But Mírzá Muḥammad Ḥakím with rebellious intentions went into the neighbourhood of Behra, and set his hand (which was never ready for political affairs) to spoiling and plundering the district. Then, setting out for Láhór, he came by forced marches, and en­camped in the garden of Mahdí Qásim Khán, which was situate outside the city on the banks of the river Ráwí. And Fate in an improptu of his, said:—

(P. 91)

“Since at this point I leave you as you are, It hardly matters that we came so far.”

And Mír Muḥammad Khán, and all the Atkah-kháns* with their posse comitatus came into the fortress, and however much Mírzá attacked it, they so repulsed him that they gave him no opportunity to formally invest it. Now, when the reports from the Amírs reached the Emperor, he, leaving Ágrah in charge of the Khán-khánán, * and Muzaffar Khán, on the 3rd of Jamádi-l-awwal* of the year nine hundred and seventy-four (974) marched on the Panjáb by way of Dihlí and Sirhind. And Mírzá Muḥammad Ḥakím on the mere hearing of this news, without effecting anything, went back to Kábul by the way by which he had come:—

“He that cannot seize the skirt of Fortune by might,
His bootless effort is like dyeing the eyebrows of the blind.”

And Quṭb-ud-dín Muḥammad Khán, and Kamál Khán G'hakkar were appointed to go from Láhór in pursuit of Mírzá Muḥammad Ḥakím. They went a certain distance and then turned back to Behra.

At this time a letter came from Muḥammad Báqí Tarkhán bin Mírzá Muḥammad 'Isá,* ruler of the district of Sindh, containing assurance of his own loyalty, and complaints of the attacks of Sulṭán Maḥmúd, the governor of Bakkar, on the province of Sindh and Láhór. Accordingly a farmán was sent to Sulṭán Maḥmúd touching the complaints of Muḥammad Báqí.

During the stay at Láhór a letter came from the Khánkhánán saying that Ulugh Mírzá and Sháh Mírzá, in whose jágír were the parganna of Nahtnúr (?) a dependency of Sambhal, and A'zampúr, had, in conjunction with their uncles Ibráhím Ḥusain Mírzá and Muḥammad Ḥusain Mírzá,* with rebellious designs seized some of the government pargannas; but that, on his going in pursuit of them, (P. 92) they had fled to Málwa.

At this time the Emperor held a Qamurgha-hunt* at about five cosses from Láhór. For a space of 40 cosses in every direction they drove the wild game together in a circle, and day by day they con­tracted the circle, till it became as narrow as the mouth of the fair:—

“The compass drew so narrow the figure of that mouth,
That the circumference of the circle coincided with the centre.”

About 15,000 wild animals of various kinds were counted in that arena. The nobles, and afterwards the people generally, were per­mitted to join in the sport. Afterwards the whole party gave rein to their horses, and dashed into the river Ráwí to swim across, and all the courtiers, with the exception of one or two, of which number was Khúskhabar Khán (as has been already mentioned),* got safely across. Now, while the Qamurgha-hunt was going on, Muzaffar Khán arrived with Vazír Khán from Ágra, and the Emperor wrote a farmán entrusting to Áçaf Khán and Majnún Khán the joint guardianship of the districts of Karrah and Mánikpúr—on which subject* many a poem was composed.

Meanwhile news arrived that the Khán Zamán, Bahádur Khán, and Sikandar Khán had broken faith and were in open rebellion: and that they had sent persons to fetch Mírzá Muḥammad Ḥakím, and had had the audacity to read the khutbah, and to strike coin in his name in the district of Jounpúr. And Mulá Ghazálí, a poet of Mashhid, composed this verse:—

“In the name of the gracious and merciful God,
Muḥammad Ḥakím is the heir of a kingdom.”

On hearing this news the Emperor confided Mírzá Mírák Razawí, the Khán Zamán's lieutenant, to the custody of Ján Báqí Khán, and entrusting the charge of the affairs of the Panjáb to (P. 95) Kháni Kalán, and the whole Atgah family,* on the 12th of the blessed month of Ramzán in the year 974 started for Ágra, and went to the fort of T'hánésar,* which has been from time immemo­rial a haunt of infidels. At the lake [called] Kurk'hét,* which is an assembly place of Kurus and Pándus,* (curse on them!) more than 4,000 years ago, according to the opinion of the Hindus, seven or eight hundred millions of persons were killed in a tumult (and they went by way of water to hell-fire). And now every year there is a great assembly there, and the Hindu people, at that place of worship, give away both privately and publicly, gold and silver, and jewels, and linen, and valuable goods: and in accordance with that which has been said, [viz.]:—

“Do a good action, and cast into the water:”

they secretly cast gold coins into the water. And bodies of Jogí-s and Sannyásí-s, who are the Hindu devotees, are in the habit of fighting there in their bigotry. On this occasion their fight made a grand show. A number of the imperial soldiers, in accordance with a command from the Emperor, having rubbed their bodies well with ashes,* went and fought on the side of the Sannyásí-s (who were scarcely 300 men, while the Jogí-s were more than 500). But for all that many were slain on either side. At last the Sannyásí-s came off victorious.

When the imperial camp was pitiched at Dihlí, Mírzá Mírak Razawí escaping from Khán Báqí Khán, in whose charge he was imprisoned, fled and joined his employer.* Then Khán Báqí Khán went in pursuit of him for some distance, but eventually, through fear of punishment, attached himself to the insurgents:—

‘As for him who became a tale,
His tale never came back again.’

While the Emperor was still at Dihlí, Sháh Fakhr-ud-dín Mash-hadí, * upon information received from Tátár Khán, commandant of Dihlí, and in accordance with the Emperor's orders, brought Shaháb Khán Turkomán (who held the parganna of Bhójpúr in fief, and with whom Amín Díwána,* having escaped from Láhór, had taken refuge, and, having been supplied by him with a horse and pecuniary assistance, had gone off (P. 94) to join the rebels) to Court, where he was executed.

When the Emperor arrived at Ágra, news came that Khán Zamán, was beseiging Mírzá Yúsuf Khán Mashhadí,* who had shut himself up in Shergaṛh (which is generally known by the name of Qannouj). Upon the receipt of the intelligence, leaving the Khán-khánán in charge of Ágra, the Emperor on the 26th* of Shavvál,* in the year nine hundred and seventy-four (974), marched towards Jounpúr. And the weather was so hot that the marrow of creatures melted in their bones:—

‘The air again was so hot that, even in running water,
The crab through heat laid its breast on the ground,
Even the moist river, from the mouth of which water ever flows,
Through fever became dry-lipped, like a bilious person.’

And when the town of Sakít had became the camping-place of the imperial army, news came in that Khán Zamán had raised the siege [of Shergaṛh], and fled towards Mánikpúr, where was his brother Bahádur Khán. Accordingly, from the town of Bhojpúr the Emperor detached a body of 6,000 veteran troopers under the command of Muḥammad Qulí Khán Barlás, Muzaffar Khán, Rája Todar Mal, Sháh Budágh Khán, and his son 'Abd-ul-Maṭlab Khán and Ḥusain Khán (who at that time had arrived from Satwás) to march towards Oudh to oppose Sikandar. At first Munçúr Khán was appointed to lead the vanguard of this division of the im­perial army; but, since he had arrived in a most deplorable and poverty-stricken state, on account of the protracted seige he had sustained in the fortress [of Satwás],* he went to the parganna of Shamsábád to obtain supplies for his army, and found it so refreshing that some little delay took place in his rejoining the army: conse­quently Qiyá Khán was appointed in his place.

The author was with the aforesaid Khán on this occasion. And when he passed on from Shamsábád, I remained in that town. (P. 95) The following is one of the marvels, which took place there, to which a number of trustworthy inhabitants of that city niatreo a no ,taht ,beneppah ti siht erofed syab wef A ??ssentiw erod night, a boy of tender age, belonging to a washerman, fell asleep on a couch on the banks of the river Ganges. Suddenly he fell into the river, and the strong stream carried him as far as the town of Bhojpúr (which is 10 cosses distant), and landed him safely on the bank. A relative of the washerman took out the child, and recog­nizing it, brought it back in the morning to its mother and father:—