History of Aurangzib Vol 1/Chapter IV

by Jadunath Sarkar

CHAPTER IV.

Marriage and Family—Viceroyalty of Guzerat.

The fort and Persian princes seek refuge in India. district of Qandahar had been given by the Persian king Shah Tahmasp I. of the house of Safawi, to his nephew, Sultan Husain Mirza as an appanage. Husain's son Mirza Muzaffar Husain exchanged the lordship of barren Qandahar for a high rank and splendid salary in the service of Akbar. His younger brother Mirza Rustam, too, emigrated to India in Akbar's reign and rose to eminence under Jahangir.

and marry into the imperial family. The Mughal emperors made the most of this opportunity of ennobling their blood by alliances with the royal family of Persia even through a younger branch. Muzaffar Husain's daughter was married to Shah Jahan, and two daughters of Mirza Rustam to the princes Parviz and Shuja. Rustam's son was now a high grandee with the title of Shah Nawaz Khan.^[1] One daughter of Shah Nawaz, named Dilras Banu, was betrothed to Aurangzib, 1637, and next year another daughter was married to Murad Bakhsh.^[2]

Aurangzib married Dilras to Banu Begam. On 15th April, 1637, Aurangzib arrived at Agra for his marriage.^[3] Shah Jahan wrote him a most loving invitation in verse to come and see him quickly and without ceremony. Next day the Prince had audience of his father. The royal astrologers had fixed 8th May as the date of the marriage. In the preceding evening was the ceremony of henna-bandi or dyeing the bridegroom's hands and feet with the red juice of the henna (Lawsonia inermis). Following the Indian custom, the bride's father sent the henna in a grand procession of the male and female friends of his house, servants and musicians. With the henna came an infinite variety of presents, a costly full dress suit for the bridegroom, toilet needments, embroidered scarfs for his kinsfolk, perfumed essence, sugar candy, huge quantities of confects, dried fruits, prepared betel-leaves, and fire-works.

The henna-bandi ceremony. In the Private Hall of the Palace, the Prince's hands and feet were stained red with the henna, by ladies concealed behind a screen, and he was robed in the bride's presents, smeared with perfumes, and fed with the lucky sugar-candy. Then he held a reception of his male guests, which his uncle Yaminuddaula and other nobles attended, while the ladies looked on from behind lattice-screens. In the richly furnished hall the wedding gifts were displayed on trays, the scarfs, confects and betel-leaves were distributed, and the fire-works let off outside. All the time singing and dancing went on. The night's work was concluded with a supper to which the bride- groom sat down with all his guests.

Next night the marriage took place. The astrologers had selected four hours before dawn The marriage procession. as the luckiest time for the ceremony. A long while before that hour the grand wazir Yaminuddaula Asaf Khan and Prince Murad Bakhsh went to Aurangzib's mansion on the Jumna, and conducted him by the river-side road to the fort-palace, to make his bow to the Emperor, who gave him costly presents of all kinds,—robes, jewels, daggers, horses, and elephants, and with his own hands tied to the bridegroom's turban a glittering sehra or bunch of pearls and precious stones falling over his face like a veil. Then the marriage-procession was formed. Led by Murad, Yaminuddaula and other grandees on horseback, the long line paraded the streets of the capital, with music, lights, and discharge of fireworks that baffle description. When it reached the bride's house, the guests were made welcome and entertained by her father. Shah Jahan arrived by boat just before the ceremony, and in his presence the Qazi united the young pair in wedlock. The bridegroom promised his wife a dowry (kabin) of four lakhs of rupees; this she was to get from him in case of divorce. Her father kept himself aloof from the ceremony, for such is the custom of the Indian Muslims.

The marriage being over, another reception Reception. was held (14th May) in Aurangzib's house at which the Emperor was present. Wedding gifts were presented to the nobles, who bowed their thanks first to the Emperor and then to the bridegroom. The newly married Prince spent more than three happy months with his father at Agra and then, on 4th September, took his leave for the Deccan.^[4] We may here conveniently describe Aurangzib's wives and children.Aurangzib's wives: Dilras Banu. Dilras Banu, his consort, bore the high title of Begam or Princess. She died at Aurangabad on 8th October, 1657, from illness following child-birth,^[5] and was buried in that city, under the title of 'the Rabia of the Age' (Rabia-ud-daurani.) Her tomb was repaired by her son Azam under order of Aurangzib, and is one of the sights of the place. She seems to have been a proud and self-willed lady and her husband stood in some awe of her.^[6]

The Emperor's secondary wives were styled Báis and Mahals. To this class Nawab Bai. belonged Rahmat-un-nissa, surnamed Nawab Bai, the mother of Bahadur Shah I. She was the daughter of Rajah Raju of the Rajauri State in Kashmir, and came of the hill-Rajput blood.^[7] But on her son's accession to the throne of Delhi a false pedigree was invented for her in order to give Bahadur Shah a right to call himself a Syed. It was asserted by the flatterers of the Imperial Court that a Muslim

saint named Syed Shah Mir, sprung from the celebrated Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, had taken to a life of retirement among the hills of Rajauri. The Rajah of the country waited on him and in course of time so adored the holy man as to offer him his maiden daughter. The saint accepted the virgin tribute, converted and wedded her, and thus became the father of a son and a daughter. Then he went on a pilgrimage to the holy land of Islam, where all trace of him was lost. The Rajah brought up his deserted grand-children as Hindus, keeping their parentage a secret. When Shah Jahan demanded from him a daughter of his house, the Rajah sent him this grand-daughter, who was noted for her beauty, goodness and intelligence. In the Imperial harem the girl was taught languages and culture by a set of masters, governesses, and Persian women versed in good manners, and in due time she was united to Prince Aurangzib. Such is one of the many conflicting accounts of the origin of Nawab Bai. Khafi Khan narrates it as mere hearsay,^[8] and we may reject it as the invention of courtiers eager to flatter their master.^[9]

She built a serai at Fardapur, at the foot of the pass, and also founded Baijipura, a suburb of Aurangabad.^[10] The misconduct of her sons, Muhammad Sultan and Muazzam, who disobeyed the Emperor under the influence of evil counsellors, embittered her latter life. Her advice and even personal entreaty had no effect on Muazzam,^[11] who was at last placed under arrest. Nawab Bai seems to have lost her charms and with them her husband's favour rather early in life, and ended her days some time before the middle of 1691^[12] at Delhi, after many years of separation from her husband and sons.

Another secondary wife was Aurangabadi Mahal, so named because she entered the Mughal harem in the city of Aurangabadi Mahal Aurangabad. The bubonic plague carried her off in October or November 1688, at the city of Bijapur.^[13]

Her death removed the last rival of Aurang-zib's youngest and best loved concubine, Udipuri Mahal, Udipuri Mahal the mother of Kam Bakhsh. The contemporary Venetian traveller Manucci speaks of her as a Georgian slave-girl of Dara Shukoh's harem, who, on the downfall of her first master, became the concubine of his victorious rival.^[14] She seems to have been a very young woman at the time, as she first became a mother in 1667, when Aurangzib was verging on fifty. She retained her youth and influence over the Emperor till his death, and was the darling of his old age. Under the spell of her beauty he pardoned the many faults of Kam Bakhsh and overlooked her freaks of drunkenness,^[15] which must have shocked so pious a Muslim.^[16]

Zainabadi. Besides the above four there was another woman whose supple grace, musical skill, and mastery of blandishments, made her the heroine of the only romance in the puritan Emperor's life. Hira Bai surnamed Zainabadi was a young slave-girl in the keeping of Mir Khalil, who had married a sister of Aurangzib's mother. During his viceroyalty of the Deccan, the Prince paid a visit to his aunt at Burhanpur. There, while strolling in the park of Zainabad on the other side of the Tapti, he beheld Hira Bai unveiled among his aunt's train. The artful beauty "on seeing a mango-tree laden with fruits, advanced in mirth and amorous play, jumped up, and plucked a mango, as if unconscious of the prince's presence." The vision of her matchless charms stormed Aurangzib's heart in a moment; "with shameless importunity he took her away from his aunt's house and became utterly in- fatuated with her." So much so, that one day she offered him a cup of wine and pressed him to drink it. All his entreaties and excuses were disregarded, and the helpless lover was about to taste the forbidden drink when the sly enchantress snatched away the cup from his lips and said, "My object was only to test your love for me, and not to make you fall into the sin of drinking !" Death cut the story short when she was still in the bloom of youth. Aurangzib bitterly grieved at her loss and buried her close to the big tank at Aurangabad.^[17]

More than half a century afterwards, when this early love-passage had become How she was won. mere memory, the following inaccurate version of it was recorded by Hamiduddin Khan, a favourite servant of the Emperor, in his Anecdotes of Alamgir. It is extremely amusing, as showing that the puritan in love was not above practising wiles to gain his end!

"When Aurangzib as Governor of the Deccan was going to Aurangabad, on arriving at Burhanpur he went to visit his aunt. The Prince entered the house without announcing himself. Hira Bai was standing under a tree, holding a branch with her right hand and singing in a low tone. Immediately after seeing her, the Prince helplessly sat down there, and then stretched himself at full length on the ground in a swoon. The news was carried to his aunt. She clasped him to her breast and began to wail and lament. After three or four gharis the Prince regained consciousness. However much she inquired about his condition, saying, 'What malady is it? Did you ever have it before?' the Prince gave no reply at all, but remained silent. At midnight he recovered his speech and said, *If I mention my disease, can you apply the remedy ?' She replied, 'What to speak of remedy? I shall offer my life itself to cure you!' Then the Prince unfolded the whole matter to her The aunt replied, 'You know the wretch, my hus- band. He is a bloody-minded man and does not care in the least for the Emperor Shah Jahan or for you. At the mere report of your desire for Hira Bai he will first murder her and then me. Telling him about your passion will do no other good.'

Next morning the Prince came back to his own quarters and discussed the case in detail with his confidant, Murshid Quli Khan, the Diwan of the Deccan. The Khan said, 'Let me Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/98 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/99 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/100 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/101 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/102 CHAP. IV.] JAHANARA. 73

of the candles lighting the passage. As her robes were made of exquisitely fine muslin and were besides perfumed with atar and other essences, the flames wrapped her round in a moment. Her four maids flung themselves on her to smother the fire with their persons, but it spread to their own dress and they had to let go their hold in agony. By the time aid arrived and the fire was put out, the princess had been dreadfully burnt : her back, both sides, and arms were severely injured.*

She was the best loved child of Shah Jahan,

and well did she deserve his Her character. ., . _ ,

affection. Ever smce her

mother's death, her care and forethought had

saved him from domestic worries. Her sweetness

of temper and gentleness of heart, even more

than her mental accomplishments, soothed his

mind in fatigue and anxiety, while her loving

kindness healed all discords in the Imperial

family, and spreading beyond the narrow circle

of her kinsfolk made her the channel of the royal

bounty to orphans, widows, and the poor. In

the full blaze of prosperity and power her name

was known in the land only for her bounty and

graciousness. In adversity she rose to a nobler

• Abdul Hamid, ii. 363 — 369 ; Khafi Khan, i. 598—600. Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/104 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/105 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/106 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/107 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/108 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/109 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/110 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/111 Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/112

princess, provided with a dome of extraordinary height, the whole executed in marble brought expressly from the province of Ajmer." (Storia, iii. 269)

1. For Mirza Muzaffar Husain, M. U. iii. 296; Mirza Rustam, M. U iii. 434; Shah Nawaz Khan, M. U. ii. 670.
2. A generation afterwards (4 March, 1683) Azarm Banu, the daughter of Shah Nawaz's son, was married to Aurangzib's youngest son, Kam Bakhsh (M. A. 225.)
3. Abdul Hamid, I. B. 255, 267-270.
4. Abdul Hamid, I. B. 280.
5. Kambu, 6b, Adab-i-Alamgiri, 198a, Kalimat-i-Tay-yibat, 36 & 39a.
6. Anecdotes of Aurangzib, §27.
7. Irvine's Storia do Mogor, ii. 57n, 276n.
8. Khafi Khan, ii. 604.
9. But there is nothing improbable in the story. In Bhimbhar, another district of Kashmir, Hindus and Muslims used to intermarry, and the wife, whatever might have been her father's creed, was burnt or buried as her husband happened to be a Hindu or Islamite. But in October, 1634, Shah Jahan forbade the custom and ordered that every Hindu who had taken a Muslim wife must either embrace Islam and be married anew to her, or he must give her up to be wedded to a Muslim. This order was rigorously enforced. (Abdul Hamid, I. B. 57).
10. Khafi Khan, ii. 605.
11. M. A. 101, 293, (and for Sultan) 30, 121.
12. M. A. 343.
13. M. A. 318. Her tomb is thus described by Manucci, "The king caused a magnificent tomb to be erected to the
14. Irvine's Storia do Mogor, i. 361, ii. 107.
15. Ibid, ii. 107, 108.
16. That l'dipuri was a slave and no wedded wife is proved by Aurangzib's own words. When her son Kam Bakhsh intrigued with the enemy at the siege of Jinji, Aurangzib angrily remarked,—
    'A slave-girl's son comes to no good,
    Even though he may have been begotten by a king.' (Anecdotes of Aurangzib, § 25. He is also called 'a dancing-girl's son' (Storia, ii. 316n). Orme (Fragments, 85) speaks of her as a Circassian, evidently on the authority of Manucci. In a letter written by Aurangzib on his death-bed to Kam Bakhsh, he says "Udipuri, your mother, who has been with me during my illness, wishes to accompany [me in death]." From this expression Tod, (Annals of Mewar, Ch. XIII, note) infers, "Her desire to burn shews her to have been a Rajpoot." Such an inference is wrong, because a Hindu princess on marrying a Muslim king lost her caste and religion, and received Islamic burial. We read of no Rajputni of the harem of any of the Mughal emperors having burnt herself with her deceased husband, for the very good reason that a Muslim's corpse is buried and not burnt. Evidently Udipuri meant that she would kill herself in passionate grief on the death of Aurangzib.
17. Masir-ul-Umara, i. 790 — 792. Mir Khalil was posted to the Deccan shortly before Aurangzib's second viceroyalty began, so that the earUest possible date of the episode is 1653, when Aurangzib was 35 years old.