Indian Culture in the Late Sultanate Period a Short Study

INDIAN CULTURE IN THE LATE SULTANATE PERIOD: A short studyAuthor(s): Hameed-ud-DinReviewed work(s):Source: East and West, Vol. 12, No. 1 (March 1961), pp. 25-39Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29754356 .Accessed: 10/02/2012 04:31

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INDIAN CULTURE IN THE

LATE SULTANATE PERIOD

A short study

The Sultanate of Delhi rapidly declined in the latter part of the fourteenth century at

the end of which Tim?Vs invasion caused its

virtual disintegration. The splendid city of

Delhi had been ruined but, fortunately, there

grew up among the various independent king? doms of Northern India, new centres of acti?

vity which maintained the vigour of social and

cultural life. The rise of the Afghans to power in 1451, however, resuscitated the Sultanate

and the political revival was soon followed by a more significant one in the domain of cul?

ture. Peace and economic stability promoted the cultivation of letters and led to a remark?

able progress in the study of arts as well as

sciences. Works were produced not only on

literature, theology, history and lexicography, but also on such subjects as music, dancing and medicine. In addition, research on astro?

nomy was also greatly encouraged. It may,

therefore, interest the historian that, although

political factors led to the fall of the Lodi

Afghans in 1526, yet the cultural achievements

of their period proved permanent and provid? ed a solid foundation on which the Mughal

emperors handsomely built.

The most flourishing literary centre of the

early fifteenth century was Jaunpur, which

had earned the appellation of ?Dar al-Am?n?

(Place of Refuge),1 and where the court of

the renowned SharqT monarch, Ibrahim,

(1419-40) was adorned by such luminaries as

Q?di Shih?b al-Din of Daulatabad, Maul?n?

Il?hd?d, Khw?ja Abu'l Fath, Mir Sayyid Ashraf Simn?i, Q?di Naslr al-Din and many others. Kalpi and Nagaur also became the

resorts of learned men like Maul?n? Ahmad

of Thanesar, Maul?n? Khw?jgl and Khw?ja Husain.2 Several other scholars and saints, led by the venerable Shaikh Mahmud, went

to the court of Sultan Mahmud Khaljl of Malwa (1436-69), who provided them with

travelling facilities and sanctioned liberal

grants for their maintenance.3 The Afghan Sultans, however, besides re?

capturing the lost prestige and prosperity of

the Sultanate, extended its boundaries by re?

conquering Jaunpur and other territories.

They also proved to be great patrons of learn?

ing and their bounty attracted to their capital

large numbers of scholars from all parts of

India as well as from many countries of the

Middle East. This resulted in a great literary upsurge which added brilliance to the history of their rule in India.

The reign of Sultan Buhl?l Sh?h Gh?zl (1451-89), the founder of the Afghan dynasty of the Lodls, witnessed the beginnings of the

cultural movement which was later to attain

glorious heights under his successor. He had

set up a stable government and had created an atmosphere in which cultural traditions

could grow. Besides, he was an extremely

pious man 4

and held in great esteem the

scholar-saints of his time. He had become a

disciple of the famous theologian Shaikh Sam?' al-Dln

5 and had married his daughter

to the well known saint, Sh?h c Abdullah Qu

raishi, to whom many miraculous deeds were

attributed.0 Among the reputable scholars of

his reign were Maul?n? Minh?j, who was the

Mufti of Delhi,7 and his son, Maul?n? Shu

caib, whose literary discourses attracted large audiences.8 Shaikh Abu^l Fath of Jaunpur,

25

who flourished during the earlier part of the Sultan's reign, encouraged the study of Arabic and Persian by a series of lectures and poetical

compositions.9 The name of Shaikh Amjad may be mentioned as yet another outstanding scholar of the time, while the preacher of

the Central mosque at Delhi, Mian Shaikh

L?dan D?nishmand, was an eminent jurist whom the Sultan showed great reverence even

though he had severely criticized the conduct

of the Afghans during one of his sermons.10

It was the reign of Buhl?Ts son and suc?

cessor, Sikandar Sh?h (1489-1517), which marked the apex of literary splendour and the

cultural achievements of his time were un?

rivalled for centuries past. The general atmos?

phere of peace in which he ascended the throne

did, no doubt, foster the cultivation of letters, but it was chiefly his own love of learning and the patronage which he and his nobles

extended to the learned that encouraged the

scholars to flock to his court. In order to

induce them to settle permanently in his king? dom, the Sultan arranged for their mainten? ance either by making grants of land which were rent-free,11 or by fixing for them stipends and allowances and assigning them to his

newly opened institutions of education.1" In

Bihar he made handsome cash awards to a

number of learned men and theologians.13 Sikandar was also well known for his hospi?

tality and he regularly sent dishes of food to those scholars who daily associated with him, while others, who came to see him occasion?

ally, received every time a specially fixed

quantity of victuals.14

The nobles emulated the Sultan and the

learned minister, Mi?n Bhuwa, was always surrounded by men of letters, many of whom

had come from Persia and Transoxiana.15 He

provided suitable maintenance for all of them

and often invited them to dine with him. He

had collected books on all branches of know?

ledge and had employed expert caligraphists to copy rare works of all kinds. He was a

versatile genius and whereas he had himself

compiled a work on medicine, he supervised the preparation of another on music and danc?

ing.16 An eminent noble, Masnad-i-c?ll Hu

sain Khan, who was called Kh?n-i-Jah?n

Lodi, was very liberal in awarding stipends or pieces of land to the scholars and his suc?

cessor, Mi?n Zain al-Din, was equally gene? rous in patronizing them.17 Zain al-Din's

brother, Zahr al-Din, held literary gatherings

at different places all over the week and freely entertained those who participated in them.

Aczam Hum?y?n Sarw?nl, governor of Karra, invited every year the outstanding theologians from such centres of religious learning as Uch,

Multan and Sunargaon and rewarded them

with large sums of money. Similarly Ahmad

Khan, son of Jamal Khan S?rang Kh?ni, who

held Jaunpur and was a disciple of Khaw?ja Husain of Nagaur,18 showed special conside?

ration to men of learning. His son, Dil?war

Khan, gave rich presents to those who recited

before him verses from Firdausi's Sh?h N?ma

and Niz?mi's Sikandar N?ma. Mi?n T?h?, brother of the Farm?li chief, Mi?n Husain, was himself capable of teaching the works of

well known Persian poets like Kh?q?nl, An? war! and Firdausl. The contemporary writer,

Musht?qi, was one of those who had listened to his discourses.19 Mi?n Gad?i, governor of

Qannauj, was ever keen to befriend literary men and held them in great esteem. Khaw?jgi Shaikh Sacid was a literary genius and his sons were also noted for their learning and

generosity. Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of

the Punjab, supported research in Astronomy and his son, Gh?zi Khan, possessed a valuable

collection of books at Malot,20 which B?bur

handed over to Hum?y?n after capturing the

fort.

Sikandar's literary aptitude

Sultan Sikandar's personal achievements in

the field of learning were of no small conse?

quence. He was an intellectual of great merit, well versed in Arabic and Persian and was

capable of appreciating the beauty of the lan?

guage. He was also a poet and under the pen name of Gul Rukh used to compose verses in

Persian which he would send for correction

to his court poet, Jamal!. The latter was

highly impressed with the royal pupil's poe? tical skill and compared him with the famous

Persian poet, Anwar!.21 His style, as pointed out by some authorities, was marked by sim?

plicity as well as eloquence/2 Unfortunately

only two short specimens are available, one

comprising four lyrical couplets and the other, a versified letter which he addressed to Jamal!,

inviting the latter to his court. 3

The Sultan would also critically comment

on the verses of other poets that were read

before him and if any word appeared to him

to be of doubtful meaning, he would have it

discussed and explained.24 Likewise if some

26

one in his presence used a wrong expression, he immediately pointed it out."5 His deep in? terest in learning was further evidenced by his constant association with scholars and the

pleasure that he derived from their discus? sions. He would sometimes arrange them in groups and ask them to debate a pro? blem. Once he placed Shaikh

5 Abdullah

and Shaikh ^Azlzullah on one side and Shaikh Allah Diy? and his son, Shaikh Bhak?rl, on the other and after they had discussed a diffi? cult point, the Sultan concluded that the one set of scholars was superior in oratory while the other consisted of better writers.

6 He also

used to attend Shaikh ^Abdullah's general lectures, sitting quietly in a corner unnoticed

by the audience. Niz?m al-Din has remarked that it was Sikandar's interest in thorough discussion of intricate problems that led him to set up a special tribunal to try a Brahman

charged with apostasy.27 Apart from theolo?

gical and judicial topics, his interest also ex? tended to the study of such general subjects as the communication of birds with each other.28

Shaikh Jamali

The foremost literary figure of the Lodi

period was the poet-laureate, Jamali, whose full name was Hamid bin Fadlullah.29 Or?

phaned at an early age, he slowly worked his

way up and by his constant devotion to the

pursuit of learning, gradually rose to distinc? tion. He flourished as a poet of great emi? nence in Sikandar's time and having lived a life of fame during the reigns of Ibrahim and B?bur, died in the time of the Mughal em? peror, Hum?y?n, still enjoying royal favour and esteem.30

Jamali travelled widely and his itinerary, according to his own account, included various

places in India, Ceylon and the Middle East, which he visited towards the close of the 15th century.31

The extensive journey provided him with an opportunity of meeting well known scholars in his field including the two celebrated writers on ethics, Jal?l al-Din Daww?ni and Husain

W?^iz K?shfi, and the great mystical poet, J?ml. A very interesting account is given by the authorities of Jamall's first meeting with

J?ml in Herat, when dressed awkwardly in

mendicant's clothes he went straight to the

place where the latter was delivering his lec

ture and sat beside him.32 J?mi was, however, able to identify the strange visitor when during the course of their conversation Jam?li read one of his own verses.

33

m?-r? ze khdk-i k?y-at plr?han ast bar tan

dn-ham ze ?b-i dideh sad ch?k ta be-ddman

Soon they became intimate friends and ex?

changed views on various literary topics.34 After Jam?li's return to Delhi, Sikandar

invited him to Sambhal and accorded him a

very honourable reception. He continued his

friendly relations with the Sultan throughout the latter's reign. Under Sikandar's successor, Ibrahim (1517-26), a temporary misunder?

standing was caused between him and the

Sultan by Ibrahim's tutor, Farid, who was

probably jealous of the poet's popularity.35 Jam?li, however, outlived the Lodl Sultans

and also enjoyed the patronage of the first two

Mughal sovereigns whom he praised in his verses.

The only extant prose work of Jam?li is the ? Siyar al-c?rifin ?, which was completed between 1530 and 1536, and contains an ac?

count of the lives of fourteen Indian saints,

beginning with Mucin al-Dln Chishtl 36

and

ending with his own preceptor, Sam?5 al-Dln.

The work is valuable not only as a contem?

porary source for the cultural study of the

period, but also for the light it throws on the

character of the three Lodl monarchs.

His poetical works, hitherto known, consist

of a a Dlw?n ? and two Mathnawis ?.37 The a Dlw?n ? contains about 9,000 verses,38 some

of which represent the best that has been

written in the field of Persian lyrical and pa?

negyrical poetry.39 As regards the ? Mathna? wls ?, the one called ? Mirfat al-Mac?ni ?

(Mirror of meanings) comprises 700 verses

and, as indicated by its title, deals with various

aspects of mysticism.40 The other, known as ? Mihr wa M?h ?, (The sun and the moon) was composed in 1499 during Jam?li's visit to the Middle East,40a and although describ?

ing the romance of a prince and a princess, it yet ends with an expression of fervent love

for God. The work is rare and contains about

4,000 verses.41

Jam?li was one of the greatest poets of his

time and could be compared to his Persian

contemporary, J?mi, as well as the latter's

illustrious predecessor, Niz?mi of Ganja, whom he paid a tribute in the following verses :42

27

ch?n nazm-i l?l?^yi man b? niz?m ast

Niz?mi war maqb?l-i tam?m ast

ma-r? az tacna-yi h?sid ghaml nlst

keh nazm-am az Niz?mi hich kam nlst

Among the less known poets of Sultan Si

kandar's time was Mujid al-Din Muhammad

Alb?nlri, who wrote a ? Sh?h N?ma ? dealing with the Sultans of Khwarizm. The work is,

however, no longer extant and only a quatrain has been quoted by some writers as a specimen of his poetry.43 Shaikh cAbd al-Samad of

Jaunpur who, later in his life, settled at

Delhi, composed during this period a vigorous poem in Arabic known as ?Qasida al-L?mica?, in which he praised the Prophet of Islam and

which earned an abiding place in literature.44

The study of Persian also appears to have

attracted some Hindu scholars and Bad?uni

has mentioned the name of a Brahman poet,

Dungar, from whose work he has quoted the

opening lines of an ode.45

Theology, history and lexicography

The study of theology and traditions had

engaged the attention of a large number of

scholars and numerous works were written on

these subjects in the fifteenth and early six?

teenth centuries. 46

Shaikh Sam?^ al-Din's ? Mift?h al-Asr?r ? and his comments on

cIr?qi's ? Lamc?t ? were regarded as works

of outstanding merit. H?jji Shaikh cAbd al

Wahh?b 47

wrote a ? Tafslr ? which, in ad?

dition to the explanation of Quranic verses, also contained sincere expressions of praise

regarding Prophet Muhammad. Shaikh Hasan

Tahir, who had come to Agra in response to

Sultan Sikandar's invitation, was the author

of many works on unitarianism, one of which

was called ? Mift?h al-Faid ?. His eldest son, Shaikh Muhammad Hasan, popularly known

as Sh?h Khiy?li, was also well versed in theo?

logy and his letters and memoirs form an

excellent collection.48 Sayyid Rafi^ al-Din

Safwl, a scholar of the Sh?fici school of Mus?

lim theology, was distinguished for his contri?

bution to the study of traditions. He hailed

from Shir?z and had come to Gujerat in the

reign of Sultan Sikandar, who invited him to

Agra and conferred on him the title of Hadrat

i-Muqaddas (His Holiness).49 Another well

known scholar, Maul?n? Il?hd?d, also wrote

a voluminous commentary on traditions. Mau?

l?n? Safi al-Din, grandson of the famous

jurist, Shih?b al-Din of Jaunpur, was an eru

dite scholar of Arabic and Persian, in which

he wrote a number of works relating to theolo?

gical subjects.50 The two important historical works of the

late Sultanate period are the T?rikhi-i-Mu

b?rak Sh?hl 51

and the ? W?qi c?t-i- Mush

t?ql v. The former was written by Yahy? bin

Ahmad al-Sihrindi, who was an encomiast of

Sultan Mubarak Shah Sayyid (1421-34). It is a valuable contemporary record of the later

Tughlaq period and of the reigns of the first two Sayyid sultans, including the introductory

portion of Muhammad Shah bin Farid's reign, in all a period of about sixty years for which no other original source is available. It is,

however, also useful as a general history for

the preceding two centuries. Yah? was an

unpretentious writer and his account of his?

torical events is unbiased, concise and shorn of verbosity and floridity usually characteristic of many oriental works.

Shaikh Rizqullah Musht?qi completed his <( W?qi c?t-i-Musht?qi ? or ? T?rlkh-i-Mush

t?ql )) in 1572-73."2 He is the only known writer on history who lived under the Lodls and whose work is extant. He was born in the third year of Sultan Sikandar's reign and was nearly twenty six at Ibr?hlm's accession. He had personal connections with some Af?

ghan nobles and had also benefited from his

association with learned men of the day, who

imparted to him information about events of

past history. Moreover, his knowledge of

Hindi was of great advantage to him in gain?

ing access to material in that language. Mush?

t?qi's father, Shaikh Sa^dullah, was a saintly scholar and a great lover of books, of which

he possessed a large and valuable collection.

He was also connected with some important nobles of Sikandar's reign and was particu?

larly held in great esteem by Mi?n Zain al-Dln.

Both Musht?qi and his father were the disci?

ples of the saint, Shaikh Mall?dah, to whom Sikandar showed great reverence.53 Further,

Musht?ql's grandfather, Shaikh Flr?z, had

also held an important position under Sultan

Buhl?l Lodl. He was a warrior as well as a

poet and had written a versified account of

the war between Buhl?l and Husain SharqT.54

Obviously, Musht?qi had exceptional sources

of information for the history of the Lodl

period and his work is, therefore, a valuable

contemporary record upon which later writers, such as Niz?m al-Din, Firishta, Ni cmatullah, cAbdullah and Ahmad Y?dg?r have extensi

28

very drawn. His style and arrangement of

facts are, however, not methodical and the

narrative of historical events is frequently in?

terrupted by long digressions and anecdotes of

the chief men of the time which no doubt shed some light on the general life, beliefs and customs of the people. Many of the sto?

ries illustrate the effectiveness of Sikandar's

judicial system and have been reproduced by later writers.

Literary development necessitated the com?

pilation of lexicons and in 1510 Muhammad bin Shaikh Dia completed the ? Farhang-i Sikandari ?, which was also called ? Tuhfat

al-Sac?dat ?, after the author's patron, Sacld

al-Din. It contained twenty two chapters which were subdivided into two sections, each

dealing separately with single and compound word.55 The author was also a poet, but he did not quote any verse to illustrate the use

of words and phrases. It was, however, a

scholarly work and marked an advance upon the two earlier lexicons, prepared in Malwa and Bengal between 1409 and 1474.5b The ? Muayyid al-Fudala ? was compiled in 1519

by Muhammad bin Lad of Delhi. The words in it were divided into three categories of

Arabic, Persian and Turkish and arranged according to the first and the last letter.

7

Music and dancing

The encouragement of fine arts by Sultan Sikandar and his minister, Mi?n Bhuwa, led to the compilation of the ? Lahj?t-i-Sikandar Sh?hi wa Lat?if-i-L? Mutan?hi ?, which might be claimed as the oldest work in Persian on Indian music and dancing.58 The author, of whose life very little is known, introduced himself as Samm?d al-K?buli. The work is dedicated to Sultan Sikandar, on whom the author has bestowed lavish praise both in

prose and in verse.59 A handsome tribute has also been paid in the introduction to Mi?n Bhuwa's patronage and his distinguished scholarship. However, the author's own com?

mand over Sanskrit and Hindi, in addition to Persian, appears to be remarkable, for he has based his work entirely on sources avail? able in those two languages and has quoted seven authorities, namely, ? Sangit Ratnakar, Nartia Sangarah, Ud Bharati, Sudhanidhi,

Sangit Sammasiya, Sangit Kalpatar and Sangit Matang ?.

Samm?d has described music, or Sangit as

it is called in Hindi, as a piece of fine art

that imparts pleasure to the mind, particu?

larly when practised to the accompaniment of

musical instruments. He expressed confidence

that its study and cultivation would be pursu? ed with increasing interest while the world

lasted. To overcome orthodox objection, he

stated that music was popular with all reli?

gions and commanded universal approbation. In support, he quoted SaMl's couplet:60

beh az rui-yi kh?b ast ?v?z-i kh?sh

keh ?n hazz-i nafs ast-? In q?t-i ruh

The work comprises seven B?bs (chapters), subdivided into sections called Fasls of which,

according to the author's statement, there are

137, but actual enumeration reduces them by four. Diagrams and sketches have been added to illustrate technical portions. The manus?

cript ends abruptly at fol. 207 and about half

of the last chapter is missing. The work covers almost all aspects of Indian

music and after the conclusion of the discus?

sion of all its varieties, then known, an in?

teresting chapter has been added on dancing,

describing its kinds, the illustration of dif?

ferent postures and the details of the move?

ments of particular limbs. A Fast, for in?

stance, has been devoted to the movements of

only hands and fingers, of which twenty dif?

ferent methods are explained.61 Dance-por?

trayals of happy and melancholy moods and

the various methods of depicting different

turns in romance are described at length. The

work is the rarest of its kind and provides a

valuable account of the social and cultural

life of the period.

Medicine and astronomy

Mian Bhuwa was not only an expert in lan?

guages, but he also possessed a thorough know?

ledge of the Indian system of medicine. He

represented to Sultan Sikandar that the care

of a nation's health depended on the collec? tion and dissemination of information relating to the treatment of various ailments. It had, however, been found by experience, he said, that the Greek system of medicine suited

neither the temperament of the Indian people, nor the climatic conditions prevailing in the

country. Moreover, some of the medicines

suggested therein were not available, while

the names of some others were not intelligible. He therefore proposed to collect all Indian

works on medicine, and since no single work

29

was comprehensive, he wished to render into

Persian a suitable selection o? all the avail?

able works. The king was only too pleased to sanction such a project and the result was

the renowned work known as Macdin al-Shif?

yi-Sikandar Sh?hi,62 based on over a dozen

works of reputable Hindu physicians. It con?

sists of an introduction and three chapters and

deals with 1107 diseases and their treatment.

Although no work on astronomy during the

period under review has yet come to light, evidence is not lacking of the patronage ex?

tended to astronomers and astrologers by the

kings and their nobles in the same manner as to all other learned men. All the three Lodi kings had astronomers at their courts

whom they consulted on important occasions.63 One of the senior Amirs, Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of the Punjab, was deeply interested in the subject and promoted study and research in it by reserving a place for experiments in his own palace. Astronomical calculations were worked on a chair permanently fixed for the purpose, and according to Musht?ql, the

most expert astronomers of the time were en?

gaged to carry on the work.64 Moreover, Jam?li's references in his verses to Mars, Sa?

turn, Venus, Pisces, Sun and Moon etc. show that these astronomical objects were the com?

mon knowledge of the day.65

General remarks

Compared with the predominantly Iranian character of the Persian language under the

Mughals, the literature of the Afghan period bears the impress of Indian impact. Hindi words and expressions have been freely used and the trend of thought itself is manifestly Indian. This resulted from the social inter? course between the Hindus and Muslims and the cultural forces released by the Bhakti mo? vement. Muslim learning found its way into Hindu homes while, at the same time, Hindi and Sanskrit culture was being imbibed by numerous Muslim scholars.66 The wisdom of the Hindu sages and savants was being made accessible to Muslims through the translation bureau opened by Mi?n Bhuwa, where trans?

lators and calligraphists were constantly busy rendering Hindi and Sanskrit works into Per?

sian. A number of bilingual scholars further

helped to bring the two languages nearer and

enriched them with each other's vocabulary. The names of Dungar Brahman, Samm?d and

Bhuwa have already been mentioned. The

historian, Shaikh Rizqullah, was also a poet who wrote both in Hindi and Persian and had assumed two different pen-names, Niranjan and Musht?qi, for the two languages respecti?

vely. He composed verses in both of them

and Hindi works are also attributed to him/7

In his Persian historical work, the ? W?qi

cat-i-Musht?qi, he has used plenty of Hindi

words,68 and also some Hindi couplets. An important result of the cultural fusion

was the growth of vernacular literature, which

benefited on the one hand from the gradual

eclipse of classical Sanskrit, and on the other

from the exclusive character of Persian which was confined to the royal court, the upper strata of Muslim society and the intellectuals/9

The vernacular languages being the popular vehicles of expression, their literary develop?

ment received further stimulus from the writ?

ings and sermons of Hindu saints and Muslim

Sufis, who also helped the growth of a com?

mon Indian language by means of their mis?

sionary journeys. The Hindu Bhaktas no

doubt borrowed their technical terms from

Hindu religion, but as the Hindi language of

the day lacked specific vocabulary for the ex?

pression of mystical ideas, Kablr, the pioneer in the field, freely availed himself of Arabic and Persian words which were handy. He

therefore employed ? both forms of Bhasa, i.e. the Sanskritised Hindi and the Persianised

Urdu, and some of his works are in the latter, for example, Rekhta ?/? Rai Das also used

the Persian language and Sufi terms to em?

phasize the elements of cultural affinity be?

tween the Hindus and the Muslims. The lan?

guage employed by Nam Dev and Nanak was

only a shade different from that of Kablr and

Rai Das.71

In the same way Muslim Sufis, desirous of

reaching the masses all over the country, em?

ployed a popular terminology, which was fami?

liar to all the people. The Muslim writers used

for it the denomination Hindw?i, in which

they produced literature for popular consump? tion/2 By further stages of progress Hindw?i

was gradually transformed into Rekhta and

thence to Urdu of modern times. Hindi pro?

gressed on parallel lines and the difference

between the two was not so much of vocabu?

lary as of the script. 3

Economic and Social Life

The advent of the Afghans led to a great

improvement in the economic life of the Sul

30

tanate, which had earlier been dislocated by

political disorders. The authorities have un?

derlined the affluence shared by all the people alike

? the land holders and the peasants, the

merchants and the artisans, the workers and

the soldiers. 4

This was mainly attributable to the order and security that prevailed

throughout the kingdom. The public roads were safe and there was no sign of highway? men or robbers. Such conditions were fa?

vourable to the growth of trade and the mer?

chants had, therefore, become very wealthy.

Agriculture greatly flourished and no cultiv?

able land was left untilled.75 The state pro? vided protection to peasants, workers and ser?

vants against oppression by their masters and

officials. The cost of living was extremely low and there was such an abundance of crops that ten mounds (800 lbs.) of corn were sold for a Buhl?li.tb This was of great help to the

people of average means who were further

helped by the liberality shown by the king and the nobles alike.

The military profession was considered to

be very honourable and Sultan Sikandar was

particular in recruiting men of good families

whom he gave jagirs and allowed them to

equip themselves with arms from their reve?

nues. His nobles were equally generous to?

wards the soldiers and provided the fresh re?

cruits with tents, floor coverings, cooking utensils and other household goods, together with sets of clothes for day and night wear.

They treated the soldiers with great affection

and never transferred or confiscated the jagirs which they had once granted to the latter.

After a soldier's death, his land was bestowed

on his successors, failing whom, it was given to his slaves.77 A horseman's usual wages varied from twenty to thirty tank?hs per month and considering that five tank?hs suf?

ficed in those days for a respectable living with family, the pay could be regarded as

quite handsome.78 Still, if he ran short of

money, he could borrow it from the golds? miths by quoting his descriptive roll

79 and

could continue getting further loans for a

couple of years. They were ultimately paid off by his master, who would also favour such a man with a suitable award of land for his

future needs.

The Hindu subjects of the Lodi sultans

enjoyed the material prosperity of the time

in equal measure with the Muslims. They were generally opulent and the goldsmiths

among them acted as money lenders. Many of them wore gilded shoes and would have the

scabbards of their daggers made of gold even

though that precious metal was so scarce that

the sultans could not obtain it in sufficient

quantity to mint their coins therewith.80 As?

signments of land were made to those of the

Hindus who had submitted to the Muslim

chiefs. The sultans, on a few occasions, also

appointed Hindu governors of some territories

and maintained cordial and friendly relations

with the Rajput feudatories.81 Sikandar treat?

ed all his subjects alike when distributing the charitable funds and further provided raw

foodstuffs for those who would not accept cooked food. His justice was accessible to one

and all and the central court of appeal 8

en?

tertained complaints and petitions from all

citizens irrespective of their religious affilia?

tions. Similarly the service offered by the

department which looked after lost property was available to members of every community. Nor were the Hindus denied opportunities of

cultural development. The numerous educa?

tional institutions run by the state were open to all who cared to seek for knowledge. The

Hindus, for the first time, began to learn

Persian under the Lodls and their scholars

composed verses in it.83 Hindi and Sanskrit

literature also grew and several works of these

languages were rendered into Persian under

state patronage. The Sultans had their far m?ns written simultaneously in the Persian

and N?grT scripts and nothing could, perhaps, show more clearly their desire to preserve the

language of the ruled.84

Food and drinks

The nobles and other rich people maintain?

ed large kitchens where food of many varie?

ties was cooked. The most popular prepara? tions were fried meat, bread and kichhri (ked?

geree), dishes of which were freely distribut? ed among guests, friends, learned men and

mendicants.85 The most delicious pudding was Halwd** while the savoury patties which were flavoured with spices were called San

bosahs. Among the choicest fruits, which were

liked equally by the king as well as the people, were mangoes, pomegranates and melons.

Milk and syrup were considered to be the best

drinks. The Muslim masses often ate lamb

and beef,87 but more frequently they cooked

less expensive foods such as lentils and spinach as well as the leaves of Nim (Marjosa tree)

31

which, although bitter in taste, were yet so

nicely boiled by the housewife that they could not be distinguished from any other green ve?

getable.88 Yogurt was often added to the food.

Drinking was prohibited for the Muslims and the temperate habits of the first two Af?

ghan Sultans as well as their nobles provided a laudable example for the people.89 The de? sire for a stimulant was, however, satisfied by using the betel leaf, which was popular all over the Indian sub-continent. A paste of lime and katha (a reddening substance) was

spread over the leaf and small pieces of areca as well as scented spices or camphor were

added to them. When rolled up and chewed, it produced an intoxication like that of wine.

Besides mantling the cheeks and reddening the lips, it sweetened the breath, strengtheed the teeth and helped digestion.90 It was liked

particularly for its fragrant properties and was offered to friends and guests on all social occasions as a token of welcome as well as

farewell.91 Kings accepted it as a gift 92

while the bride presented it to the bridegroom at

the marriage ceremony. Even the thieves and robbers made use of this intoxicating leaf to

overpower their victims by administering some

drug rolled up in it.93 Fresh leaves could be

preserved for at least six months and some?

times four of them could be chewed together.91 In addition to the betel leaf, some of the people were also addicted to opium and its oily pre?

paration called Kokn?r, both of which had a

narcotic effect.93

Dress and decoration

The authorities do not throw much light on

the dress worn by the Afghan Kings and their subjects. It can, however, be gathered that

both Buhl?l and Sikandar used simple white clothes,96 but Ibrahim, who was keen on

formal dress, had his royal robes made of rich

brocades and silks.97 The common dress of men did not present much variety and the turban was worn by the Hindus and the Mus?

lims alike. The shirt and shalw?r (loose

trousers) were common, although many of the

Hindus preferred the dhoti (long thin loin cloth). A respectable person was usually clad in white clothes with sometimes a rope of

beads round his neck, and would also rub sandal-wood dust on his chest and forehead.98

The luxury of separate night dresses was

enjoyed only by richer classes while the not

so well-to-do were content with a shirt and

short loin cloth and a thick sheet or shawl over

their shoulders in winter.

Much information is not available regarding the dress of women, who presumably continu?

ed wearing the usual sari and blouse or shalw?r

with shirt. In the villages, the long skirt-like

dress known as Lahng? was in common use.

As regards articles of personal decoration, there are occasional references in the autho?

rities to the use of musk and sandal-wood for

anointing the forehead and the body, betel

leaves for reddening the lips, henna for deying the hands and collyrium (mascara) for beauti?

fying the eyes. 9

Ornaments were a luxury, but also a mark of respectability among the

well-to-do people. Earrings were very po?

pular and the master craftsman of Sultan Si

kanda's time, Mi?n T?h?, had prepared a

wonderful set of them which resembled lotus

flowers with an artificial wasp inserted in

each one of them. When the lady who wore

them moved her head, the wasp came out of the earring and flew before her eyes, but as soon as she became still, it went back into the flowery earring, which closed the petals over it.100 Another costly ornament was the

Mdngtikka or head pendant, which cost about 5000 tank?hs.101 Imitation jewellery was also in vogue and Mi?n T?h? once made three

pearls of mica which neither Sultan Sikandar nor his expert jewellers could tell from the real ones.

Ceremonies and festivals

The happiest social ceremony was that of

marriage, at which the high as well as the low

spent lavishly. The parents who did not pos? sess enough money to arrange for the dowry of their daughters were liberally helped by the king and his nobles. On one occasion a

girl's father received 100,000 tank?hs for this

purpose from one of Sikandar's nobles, even

though he had asked for only 30,000 tan? k?hs.103 The dowry, in addition to ornaments, clothes and bed linen, included also a covered litter in which the bride was carried to the

bridegroom's house. This was necessary in view of the prevailing custom of purdah among the upper and middle classes.104 Polygamy was

not common and only a small number among the rich people was ever inclined to marry

more than one woman. However, the stories

of bitter jealously between the wives which

have been narrated by the authorities must

have discouraged others from following the

32

practice.105 Fortunately, neither the Afghan Sultans nor their nobles indulged in extrava?

gant harem life. Love marriages were, how?

ever, not unknown nb

and there are some in?

teresting accounts given by Musht?qi of ro?

mances, particularly between men and women

of lower classes. Difference of religion or

caste did not stand between the lovers and even the mendicants could not resist the lure

of love. Married life was generally happy and

fruitful, notwithstanding some occasional cases

of infidelity.10' A strange but isolated inci?

dent of the sex-transformation of a married woman was also reported from Sarkaja.08

The most widely observed ceremony among the Muslims was the Si?m, which was cele?

brated on the third day following a person's death. The Afghans in Delhi distributed on such occasions sweetmeats of various kinds,

syrup, betel leaves and sugar candy. Sultan

Buhl?l put a stop to this practice as he con?

sidered it too expensive for an Afghan of or?

dinary means who was sure to receive condo?

lence visits from hundreds of his fellow tri?

besmen. He therefore suggested the use of

less expensive things such as flowers and rose

water,109 for these occasions.

The most prominent of the socio-religious festivals of the Muslims was the rId al-fitr, which was celebrated at the conclusion of the

month of fasting (Ramadan) and was an oc?

casion for rejoicing, entertaining and exchang?

ing gifts. The cId-i-Adh? fell on the 10th of Dhu'il Hijja every year and was celebrated by

slaughtering lambs, goats and cows, the meat

of which was distributed among friends and

relatives as well as the poor and beggars.110 On both the rId days the sultans set free cer?

tain categories of prisoners. The Shab-i-bar?t

occurred every year on the fourteenth night of Sha cb?n when the people said prayers for

the dead, distributed food and also indulged in illuminations and fireworks.11 The death

anniversary of Prophet Musammad was cele?

brated on the 12th of Rabl^ I, and hence called

B?ra-i'Waf?t. Meetings were held on that

day in mosques as well as in private and lec?

tures were delivered dealing with his life and

teachings. The c?sh?ra was solemnly observ?

ed on the tenth day of Muharram by means

of a voluntary fast.1" The well-known cele?

brations of Muharram, however, consisted of

carrying in processions the Tacziyahs or mo?

dels of the tomb of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, to commemorate his

martyrdom at Kerbala in 61 A.H./A.D. 680.

This ceremony as well as the annual proces? sion of Sal?r Masc?d Gh?zi's lance

113 were

banned by Sultan Sikandar on account of their

idolatrous appearance.

Games and amusements

The favourite royal game was Chaug?n

(Polo) and Sultan Sikandar as well as his nobles were keenly interested in it.14 Another

popular sport was hunting and the chase, for

which Sikandar had built special halting places between Agra and Dholpur. His nobles also

arranged regular hunting excursions. One of

Ibrahim's courtiers, Haibat Khan, had receiv?

ed the title of Gurg And?z for having killed two wolves with an arrow shot during such an

excursion around Biyana.113 Other favourite

sports of the aristocracy were matches of

wrestlers and fights of rams, furious camels

and elephants. The jesters, tumblers and rope dancers also exhibited their feats before the

Amirs, especially at dinner time.llb

The indoor game of chess was very popular with the Afghan nobles and their sons, who

gave liberal rewards to expert chess-players whom they invited to play with them.11' They further amused themselves with the company of story tellers.

The greatest pleasure, however, was derived

from music, which was enjoyed and appreciat? ed by the king, his courtiers and the common

people alike. It was a very popular art during the Lodi period and was cultivated on a wide

scale. Sikandar was especially fond of it and

welcomed singers and musicians from all parts of the country. Whenever an artist arrived at

the court, he was directed to display his skill in the first instance before two of the Sultan's

courtiers, Mir?n Sayyid R?hullah and Sayyid Ibn al-Ras?l. If they approved of his per?

formance, they asked him to repeat it before the Sultan after the first watch of the night.118 The king had also purchased four handsome

boys, who played on four different instru?

ments.10 His favourite tunes, which he heard on the flute, were Gauri, Kaly?n, Kanra and

Husainl.120 In addition to classical Hindi

songs, he also took pleasure in listening to

Persian and Arabic odes and his court-poet, Jam?lT, not only composed charming lyrics in these languages but also set them to music.1

1

The professional Muslim singers known as

Qaww?ls, who had memorised numerous

poems in praise of God and prophet Moham

33

mad, were very popular and were greatly en?

couraged in their art by some of the Sufi saints of the period, with whom singing and swaying was the happiest ritual.

22 The Afghan nobles

also patronized the Qaww?ls and the musicians

and liberally rewarded them. Once a poet named Ma'm?n, who lived at Biyana, com?

posed some panegyrical verses and gave them to the Qaww?ls to sing before Haibat Khan

Gurg And?z, who was so pleased to hear them that he gave away his carpet to Mu'm?n and 7000 tankahs to the Qaww?ls.12* Mian T?h? was not only a master-craftsman but was also

well known for his skill in music.124 The

friendly gatherings of Mian Zabr al-Din were

always attended by the Qaww?ls. Sikandar's

minister, Mi?n Bhuwa, showed his interest in

the encouragement of music by lending his

support to the compilation of ? Lahj?t-i-Si kandar Sh?hi... ?, which has been mentioned

above. The concluding chapter of this work on dancing further shows that Hindu society had attained a high level of perfection in it.

Education

In an age when the people were generally credulous and believed in magic and mira?

cles,25 the best way of fighting their ignorance was to spread education among them. Sikan?

dar Lodi, who realized the need of enlighten?

ing his subjects, made vigorous efforts to pro? mote learning throughout his kingdom. He

opened new schools for imparting instruction

at various places in the country and generously endowed the mosques, which also served as

centres of education. Liberal stipends were

paid to numerous students who were assigned to the newly set up institutions at places like

Narwar and Muttra.126

The Sultan also invited eminent scholars

from various parts of India and even from

Arabia, Persia and Bukhara, to benefit the

advanced students with their deep learning.127 His genuine efforts were amply rewarded by a widspread desire which they created among all sections of people for acquiring knowledge. The high and the low, the men in the profes? sions, the artisans and the soldiers, all became

eager to learn and availed themselves freely of the facilities provided by various educa?

tional centres.128 The state also made special arrangements for the children of workers to

receive elementary education and religious instruction.

Religious raprochement

The advent of Islam in India with its stress on monotheism and social democracy stirred a movement of religious reform among the

Hindus, aiming at the eradication of idolatry and the removal of caste barriers. The leaders of Buddhism and Jainism had, in the past, assailed both priestly domination and caste

exclusiveness, and Hinduism had since been

struggling to put its house in order. The im?

pact of Islam, moreover, exposed particularly the evil aspects of idolatry. Islamic ideas had

spread through the teachings of Sufis, who

fraternized with the Hindu ascetics and also mixed with the population at large, conveying the message of Islam to every corner of the

country and winning a large number of adhe? rents. The social intercourse between Mus? lims and Hindus, which naturally followed

the establishment of Muslim rule in India, reached the highest level in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the period of Afghan Sultans, therefore, acquired an added signi? ficance by the rise of radical reformers who were immensely influenced by Islamic doc? trines. They denounced both idolatry and caste and by emphasizing Bhakti, or the de? votional aspect of religion,129 sought to effect a reconciliation between the two systems.

The man who epitomized the new spirit was Kabir, whom modern writers have com?

pared with Luther.130 Born of a Hindu widow in Benares circa 1440

31 and brought up by

a Muslim weaver, he became the disciple of the well-known Hindu revivalist, Rama Nan

da, from whom he learnt the philosophy of Hindu religion.132 The expression of his teach?

ings was, however, shaped by that of the Sufi saints and poets in whose company he spent considerable time. He was opposed to idolatry, ritualism and class distinctions and his mes?

sage was so much to the taste of Hindus as

well as Muslims, that after his death circa

1518, both of them claimed him as a votary of their respective faiths and built two sepa? rate shrines at Maghar which exist to this

day.133 He enlisted numerous followers and

his sect, known as Kabir Panthls, still num?

bers about a million. They are found chiefly in Gujerat and Bengal. Kabir's contemporary in the Punjab was

Guru Nanak,134 the founder of Sikhism, who was well versed in Persian as well as Hindi

and associated both with Hindu Sadhus and

Muslim saints. He toured India extensively

34

and also visited the holy places of the Muslims in Arabia and Persia. Consequently he was so much impressed by Islamic doctrines that ? he often refers to God in terms which might be appropriately used by a Muhammadan or a Christian ?.135 His mission appeared to be to end the conflict of religions by bridging the gulf between the two main communities of India, both of which held him in reve

136 rence.

Another supporter of Kabir was Rai Das of Benares whose basic teachings did not differ from those of the former. He was greatly in? debted to Sufi literature, the terminology of which he often employed to stress the essential

unity between the pantheistic ideas of Hin? duism and Islam.

37

Hameed-ud-Din

NOTES

1 Muhammad Baqa, ? Mir^at-i-Jahan Numa ? (India Of? fice Library, London) MS. Fol. 312b.

2 Ghauthl Shatt?rl, ? Gulz?r-i-Abr?r ? (John Rylands Li?

brary, Manchester) MS. Fol. 67b, rAbd al-Haqq, Tadhkira yi'Musannifin-i-Dehti (Hyderabad, 1930) pp. 15-18.

3 'AH bin Mahm?d al-Kirm?ni, also called Shih?b-i Hakim, ? Ma'?thir-Mahm?d Sh?hi ? ( University Library, T?bingen, Germany) MS. Fol. 143.

4 Some of the people regarded him as a saint. Mu? hammad Sharif Wuq?% ? Maj?mir al-Akhb?r ? (India Of? fice), MS. Fol. 344b.

5 A renowned theologian and mystic who died at Delhi in 1496. Sultan Sikandar respected him as a teacher.

The court poet, Jamali, was one of his disciples and wrote his biographical account in the ? Siyar al-e?rifin ? (India Office), MS. Fols. 227-43, (British Museum), MS. Fols. 203 212. See also ? Gulz?r-i-Abr?r? (Manchester), Fol. 131. Rizqullah Musht?qi, ? W?qi c?t-i-Musht?qi ?, (British Mu? seum), MS. p. 24.

6 He was the son of Shaikh Y?suf Quraishl of Multan. See ?Gulz?r-i-Abr?r?, (A.S.B. Calcutta), MS. Fol. 64b., Ghul?m Sarwar, Khazinat al-Asfiy?, (Lahore, 1867), p. 740.

7 Mufti is a cannon lawyer of standing who gives a

fatw? or formal legal opinion ? in answer to a question submitted to him by a judge or a private individual... On the basis of such an opinion, a judge may decide a case or an individual may regulate his personal life.? H.A.R. Gibb and J. H. Kramers, Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden and London, 1953), p. 102.

8 Rahm?n "Ali, Tadhkira-yi- Ulam?~i-Hind (Lucknow, 1914), p. 95.

9 Abd al-Haqq, Akhb?r al-Akhy?r, (Delhi, 1891), p. 170.

J0 ?W?qi "?t-i-Musht?qi ?, MS. p. 9.

J1 They were called Waz&if or A Hmma. Two newly

discovered farm?ns of Shir Shah Sur refer to his confir? mation of A^immas granted by Sultan Sikkandar to Q?di Qutb, Q?di Mujid al-Dln Khatib (preacher) and Q?di "Im?d in the Jullandar area. Facsimiles of originals are

given in the Oriental College Magazine (Lahore), IX/111, 115.

12 Niz?in al-Dln, Tabaq?t-i-Akbari, (Calcutta, 1927), I, 329, 336.

13 The names of some of the recipients were Shaikh Bad! Haqq?ni, Shaikh Badan Maneri, Shaikh Badah Tayyib and Shaikh Fakhr al-Dln. Muhammad Kabir, ? Afs?na-yi

Sh?h?n ? (British Museum), MS. Fol. 28b. The money which Sikandar had set apart as a reserve fund in the Bait al-M?l (treasury) was also spent on rewarding learned men. However, the statement of Akhb?r al-Akhy?r (220) that the proceeds of Kh?n-i-Jah?n's confiscated property

were used for the same purpose is incorrect, as according to Musht?qi, Kh?n-i-Jah?n held his estates unmolested and after his death their change was entrusted to Zain al-Din and Zabr al-Din. In Ibrahim's reign, Kh?n-i-Jah?n's son, Ahmad Khan, again recovered them from Zabr al-Din. ? T?rlkh-i-Musht?qi ?, (British Museum), Fol. 28.

14 "Abd al-Haqq, ? Tarikh-i-Haqqi ?, (Bodleian Library, Ous. 59), Fol. 273.

15 ?? W?qi "?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 63. 10 A description of both the works is given below. 17 Zain al-DTn was also the patron of Shaikh Sardullah,

who was the father of the historian, Musht?qi. 18 A well known scholar and author of numerous works

on theology, who died in 1495-96. See ? Gulz?r-i-Abr?r ?

(Manchester). Fol. 18a. Tadhkira-yi-rUlam?-yi-Hind, p. 50. 19 ?

W?qr?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 133. 20 A fort in the Siwalik hills which Tatar Khan Y?suf

Khail, governor of the Punjab, had built in Sultan Buhl?l Lodl's time. Ahmad bin Bahbal, ? Ma~dan-i-Akhb?r-i Ahmadi? (India Office Library), MS. Fol. 34b.

21 ze anw?r-i kal?m-i r?h-parvar kunad sad AnvarT-r? dideh anwar

? Mlhr wa M?h ? (Punjab University Library, Lahore), MS. Fol. 117. 22 ? Muhammad Baq? ?, ? Mirfat al-^Alam ? (India Of?

fice), MS. Fol. 260b. ? Afs?n?-yi-Sh?h?n ?, Fol. 38a. 23 The lyrics are quoted in Bad?unl's Muntakhab al.

Tw?rikh (Calcutta, 1868), I, 323 and rendered into English by Ranking, p. 426. Only one couplet containing Sikandar's literary name is reproduced here:

Gulrukh cheh kunad Jauhar-i dand?n-i t?-r? wasf ham-ch?n durr-i sir?b sukhan dar dahan-ast-ash

The letter to Jamali contains a dozen verses which have been preserved by Ni'matullah in the ?T?rikh-i-Kh?n Jah?ni wa Makhzan-i-Afgh?ni? (India Office). An English translation is available in Dora's History of the Afghans (London, 1829-36). The lines containing the actual invi? tation and the request for a copy of the ? Mihr wa M?h ?,

which Jamal! had written during the journey, are given below:

ey shaikh! be-m? be-ras be-zudi ? besy?r mus?farat

[nam?dl be-kush?y s?-yi dargah-am g?m

?- t? dar-y?bi ze

[Gulrukhi kam b?yad kit?b-i mihr-? m?h-am irs?l dehad

chon?ncheh khw?ham az mihr kashad d? dide-am n?r ? ?n m?h na-shavad

[ze dide-am d?r 24

The following couplet invited interesting comments: adab shart ast agar farzand sh?khi ast ? sag-i div?ne-r?

[d?r? kil?kh ast After a long discussion it was established that the word

kil?kh in the second hemistich was not to be confused with Kul?kh and did not represent a piece of stone or clay, as was generally understood, but it meant a spring worm found on green leaves and used in preparing a medicine which cured a mad dog as well as its victim. ?W?qi r?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 43, Muhammad Husain ?z?d,

Darb?r-i-AkbarT (Lahore c. 1920) p. 780. 25

Once a servant of Shaikh Fakhr al-DTn of Bihar said in the Sultan presence shum?-r? ghaybata-n y?d mi-kardim ?. Sikandar told Jamali that the boy had not correctly used the word ghaybata-n. a

Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n ?, fol. 28a. 26

Both Shaikh ^Abdullah and Shailkh ~Azizullah came from Tulamba near Multan where they had promoted the study of intellectual sciences. The former settled at Delhi, where he lectured on logic and metaphysics, while the latter went to Sambhal and was engaged in furthering the study of Arabic and Persian languages. Badaurii, I, 3'4.

Shaikh Allah Diy? was probably identical with Maul?n? Il?h D?d of Jaunpur, who migrated to Bihar and received a grant of land from Sikandar. a Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n ? Fols. 31-32, Akhb?r al-Akyar, p. 219.

35

27 Tabaqat-i-Akbari, I, 3?l.

2H The topic was debated at a meeting of the scholars

and the conclusion arrived at was that while some species of birds such as the crows, cocks and partridges, could understand the import of each other's voices, the majority could not. ? W?qi e?t-i-Musht?qi ?, pp. 129-30.

29 It was not Jal?l Khan as stated in Akhb?r al-Akhy?r,

p. 221. Jam?li. however, did assume the pen-name of Jal?li for some time, but he later changed it to Jam?li at the suggestion of his preceptor. Shaikh Sam?' al-Din, as shown by the following verses:

az jam?li shud jam?lT ?ft?b z-?n jam?li-r? Jam?li [shudkhil?b

ch?n del-asb nazlr-i jam?li gasht z-?n nazar ganj-i [l?-yaz?li gasht

? Mirat al-Ma"?ni?, O.C.M. X/i, 146, ? Siyar al-c?ri fin ? (India Office) Fol. 227a.

30 He accompanied Hum?y?n to Gujerat and died there on May 2, 1536. His body was brought back to Delhi and buried in a room which in 1528-29 he had built for his

dwelling, together with a mosque in the old village of

Qutb S?hib. Sams?m al-Daulah Sh?h Naw?z Khan, Mahathir al-Umar? (Calcutta, 1890), II, 540, Tadhkira-yi.

Musannifin-i-Dehli, pp. 18-19, Khazinat al-Asfiy?, p. 754, Carr Stephen, Archaeological and monumental remains of Delhi (Ludhiana, 1876), p. 171.

31 ?Siyar al-'?rifin ? (P. Lib. M. Shafi, Lahore) Fols.

43-44, O.C.M. IX, 46. 32

They exchanged some amusing remarks, an account of which is given in the following works: Khwushg?, ? Sa finah ? (British Museum), MS. Fol. 43b. ? Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n ?, Fol. 36b. W?lah D?ghist?ni, ? Ri?d al-Shurar? ? (Lahore) MS. Fol. 48, Darb?r-i-Akbari, p. 771.

33 ?z?d writes that when Jam?li was reciting the verse,

drops of tears fell from his eyes on his bosom and rent asunder the thick coating of dust that had covered his

body. Darb?r-i-Akbari, p. 771. 34

J?mT consulted Jam?li regarding the verses of two Indian poets, Amir Khusrau and Hasan of Delhi, who flourished between 1253 and 1337. ?Afs?na-vi-Sh?h?n ?, Fol. 37a.

35 Farid represented to Sultan Ibr?hTm that the word divan in the following couplet, which formed part of an

elegy on Sikandar, was meant to revile Ibr?him, whereas

Jam?li had, in fact, used it in respect of Farid and his

mischievous associates.

Ey Sulaym?n-i-zam?n, ?h kuj?5i ?khar ? t? konam pish-i [t? az fitna-yi div?n fary?d !

?Siyar)) (Lahore) Fols. 43-44., O.C.M. IX, 46, Nur al

ilaqq, ? Zubdat al-Tw?rikh ? (U. L. Cambridge), Fol. 61b.

36 He was the founder of the Chishtiya order of saints

in India, and had settled at Ajmer, where he died in 1236.

?Siyar? (I.O.), Fol. 5a, Iqb?l "AH Sh?h, Islamic Sufism

(London, 1933), p. 285.

37 A Diw?n is generally a collection of lyrics, panegyrics and miscellaneous verses, while the Mathnawi is usually a

narrative poem. 38 Of the two extant copies, one is in the library of

Naw?b Hablb al-Rahm?n Sadr Y?r Jang of Hyderabad

(India) and the other in the Palace Library, Rampur, from

where it has been removed to the Indian National Archives, New Delhi. Description of both copies, with selected ex?

tracts, is published in O.C.M. X, 76-78, 145-59.

39 (i) The lyrics are lively and interesting and some

of them exhibit his keen interest in music. See also Note

121 below. z?hid bet-ta "na guft keh r?y-i but?n ma-bin ?

ey bi

[tamTz dide'i bin? ber?ye chi-st?

j?n?n ma-purs bi-t? shab-i m? che-sh?n gudhasht ? v?

[r?z-i bad chunln be-rasid-? chon?n gudhasht

guftl: ? guzar ze-j?n -? jeh?n az ber?ye man? ? ch?n

[j?n t?l, ze-j?n -? jeh?n mTtav?n gudhasht? ze-chashm-i mardum?n hameh kh?n-n?beh shud rav?n ?

[dar majlis-i-keh dikr-i Jam?li rav?n gudhasht ? Safina ?, Fol. 43b. ?Diw?n ? (Rampur), O.C.M. XI, 77.

(ii) Like all mystical poets, Jam?li also wrote in praise of

God, Prophet Muhammad and his own spiritual guide:

Ey ruy-khwud ze pardeh nam?d?r s?khteh khwud-r?

[be-husn-i khwTsh talabg?r s?khteh

M?sa ze-h?sh raft be-yek partow-i jam?l ? t? rayn-i

[d?t mi-negarl -? dar tabassum-i!

Compare Koran, VII, 139 (wa kharra M?s? sa riqa-n) Ey dideh kh?n be-rTz keh deld?r gh?'ib ast ? ya'ni

[jam?l-i an mah-rukhs?r gh?5ib ast dar gh?r-i gham ravid keh ?n y?r-i gh?r-i din ?

[hamch? nabi kon?n be-del-i gh?r gh?'ib ast

ya ^ni sam?T dawlat -? din zir-i kh?k shud ? zln gh?m [haz?r j?me^i Islam ch?k shud

?Diw?n? (Hyderabad) ?.C.M. X. 146-148, Akhb?r ah

Akhy?r, p. 221, Ma ?thir al-Umar?, Tr. I 569. He wrote numerous panegyrics to extol the four suc?

cessive monarchs under whom he lived, but he was most

lavish in his praise of Sultan Sikandar Lodi.

Za-hl Iskandari k-az ?b-esh p?k khidr-r? ?b-i

[hayw?n bakhshad az kh?k

khod?vand-?! chunin Sh?h-i jav?n-bakht?be-b?d? t?

[abad p?yandeh bar takht!

del-am-r? dar du'?"5 yesh d?r ma'm?r! ? be-bakhsh?

[az rukhesh chashm-i ma-r? nur!

Shah-I k-esh hast darb?n-? ghul?m-? ch?ker-? kh?dim

[? yeki n?dar yekl sanjar yekT qaysar yeki sarvar

cheh n?dar n?dar-i aczam, cheh sanjar sanjar-i akram

[? cheh qaysar qaysar-i raun'am, cheh sarvar sarvar-i

[akbar! Sikandar sh?h k-az dast-? del-? q"adr-? sharaf d?rad ?

[yeki qudrat, yeki shawkat, yeki raf at, yeki lashkar cheh qudrat qudrat-i bi-ch?n, cheh shawkat shwkat-i

[afz?n ? cheh raf^at raf"at-i gard?n, cheh lashkar

[lashkar-i bi-mar

?Mihr wa M?h ?, fol. 117, ? Diw?n ? (Hyderabad) O.C.M. X, 146.

10 The choice of the title is explained in the following verses:

har-cheh b?d az ?shk?r?-? neh?n

[? istil?h-i c?rif?n kardam bay?n n?me-r? ch?n roushn?,i bar-foz?d

[gasht mir ?ti keh r?y-i haqq nam?d

ch?n ma'?ni kard haqq ilh?m-i ? ?

[gasht nnV?t al-mar?ni n?m-i ?

O.C.M. X, 145. The only extant copy of the ? Mir^?t ? is

believed to be at Hyderabad.

40a The precise date, 905 A.H., is obtained from two verses of ?Mihr wa M?h? (fol. 117)

bihamdu 'll?h* ze fadl-i l?-yaz?ll ?

jeh?n-r? murshid-i

[dm shud Jam?li ch? t?rikh-esh be-j?5!, ey khod?-bin,

? magar dar

[mehr-? m?h-? murshid-i din

41 The only copy to which the writer has had access

is preserved in the Punjab University Library, Lahore. The editor of the Tadhkira-yi-Musannifln-i-Dehli has mentioned the existence of another copy in the Asfiyyah Library, but no trace of it is available in bibliographical literature, and the work until a few years ago was considered not to be extant.

The following lines of ? Mihr wa M?h ? express its

author's mystical thoughts. ber?n d?dam gham-i del dar fas?neh ??? hadith-i mehr-?

[m?h-am shud fas?neh

saw?d-i n?meh khwud afs?ne-yi m?-st ? keh in d?d

[az del-i dlv?ne-yi m?-st

ma-r? t? del beh Im?n-? yaqin ast ? muhabbat

[madhhab ast -? rishq dm ast

42 ? Mihr wa M?h ? Fol. 15. Jam?li also claimed the

title of ? Indian parrot ?, which had earlier been reserved

for Amir Khusrau of Delhi (1253-1337). Jam?li kelk-at ?n t?ti-yi Hind ast ? keh ?b-i Khidr

[mi-rizad ze minq?r ?Diw?n? (Rampur), O.C.M. XI, 77.

43 dar pish-i t? geryam, ey deld?r-am- ? t? zann

[na-bari keh az to ?z?ram

khatt-i t? keh d?d-i ?tesh-i nik?"'! ast ? dar chashm-i man ?mad, ?b z-?n mi-b?ram

Amin Ahmad R?zi, ? Haft Aqlim ? (India Office), MS. Fol. 213a, Khwushg?, a Safinah ?, (British Museum), MS.

Fol. 44.

44 It has been reproduced in the Akhb?r al-Akhy?r,

pp. 148-49. 15 del kh?n na-shudi, chashm-i t? khanjar na-shudi gar

[ rah gum na-shudi, zulf-i t? abtar na-shudi gar

Bad?uni, L 323,

36

46 Many of them are no longer extant, but references

to them are found in such biographical works as Akhb?r

al-Akhy?r, a Gulz?r-i-Abr?r ?, Khazinat al-Asfiy?, and

Tadhkira-yi-rUlam?-yi-Hind. and Tadhkira-yi-Mus?nnifin-i Dehli.

47 He was a descendant of the famous saint, Sayyid Jal?l al-Din Bukh?ri (1308-64) and had settled at Delhi, where he died in 1526-27. Extracts from his ? Tafsir ? are available in Akhb?r al-Akhy?r, pp. 210-14. See also Abul Fadl, "Ain-iAkbarl, II, 222.

48 Akhb?r al-Akhy?r, pp. 190-1, 228-30.

49 Bad?uni, I, 338.

50 A select list is given in Tadhkira-yVUlam?-\i-Hind, p. 96.

Jl The text was published at Calcutta in 1931. An

English translation was prepared by K. K. Basu and issued in 1932 from Baroda.

?2 The precise date of the completion of this work,

980 A.H./A.D. 1572-73, is not given in bibliographical lite? rature, but the writer was able to discover it at p. 146 of the MS. copy (British Museum, OR. 1929).

53 Musht?qi had also benefited from the teachings of

another eminent divine, Shaikh Budhan Shatt?ri of Jaun pur. ?Gulz?r-i-Abr?r? (Manchester), Fol. 131a, (Calcut? ta), Fol. 67b, Muhammad S?diq, ? Tabaq?t-i-Sh?h Jah?m ?.

(British Museum), MS. Fol. 137. 54

The work is not extant, but Nur al-Haqq, whose father, Shaikh cAbd al-Haqq, was a nephew of Musht?qi, has quoted two verses from it in the ? Zubdat al-Tw?? rikh ?, Fol. 58a.

ay? q?bid-i shahr-i Dehli shunaw ? hay?t-at ch?

[khw?hi az ?nj? be-raw man-am q?bid-am mul-k m?r?-st mulk ? khud? d?d

[m?-r?, khud?-r?-st mulk 55

Rai Brindaban, ?Lubb al-Tw?rikh ? (India Office) MS. Fol. 63a. M. A. Ghani, A history of Persian language and literature at the Mughal Court (Allahabad. 1929-30) L 121.

50 The one entitled ? Ad?t al-Fudal? ? and compiled

by Q?dir Khan Badr was dedicated to Hushang Shah of Malwa (1406-35), while the other, known as ? Farhang-i Ibr?hTml?, was prepared by Ibrahim Qiw?m F?r?qi, who

enjoyed the patronage of B?rbak Shah of Bengal (1459 74). See W.I. Ivanow, Concise descriptive catalogue of the Persian MSS in the collection of the A.S.B. Calcutta (1924), pp. 673-4.

f>7 Chani, I, 121.

?8 The only extant MS. of this rare work is preserved in the Tagore Library, University of Lucknow (India), from

where a microfilm copy was obtained by the writer

through the Library's courtesy. *9 ? Lahj?t ?, Fol. 3b. 60 ? Lahj?t ?, Fol. 6a. 61 ? Lahj?t ?, Fol. 182. 62

The work was completed in 1512. Published copies ot the Lucknow editions (1877 and 1879) are available in the British Museum.

63 Ahmad Yadg?r, T?rikh-i-Sh?hi (Calcutta, 1939), pp.

19. 24, Tabaq?t-i-iAkbari, I, 327. ? 1 ? Waqf ?t-i-Mushtaqi ?, p. 65. 60

gahi miz?n be-dast-i mushtari d?d gah-esh sag [zuhal dar pelleh be-neh?d

tar?z?-r? ham?n bakhshad be-zuhreh keh t? sanjad [ze anjum mihr-? mohreh

be-dary?-yi falak peyd? kunad h?t ? nihang-i ?sm?n-r?

[z-? dehad q?t ber?ye ijitim?c-i runsur-i tabr ?

parish?n mi-kunad

[sayy?re-yi sab" ch?n ?n sayy?reh ?mad pish-i kh?rshld ? kasi ham-dam

jna-b?d-esh ghayr nahid ? Mihr wa M?h ?, Fols. 2, 118.

?fi This could be seen from works on music and medi? cine which were entirely based on Sanskrit and Hindi sources. Besides, many Afghan nobles and their sons used

to read the works of Hindu scholars and quote them in their daily conversation. ? W?qi"?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 135.

67 They are mentioned in the Akhb?r al~Akdy?r, p. 170,

as ? Paim?n and Jot Niranjan ?, Hodivala, however, has

suggested that the correct title should be ? Prem Anand Jog (or Yog) Niranjan ?, i.e. (Discourses on) love, ecstasy and union with the Universal spirit. Studies in Indo-Muslim History (Bombay, 1939), p. 481.

6S Some of them are popular words of every day use such as

jal, bira, bh?nd?n, katora, halw?, palki, chawki

meaning water, rolled betel leaf, jesters, cup, pudding, planquin and halting post.

69 G. T. Garrat ed., Legacy of India (Oxford, 1938), p. 375.

70 Tara Chand. Influence of Islam on Indian Culture

(Allahabad, 1946), p. 153. Bhasa denotes a vernacular. Brij Bhasa, a branch of

West Indian Hindi, was believed to be the precursor of modern Urdu. Rekhta was the name given to Urdu in its formative stages. Muhammad Husain Az5d, ?b-i-Hay?t, (Lahore c. 1925), p. 11.

71 M. A. Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, (Oxford, 1909), I, 185, 278, 373, VI, 52.

72 Hindwal or Dehlavi was the name given to the cur? rent vernacular in the time of Amir Khusrau (1255-1325), who mentioned it in the introduction to his ? Diw?n ? and ? Ghurrat al-Kam?l ?. Sayyid Ges? Dar?z of Gulbarga (1321-1422) wrote his ? Mrr?j al-r?shiqin ? in Hindwai and it laid the foundation of the Deccan School of Urdu. Other Sufi writers followed the tradition and considerable literature grew up which has been discussed by cAbd-al

Haqq in his brochure entitled Urdu Ke ibtid?l nashw wa num? men S?fiy?-yi-kir?m ka kam. See Islamic Culture, 1956, pp.'353-57.

73 The two languages might have been merged into a common Indian lingua franca, to be known as Hindustani and written in two scripts, Persian and N?gri. The process of fusion had fairly advanced when, as a result of the Partition in 1947, they set on different courses again under the stress of political and communal forces. Hindi thence? forth became heavily Sanskritised, while Urdu was being increasingly Persianised. The divergence still continues.

7 4 ? Waqi"?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 13. 75

^Abdullah, ? T?rikh-i-D?'?di ? (S.O.A.S. Library), MS. p. 31.

7fi ? T?rikh-i-Haqqi? (Bodleian - Ous. 59), fol. 274.

Muhammad M?h, ? Tanqih al-Akhb?r ?, (India Office), Fol. 258a.

Buhl?Jn was a billon coin of 150 grains which was in? troduced by Sultan Buhl?l.

77 ? T?rikh-i-Musht?qi ?, Fol. 28a. 78

Sultan Sikandar had reduced the Buhl?li to 60 grains and it was known only as T?nkah.

79 It was called Chihra. ? T?rikh-i-Musht?qi ?, Fol. 32a. 80

?T?rikh-i-Haqqi? (Bodleian - Fr?ser, 132), Fol. 68b.

? Tarikh-i-Musht?ql ?, Fol. 30b, H. N. Wright, Coins and

metrology of the Sultans of Delhi (Delhi, 1936), p. 257. 81 Buhl?l appointed Rai Kiran as governor of Shamsa

bad. He further relied on Rai Kirat Singh of Gwalior to such an extent that he sent the latter as one of his envoys to seek help from Mahm?d Khalji of Malwa against Husain

Sharqi. See contemporary account of Shih?b-i-Hakim, ? Ma^?thir-i-Mahm?d Sh?hi? (T?bingen, Germany), MS. Fol. 264a. (Boleian), Fol. 309a, (Cambridge), Fol. 475a.

Similarly Sikandar included Rai Jagar Sen Kachhw?hah

among the group of nobles whom he sent to Chanderi to administer the territory on behalf of S?hib Khan. See

Tab?q?t-i-Akbari. I, 332. Sultan Ibrahim's relations with

Vikramadittya, who had been given the fief of Shamsabad after the fall of Gwalior, were so friendly that the latter died fighting for the Sultan in 1526. See A. S. Beveridge, The Babur Nama in English (London, 1922), p. 477.

82 Musht?qi describes it as chub?tara'yi rad?lat (seat of

justice), or chub?taraVi diw?n-i wiz?rat which shows that it functioned as a part of the Vizier's department. ? W?qi ?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 24.

37

83 ? Lubb al-Taw?rlkh ?, Fol. 63b, Bad?uni, I, 323.

84 A Lodi farman of 1521 shows that two thirds of the

page was written in Persian while in the space below it, the contents were repeated in the N?gri script. O.C.M. IX, 116.

85 Fried meat was highly spiced and the emperor, B?bur, was so fond of this Indian dish that he employed some of Sultan Ibrahim's cooks to prepare it for him. See L. King, Memoirs of Babur (Oxford, 1921), II, 269. Kichri was a popular diet and was made of boiled rice and lentils, fried in butter. ? T?rikh-i-Haqqi ? (Bodleian, Fraser 133), Fol. 61. ? W?qir?t-i-Mushta?qi ? pp. 54-56.

86 The recipe consisted of flour, eggs, sugar, butter, dried fruits and flavourings of many kinds. Mi?n Bhuwa had 150 varieties of Halua prepared in his kitchen. ? T?

rikh-i-Mushta?qi ?, Fol. 32b. Abu^l Fadl has mentioned the sugar cakes called Khandaur?s which were made at

Biyana. ?^in, I, 422.

87 ? D?^?di ?, p. 44. Hindus generally avoided mutton or beef but according to Nikitin, they took pork. India in the fifteenth century, ed. R. H. Major (London, 1857), p. 17.

88 ? Tarlkh-i-Musht?qT ?, Fol. 34b.

89 Ibrahim was the only Lodi Sultan who was said to

have been addicted to drinking. ? Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n ?. Fol. 52a.

90 "Abd al-Razz?q Samarqandi, ? Matla' al-Sa'dain wa

Majma* al-Bahrain ? (Cambridge), Fol. 393a.

9J Mahm?d KhaljT II of Malwa, who wanted to get rid

ot his minister, MednT Rai, sent him a plate full of betel

leaves, signifying that he should not come to see the king again. "'Abd al-B?ql Nih?wandi, Ma^?thir-i-Rahimi (Cal? cutta, 1924) I, 176.

92 Daulat Khan Lodi sent some betel leaves and man?

goes as a gift to B?bur, who had eagerly wished for them. Ahmad Y?dg?r, T?rikh-i^Sh?hi (Calcutta, 1939), p. 90.

In Sikandar Lodl's time, a man with the help of a

magic lamp is said to have met the Roman emperor's daugter, to whom he offered a betel leaf which, however, led ultimately to his own arrest. ? Afs?n?-yi-Sh?h?n ?, Fol. 36a.

93 ? D?^?di ?, p. 64. 94 ? Matla" al-Sa"dain ?, Fol. 393a. 93 ? T?rlkh-i-Kh?n Jah?nT ?, Fol. 94a.

The term Kokn?ri?n was also used in respect of cow?

ards, as for instance in ? D?'?di ?, p. 78. ?

?Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n?. Fols. 24b, 38b.

97 After the battle of Panipat in 1526, B?bur found in Ibr?him's palace at Agra a large number of vests made of brocade as well as stocks of rare Chinese silk which the Sultan had used for his gowns. Mirza Haidar Dughl?t, ? Tarikh-i-Rashidi ?, (Cambridge), MS. Fol. 221a.

98 ? Waqi"?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 128. 99

Sh?hi, p. 103. 100

?D?^?di?, p. 47. J,H

Sh?hi, pp. 60-61. 102 ? W?qi"?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 137. ? D?^?di ?, p. 46. 103

Sh?hi, p. 49. 104 Even the queens did not unveil their faces in public.

Buhl?l's queen, Zeb?, and the Sharqi queen, Bibi Khonz?, both addressed the nobles on important occasions from behind the curtain. ?T?rikh-i-Musht?qi ?, Fol. 7a, Mu? hammad Q?sim Firishta, T?rlkh-i-Firishta (Bombay, 1831-2), I. 329. An untitled work of Akbar's reign (India Office

Library, Ethe-120) MS. Fol. 504a. 105 ? Afs?na-yi-Sh?h?n ?, Fol. 42a, ? W?qic?t-i-Musht?

qi ?, pp. 172-3.

10(5 The royal example was Buhl?l's marriage with Zeb?, daughter of a Hindu goldsmith of Sirhind named Him?. Sh?hi, p. 385. Firishta I, 329.

107 ? W?qf?t-i-Musht?qi ?, pp. 37-39, 173, Sh?hi, p. 100. U)H

Sarkaja or Sarguja is shown in the ? in-i-Akbari, I, 132. as a part of the Allahabad province. In 1495 the

fugitive Raja of Rhatgorha, Rai Bhaidchandra, fled towards it when he was pursued by Sultan Sikandar Lodi. The

place, however, actually lay at that time in the territory of Malwa as Mahm?d Khalji I had conquered it as far back as 1440. Among the strange things which, according to Shih?b-i-Haklm, occurred there in that year, was the sudden but natural transformation of a mother of four children into a man who married again and begot four

more children. ? Ma'?thir-i-Mahm?d Sh?hi ? (T?bingen), Fol. 85a-87b.

109 Flowers were popular in all homes and some of the

young aristocrats bought them in large quantities every day. Rose water was also used for a variety of purposes. Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of the Punjab, always moistened his

fingers with it while turning the pages of the Qur ?n, which he regularly recited. ? W?qr ?t-i-Musht?qi ?, pp. 65-66.

110 One of Sikandar's nobles, A zam Hum?y?n Sarw?ni,

slaughtered 3,000 animals every year on the occasion of ld-i-Adha.

ni Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam, p. 508. According

to Muslim belief, all the actions of mankind which they are to perform during the next year are recorded on that

night. T. P. Hughes, Dictionary of Islam (London, 1896). p. 570.

112 The occasion was regarded holy on historical grounds

and the fast was said to have been observed by Meccans of olden times. Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam, pp. 47-48.

113 S?l?r Mas"?d Gh?zi, believed to be a sister's son of

Sultan Mahm?d of Ghazna, is represented in popular le?

gends as a saint and martyr to whom a number of mira? culous deeds are attributed. He is said lo have been killed on June 14, 1033, at the young age of eighteen, in a battle

against Rai Sahar and Har Deo at Bharaich where his tomb became a celebrated place of pilgrimage. '"Abd al

Rahm?n Chishti, ? Mir'at-i-Mas'?di ? (British Museum, Or.

1837), Fols. 17, 86. Tr. B. W. Chapman (British Museum, Add. 30776), Fol. 31. See also a shorter redaction of the ? Mirfat ? known as ? Qissa-S?l?r Mas^?d Gh?zi ? (British

Museum. Or. 2014), Fols. *75, 85, and D?r? Shikoh, Safmat al-Auliy?'1 (Lucknow, 1872), p. 160.

114 The game had also been popular with the previous Muslim Kings of India ever since the foundation of the Sultanate and the first Sultan. Qutb al-Din Aibak died at

Lahore in 1210 while playing it. The Mughal emperors continued to take an interest in it. Hasan Niz?mi

T?j al-Ma^?thir (Cambridge) MS. Fol. 213. ' ?^in-i-Akbari,

I, 214-15. 115

Sh?hi, pp. 109-10. Like the polo, hunting was also

popular with the previous Sultans of Delhi. ? T?j al-Ma ''?thir ?, Fol. 73a.

11 fi Memoirs of Babur, II, 359.

Jesters sometimes did a useful job. Sultan Ghi?th al Din Khalji of Malwa, who had neglected the affairs of the state and was always sunk in pleasure was, on one occa?

sion, forced out of his seclusion by the noise of the jesters and buffoons whom the nobles had hired and who were

purposely dressed as Afghans. This was an ingenious de? vice to inform the king that Buhl?l Lodi had made an incursion into the territory of Malwa by attacking Alhan

pur. See ?Maj?mical-Akhb?r ? (India Office) MS. Fol.

341b., ? W?qi'?t-i-Musht?ql ?, p. 153. 117 Chess was a favourite of many Muslim kings and

especially of Tim?r, who took great pleasure in it. He befriended every one who could play chess with him and the author of the diary of his Indian campaigns, Ghi?th al-Din '"Ali, who became his close friend, was a renowned

player of this game. See ? R?zn?ma-yi-Grazaw?t-i-Hindu stan ?, (University Library, Lahore), MS. Fols. 1-2. Mu? hammad Bar?ri, ?Mujmal-i-Mufassal ? (Bodleian Library. Ous. 311) Fol. 6b.

118 Ahmad Y?dg?r has given a delightful description of the musical assembly and according to him the sweet me?

lodies would even enchant the birds and entrance Venus in the heavens. Sh?hi, p. 48. See also ? D?'?di ?, p. 33 and ? T?rikh-i-Musht?qi ?, Fol. 26b.

119 q^ instruments were called Chang, Q?n?n, Tonb?r

and Baink?r, which might be compared respectively to harp, lute, guitar and psaltery. Sh?hi, p. 48.

120 The Hindi names of different tunes show that the

3.5

Sultan appreciated the varieties of Indian music. ? Tarikh

i-Musht?qi ?, Fol. 26b. ? D?"udi ?, p. 33. 121

The following song composed by Jam?li was popular even in Akbar's time:

t?la shwqi il? man?zilikum ? ayyuh? 'l-gh?5ib?na

[can nazarl r?z-? shab m?nis-am khay?l-i shum?-st ? fa-as5al? ran

[khy?likum khabari

Darb?r-i-Akbari, p. 711, Bad?uni, I, 325. The following beautiful verses are also expressive of

Jam?li's musical talent. m?h! be-meyd?n mi-ravad t? shahsav?r-i ki-st in -?- az

[didan-esh j?n mi-ravad, y? rab neg?r ki-st In

qaws az d? abr? s?khteh, az ghamzeh tir and?khteh ?

[har s? samand-esh t?khteh bahr-i shek?r-i ki-st in

b?l?^yi-? sarv-i-rav?n rukhs?r-i kh?b-esh gulest?n ? khatt

[sabzeh la?l-esh ar^hav?n, t? now-bah?r ki-st in The word ?Ir?q used in the following couplet is signi?

ficant as it could also mean a quill or a tune t?-r? r?h-i Hij?z az ishtiy?q ast -? saz?v?r-i to In r?h-i

plr?q ast ? Mihr wa M?h ?, Fol. 7.

122 They formed a special order of Sufi saints or der?

vishes who were deeply interested in Sam?" (literally mean?

ing audition, but generally representing music and dancing) as a means of inducing ecstasy. See ?Tabaq?t-i-Sh?h Ja h?ni ?, Fol. 137a, ? Zubdat al-Tw?rikh ?, Fol. 58a, Akhb?r

al-Akhy?r, pp. 168, 178, R. A. Nicholson, Mystics of Islam

(London, 1914), pp. 48, 65, A. J. Arberry, Sufism (London, 1950), p. 62.

123 Sh?hi, p. 110.

124 a W?qi ?t-i-Musht?ql ?, p. 133. 125 Numerous stories are related by the authorities of

supernatural happenings through magical and spiritual powers possessed by certain persons. Miracles were also attributed to the Sultans and Sikandar was said to have

correctely predicated the arrival of some persons and even

saved his subjects from robbers and murderers by appear? ing suddenly in the garb of an angel. See ? Maj?mr al

Akhb?r?, Fols. 36a, 42b, ? W?qi '?t-i-Musht?qi ?, pp. 36, 37, 176-78., ?D?^?dl?, p. 53.

126 Tabaq?t-i-Akbarl, I, 329, 335.

127 Bad?unl, I, 324, ? D?^?di ?, p. 31.

128 ?Lubb al-Tw?rikh?, Fol. 63b, Maddau al-Shif?-yi Sikandar Sh?hl, p. 3. ? W?qi c?t-i-Musht?qi ?, p. 14.

129 Bhakti is regarded as the true searching after God

and it begins, remains and ends in His love. Ahmad Shah, Bijak of Kabir (Hamirpur, 1917), p. 37.

130 w w Hunter, The Indian empire (London, 1893), p 403, Prem Chand, Translation of Kabir's complete Bijak (Monghyr, 1911), Preface. G. H. Westcott, Kabir and the

Kabir Panth (Calcutta, 1953), p. 1. 131

Abu'l Fadl has confirmed that Kabir lived in Sikan dar Lodi's time, but there is no historical basis for the

story of his persecution by the Sultan. ?^in-i-Akbari, I, 433. See also Manmohan Lai Zutshi, Kabir Sahib (Allaha? bad, 1930), pp. 54-55., J. N.Farquhar, An outline of the

religious literature of India (Oxford, 1920), p. 332. 132 Rama Nanda was the leader of the Ramaite move?

ment and flourished between 1400 and 1470. Farquhar, p. 323., Tagore, Poems of Kabir (London, 1914), p. 36.

J33 Abu^l Fadl has described Kabir as a believer in the

unity of God (muwahhid), while Ghulan Sarwar regards him as a Muslim saint and disciple of Shaikh TaqT of Ma

nikpur. ? ln-i-Akbarl, I, 393, Khazinat al-Asfiy?, p. 442. See aiso F. E. Keay, Kabir and his followers (Calcutta and

Oxford, 1931), pp. 25, 27, 44. Maghar is in the Basti dis? trict of U. P. 131 He was born in 1469 at Talwandi (Modern Nankana iii the Sheikhupura district of West Pakistan) and died in 1538 at Kartarpur near Jullundur. A comprehensive ac? count of his life and teachings is available in Macauliffe's Sikh Religion.

135 J. C. Oman, The mystics, ascetics and saints of India

(London, 1903), p. 132, Tara Chand, Influence of Islam...

p. 163, Khushwant Singh, The Sikhs (London, 1953), pp. 34-35.

136 J. E. Carpenter, Theism in medieval India (London,

1921), p. 447, Macauliffe, I, 221. 37 Tara Chand, p. 180, Macauliffe, VI, 329-331.

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