On this day the bad news arrived that the eldest son of Shāh Parwīz had died at Agra. As he was somewhat grownup, * and was very attached and affectionate towards his father, the latter was exceedingly grieved and wounded at heart at this event, and great bewilderment and weakness manifested themselves in him. In order to console and please him, I sent him gracious letters, and covered over the deadly wound of his heart with the balm of affection and kindness. I hope that God, the great and glorious, may grant him patience and resignation, for in this kind of calamities there can be no better driver away of grief than endurance and resignation.
On Friday, the 14th, at the request of Āqā* Āqāyān, I went to her house. On account of her previous service and her hereditary attachment to this illustrious family, when the late king made me a married man, he took her from my sister Shāh-zāda Khānam, and placed her in charge of my Zanana. It is 33 years from that date that she has been in my service, and I esteem her greatly, for she has served me with sincerity. In no journey or expedition had she of her own will remained absent from attendance on me. When she felt her increasing age, she requested me to order her to remain at Delhi, and to spend the remainder of her life in prayer for me, for she had no longer the power to move about, and found it a great hardship and trouble to come and go (as she used). One of her felicities was that she of the same age* as ‘Arsh-āshyānī (Akbar). In brief, wit view to giving her rest, I ordered her to remainat Delhi, and in that place she had made for herself a garden, a saray, and a tomb, in the constructing which she has employed herself for some time past. In short, to please this ancient servitor, I went to her house, and strictly ordered Sayyid Bahwa, the governor of the city, to serve and guard her in such a manner that no dust from any road of vexation might settle on the hem of her contentment.
On this day Rāja Kishan Dās was promoted to the mansab of 2,000 personal and 300 horse, original and increased. As Sayyid Bahwa* had performed satisfactorily the duties of faujdar of Delhi, and the people of the place were much pleased with his excellent conduct, according to previous custom, the protection and administration of the city of Delhi and the faujdarship of the surrounding country were entrusted to him, and he was promoted to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 600 horse, original and increased, and he was presented with an elephant, and allowed to take leave. On Saturday, the 15th, I honoured Mīrzā Wālī with the mansab of 2,000 and 1,000 horse, and presenting him with a standard and an elephant, appointed him to the Deccan. Shaikh ‘Abdu-l-Ḥaqq Dihlawī,* who was a pious and estimable man, had the good fortune to pay his respects to me. He had composed a book containing the biographies of the Shaikhs of India, and produced it to me. He had endured some hardships, and for a long time had lived in Delhi in seclusion, and the practice of reliance on God, and of asceticism. He is a very worthy man, and his company is not without pleasure (for me). Bestowing various kinds of kindnesses on him, I dismissed him.
On Sunday, the 16th, I marched from Delhi, and on Friday, the 21st, halted in the pargana of Kairāna.* This pargana is the native place of Muqarrab K. Its climate is equable and its soil good. Muqarrab had made buildings and gardens there. As I had often heard praise of his garden, I wished much to see it. On Saturday, the 22nd, I and my ladies were much pleased in going round it. Truly, it is a very fine and enjoyable garden. Within a masonry (pukhta, pucca) wall, flower-beds have been laid out to the extent of 140 bighas. In the middle of the garden he has constructed a pond, in length 220 yards, and in breadth 200 yards. In the middle of the pond is a māh-tāb terrace (for use in moonlight) 22 yards square. There is no kind of tree belonging to a warm or cold climate that is not to be found in it. Of fruit-bearing trees belonging to Persia I saw green pistachio-trees, and cypresses of graceful form, such as I have never seen before. I ordered the cypresses to be counted, and they came to 300. All round the pond suitable buildings have been begun and are in progress.
On Monday, the 24th, Khanjar K., in whose charge is the
Fort of Ahmadnagar, was promoted to the mansab of 2,500
personal and 1,600 horse. On Wednesday, the 26th, the
Giver of Bounties gave my son Shāh-Jahān a son by the
daughter of Āṣaf Khān. He presented an offering of 1,000
muhars, and begged for a name for him. I gave him the
name of Umīd-bakhsh (bestower of hope). I hope his advent*
may be auspicious to this State. On Thursday, the 27th,
I halted. In these few days I was delighted with hawking
the jarz*
(bustard or florican) and tūgh-dārī (also a kind of
bustard). I ordered the jarz-i-būr (the red bustard?) to
be weighed. It came to 2 1/4 Jahāngīrī sirs, and the variegated
(ablaq) one to 2 1/8 sirs. The large tūgh-dārī was 1/4
sir heavier than the jarz-i-būr. On Thursday, the 5th of
the Divine month of Day, I left the boat at Akbarpur, and
the victorious army then marched by land. From Agra to
this halting-place, which is situated within two koss of the
pargana of Buṛiya,*
is by river 123 koss or 91 koss by road.
I did it in 34 marches and 17 halts. In addition to this I
delayed a week in leaving the city, and 12 days in sporting
in Pālam: altogether (I took) 70 days. On this day Jahāngīr
Qulī K. came from Bihār, and had the good fortune to pay
his respects. He presented 100 muhars and Rs. 100. From
the last Thursday to Wednesday, the 11th, I marched every
day. On Thursday, the 12th, I was pleased with going
round to see the garden of Sirhind. It is one of the old
gardens, and has old trees in it. It has not the freshness it
formerly had, but it is still valuable. Khwāja Waisī, who
is well acquainted with agriculture and buildings, was
appointed the karorī of Sirhind for the purpose of keeping the
garden in order. I had sent him off from Agra before I
marched from the capital, and he had put it somewhat in
order. I strictly enjoined him again that he should remove
all the old trees that had no freshness in them, and put in
fresh plants, to clean up the ‘irqbandī*
(it is ‘irāq-bandī in the
text. The word does not occur in the B.M. MS. but is in
the I.O. MS.), and repair the old buildings, and erect other
buildings in the shape of baths, etc., in fitting places. On
this date Dūst Beg, who was one of the auxiliaries of ‘Abdu-