[After visiting the tomb of the saint Mu'ínu-d dín Chishtí, the matter of the Ráná was again taken into consideration, and I now determined to stay at Ajmír, and to send my dear son Khurram on the expedition. On the 6th I gave him leave to depart, and made him many presents.* Besides the men who had already been sent on this service under Khán-i 'azam, I now placed 12,000 horse under the command of the Prince, and after granting presents to the officers, I despatched them. Fidáí Khán was appointed Bakhshí. * * Although Khán-i 'azam had requested me to send Khurram on this service, and the Prince himself treated him with much attention, he did not show a proper spirit, and acted in an unsatisfactory matter. I wrote him a very kind letter, * * but my words had no effect upon him, and he still went on in a foolish obstinate way. When Khurram found that he was not hearty in the work, he wrote to me that it was by no means desirable to keep him there, and that his relations with Khusrú were the cause of his misbehaviour. So I ordered Mahábat Khán to go to U'dípúr and bring him away, and I ordered Muhammad Takí Díwán to proceed to Mandisor and convey to Ajmír his children and dependents. * * On the 16th, I received a despatch from Khurram, informing me that an elephant of which the Ráná was very fond, and seventeen others, had been taken. He added that their master would soon be a prisoner.]
[The New Year's Day of the ninth year of my reign fell on a day corresponding with the 9th Safar, 1023 H. (1614 A.D.).
Mahábat Khán, who had been sent to fetch Khán-i 'azam and his son 'Abdu-lla, arrived. I consigned Khán-i 'azam to A'saf Khán, to custody at Gwálior, but to be honourably treated.
On the 18th Urdíbihist, I forbad Khusrú to come to my presence. In consequence of my paternal affection, and the supplications of his mothers and sisters, I had given orders that he should come to pay his respects to me every day. But he showed no signs of frankness of spirit, and always seemed sad and downcast, so I forbad his coming to see me.]
['Atr of roses, the most excellent of perfumes, was discovered in my reign. The mother of Núr Jahán Begam conceived the idea of collecting the oil which rises to the surface when rose-water is heated, and this having been done, the oil was found to be a most powerful perfume.]
[In the month of Bahman, intelligence came in of the submission of Ráná Amar Singh, and of his willingness to pay homage to the Imperial throne. The particulars of the matter are these: My dear and fortunate son Sultán Khurram had established several military posts, especially in places where, from the insalubrity of the climate, the bad quality of the water, and the difficulty of access, many persons deemed it impossible to form a station. By this, and by keeping the Imperial forces in continual movement against the enemy, regardless of the intensity of the heat and the abundance of rain, he had captured the families of many Singhs, and had brought the enemy to such straits, that the Ráná perceived he could hold out only a little longer, and that he must either flee from his country or be made a prisoner. Being helpless, he resolved to succumb, and to do homage. He sent his maternal uncle Subh Karan, and Hardás Jhálá one of his most trusty and intelligent servants, praying my son to overlook his offences, and to give him an assurance of safety under the princely seal; he would then wait upon him in person to pay homage, and would send his son and heir-apparent to the Imperial Court, so that he might be classed among the adherents of the throne like all other rájás. He also begged that on account of old age he might be excused from proceeding to Court.
My son sent these persons to me in charge of Mullá Shukru-lla, his díwán, who, after the settlement of this matter, was dignified with the title of Afzal Khán, and of Sundar Dás, who afterwards received the title of Ráí Ráyán. My son wrote me the particulars in a despatch. * * Ráná Amar Singh and his ancestors, relying upon the security of his mountains and his home, had never seen one of the kings of Hindústán, and had never shown obedience; but now in my fortunate reign he had been compelled to make his submission. In compliance with my son's letter, I overlooked the Ráná's offences, and wrote him a kind and reassuring farmán under my own seal. I also wrote a kind letter to the Ráná's son, desiring him to specify the way in which he would come to pay his respects, and assuring him that all things should be made pleasant for him. My son sent my letters to the Ráná, to comfort him, and to gratify him with the expectation of my favour and kindness, and it was arranged that the Ráná and his sons should have an interview with my son on the 28th Bahman.]
The second happy tidings was the death of Bahadúr, son of the chief of Gujarát, and the leaven of insubordination and turbulence. God of his mercy destroyed him, but he died a natural death.
The third happy tidings was the defeat of the Portuguese (Warzí), who had made every preparation for the capture of the port of Surat. An action took place between them and the English,* who had sought refuge in that port. Most of their vessels were burnt by the English, and not being able to stand the contest, they took to flight, and sent a message to Mukarrab Khán, the governor of the ports of Gujarát, suing for peace, and representing that they had come with peaceful views, not to fight, and that the English had been the first to quarrel.
[Another piece of intelligence that came was, that the Rájpúts who had resolved to kill (Malik) 'Ambar had concealed themselves till they found an opportunity of approaching him, when one of them gave him an ineffectual wound. The men in the escort of 'Ambar killed the Rájpút, and carried their master off home. A very little more would have made an end of this cursed fellow.]
[At the end of the month, while I was hunting in the environs of Ajmír, Muhammad Beg arrived with a letter from my son Sultán Khurram. * * From the letter it appeared that on the 26th Bahman the Ráná came in and paid his respects to my son, with all the observances required by the rules of the Imperial Court. He presented as tribute a celebrated ruby belonging to his family, and * *. My son received him with great kindness; and when the Ráná advanced to kiss the Prince's feet, and beg pardon for his offences, the Prince raised him up, did his best to cheer him, and presented him with a jewelled sword, etc., etc. It is the practice among zamíndárs, that they, and the son who is heir-apparent, never present themselves before kings together; so the Ráná had not brought his son Karan, who was his heir. But the Prince wished to depart on that same day, so the Ráná took his leave, and sent his son Karan to wait upon Khurram, and on the same day he started with the Prince on his journey to the Imperial Court.]
[The New Year's Day of my tenth year corresponded with the 8th* Safar, 1024 H. * *
Karan (son of the Ráná) was granted a mansab of 5000, and I gave him a small rosary of emeralds and pearls with a ruby in the middle, such as in Hindi is called Smarani. * *]
[The 25th of De was the day of the annual weighing of my son Khurram. He was now twenty-four years of age, a married man, and the father of a family, but yet he had never been addicted to drinking wine. This being the day for weighing him, I said to him, “My boy, you are the father of children, and kings and princes drink wine. To-day is a festival, and I will drink wine with you, and I give you leave to drink on feast days, on New Year's Day, and at great entertainments, but always with moderation; for to drink to excess and weaken the intellect is avoided by the wise; in fact, some good and benefit ought to be obtained from wine-drinking.”
Up to my fourteenth year I had never drunk wine, except two or three times in childhood, when my mother or nurses had given me some as a remedy for some childish ailment. Once also my father called for some spirit ('arak) to the amount of a tola, and mixing it with rose-water, made me drink it as a remedy for a cough. In the days when my father was in the field against the Yúsufzáí Afgháns, and was encamped near A'tak, on the Níláb (Indus), I one day went out hunting. I met with many mishaps, and was very tired, when one of my attendants told me that if I would drink a cup of wine, it would relieve my fatigue and weariness. I was young, and prone to indulgence, so I sent a servant to the house of Hakím 'Alí for a refreshing drink. He brought me about a cup (piyála) and a half of yellow wine of sweet taste in a small bottle, and I drank it. The result was pleasant. From that time I took to wine-drinking, and from day to day took more and more, until wine of the grape had no effect upon me, and I resorted to spirit-drinking. In the course of nine years I got up to twenty cups of double-distilled spirit, fourteen of which I drank in the day, and the remaining six at night. The weight of this was six sírs of Hindústán, equal to one man of I'rán. My food in those days was one fowl and some bread. No one dared to expostulate with me, and matters reached such an extreme, that when in liquor I could not hold my cup for shaking and trembling. I drank, but others held the cup for me. At last I sent for the hakím (doctor) Humám, brother of Hakím Abú-l Fath, who was one of my father's attendants, and placed my case before him. With great kindness and interest, he spoke to me without concealment, and told me that if I went on drinking spirits in this way for six months longer, my state would be past remedy. His advice was good, and life is dear. I was greatly affected by his words, and from that day I began to diminish my potations, but I took to eating falúhá.* As I lessened my drink, I increased the falúhá; and I directed that my spirits should be mixed with wine of the grape; two parts wine and one spirit. Lessening my allowance daily, I reduced it in the course of seven years to six cups, each cup weighing eighteen miskáls and a quarter. For fifteen years I have now kept to this quantity, taking neither more nor less. I take it at night, except on Thursday, that being the day of my accession to the throne, and on Friday, which is the most holy day in the week, for I do not think it right to pass these nights in heedlessness, and to fail in giving thanks to the Almighty for his blessings. On Thursday and on Sunday I eat no meat; that being the day of my accession, this my father's birthday. These days are held in great honour. After some time, instead of falúhá, I took to opium. Now that my age is forty-six years and four months solar reckoning, and forty-seven years nine months lunar style, I take eight surkhs* of opium when five hours of the day have passed, and six surkhs after one hour of the evening.]