1 SHAHAB-UD-DIN SHAH JATIAN. 171
2 Akber. His son, though only eleven years of age, was handsomely provided
3 for by the emperor, Br abcgeting to Khafi Khan, his descendants held
4 offices of trust and distinction in his time, nearly a century after their
5 ancestor's death. . .
6 On the 16th of April, 1657, the emperor sustained a severe blow in the loss
7 of another able and faithful servant, the premier lord, Ali Mardan Khan,
8 universally regarded as the most talented officer both in field and court. He
9 died on his way to Késhmir and was buried in the environs of Ldhore.
10 Notwithstanding his Mahomedan proclivities, the Hindu origin of Shah
11 Jahdn (who had -very-little Chighattai blood in his veins, his mother as
12 well as his grandmother being both Hindus) manifested itself in many
13 ways. Barly each morning he appeared at the jharoka window, overlooking
14 the plain, where he offered his devotions to the rising sun. People of all
15 ranks, who stood at this time below, paid him homage. This mode of show-
16 ing oneself is called in the language of the country darshan | (view), and was
17 in imitation of a usage existing in the times of ancient Hindu sovereigns.
18 In conformity with the practice of the Jamsned ‘kings of Persia, the
19 emperor gave a grand banquet on New Year's Day, called the Now Roz, when
20 he was weighed against gold, silver and jewels, which were lavished among
21 the grandees of the court. Dishes full of gems and gold were waved over
22 his head on these occasions, and emptied on the floor, to be scrambled for by
23 the courtiers, who all forgot their dignity at the time. Akber had taken a
24 golden sun, fashioned of jewels, as the symbol of sovereignty, and placed it
25 on histhrone. Shah Jahdn took the image of a peacock, made of gold and
26 jewels, as the ensign of royalty. It was the ensign of the ancient Buddhist,
27 Brahmin and Rajput réjds. Following the custom of the Hindu rdjds, Shah
28 Jahan laid the foundation of public buildings in human blood. When the
29 foundations of the new palace and the city were laid at Delhi, several crimi-
30 nals were slaughtered and their blood was shed on them. Two stone
31 statues of Rajputs were mounted on two stone elephants and placed at the
32 grand entrance facing the great square of the palace. This was in imitation
33 of the old custom of the Hindu rdjds, who placed colossal images of
34 elephants at the entrance of their palaces and temples, as their guardian
35 deities.. The palace was guarded by Réjputs. Shah Jahdn, than whom no
36 prince was ever fonder of luxury, spent the cold weather at Agra and the
37 summer in the lovely vale of Kashmir, where he beguiled the time in a
38 succession of varied enjoyments. Léhore, though no longer the capital of
39 the empire, was still a town of considerable importance. The emperor was
40 attached to it as his birthplace. and held his court there on his marches to
41 Kashmir and back. It was the arsenal and rendezvous of the armies that
42 marched beyond the Indus, and it continued to increase in size, wealth and
43 splendour. He enlarged and beautified the palace under the superintendence
44 of Asif Khan, and built the Samman Bury, or the “ palace of mirrors.” Here
45 the emperor showed himself every morning, through a lattice window, to the
46 multitude assembled beneath, and to the grandees, who came to receive the
47 commands of his imperial majesty. ;
48 On every New Year’s festival, a fancy fair was held at the palace, at which
49 the wives and the daughters of the amirs opened shops of needle and other
50 handicraft work and exposed their beautiful wares for sale. The begums
51 and the ladies of the royal household attended the fair, and his majesty and
52 his harem played the part of purchasers. fe
53 The mahal, or harem quarter, of the king, a paradise of pavilions and
54 gardens, covered an immense area of the palace between the royal bath and
55 Death of Ali Mardan
56 Khan, 1657.
57 The Hindu propen-
58 sities of Shah Jahan.
59 The jharoka window.
60 The festival of Now
61 Zan
62 The ensign of
63 royalty,
64 The stone elephants.
65 Shah Jahan fond of
66 Lahore.
67 He enlarges and
68 beautifies the Lahore
69 palace.
70 The fancy fair,
71 The emperor’s
72 harem.
73 the jharokg winder | abfitcoRRrisfeebraRpactoNs halls gad anchetiogARegtiail.com