On the night of Tuesday, the 21st, I marched from the stage mentioned, and turned the reins of the army of prosperity towards Aḥmadabad. As in consequence of the great heat and the corruption of the air I would have had to undergo much hardship, and would have had to traverse a long distance before reaching Agra, it occurred to me not to proceed at this hot season to the capital. As I heard much praise of the rainy season in Gujarat, and there was no report about the evil reputation of Aḥmadabad (see infra for account of epidemic there), I finally conceived the idea of remaining there. Inasmuch as the protection and guardianship of God (to Him be praise) was in all places and at all times extended to this suppliant, just at this crisis news arrived that signs of the plague (wabā) had shown themselves again at Agra, and many people were dying, my intention of not going to Agra, which had thrown its rays on my mind through Divine inspiration, was confirmed. The entertainment of Thursday, the 23rd, was held at the station of Jalod.*
Previously to this, the rule of coinage was that on one face
of the metal they stamped my name, and on the reverse the
name of the place, and the month and year of the reign. At
this time it entered my mind that in place of the month they
should substitute the figure of the constellation which belonged
to that month; for instance, in the month of Far-
On this day I‘tiqād K. was promoted to the dignity of a standard, and a standard was also conferred on Muruwwat K., who was attached to Bengal. On the night of Monday,* the 27th, the camp was pitched in the village of Badrwāla, in the parganah of Sahra.* At this stage was heard the voice of the koel (koyal). The koel is a bird of the crow tribe, but smaller. The crow's eyes are black, and those of the koel red. The female has white spots, but the male is all black. The male has a very pleasant voice, quite unlike that of the female. It is in reality the nightingale of India. Just as the nightingale is agitated and noisy in the spring, so is the cry of the koel at the approach of the rainy season, which is the spring of Hindustan. Its cry is exceedingly pleasant and penetrating, and the bird begins its exhilaration (mastī) when the mangoes ripen. It frequently sits on the mango-trees, and is delighted with the colour and scent of the mango. A strange thing about the koel is that it does not bring up its young from the egg, but, finding the nest of the crow unguarded at the time of laying, it breaks the crow's eggs with its beak, throws them out, and lays its own in the place of them, and flies off. The crow, thinking the eggs its own, hatches the young and brings them up. I have myself seen this strange affair at Allahabad.
On the night of Kamshamba (Wednesday), the 29th, the
camp was on the bank of the Mahī, and the entertainment of
Mubārakshamba was held there. Two springs appeared on
the bank of the Mahī, that had very clear water, so much so
that if a poppy-seed fell into them the whole of it was visible.
All that day I passed with the ladies. As it was a pleasant
place to walk about in, I ordered them to build a raised seat
round each of the springs. On Friday I fished in the Mahī,
and large fish with scales fell into the net. I first told my
son, Shāh-Jahān, to try his sword on them. After this I
ordered the Amīrs to strike them with the swords they had in
their belts. My son's sword cut better than all of theirs.
These fish were divided among the servants who were present.
On the eve of Saturday, the 1st of Urdībihisht, marching from
the above-mentioned stage, I ordered*
the mace-bearers
(yasāwulān) and tawāchiyān to collect the widows and poor
people from the villages on the road and near it, and bring
them before me, so that I might bestow charity on them
with my own hand, which would be an occupation, and the
helpless ones might also find grace. What better occupation
could there be than this? On Monday, the 3rd, Shajā‘at K.
‘Arab, and Himmat K., and other servants who belonged to
the Deccan and Gujarat, had the good fortune to kiss the
threshold. The holy men and the possessors of blessing
(faqirs, etc.) who lived at Aḥmadabad paid their respects to
me. On Tuesday, the 4th, the bank of the river at Maḥmūdā-
A diamond ring was presented to my son, Shāh-Jahān, as
part of the offering of Qubu-l-mulk. It was of the value of
1,000 muhars, and on it there appeared three letters of equal
size and of good form, such that they made the word Lillahi
(for God). This diamond had been sent, as it was reckoned
one of the marvels of the world. In fact, veins and scratches
are flaws in precious stones, but it was generally thought that
the marks on this one were fabricated. Moreover, the diamond
did not come from any celebrated mine. As my son, Shāh-
On this day I presented Brikha Rāy bād-farūsh (panegyrist) with Rs. 1,000. He is a Gujaratī by origin, and is fully versed in the chronicles and circumstances of that country. His name was Būnṭā—that is, a sapling (nihāl). It seemed to me that it was anomalous to call an old man Būnṭā, especially now that he had become verdant (sar-sabz) and fruit-bearing through the irrigation (saḥāb, literally, cloud, or mirage) of our kindness. I therefore ordered that henceforth he should be called Brikha Rāy. Brikha means “tree” in Hindī. On Friday, the 7th of the aforesaid month, corresponding with the 1st Jumāda-l-awwal, at a chosen propitious hour, I entered the city of Ahmadabad with all enjoyment. At the time of mounting, my son of prosperous fortune, Shāh-Jahān, had brought 20,000 charan, or Rs. 5,000, for the niār (scattering), and I scattered them as I hastened to the palace. When I alighted there he laid before me by way of an offering a jewelled ṭurra (aigrette) of the value of Rs. 25,000, and those of his officers whom he had left in this Subah also presented offerings. They altogether amounted to nearly Rs. 40,000. As it was represented to me that Khwāja Beg Mīrzā Safawī had reached the neighbourhood of the forgiveness of God—i.e., had died—at Aḥmadnagar, I promoted to a mansab of 2,000 personal and horse, original and increased, Khanjar K., whom he had adopted as his son, and, indeed, held dearer than a son of his loins, and who was in truth, an intelligent, ambitious youth, and a servant worthy of patronage, and entrusted him with the charge of the fort of Aḥmadnagar.
In these days, in consequence of the great heat and the corruption of the air, sickness had broken out among the people, and of those in the city and the camp there were few who for two or three days had not been ill. Inflammatory fever or pains in the limbs attacked them, and in the course of two or three days they became exceedingly ill—so much so that even after recovery they remained for a long time weak and languid. They mostly at last recovered, so that but few were in danger of their lives. I heard from old men who resided in this country that thirty years before this the same kind of fever prevailed, and passed away happily. Anyhow, there appeared some deterioration in the climate of Gujarat, and I much regretted having come here. I trust that the great and glorious God, in His mercy and grace, will lift up this burden, which is a source of uneasiness to my mind, from off the people. On Mubārak-shamba (Thursday), the 13th, Badī‘u-z-zamān, s. Mīrzā Shāhrukh, was promoted to the mansab of 1,500 personal and horse, and presented with a standard, and appointed faujdār of Sarkār Paṭan. Sayyid Niẓām, faujdār of Sarkār Lucknow, was raised to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 700 horse. The manṣab of ‘Alī Qulī Darman, who was attached to the province of Qandahar, at the request of Bahādur K., the governor thereof, was ordered to be 1,000 personal and 700 horse. Sayyid Hizbar K. Bārha was dignified with the manṣab of 1,000 personal and 400 horse. I promoted Zabardast K. to the rank of 800 personal and 350 horse. On this day Qāsim Khwāja of Dihbīd* had sent from Mā-warā'a-n-nahr (Transoxiana) by the hand of one of his tribesmen by way of supplication five tūyghūn (white) falcons. One died on the road, and four arrived at Ujjain in safety. I ordered them to hand over the sum of Rs. 5,000 to someone among them, that he might purchase and take with him whatever things would be agreeable to the Khwāja, and gave a reward of Rs. 1,000 to himself. At this time Khān ‘Alam, who had been sent as ambassador to the ruler of Persia, sent an āshyānī falcon (bird from the nest), which in the Persian language they call ukna.* Outwardly one cannot distinguish between these and bāz dāmī* falcons by any particular mark, but after they have been flown the difference is clear. On Thursday, the 20th, Mīr Abū-ṣ-Ṣāliḥ, a relation (? son-in-law) of the deceased Mīrzā Yūsuf K., came from the Deccan by order, and enjoyed the good fortune of kissing the threshold. He presented as an offering 100 muhars* and a jewelled plume (kalgī). Mīrzā Yūsuf K.* was one of the Riẓawī Sayyids of Mashhad, and his family was always held in great honour in Khurasan, and just now my brother Shāh ‘Abbās has given his daughter in marriage to the younger brother of the aforesaid Abū-ṣ-Ṣāliḥ. His father, Mīrzā Atagh,* was the head of the attendants of the mausoleum of Riẓā, the 8th Imam. Mīrzā Yūsuf Khān, by means of the patronage of H.M. (Akbar), had risen to nobility, and attained to the manṣab of 5,000. Without doubt he was a good Mïr, and held his many servants in good order. A number of relations gathered round him. He died* in the Deccan. Although he left many sons, who obtained favours in consideration of former services, special attention was paid to the development of his eldest son. In a short time I advanced him to the rank of nobility. Certainly there is a great difference between him and his father.