Sa'íd Khán sent a ghulám, Doulat Khán by name, to bring in the Mirzá a prisoner, and wrote a dispatch and sent it to the Court at the time that the Emperor was coming to Ajmír on his return from Gujrát. When Ḥusain Khán heard of the capture of the Mirzá, he hastened to Multán, and saw Sa'íd Khán. Ḥusain Khán made some difficulty about seeing the Mirzá and said: “If when I see him I should salám to him, it will be inconsistent with my loyalty to the Court; and if I do not, it will be uncourteous, and the Mirzá will say to himself, ‘This Qulqachí,* when he received quarter at the siege of Satwás, thought good to make saláms without number; now that evil days are fallen upon me, he treats me cavalierly’.” When the Mirzá heard of his ceremonious words, (P. 160) he said: “Come and see me without obeisance, for I waive that.” Still he made his salám, when he went to see him. The Mirzá said with sorrow: “I had no intention of rebellion and revolt, but when it became a matter of life and death, I took my own course and threw myself into a foreign country, but even there I was not left alone. Since by fate's decree this defeat was destined to come upon me, would that I had been defeated by you, who are my co-religionist, that it might have brought you into notice, and not by this Ḥusain Qulí Khán, who is an alien in religion and sect!” Ḥusain Khán then returned to Kánt-u-Golah, and there he heard that the Mirzá after a short respite had died in prison at Multán:—

“He counted a few breaths, and became helpless,
Destiny smiled that he too was no more.”

Ḥusain Khán went from Kánt-u-Golah to the Court. And Ḥusain Qulí Khán came from the Panjáb and brought with him Nas'úd Ḥusain Mirzá with his eyes blindfolded, and a number of other prisoners of the followers of the Mirzá, to Fatḥpúr. They numbered nearly 300 persons, and he brought them prisoners before the Emperor, with the skins of asses, hogs, and dogs drawn over their faces. Some of them were put to death by various ingenious tortures, and the re­mainder were let go free. Ḥusain Khán had taken prisoners and taken with him some 100 of the followers of the Mirzá, men of deter­mination (who had attained the rank of Khán, and after the defeat on the way to Multán had taken refuge with Ḥusain Khán). Now, when he heard at his own house the news [of the savage treatment of the prisoners], he gave these men leave to quit his pargana. Ḥusain Qulí Khán mentioned this body of prisoners, when he was in attendance on the Emperor. Ḥusain Khán sent a representation to Court that, since he had received no orders from the Emperor to put them to death, he had released that band of prisoners, and so had performed a gracious act which might be attributed to His Majesty. The Emperor (P. 161) forgave him, and imposed no penalty on him for the act. At this time Sa'íd Khán came from Multán to pay his homage to the Emperor, and brought with him the head of Mirzá Ibráhím Mirzá, which he had had dissevered from his body after his death. And this became the foundation of his favour as a courtier:—

“Every bit of dust, which the wind blows away,
Was once a Fárídún or a Kaiqabád.*
Sweet it is to practise fate's agriculture,
To sow* a Farídún, and reap a Kháqán.”*

In the year nine hundred and eighty (980) Nagarkót was taken by Ḥusain Qulí Khán. The following is an epitome of the history of the event. The Emperor from his youth up had shown a special predilection and inclination for the society of various religious sects, such as Brahmans, and musicians, and other kinds of Hindús. Ac­cordingly at the beginning of his reign a certain Brahman musician, Gadáí Brahmaindás by name, whose whole business was perpetually to praise the Hindús, and who was possessed of a considerable amount of capacity and genius, came to the Court. By means of conversing with the Emperor and taking advantage of the idiosyncrasies of his disposition, he crept day by day more into favour, until he attained to high rank, and was honoured with the distinction of becoming the Emperor's confidant, and it became a case of “Thy flesh is my flesh, and thy blood my blood.” He first received the title of Kab Ráí,* meaning Prince of Poets, and afterwards that of Rájah Bírbar* meaning “Renowned Warrior.” When the Emperor's mind became alienated from Rájah Jai Chand, commandant of Nagarkót, who was in attendance at the Court, he appointed that fortress as jágír to Bírbar, and having imprisoned Jai Chand, he wrote a farmán to Ḥusain Qulí Khán, ruler of Láhór, to seize Nagarkót and hand it over to Bírbar. Ḥusain Qulí Khán, with the other Amírs of the Panjáb such as Mirzá Yusuf Khán, and Ja'fir Khán son of Qazáq Khán, and Tattú Masnadi 'Álí &c., first took by assault Dahmírí, and Gwályár, and Koltah an exceedingly lofty fortress, and reduced that district (P. 162). Then, leaving there a force to occupy the district, he passed over a very difficult pass with elephants, horses, camels, and his whole suit, and large cannon, and immense mortars, and laid seige to the fortress of Kángṛah. I myself in the year nine hundred and ninety-eight, when I went to Nagarkót, had oc­casion to cross that pass, and it is scarcely an hyperbole to say that the foot of the ant in those rugged places would slip through fear. Then Bidhí Chand, son of Jai Chand, thinking that his father had died in prison, shut himself up in the fort. The temple of Nagarkót, which is outside the city, was taken at the very outset. It is a place whither lacs* and lacs of men, or rather krors and krors of men, assemble at fixed periods, and bring ass-loads and ass-loads of gold and silver coins, and stuffs and merchandise and other precious things, store-fuls without number, as offerings. On this occasion many mountaineers became food for the flashing sword. And that golden umbrella,* which was erected on the top of the cupola of the temple, they riddled with arrows, many of which may be seen hang­ing there to this day. And black cows,* to the number of 200, to which they pay boundless respect, and actually worship, and present to the temple, which they look upon as an asylum, they let loose, and the Musalmáns killed them all. And, while the arrows and bullets were continually falling like drops of rain, through their zeal and excessive hatred of idolatry they filled their shoes full of blood, and threw it on the doors and walls of the temple. So many Brah­mans, sojourners in the temple, were killed, that both friends and strangers heap a thousand thousands of curses on the head of Bírbar, who reckoned himself a saint among the Hindús (curse on them!). So the outer city was taken. Then they threw up mounds and batteries and opened a fire of great guns on the palace of Bidhí Chand. In this bombardment nearly eighty persons lost their lives.* Bidhí Chand by a hundred artifices (P. 163) managed to effect his escape, and got off in peace, but the fortress was within an ace of being taken. At this juncture news arrived of the disturbances caused by Mirzá Ibráhím Ḥusain, and how that he was making for Láhór: moreover the army of Ḥusain Qulí Khán was suffering great hardships. For these reasons and causes he concluded a treaty with them. They paid as tribute five man of gold according to the weight of Akbar Sháh, which was one year's revenue of the temple, and much stuff and precious things of all kinds. And in the month Shavvál* of this year he read the Khutbah, and stamped coin in the Emperor's name is that district, and having put all things straight he built the cupola of a lofty mosque over the gateway of Rajah Jai Chand.

Then Ḥusain Qulí Khán set off to oppose the Mirzás. When he arrived at the village of Chamárí he received the honour of paying his respects to that paragon of pilgrims, that offspring of renowned saints Khwájah 'Abd-ush-Shahíd, grandson of Khwájah Aḥrár* (God sanctify his spirit!), who promised him victory, and gave the Khán his own dress as a present. The result of this prayer was, that hav­ing arrived by forced marches at Tulambah,* he gained the glorious victory which my historical pen has already narrated:—