1 JALAL-UD-DIN, AKBER. : 143
2 wonder, Five thousand elephants marched in the rear of the army,
3 their heads were covered with iron plates, their trunks decorated with
4 swords, and their tusks armed with daggers. The Portuguese missionaries, in
5 their journal, describe Léhore as a “ Delightful City.” On arrival there, they
6 were taken to the imperial residence, situated “on an island in the river,
7 and introduced to his majesty, whom they describe as “a man about 50
8 years old, white like a European.” The missionaries entertained hopes of
9 being able to Christianize the king, but had eventually to retuin in disappoint-
10 ment to Goa. ;
11 Akber styled the Jesuits of Goa Ddéndydn-i-Frang or “the wise men
12 of the Franks,” and in 1582 wrote them to send him translations of the Penta-
13 teuch, the Psalms and the Gospels, and alsosome person who could explain to
14 him the mysteries of religion. A mission was sent to him in 1591, but the
15 members of it did not stay long in India. A third mission was sent under Pert
16 Father Jerome Xavier, who had two companions, Benedict of Goes in
17 Portugal and Emmanuel Pignero, They joined the emperor at Lahore in
18 May 1595, and staid with him for several years. Xavier and Benedict also
19 accompanied the emperor and his son, Prince Salem, to Kashmir. Xavier
20 was a good Persian scholar. At the request of the.emperor, he wrote his
21 Life of Christ in Persian. As he mentions in the preface, the Persian
22 version was made by him in conjunction with Moulana Abus-Sandrin, of Lahore.
23 Tt was during his stay at Léhore that Akber appears to have introduced
24 those principles of religious toleration which have rendered his name so
25 conspicuous in the annals of eastern potentates. ‘There he seems to have
26 reached the height of human greatness, and “As happy as Akber” passed
27 into a proverb. Religious discussions were held in the Ibadat Khana on
28 Sabbath evenings, at which learned men were invited to attend. The em-
29 peror and the grandees of the empire were present at these meetings. Abul
30 Fazl started the questions and expounded the views of his master. The
31 king’s court was the resort of learned men of every creed, who came from
32 various countries and were admitted to converse with him. Profound points
33 of science, the subtleties of revelation, the curiosities of history, and the
34 wonders of nature were freely discussed. The king listened with majestic
35 gravity to all that was said, and passed through the most diverse phases
36 of thought, adopting all sorts of religious practices and sectarian beliefs,
37 Two buildings were erected outside the city of Léhore for the purpose of
38 carrying on religious controversies. One of these called Khyrpura* was
39 intended for the Muhammadans, Jews and fire worshippers, and the other
40 called Dharmpura for the Hindus. The debates sometimes created fatal
41 discords, and in one of them a learned Shia, Mullah Ahmad, author of the
42 Larikht Alfi, was assassinated in the streets of Léhore by Mirza Fouldd.
43 The assassin was subsequently condemned to death, and executed by being
44 " bound alive to the leg of an elephant.
45 Akber gave public audience every day in two spacious halls, in each of
46 which was set up a royal throne. He seldom sdt on the throne, but stood
47 by it, passing verbal orders. He was very fond of hunting, and took great
48 delight in the performances of wrestlers, fencers, dancers and actors, and in
49 fights between buffaloes, rams, elephants, cocks and harts. He recollected
50 the name of each of his elephants, and gave names to his horses, wild beasts
51 and pigeons. In his youth he was passionately fond of leopards and hunting
52 with leopards. A thousand leopards were collected in his park. The best
53 a ee ee
54 *The building was in the vicinity of Dard Nagar on the left of the road ‘eying to Mi
55 |
56 a Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary Namdhanel
57 Second inission of the
58 Portuguese Jesuits,
59 Third mission, 1595,
60 ~ eee,
61 Discourses in Liahwte
62 on religious subyccts.
63 The Ibadat Khana.
64 The Khyrpura.
65 The Dharmpura.
66 Akber's public and
67 private life.
68 His tenderness for
69 animals,
70 g liin,
71 rary@ gmail.com