Description of Hindustân. Princes. into Hindustân with one hundred and twenty thousand cataphract horse. His enemies, too, were Rais and Rajas; a single monarch did not govern the whole of Hindustân. When I marched into Behreh, we might amount to one thousand five hundred, or two thousand men at the utmost. When I invaded the country for the fifth time, overthrew Sultan Ibrâhim, and subdued the empire of Hindustân, I had a larger army than I had ever before brought into it. My servants, the merchants and their servants, and the followers of all descriptions that were in the camp along with me, were numbered, and amounted to twelve thousand men. The kingdoms that depended on me were Badakhshan, Kundez, Kâbul, and Kandahår; but these countries did not furnish me with assistance equal to their resources; and, indeed, some of them, from their vicinity to the enemy, were so circumstanced, that, far from affording me assistance, I was obliged to send them extensive supplies from my other territories. Besides this, all Mâweralnaher was occupied by the Khans and Sultans of the Uzbeks, whose armies were calculated to amount to about a hundred thousand men, and who were my ancient foes. Finally, the whole empire of Hindustân, from Behreh to Behâr, was in the hands of the Afghâns. Their prince, Sultan Ibrâhim, from the resources of his kingdom, could bring into the field an army of five hundred thousand men. At that time some of the Amîrs to the east were in a state of rebellion. His army on foot was computed to be a hundred thousand strong; his own elephants, with those of his Amîrs, were reckoned at nearly a thousand. Yet, under such circumstances, and in spite of this power, placing my trust in God, and leaving behind me my old and inveterate enemy the Uzbeks, who had an army of a hundred thousand men, I advanced to meet so powerful a prince as Sultan Ibrâhim, the lord of numerous armies, and emperor of extensive territories. In consideration of my confidence in Divine aid, the Most High God did not suffer the distress and hardships that I had undergone to be thrown away, but defeated my formidable enemy, and made me the conqueror of the noble country of Hindustân. This success I do not ascribe to my own strength, nor did this good fortune flow from my own efforts, but from the fountain of the favour and mercy of God. The empire of Hindustân is extensive, populous, and rich. On the east, the south, and even the west, it is bounded by the Great Ocean. On the north, it has Kâbul, Ghazni, and Kandahar. The capital of all Hindustân is Delhi. From the time of Sultan Shehâbeddîn Ghûri, to the end of Sultan Firôz Shah's time, the greater part of Hindustân was in the possession of the Emperors of Delhi. At the period when I Musulman conquered that country, five Musulman Kings and two Pagans exercised royal authority. Although there were many small and inconsiderable Rais and Rajas in the hills and woody country, yet these were the chief and the only ones of importance. Kingdom of One of these powers was the Afghâns, whose government included the capital, and exthe Afghâns or of Delhi; tended from Behreh to Behar. Jonpûr, before it fell into the power of the Afghâns, including was held by Sultan Hussain Sherki. This dynasty they called the Pûrebi1 (or eastern). Their forefathers had been cup-bearers to Sultan Firôz Shah and that race of Sultans. After Sultan Firôz Shah's death, they gained possession of the kingdom of Jonpûr. the Purebi kingdom. 1 Pûrebi, in Hindustâni, has the same meaning with Sherki in Arabic or Persian, Eastern. Delhi was at that period in the hands of Sultan Alâeddîn, whose family were Syeds. When Taimur Beg invaded Hindustân, before leaving the country, he had bestowed the government of Delhi on their ancestors. Sultan Behlûl Lodi Afghân and his son Sultan Sekander, afterwards seized the throne of Delhi, as well as that of Jonpûr, and reduced both kingdoms under one government. The second prince was Sultan Muhammed Mozeffer, in Gujrât. He had departed Kingdom of Gujrât. this life a few days before Sultan Ibrâhim's defeat. He was a prince well skilled in learning, and fond of reading the Hadîs (or traditions). He was constantly employed in writing the Korân. They call this race Tang. Their ancestors were cup-bearers to the Sultan Firôz that has been mentioned, and his family. After the death of Firôz Shah they took possession of the throne of Gujrât. the Bahma nîs. The third kingdom is that of the Bahmanîs in the Dekhan, but at the present time Kingdom of the Sultans of the Dekhan have no authority or power left. All the different districts is. of their kingdom have been seized by their most powerful nobles; and, when the prince needs anything, he is obliged to ask it of his own Amîrs. The fourth King was Sultan Mahmûd, who reigned in the country of Mâlwâ, which Kingdom of they likewise call Mându. This dynasty was called the Kilji. Rana Sanka, a Pagan, had defeated them, and occupied a number of their provinces. This dynasty also had become weak. Their ancestors, too, had been originally brought forward and patronized by Sultan Firôz Shah, after whose demise they occupied the kingdom of Mâlwâ. Málwa. custom. The fifth Prince was Nusrat Shah' in the kingdom of Bengal. His father had been Kingdom of King of Bengal, and was a Syed of the name of Sultan Alâeddîn. He had attained Bengal. this throne by hereditary succession. It is a singular custom in Bengal, that there is Singular little of hereditary descent in succession to the sovereignty. There is a throne allotted for the King; there is, in like manner, a seat or station assigned for each of the Amîrs, Vazîrs, and Mansabdârs. It is that throne and these stations alone which engage the reverence of the people of Bengal. A set of dependants, servants, and attendants, are annexed to each of these situations. When the King wishes to dismiss or appoint any person, whosoever is placed in the seat of the one dismissed, is immediately attended and obeyed by the whole establishment of dependants, servants, and retainers annexed to the seat which he occupies. Nay, this rule obtains even as to the royal throne itself. Whoever kills the King and succeeds in placing himself on that throne, is immediately acknowledged as King; all the Amîrs, Vazîrs, soldiers, and peasants, instantly obey and submit to him, and consider him as being as much their sovereign as 2 1 He reigned from A. D. 1507 to 1529. His father is called by historians in general Hussain Shah, the son of Ushraf al Hussaini. 2 Strange as this custom may seem, a similar one prevailed, down to a very late period, in Malabar. There was a jubilee, every twelve years, in the Samorin's country, and any one who succeeded in forcing his way through the Samorin's guards and slew him, reigned in his stead. "A jubilee is proclaimed throughout his dominions at the end of twelve years, and a tent is pitched for him in a spacious plain, and a great feast is celebrated for ten or twelve days with mirth and jollity, guns firing night and day, so, at the end of the feast, any four of the guests that have a mind to gain a crown by a desperate action, in fighting their way through 30 or 40,000 of his guards, and kill the Samorin in his tent, he that kills him, succeeds him in his empire." See Hamilton's New Account of the East Indies, vol. I. p. 309. The attempt was made in 1695, and again a very few years ago, but without success. Hindû princes. they did their former prince, and obey his orders as implicitly. The people of Bengal manner. The five kings who have been mentioned are great princes, and are all Musulmans, and possessed of formidable armies. The most powerful of the Pagan princes, in point of territory and army, is the Raja of Bijnager. Another is the Rana Sanka, who has attained his present high eminence, only in these later times, by his own valour and his sword. His original principality was Chîtûr. During the confusions that prevailed among princes of the kingdom of Mandu, he seized a number of provinces which had depended on Mandu, such as Rantpûr,3 Sârangpûr, Bhilsân, and Chânderi. In the year A. D. 1528. 934, by the divine favour, in the space of a few hours, I took by storm Chânderi, which was commanded by Meidâni Rao, one of the highest and most distinguished of Rana Sanka's officers, put all the Pagans to the sword, and from the mansion of hostility which it had long been, converted it into the mansion of the faith, as will be hereafter more fully detailed. There were a number of other Rais and Rajas on the borders and within the territory of Hindustân; many of whom, on account of their remoteness, or the difficulty of access into their country, have never submitted to the Musulman kings. Geographi Hindustan is situated on the first, second, and third climates. No part of it is in cal position. the fourth. It is a remarkably fine country. It is quite a different world, compared with our countries. Its h lls and rivers, its forests and plains, its animals and plants, its inhabitants and their languages, its winds and rains, are all of a different nature. Although the Germsîls (or hot districts), in the territory of Kâbul, bear, in many respects, some resemblance to Hindustân, while in other particulars they differ, yet you have no sooner passed the river Sind than the country, the trees, the stones, the wandering tribes, the manners and customs of the people, are all entirely those of Hindustân. The northern range of hills has been mentioned. Immediately on crossing the river Sind, we come upon several countries in this range of mountains, connected with Kashmîr, such as Pekheli and Shemeng. Most of them, though now independent of Kashmir, were formerly included in its territories. After leaving Kashmîr, these Northern hills. 4 1 This was Mozeffer Shah Habshi, who reigned three years. 2 In the Dekhan. 2 The famous fortress of Rântambor, situated in latitude 26o, and longitude 76° 30′. * The Ils and Ulûses. 1 bitants. hills contain innumerable tribes and states, pergannahs and countries, and extend all the way to Bengal and the shores of the Great Ocean. About these hills are other Their inhatribes of men. With all the investigation and inquiry that I could make among the natives of Hindustân, I could get no sort of description or authentic information regarding them. All that I could learn was, that the men of these hills were called Kâs. It struck me, that, as the Hindustânis frequently confound shin and sîn, and as Kashmir is the chief, and indeed, as far as I have heard, the only city in these hills, it may have taken its name from that circumstance. The chief trade of the inhabitants of these hills is in musk-bags, the tails of the mountain-cow, saffron, lead, and copper. The natives of Hind call these hills Sewâlik-Parbat. In the language of Hind, Sawalak means a lak and a quarter (or one hundred and twenty-five thousand), and Parbat means a hill, that is, the hundred and twenty-five thousand hills. On these hills the snow never melts, and from some parts of Hindustân, such as Lahore, Sehrend, and Sambal, it is seen white on them all the year round. This range of hills takes the name of Hindû-kûsh, near Kâbul, and runs from Kâbul eastward, but inclining a little to the south. All to the south of this range is Hindustân. To the north of these hills, and of that unknown race of men whom they call Kâs, lies Tibet.3 A great number of rivers take their rise in these mountains, and flow through Hin- Rivers dustân. To the north of Sehrend, six rivers, the Sind, the Behat, the Chinâb, the northern Râvi, the Biâh, and the Setlej, take their rise in these mountains, and all uniting hills. with the Sind in the territory of Mûltân, take the common name of the Sind, which, flowing down to the west, passes through the country of Tatta, and disembogues into the sea of Omân. Besides these six rivers, there are other rivers, such as the Jumna, the Ganges, the Rahet," the Gûmti, the Gagra, the Sirûd, the Gandak, and a number of others, that all throw themselves into the Ganges, which, preserving its name, proceeds towards the east, and, passing through the midst of Bengal, empties itself into the Great Ocean. The sources of all these rivers are in the Sewâlik mountains. There are, however, several other rivers, such as the Chambal, the Banâs," the Other Betwa, and the Sôn, which rise from ranges of hills that are within Hindustân. In 8 these ranges, it never snows. These rivers likewise fall into the Ganges. 4 from the rivers. There are several ranges of hills in Hindustân. Among these is a detached branch Other 9 ranges of that runs from north to south. It rises in the territory of Delhi, at the Jehân-Nûmâ, hills. 1 The Persian adds, " mir signifying a hill, and kás being the name of the natives of the hill country.” 2 The kitûs, or kirtâs, as here written, is a fringed knot made of the hair of the tail or mane of the mountain-cow, often set in gold, and hung round the necks of horses by way of ornament, or as a defence against fascination. It appears also to have been used as a banner. 3 The name of Sewalik is usually confined to the hills north and east of Penjâb. Baber extends it to the great northern range. His etymology of the name is not happy. The Indus, Hydaspes, Ascesines, Hydraotes, Hesudrus, and Hyphasis. 5 The Turki has Rahep. Probably the Rapti, which joins the Ganges from Nepal. 6 By the Persians called Gang, by the Hindûs Ganga. 7 The Banâs, I am informed, rises to the north-west of Udipûr, and runs into the Chambal near Rântambôr. It is distinct from the Cane. The latter river is joined by the Bewâs, which Rennell seems by mistake to have called the Banas. "I find," says my informant, " in my old journals, that they called it Bewâs, or Bewuss, at Sagur." 8 The Betwa rises in Bopâl, passes Chanderi and Jhansi, and falls into the Jumna below Kâlpi. 9 Mirror of the world. Irrigation of the country. a palace of Sultan Firôz Shah, which stands on a small rocky hillock. After passing this, it breaks, in the neighbourhood of Delhi, into a number of detached, scattered, small, rocky hills, that lie in different directions. When it gains the country of Mewât, the hills rise in height; and when it leaves Mewât, it enters the country of Biâna. The countries of Sikri, Bâri, and Dhûlpûr, are formed by this range, although not comprehended within it; and the hill-country of Gûaliâr, which they also call Galiôr, is formed by a detached offset from it. The hill-country of Rantambôr, Chitûr, Mandû, and Chânderi, is formed by branches of this same range. In some places it is interrupted for seven or eight kos.1 This hilly tract is composed of very low, rough, rugged, stony, and jungly hills. In this range it never snows; but several of the rivers of Hindustân originate among the hills of which it is composed. Most of the districts of Hindustân are plain and level. Though Hindustân contains so many provinces, none of them has any artificial canals for irrigation. It is watered only by rivers, though in some places, too, there is standing water. Even in those cities which are so situated as to admit of digging a water-course, and thereby bringing water into them, yet no water has been brought in. There may be several reasons for this. One of them is, that water is not absolutely requisite for the crops and gardens. The autumnal crop is nourished by the rains of the rainy season. It is remarkable that there is a spring crop even though no rain falls. They raise water for the young trees, till they are one or two years old, by means of a waterwheel or buckets; after that time it is not at all necessary to water them. Some vegetables they water. In Lahore, Debâlpûr, Sehrend, and the neighbouring districts, they water by means of a wheel. They first take two ropes, of a length suited to the depth of the well, and fasten each of them so as to form a circle; between the two circular ropes they insert pieces of wood connecting them, and to these they fix water-pitchers. The ropes so prepared, with the pitchers attached to them by means of the pieces of wood, they throw over a wheel that is placed on the top of the well. On the one end of the axletree of this wheel they place another wheel with teeth, and to the side of this last they apply a third, which they make with an upright axle. When the bullocks turn this last wheel round, its teeth working upon those of the second wheel, turn the large wheel on which is the circle of pitchers. They make a trough under the place where the water is discharged by the revolution of the pitchers, and from this trough convey the water to whatever place it may be required. They have another contrivance for raising water for irrigation in Agra, Biâna, Chândwâr, and that quarter, by means of a bucket. This is very troublesome, and filthy besides. On the brink of a well they fix in strongly two forked pieces of wood, and between their prongs insert a roller. They then fasten a great water-bucket to. long ropes, which they bring over the roller; one end of this rope they tie to the bullock, and while one man drives the bullock, another is employed to pour the water out of the bucket (when it reaches the top of the well). Every time that the bullock raises the bucket from the well, as it is let down again, the rope slides along the bullock-course, is defiled with urine and dung, and in this filthy condition falls into 1 Ten or twelve miles. 2 Ab-rewân, perhaps small rivulets. 3 Kara-sûlar, literally black waters. These are chiefly large tanks. |