'1-Fazl had been dispatched to rectify my brother Shah-Murad's ways, the shaykh wrote a report from this town to say that a large group of Hindus and Muslims had testified that several days prior to then the river had turned to milk since those who had drawn water [209] from the river in the evening found their containers full of milk the next day. This tale is recorded because it is so very well known, but my mind refuses to accept that it could be true. God only knows.
On the second of Isfandarmudh [February 10], we got into a boat at Kaliadeh and set out for the next station.
A Visit to the Hermit Jadrup
It had been repeatedly heard that near the town of Ujjain an ascetic sanyasi named Jadrup Ashram had been living for several years in an out-of-the-way spot in the country far from civilization, where he worshiped the true deity. I very much desired to meet him and had wanted to summon him and see him while I was in Agra, but in view of the trouble it would have caused him I didn't do it. Now that we were in the vicinity, I got out of the boat and went an eighth of a kos on foot to visit him.
The place he had chosen for his abode was a pit dug out in the middle of a hill. The entrance was shaped like a mihrab, one ell tall and ten girihs [girih=1/16 ell] in width. The distance from the entrance to the hole in which he sat was two ells five girihs long, eleven and a quarter girihs wide, and one ell three girihs high from the ground to the roof. The hole that gave entrance to his sitting place was five and a half girihs tall and three and a half girihs wide. A skinny person would have great difficulty getting in. The length and width of the pit were the same. He had neither mat nor straw strewn underfoot as other dervishes do. He spends his time alone in that dark, narrow hole. In winter and cold weather, although he is absolutely naked and has no clothing except a piece of rag with which he covers himself in front and behind, he never lights a fire. As Mulla Rumi says [in a Persian verse], speaking in the idiom of dervishes: "Our clothing is the heat of the sun by day, and moonlight is our pillow and quilt by night."
Twice a day he goes to make ablutions in the river nearby, and once a day he goes into Ujjain, enters the houses of only three Brahmins out of the seven married persons with children he has chosen and in whose asceticism and contentment he has confidence, takes in his hand like a beggar five morsels of food they have prepared for themselves, and swallows them without chewing lest he derive any enjoyment from the taste-- this provided that no calamity has occurred in any of the three houses, no birth has taken place, and there be no menstruating women. This is how he lives.
He desires no intercourse with people, but since he has acquired a great reputation, people go to see him. He is not devoid of learning and has studied well the science of the Vedanta, which is the science of Sufism.
I held conversation with him for six gharis, and he had such good things to say that he made a great impression on me. He also liked my company. When my exalted father had conquered the fortress of Asir and the province of Khandesh and was on his way back to Agra, he also paid him a visit in this very place and often mentioned it with fondness.
The Life of the Brahmins of India
The wise men of India have established four ways of living for the Brahmins, who are the noblest of the castes of the Hindus, and they have divided life into four parts, which they call the four ashrams. When a son is born into a Brahmin house, they don't call him a Brahmin for the first seven years, the period of infancy, or oblige him to do anything. When he reaches the age of eight a meeting is held and Brahmins are gathered. They make a cord two and a quarter ells long of munj grass, which they call a munji, recite prayers and incantations over it, make three knots in it in the [210] names of three saints in whom they believe, and tie it around the boy's waist. Over his right shoulder they drape a girdle of loose strands, and into his hands they place a stick a little over an ell long with which to defend himself from harm, and a copper vessel for drinking. Then they turn him over to a wise Brahmin in whose house he lives for twelve years to study the Veda, which they believe to be a divine book.
From this day they call him a Brahmin, and during this period he must absolutely not indulge in any bodily pleasures. Once it is past noon he goes to another Brahmin's house as a beggar, brings what he is given back to his master, and, with his permission, eats it. For clothing he has only a coarse cotton lungi to cover his private parts and another length of cotton two or three ells long to throw over his shoulder. They call this stage brahmcharj, meaning occupation with the divine book.
After this period has passed, he may marry with the permission of his master and father. During this period he is allowed to enjoy all the pleasures of the five senses until he has a son who has reached the age of sixteen. If he doesn't have a son he will stay in the garb of worldly attachment until the age of forty-eight. This period is called girhast, meaning master of a house.
Then he separates himself from his friends and relatives, gives up all forms of enjoyment and pleasure, retires from the abode of material attachment into solitude, and goes to live in the forest. This stage is called banprasth, meaning dwelling in the woods. Because it is a rule of the Hindus that no good deed can be performed by men in the state of material attachment without the cooperation and presence of a wife, whom they call a man's other half, since he still has deeds and religious acts to perform, he takes his wife along into the forest. If she is pregnant he puts off going until after the child is born and attains the age of five. Then he entrusts the child to his eldest son or other relatives and gets on with it. So too if the wife is menstruating, he delays until she is purified. Thereafter, however, he does not have sexual relations with her and does not pollute himself by touching her, and at night he sleeps with his member flaccid. He lives in this stage for twelve years, eating plants that grow wild in the fields and forests. He keeps his girdle on and worships fire, and he does not waste tinte cutting his fingernails or hair or trimming his beard or mustache.
When this stage is completed in the manner described, he goes back home again, entrusts his wife to his sons, brothers, or other relatives, and goes off to a perfected guide, in whose presence he casts his girdle and his hair into the fire and says, "What attachments I had, even to asceticism and worship, I have voluntarily given up." Closing his mind to other thoughts, he concentrates always on the divinity and thinks of nothing but the absolute existing one. If he speaks of science, it is that of the Vedanta, which Baba Fighani has encapsulated in this line of poetry: "There is one lamp in this house, and from its rays, in every direction I look, an assembly has been formed." This stage is called sarb nyas, meaning abandoning everything. A person who is at this stage is called a sarbnyasi.
After meeting Jadrup I got on an elephant and passed through the town of Ujjain, tossing left and right 3,500 rupees in small coins. After proceeding one and three-quarters kos, I dismounted outside the village of Daudkheri, where the imperial camp had been pitched.
On the third [February 11], a day of halt, I was so anxious to see Jadrup again that I went out to see him after noon and was delighted by being with him for six gharis. This day too we had a nice chat. Near supper time I entered the royal tent.
[211] On the fourth [February 12], we traveled three and a quarter kos and stopped in the vicinity of the village of Jarao Paraniya. This place was also wonderfully verdant and full of trees.
On the sixth [February 14], we decamped and after traversing a distance of four and three-quarters kos, stopped at the edge of Lake Depalpur-Banera. The place was so nice and the lake so fine we stayed for four days. I went hunting waterfowl and aquatic animals in a boat at the end of each day. At this station some fakhri grapes were brought from Ahmadnagar. Although they weren't so large as the fakhri grapes in Kabul, they were no less delicious. At Baba Khurram's request Mirza Shahrukh's son Badi'uzzaman's rank was set at 1500/1000.
On the eleventh [February 19], we decamped. After traveling three and a quarter kos we stopped in the vicinity of the pargana of Daulatabad.
On the twelfth [February 20], a day of halt, we went hunting. In the village of Shaykhupur, which belongs to the above-mentioned pargana, I saw an extremely large and massive banyan tree. The circumference of the trunk was eighteen and a half ells, and from the roots to the top of the branches was twenty-eight and a quarter cubits. The circumference of the area shaded by the branches spreading out from the trunk was 203 1/2 cubits. One branch, on which someone had carved an elephant's tusk, was forty ells long. When my exalted father was passing by here he had a hand print made three and three-quarters ells over a root that was going down into the ground. I also ordered a print of my hand carved eight ells above another root stalk. Lest the carving be worn away with the passage of time, I ordered a likeness of both hand prints carved in marble and set up against the trunk. I also ordered a nice terrace made around the the tree.
When I was a prince I had promised Mir Ziya'uddin Qazwini, a Sayfi sayyid entitled Mustafa Khan during my reign, that with the al-tamgha I would bestow upon him and his descendants the pargana of Malda, one of the famous parganas of Bengal. At this station I fulfilled the promise of this magnificent gift.
On the thirteenth [February 21] we decamped. I set out from the above-mentioned station in the direction of Haselpur, separating myself from the camp to tour and hunt with some of the ladies of the harem and a few intimates and servants. The camp stopped in the vicinity of Nalchha, but we pitched our tents in the village of Sarangpur. What can one write of the beauty and delights of this place? There were many mango trees and green fields. It was so green and pleasant that we stayed there three days. With the transfer of Keshav Maru I gave the village to Kamal Khan Qaravul, ordering that henceforth it was to be called Kamalpur. At this same station the night of Shivrat occurred. Many yogis had gathered, and they celebrated the rites of the night. Conversations were held with the learned men of this group. During these days I hunted three nilgais.
Raja Man is Killed
It was here that I received the news that Raja Man had been killed. I had appointed him to head the expedition against Kangra Fortress. When he reached Lahore he heard that Sangram, a landholder of the hill country, had attacked Raja Man's territory and usurped some of his lands. Considering the repulsion of Sangram to have greater priority, he went out to attack him. Sangram did not have the strength to ward off an attack by Raja Man, so he abandoned the occupied territory and took refuge in difficult mountainous terrain and unreachable bastions. In pursuit, Raja Man headed for the same strongholds. He was so sure of himself that he neglected to guard his front and rear or ensure passage [213] and retreat but got himself there with only a small contingent of soldiers. When Sangram saw that Raja Man had not left himself a way to get out, he came out to defend himself. As the line of poetry says, "In time of necessity, when no escape remains, the hand will grab the sharp tip of a sword." Fatefully, Raja Man was hit by a rock and died on the spot. His men were defeated, many were killed, and the rest, wounded, abandoned their horses and arms and only managed with great difficulty to save themselves.
On the seventeenth [February 25] we decamped from Sarangpur and, after traveling three kos, came to the village of Haselpur. Along the way a nilgai was hunted. The village is one of the outstanding places in Malwa, with abundant grapes and mango trees beyond enumeration with rivers flowing throughout. When we arrived, the grapes there, unlike the vilayat, were ripe, and they were so cheap and plentiful that anyone could buy as many as he wanted. The poppies were also in bloom, stretched out in groups of every color before one's view. Seldom has such a delightful village been seen. We stayed there three days, during which three nilgais were shot.
On the twenty-first [March 1], we decamped from Haselpur and in two marches reached the main camp. Along the way a nilgai was hunted.
On Sunday the twenty-second [March 2] we decamped from Nalchha and came [214] and three gharis of the day had elapsed when I entered the quarters that had been prepared for the imperial descent. Along the way I scattered fifteen hundred rupees.
From Ajmer to Mandu was 159 kos. Over the four months and four days we had traveled with forty-six days of march and seventy-eight days of halt. On the forty-six marches the way stations all happened to be delightful places on the banks of lakes, streams, or large irrigation canals edged by trees, greenery, and poppy fields in flower. Not a day passed, whether marching or halting, without hunting. We had come the entire way on horseback or on elephant, seeing the sights and hunting. The arduousness of a journey was never felt. It was as if we were progressing from garden to garden. On the hunts Asaf Khan, Mirza Rustam, the Mirmiran, Ani Rai, Hidayatullah, Raja Sarang Deo, Sayyid Kasu, and Khawass Khan were always with me.
Since I had sent Abdul-Karim Ma'muri to repair the buildings of the previous rulers of Mandu before the imperial entourage arrived, while we were still camped in Ajmer he had repaired some of the buildings that were reparable and rebuilt others. In sum, he had made a site so wonderful and delightful that it is doubtful that there is anything like it anywhere. Nearly three lacs of rupees, which equals ten thousand Persian tumans, had been spent. This site really should be located in cities worthy of an imperial descent. The fortress is situated atop a tall hill ten kos in circumference. During the monsoon season there is no place so nice and pleasant as this fortress. At night during Leo [July-August] it gets so chilly that one can't sleep without a quilt and during the daytime there is no need for fans.
The Legend of Mandu Fortress
They say that before the time of Raja Vikramaditya there was a raja named Jai Singh Deo. During his reign a man went out into the fields to collect straw. While he was reaping, the sickle he was holding turned the color of gold. When he saw his sickle had changed he took it to a blacksmith named Mandan to fix. The blacksmith realized that the sickle had turned to gold, for he had heard that in the region there was a philosopher's stone, which turned iron and copper into gold on contact. Immediately he had the straw-gatherer take him to the spot. He found the stone and took the priceless gem to the raja.
By means of the stone the raja obtained gold, some of which he spent on constructing this fortress, which took twelve years to complete. At the blacksmith's request he had most of the stones used in the fortress wall cut into the shape of anvils.
Toward the end of his life, when he was sick of the world, he held an assembly on the banks of the Narbada River, one of the major sites of Hindu worship, and gathered Brahmins to whom he gave favors of cash and goods. When it came the turn of a Brahmin who was an old friend of his, he handed him the stone. The old friend didn't recognize what it was, grew angry, and pitched the priceless gem into the water. Then, when he was informed of its nature, he was afflicted with eternal regret, and no matter how hard they searched no trace of it was ever found. This tale is not written down; it has been heard orally. My mind cannot accept this story, and I think it is just a fable.
Tour of the Buildings of Mandu
Mandu is one of the major sarkars of the souba of Malwa, with an income of one crore, thirty-nine lacs of dams [347,500 rupees]. For a long time it was the capital of the sultans of this region, and many of their ancient buildings and monuments are still standing, untouched by ruination. On the twenty-fourth [March 4], I rode out to tour the buildings of the former rulers. First I entered the congregational mosque built by Sultan [215] Hoshang Ghori [1405-1435]. It appeared to be a superb building, made totally of hewn stone Although it was built 180 years ago, it looks as though the builder finished it today.
Then I went to see the building housing the tombs of the Khalji rulers, where the grave of the eternally damned Nasiruddin Sultan [r.1500-1511] son of Ghiyasuddin [r.1469-1500] is located. It is well known that this wretch killed his own father, Sultan Ghiyasuddin, at the age of eighty. Twice he gave him poison, but Ghiyasuddin warded it off with an amulet against poison he wore on his arm. The third time he mixed poison in a bowl of sherbet and gave it to his father with his own hand saying, "You must drink this." Since the father knew what his intent was, he first removed the amulet from his arm, tossed it to him, lifted his face to the creator's court, and said, "O Lord, I have reached the age of eighty, and I have spent all these years in more success and pleasure than any other king has ever had. As this is my last moment, I hope that you will not blame Nasir for my death, but attribute my demise to natural causes and not requite him for it." After speaking these words, he downed the sherbet laced with poison and died.
The reason for his saying that he had spent his reign in more success and pleasure than any other ruler was that when he attained the throne at the age of forty-eight, he said to his intimates and comrades, "I have led the army in my father's service for thirty years, and I have left nothing undone in showing bravery and commanding the soldiers Now that it is my turn, I have no desire to conquer territory. I want to spend the rest of my life in enjoyment and pleasure." They say he had fifteen thousand women in his harem who formed a veritable city with all sorts of artisans, governors, judges, kotwals, and to all posts that are necessary to run a city he appointed women Whenever he heard of a beautiful young girl he couldn't rest until he had acquired her, and he had his slave girls taught various arts and skills. He was also very fond of hunting. He had game preserves built where all sorts of animals were kept, and he spent most of his time hunting with the women there. In short, during his reign of over thirty-two years, just as he had promised, he never once rode against an enemy, but spent the entire time in luxury and repose. Likewise, no one attacked his territory.
They say that while Sher Khan the Afghan [=Sher Shah Sur] reigned, despite his bestiality, he came to Nasiruddin's grave and ordered those with him to strike the grave with their staffs for his hideous deed. When I came to his grave I kicked it several times and ordered those who were in the retinue to kick it too. Since this didn't satisfy me, I said the grave should be opened and his unclean body thrown into the fire, but then it occurred to me that since fire originates with divine light, it would be a shame to sully that subtle essence by burning his filthy body in it. Also, lest there be any diminution of his torment by being burnt into another form, I ordered his crumbling bones and decayed body thrown into the Narbada River. During his lifetime he always lived in water because of his hot-naturedness. It is well known that once while drunk he threw himsell into a very deep pool in the Kaliadeh. Several palace servants ran forward, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled him out of the water. When he came to, they told him what had happened. When he heard that they had pulled him out by the hair, he flew into a rage and ordered the servants' hands cut off. The next time it happened no one dared to pull him out and he drowned As it turned out, 110 years after his death his decayed body rejoined the water.
On the twenty-eighth [March 8], I promoted Abdul-Karim to the rank of 800/400 and I gave him the title Ma'mur Khan as a reward for the reconstruction of Mandu, which was carried out under his supervision.
[216] Khurram Enters Burhanpur, and Reports from the Deccan Campaign
On the same day the imperial banners entered the Mandu fortress, my lucky son Sultan Khurram was entering the city of Burhanpur, the governor's seat of Khandesh, with his victorious soldiers.
Four days later reports came from Afzal Khan and Rai-Raian, whom my son had sent to escort the Adil Khan's emissaries when he left Ajmer. The contents were as follows: "When the news of our arrival reached the Adil Khan, he came out seven kos to receive the prince's command and decree, prostrating himself and leaving nothing of the usual rituals of court undone. During this meeting he offered his full support and alliance and guaranteed that the territories that had left the control of the friends of the empire would all be wrenched from the grasp of the wretched Ambar and restored to the emperor's servants. He also promised that he would send a suitable offering to court with his emissaries. After these preliminaries he had us ambassadors dismount with all dignity in quarters specially arranged, and that very day a messenger was sent to Ambar to announce to him what had to be said." This news was told to me along with the reports of Afzal Khan and Rai-Raian.
From the time we left Ajmer until Monday the twenty-third [March 3], a period of four: months, the following animals were hunted: lion, 2; nilgai, 27; spotted deer, 6; antelope, 60; hare and fox, 23; ducks et cetera, 1,200. At night I told stories of former hunts and of the yearning and desire I had for this occupation to those who were in attendance. I then wondered whether or not it might be possible to make a list of all the animals hunted from my onset into the age of discrimination to the present. I therefore ordered the recorders and overseers of the hunt, scouts, and others employed in this service to investigate, make a list of all the animals of every sort that had been hunted, and report to me. It turned out that from the beginning of my twelfth year, A.H. 988 [ 1580-81 ], until the end of the present year, the eleventh of my reign and fiftieth lunar year of my age, 28,532 animals were taken in my presence. Of this total I shot with my own hand 17,167 animals as follows: quadrupeds, 3,203: lion, 86; bear, cheetah, fox, otter, hyena, 9; nilgai, 889; maha, a species of deer as large and bulky as a nilgai, 35; buck and doe antelope, chikara, spotted deer, mountain goat, et cetera, 1,672; ram and red deer, 215; wolf, 64; wild ox, 36; boar, 90; ibex, 26; mountain ram, 22; [argali sheep, 32]; wild ass, 6; hare, 23. Birds, 13,964 as follows: pigeon, 10,348; lagar-jhagar hawk, 3; eagle, 2; kite, 23; jughd [owl], 39; pelican, 12; mouse-eater, 5; sparrow, 41; dove, 25; bum [owl], 4,230; duck, goose, heron, et cetera, 150; crow, 3,473. Aquatic animals: magarmacchh, which means crocodile, 10.