120 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [April, 1873. ASIATIC SOCIETIES. Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, November and Decembcer 1872. Near Humayun’s tomb a short way from Dehli is that of Jch&n&r& Band Begum, which, says Mr. F. Cooper, “ is deserving of respect on account of the virtues of her whose ashes it covers. She was celebrated throughout tho East for her wit and beauty, and her name will ever adorn tho page of history as a bright example of filial attachment and heroic self-devotion to tho dictates of duty, more especially when viewed in contrast with the behaviour of her sister Rox&nar&, who, by aiding the ambitious designs of Aurangzib, enabled him to dethrone Shah Jeh&n. The amiable and accom¬ plished Jeh&nar& not only supported her aged father in his adversity, but voluutarily resigned her liberty and resided with him during his ten years’ imprisonment in the fort of Agr&. She did not long survive her father, and there are strong suspicions that she died by poison. Her tomb is of white marble, open at the top, and at the head is a tablet of the same, with a Persian in¬ scription inlaid in black marble letters.”* The following is from the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal• Princess Jahanard was the second daughter of Sh&hjahan by Mumt&z Mahall (the ‘ T&j-bibi’), and was born on Wednesday, 21st Qafar, 1023 [23rd March, 1614]. She is called iu Muhammadan his. tones Mustat&b Begum, or Begum Cahib,f and died at Dihli on the 3rd Ramaz&n, 1092 [6th Sep¬ tember, 1681, A. D.], in her sixty-eighth year. Like many of the imperial princesses, she was not married. She dishked her younger brother Au- rangnib. Her numerous oharities gained for her a good name. Regarding her death, the If idsir i Alamgtri says —“ On the 7th Ramaz&n, His Majesty received a report that the angelic queen of the angels of the world of good and pious deeds, Jah&n&r& Band Begum, had died at Dihli on the 3rd. She was buried in the courtyard of the mausoleum of Shaikh Niz&muddin Auli&, where she had before built a tomb for herself. His Majesty [Aurangzib] was much afflicted by the death of his elder sister, and ordered that the naubat (music at sunrise, &c.) should not be played at Court for three days.” The inscription is— ltHS* ** 0* jL>* ^jLjj* • Guide to Dehli, p. 108. ~ ~~ ~ 4 So also Bernier in the beginning of his work. He gives a long chapter of on-dits and court-scandal about her. ajlAji Alljlj| I • 1r lie is the Living, the Lasting ! Let no one cover my lonely grave With gold or with silver brocade: Sufficient for me is the cover of turf Which God for the poor has made. The poor, the perishable, Jahdndrd, the disciple of the Ghisht Saints, X daughter of Shdhjahdn Pddishah i Ghdzi—May God enlighten his evidence ! A.H. 1092. Tho verse contains an allusion to the practice of the Muhammadans to cover the tombs of saints with costly cloths, or at least with a white sheet, as may still be seen in many dargdhs. J. W. B. Martin, Esq., communicated the fol¬ lowing :— At the village of Barantpur, in Zila’ Bh&galpur, there is being built at present a Bhrine, at which immense numbers of Hindus assemble during the Durg& puj&, to offer up kids, &c., to Ch&ndl, the supposed goddess of the place. Ab this place, a long timo ago, were found a few black stones, a carving of a woman rather larger than life, a figure of a warrior on what appears to be a tiger and is called by the natives Budhai (this figure is rather damaged), and a few stones such as were let in as threshold stones in grand native buildings of an¬ cient date. On one of tho latter is an inscription. Mr. John Christian has kindly translated it for me. The characters are what they here call Debachar and Mithil&ch&r. On my inquiring from the vil¬ lagers if they knew anything of the antecedents of the place, I managed to get a little information, which I add. In tho old days, when the former shrine was in its glory, a Musalm&n encampment was formed to the north of Barantpur, and tho troops therein wore under the command of a powerful general. This general one day, being excited by drink, determined to humble the pride of the goddess and disgrace the religion of the Hindus, and ordered his darw&n to go and ask the hand of the goddess MaheSwari in marriage. She, guessing that their intention was merely to disgraco hor by so mean a union, and knowing that her people were un¬ able to cope in war with the Mughuls pretended to consent to the union, but proposed certain condi¬ tions, which were that the Mughuls should in one night, before cockcrow, make a fort of certain X To which also the renowned Mn’innddln i Chishti of &jmir belongs. He was looked upon as the patron of the Imperial family.
