May God Maintain Your Greatness, So That Your Monarchy May
Prosper And Increase, That You May Obtain All Your Desires, Worthy The
Greatness Of Your Renown.
As your heart is noble and upright, so may God
give you a prosperous reign, because you powerfully defend the majesty
of Jesus, which may God render yet more flourishing, having been
confirmed by miracles," &c.
* * * * *
We travelled two years with the Great Mogul, who was in progress
through his dominions, moving only during the temperate months, between
October and April. On this occasion, I am confident that the leskar,
or camp, contained not less than 300,000 persons, including men, women,
and children, besides elephants, horses, and other beasts, that were fed
upon grain; yet we never experienced any scarcity of provisions, not
even in our nineteen days journey through a wilderness, between Mandoa
and Amadavar, [Ahmedabad.] On this occasion, a road was cut for us
through the forest. The tents of the leskar were of various colours,
being regularly arranged, and represented a large and splendid city. The
king's tents were red, and raised on poles to a great height, being
placed in the middle of the camp, and covering a great extent of ground;
the whole of the royal quarter being encircled by canats, or walls,
made of red calico, held up by canes at every breadth, and standing
upright about nine feet high, which was guarded all round by soldiers
every night.
The king removed ten or twelve miles every day, more or less according
to the convenience of procuring water. His wives and women of all sorts,
which are not less than a thousand, all lodged and provided for in his
tents, were carried along with the leskar, some in palanquins, others
upon elephants, or in cradles or panniers slung upon dromedaries, all
closely covered up that they might not be seen, and attended upon by
eunuchs. In the choice of his wives, the Great Mogul respects fancy more
than honour, not seeking affinity with neighbouring princes, but to
please his eye at home. Noormahal, the best beloved among his wives,
whose name signifies the Light of the Court, was of mean origin, but
has since advanced her friends to high rank and employments, and in a
manner commands the commander of the empire, by engrossing his whole
affections. The king and his great men continue to maintain their women,
but little affect them after thirty years old.
Notwithstanding the multitude of his women, the Great Mogul has only six
children, five sons and a daughter. All his sons are styled sultans, or
princes. The eldest is Sultan Cursero, the second, Sultan Parrveis,
the third, Sultan Caroon, the fourth, Sultan Shahar, and the
youngest, Sultan Tauct.[243] The name of this last signifies a
Throne; and he was so named by the king, because he was informed of
his birth at the time when he got quiet possession of the throne. The
eldest-born son of one of his legitimate wives has right to inherit the
throne, and has a title signifying the Great Brother. Although the
others are not put to death as with the Turks, yet it is observed that
they seldom long survive their fathers, being commonly employed on some
dangerous expedition.
[Footnote 243: These names seem to have been written by Terry from the
ear. By others, they are respectively named Cusero, Parvis, Churrum,
Shahar, and Taucht. - E.]
Akbar Shah, the father of the reigning Mogul, had threatened to
disinherit him, for some abuse to Anar-Kalee, his most beloved wife,
whose name signifies pomegranate kernel; but on his death-bed he
restored him to the succession. Akbar was wont, upon taking any
displeasure at one of his grandees, to give them pills to purge their
souls from their bodies, and is said to have come by his death in the
following manner. Intending to give one of these pills to a nobleman who
had incurred his displeasure, and meaning to take at the same time a
cordial pill himself, while he was cajoling the destined victim with
flattering speeches, he, by mistake, took the poisoned pill himself, and
gave the cordial to the nobleman. This carried him off in a few days, by
a mortal flux of blood.[244]
[Footnote 244: Neque enim lex justior ulla est, quam necis artifices
arte perire sua. - Purch.]
The character of Jehanguire, the reigning Mogul, seems strangely
compounded of opposite extremes. He is at times excessively cruel, and
at other times extremely mild. He is himself much given to excess in
wine, yet severely punishes that fault in others. His subjects know not
what it is to disobey his commands, forgetting the natural bonds of
private life, even those between father and son, in the fulfilment of
their public duty. He daily relieves numbers of the poor; and often, as
a mark of his filial piety, is in use to carry the palanquin of his
mother on his own shoulders. He speaks with much reverence of our
Saviour, but is offended by his cross and poverty, deeming them
incompatible with his divine Majesty, though told that his humility was
on purpose to subdue the pride of the world.
All religions are tolerated, and even their priests are held in good
esteem. I used often to receive from the Mogul the appellation of
Father, with many other gracious words, and had a place assigned me
among his nobles. The jesuits are not only admitted into his presence,
but encouraged by many gifts, and are permitted to convert the subjects,
who do not on that event lose their favour at court. On one occasion,
the Mogul put the sincerity of a convert to a severe trial. Having used
many threatenings to induce him to abandon his new faith, and finding
him undaunted, he tried by flatteries and high promises to draw him
back; but these also being unavailing, he bade him continue a Christian,
and dismissed him with a reward; saying, if he had been able to terrify
or cajole him from his religion, he would have made him a terrible
example for all waverers.
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