[“L'Innamorata.” This, like the Kiránu-s Sa'dain, is a kind of epic or historical poem, having for its main subject the loves of Dewal Rání, daughter of the Ráí of Gújarát, and Khizr Khán, eldest son of Sultán 'Aláu-d dín. Khizr Khán, as told by Barní, fell under his father's displeasure and was put in confinement. Upon the death of 'Aláu-d dín, the traitor and would-be-usurper, Malik Náíb Káfúr, caused the eyes of the prince to be put out. When Kutbu-d dín Mabárak Sháh had ascended the throne, to secure his own position, he had Khizr Khán and other of his brothers murdered. The fate of Dewal Rání is doubtful. Khusrú (infrà p. 555) says that her hands were cut off while she was clinging to her husband's body, and implies that she was left among the slain, though he says not so distinctly. Firishta asserts that she was taken into Kutbu-d dín's harem, and that she was also taken after his death by the villain, Khusrú Khán. Barní, who was intimately acquainted with the facts, is silent upon the subject, so that it may be hoped that the high-born damsel escaped that union with “the foul Parwárí,” which would have been worse than death.]
Praise of God and the Prophet.—Panegyric on the author's spiritual teacher, Nizám-d dín Aulyá and on the Emperor 'Aláu-d dín Khiljí.
“At the time that this learner of evil, the author, was a captive in the hands of the Mughals,* may such days never return! travelling in a sandy desert, where the heat made my head boil like a cauldron, I and the man who was with me on horseback arrived thirsty at a stream on the roadside. Although the naphtha of my life was heated, I would not inflame it with oil by drinking a draught of water. I merely wetted my lips, and obtained a little relief after my exhaustion. But my thirsty guard dismounted from his horse, and both he and his horse drank their fill of water and expired immediately.”
He states that he went one day to visit Khizr Khán, who asked him to write a poem upon that prince's love for Dewal Rání; and Khizr Khán causing the account which he had himself written descriptive of his own passion to be produced, he consigned it to the author, who agreed to versify it.
“Happy Hindústán, the splendour of Religion, where the Law finds perfect honour and security. In learning Dehli can now compete with Bokhárá, for Islám has been made manifest by its kings. The whole country, by means of the sword of our holy warriors, has become like a forest denuded of its thorns by fire. The land has been saturated with the water of the sword, and the vapours of infidelity have been dispersed. The strong men of Hind have been trodden under foot, and all are ready to pay tribute. Islám is triumphant, idolatry is subdued. Had not the law granted exemption from death by the payment of poll-tax, the very name of Hind, root and branch, would have been extinguished. From Ghazní to the shore of the ocean you see all under the dominion of Islám. Cawing crows* see no arrows pointed at them; nor is the Tarsá (Christian) there, who does not fear (taras) to render the servant equal with God; nor the Jew who dares to exalt the Pentateuch to a level with the Kurán; nor the Magh who is delighted with the worship of fire, but of whom the fire complains with its hundred tongues. The four sects of Musulmáns are at amity, and the very fish are Sunnís.”*
Mu'izzu-d dín Muhammad bin Sám, Kutbu-d dín Aibak; “That
flaming wave drove the Ráí of Kanauj into the Ganges, where he
was drowned, and took from him fourteen hundred elephants.”
Shamsu-d dín Altamsh.—Ruknu-d dín Fíróz.—Sultán Raziya.—
Mu'izzu-d dín Bahrám.—'Aláu-d dín Mas'úd.—Násiru-d dín Mah-
“He made the blood of the infidels to flow in streams, and formed bridges with their heads. He went from Multán to Ghazní, and thence invaded the Tátárs, dyeing the country with their blood and covering the whole land with their heads. He made Turkistán so entirely Hindí, that he took the life from the Turks by means of his Hindus. When he again turned his face this way from that country, he stretched his arm to slaughter the Khokhars,* and shed blood on all the five rivers of the Panjáb.” “By his wise measures he forged for the Mughals chains both of iron and gold.”
“He was the first who, while yet only an Amír, placed an 'amárí upon his elephants.”* On his advance to Dehli he lavished money profusely on the way. “The fort of Dehli fell before the mangonel of his gold. His largesses offered him the aid of catapults, and presents of jewels yielded him as much victory as balistas.” Shortly after his accession, he despatched troops to Multán and Sind, where he was victorious.
“Shortly after, the Sultán of religion determined to wreak the vengeance of a hundred years upon the Mughals. They were coming on to be destroyed by his beheading sword, like moths in the flame of a candle. First they came to the borders of Manjúr and Cháran, and Ulugh Khán* attacked them like Káran, and by the force of his sword made them food for jackals.
“After that, the audacious infidel Katlak Khwája,* one of the strongest branches of that accursed tree,* advanced that year to Kailí, and the Sháh regarded that boldness as a happy omen. The king moved on for two parasangs, in order that he might come to action within the borders of Kailí. The vile Katlak Khwája was confident and bold, but it was as if an owl were contending with a falcon. The king ordered Ulugh Khán and Zafar Khán to advance with determination to the fight, and those two rapid dragons made the hills and forests quake. Ulugh Khán pursued the Mughals like a panther after its prey, and those who escaped the sword fell victims to the arrows. The hill of Kailí* was drowned in a torrent of blood and the heads of the gabrs rolled down like a weighing pan (kail).” “After that, Targhí, the headstrong, bit the dust when he was struck with a hatchet, and for a time religion was freed from the troubles caused by the infidels.”
“Afterwards the sand of the desert was saturated with the blood of the armies of Turták and 'Alí Beg.* The army of religion came rushing on like a river, overwhelming the Mughals in its waves. The two Turk Kháns were suddenly captured by a Hindu servant of the Court.”
“Subsequently, three other active warriors, who outstripped the wind in their fleetness, came rapidly to the neighbourhood of Múltán, and lit up the flame of insurrection on the banks of the Ráví. One was Tíhú, another Ikbál the stubborn, the third Kabak determined both in fight and hatred. Their soldiers were countless as the sand, and infuriated by the fate of Turták and 'Alí Beg. His majesty despatched his principal minister, Káfúr (camphor), the splendour of Islám, against them, in order that by his fragrance he might dispel the offensive smell arising from their dead bodies. He went so expeditiously that, in ten nights, he performed the journey of a whole month. The blood of the Tátárs flowed in such torrents that it reached to the girths of the horses. Ikbál and Tíhú fled together towards the rivers, and were glad to save their lives by abandoning the plunder which they were carrying off. But Kabak was taken like a partridge (kabak),* and that learned dog was sent with a collar round his neck to the king of the world. The victory was obtained by the aid of God, and the Mughal had enough of his attempts at revenge.
“From that day the torrent of the Jíhún had no power to carry away even an ant from Hindústán. Behold a great marvel which marked the good fortune of 'Aláu-d dín, may he always remain king! A deadly blast from hell blew over that country, and dissolved by its fire even iron into wax. They all died, and though Búyahia escaped, as he had the life of a dog, yet his power was ignominiously destroyed; and so entirely had all their turbulence subsided in this country, that no one heard anything more about them.”
The poet passes to the conquests of 'Aláu-d dín, in Hindústán. Ulugh Khán sent against the Ráí of Gujarát, “where the shores of the sea were filled to the brim with the blood of the gabrs.” The conquest of Somnát, Jháín, and Ranthambor, whose ruler was “Pithú Ráí, descended from Pithaurá, but an hundred hundred thousand times more proud than he. Ten thousand swift Arabian horses were his, and elephants with 'amárís on their backs. Soldiers and ráwats and ránas were beyond number. This fort was two weeks' journey distant from Dehli, and its walls extended for three parasangs. Terrible stones were sent against them with such force that the battlements were levelled with the dust. So many stones were thrown, pile upon pile, that it would have required thirty years to clear the road to one of the gates.” The king took the fort in one month, and made it over to Ulugh Khán.