When the affairs of this part of the country (Ajmere) had been properly disposed of, H.M. resolved to march to the Panjab, and while enjoying hunting to compose the distractions of that province On 9 Ābān, Divine month, he encamped at Māhrōt.* From a desire to cherish the lowly he visited the dwelling of Narāyan Dās the brother of Rūpsī. On the 27th he encamped at Amber,²* and on the same day the ambassadors of Qub-al-mulk* produced choice presents. Among them was the elephant Fatḥ Mubārak, who was renowned for his violence so that professional drivers were afraid of mounting him. When he was brought before H.M., he quickly mounted him, and made him obedient. The spectators were amazed, and were almost ready to vacate their bodies on beholding the might and majesty of the sovereign. What is wonderful in his perform­ing such marvels, or what extraordinary in his subduing such wild animals?

One of the occurrences was the guidance given to Rajah Todar Mal. Just as he was one of the unique of the age for practical wisdom, and trustworthiness, so was he at the head of mortals for superstition and bigotry. His rule was that until he had per­formed in a special manner his idols-worship, and had adored them after a thousand fashions, he would not attend to business nor eat or drink. Suddenly, in the turmoil of moving the camp, the idols of that simpleton were lost. In his heartfelt folly he abandoned sleep and food. H.M. had compassion on him and administered consola­tions to him. He recovered somewhat and addressed himself to his duties.

One of the occurrences was the laying the foundation of the fort of Mūl-Manahar-nagar. Inasmuch as H.M. is disposed to cultivate the soil (gil) as well as to civilize the soul (dil), he continu­ally decks society and solitude by building up these two great places of worship. At this time, while he was at Amber, it came to his hearing that there was an old city in the neighbourhood, the ancient greatness of which was now recorded by a mound of earth. He resolved upon reviving it, and on 29 Ābān he, in an auspicious moment, laid with his august hands the foundation of that fortress He nominated several officers to execute the work, and in a short time it was completed in an excellent manner. He associated it with Manahar* Dās, the son of Rai Lonkaran, the Zamīndār of the place, and gave it the name of Mūl-Manaharnagar.*

One of the occurrences was the appearance of a comet* after the sun had sate on the throne of the West.

Let there be a description of this phenomenon for the purpose of feeding the lakelet* of discourse!

When the rays of the world-warming sun fall upon moist ²²² earth, heat is generated by that great luminary, and particles of the water become light and float upwards. They mix with the atmosphere and rise high. Such mixture is called vapour (bukhār). When the dry ground becomes heated by the sun, the supply of moisture which is hidden therein becomes united with the dryness, and from the influence of the heat the earthly particles get burnt and so their levity is increased. They then mix with the atmosphere and ascend. This mixture is called smoke (dukhān). Each is of two kinds. One becomes fixed in the ground and produces foun­ains, cavities (kānhā) and earthquakes. The other spreads over the surface of the earth and ascends. From it are produced clouds, rain, storms, thunder, lightning, and the like. Treatises on natural history describe these things clearly. I now proceed to refresh the garden of my discourse with an account of the production of those wonderful phenomena (comets).

Be it not concealed from the listeners to knowledge that when­ever Mars is predominant in a country, the latter becomes arid, and thick vapours and smokes rise up in it. Especially is this so if Mars be in the tenth house of the horoscope of the year or season, and if that house be windy, or fiery and malific, and the moon, or Mercury, be windy, so that he (Mars) may regard them with a glance of affection.

Assuredly, the crops will then become bad, and there will be the elements of a famine. There will also be sicknesses, predomi­nance of wrath, and the snapping of the thread of inquiry. (Wisdom-seeking).

In fine, when the viscous and hairy vapour first rises from the ground and joins the first stratum* of the atmosphere, viz. that which is mixed with fire, it assumes beauty, just as the smoke of an extinguished lamp becomes illuminated when approached by a lighted candle. It is then called a meteor (shihāb), also a shooting-star, and when it descends towards the earth, the vulgar think that a star is falling. If its beauty does not become so great, it, on account of grossness, does not flame, but still it is consumed. On account of the varieties of the atmosphere it assumes various forms. Thus it becomes hairy, or it acquires a tail, or it holds* a spear, or resembles a horned animal, etc.

According to differences in its quality, it is either quickly con­sumed, or it lasts a long time. Occasionally terrible red or black appearances are observed in it. If it is dense, the red appearances excite dread, and if it become yet denser then black appearances inspire fear. Such forms were called in ancient language awābī* i-najūm and ẕūāt al-aẕūāb.* Each one of them had a different name in accordance with its difference in form. For instance, they called the hairy one ẕū-ẕūāba and the tailed one ẕū-ẕanab. In Hindi (i.e. Indian) books they reckon the number of forms as more than one hundred.* In Greek treatises seven kinds are enumerated, and they are all regarded as of the natures of Saturn and Mars. The ẕū-ẕūāba (possessed of forelocks) and the ẕū-ẕanab (the tailed) are regarded as the most malefic. Ptolemy says that the ẕū-ẕūāba and the sun are eleven Signs apart. Some of the Greeks are of the opinion that the ẕū-ẕūāba show themselves in the morning towards the east, and that the ẕū-ẕanab appear at evening towards the west. Seemingly, this idea is the result of repeated observations. The sages of India have divided them into ²²³ two classes, according as they are benefic or malefic. All agree that their influence affects the country across whose zenith they pass, or where they are visible to the inhabitants, and that it depends on the nature of the Sign in which they appear. They move according to the rapidity of the fiery sphere. Their effects depend upon the length of their appearance. Their wondrous* influences are detailed in old books in a manner which cannot be described here. Among them was the hairy comet which appeared in the Hijra year 662,* when the sun was in the Sign Leo. On that night there was a lunar* eclipse to the extent of eleven digits 11/12. More extraordinary still it was as large as a man's head, and smoke issued from the top of it. It passed to the countries of Tibet, Turkestan, China, Kāshghār, Farghāna, Transoxiana, and Khurāsān, and was visible for eighty-five days. There were disturbances in all these countries. In Transoxiana and Khurāsān the events connected with Qāīd* and Borāq and others illustrate this subject. Accordingly for a long time people reckoned their years and months* from it. In 803 (1400) a tailed comet appeared in the zenith of Asia Minor (Rūm). Maulāna 'Abdullah Lisān, and Muḥīu-d-dīn* Maghrabī and other astronomers of the time represented to Ṣāḥib Qirān (Timur) that it appeared from the sayings of the wise that an army from the east would conquer that country and capture its monarch. That brightener of the face of Fortune had always meditated a campaign into that country, though his feeble-minded companions did not approve of it. He proceeded thither and impressed on the minds of high and low the brilliancy of his design, and the deep discernment of the astrologers. In the year 837 (1433) a tailed comet appeared in the first degrees of the Sign of Libra near the Northern Crown. It used to rise and set there. When some days had elapsed a singular movement of it took place. It became spear-bearing (nezadār) and went off to a distance from the Northern Crown, and in eight months it disappeared. A great pestilence occurred in Herat and its neighbourhood. Every day more than a thousand persons died. M. Ibrāhīm,* the ruler of Fārs, M. Baysanghar Arghūn* the Shāh of Badakhshān and S. Zainu-d-dīn Khāfī* died during this calamity. The contest between M. Shāhrukh and Sikandar the son of Qarā Yūsūf was also a result. Those acquainted with the mysteries of the heavens are agreed that if a comet appear in the angle of dominion, the sovereign of that country will die, and if it incline towards that angle, the possessions of that prince will depart from his hands, and if it occur in a falling angle (sāqit-i-watad) sickness and pestilence will increase, and there will be sudden destruction among the people. A thousand thanks to God that by the blessing of the holy personality of the world's Khedive, the malefic influences passed away from his empire. If from time to time such a terrible phenomenon occur, no great misfortune befalls this country. Still ²²⁴ in spite of such Divine protection, that prudent partaker of the banquet of enlightenment ordered the distribution of abundant charities according to the rules of Muhammadans and Hindus. Worlds upon worlds of men were made joyful.