48. Included in Rammohun Roy, Translation of Several Principal Books, Passages and Texts of the Veds, and of Some Controversial Works on Brahmunical Theology (London: Parbury, Allen, and Co., 1832).
49. Kanhaiyalal Alakhdhari, Alakh Prakash (Sialkot: Gyan Press, 1876), 23–24.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Though writing is a seemingly solitary exercise, the leisure to research and write relies on the generosity and labor of others. My research on Dara Shukoh began at Harvard University, where I completed my PhD. I am grateful to my advisor, Ali Asani, as well as Parimal Patil, and Wheeler Thackston for their advice and encouragement. At the University of Pennsylvania, where I was a visiting student and a postdoctoral fellow, I thank Daud Ali, Jamal Elias, and Tajmah Assefi-Shirazi. I have shared many adventures in the Indo-Persian world with Sunil Sharma, from Sufi dargahs in Delhi to seminars at Harvard, and he kindly read the whole manuscript. Other scholars, including Muzaffar Alam, Carl Ernst, Jack Hawley, and Francesca Orsini, have always encouraged my research. Fellowships from the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the Fulbright Hays facilitated my initial forays into the visual and manuscript cultures of Mughal India.
Some of those who have helped plant the seeds of this book are sadly no longer with us. Yunus Jaffery and Majid Ahmady were my first teachers of Persian and always took an interest in my work. Ahmed Reza Jalali Naini and Daryush Shayegan gifted me their books before I knew I would write on Dara Shukoh. Madiha Gauhar gave me a CD of her play on Dara with Shahid Nadeem. I wish I could have shared the finished version of the book with Ankit Chadha.
I presented material from this book at Kashmir University, Yale University, Columbia University, the University of Virginia, and Indiana University Bloomington. At Oxford University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania I gave talks that touched upon some of the themes in this book. I am grateful to the many who invited me and engaged with my work at these venues.
My research has drawn on the holdings of several libraries. I am especially indebted to the staff of the British Library, the Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, the Maulana Azad Library at Aligarh Muslim University, and the Allama Iqbal Library at Kashmir University, as well as to Imtiaz Ahmad, former director of the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Abdul Moid Khan, director of the Maulana Azad Arabic and Persian Research Centre in Tonk, and Mehdi Khajeh Piri of the Iran Culture House, New Delhi. Research on premodern South Asia is greatly eased when repositories allow scholars to take photographs of manuscripts or otherwise make digital images available. I am thankful for those that do, and I hope that more libraries will facilitate the availability of their resources.
I completed this book while at Yale University. My department chair, Kathryn Lofton, offered much support and hospitality and so did colleagues in Religious Studies, including Gerhard Bowering, Phyllis Granoff, Frank Griffel, Noreen Khawaja, and Nancy Levene. Elsewhere at Yale, I thank Abbas Amanat, Rohit De, Kasturi Gupta, Karuna Mantena, Swapna Sharma, and Shawkat Toorawa. Funding from the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale helped with expenses incurred during the book’s production. Outside Yale, I benefited from discussing aspects of this book with many colleagues, including Afshan Bokhari, Munis Faruqui, Rajeev Kinra, Matt Melvin Koushki, Murad Khan Mumtaz, Shankar Nair, Dan Sheffield, and Audrey Truschke.
I feel fortunate to have been able to work with Sharmila Sen of Harvard University Press. Heather Hughes shepherded me through the publication process. John Hoey of Westchester Publishing Services ensured that the production of the book ran efficiently. In addition, Valerie Joy Turner helped smooth out some of the manuscript’s rough edges.
This book was composed over the course of moves and travels across three continents, with a small child in tow. My parents, Usha and Rajmohan Gandhi, made crucial visits during school holidays, enabling me to get writing done. In India, where I began writing this book, the generous support of Jayashree and Ravindra Rao was indispensable, and Pramila Kamble provided much-needed childcare. Several friends helped sustain me, including Neeti Nair and Sarah Quraishi. I am also grateful to my brother Debu Gandhi, sister-in-law, Sandra Snabb, and mother-in-law, Cynthia Eastman. My partner, Travis Zadeh, championed my work and read the book with a critical eye. I dedicate this book to our son Anoush, who has seen it take shape since he could walk and talk.
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Page x. Map 0courtesy of the author.
Page 13. Submission of Rana Amar Singh to Prince Khurram. Painted by Nanha. Lahori, Padshah-nama. © The Royal Collection, Royal Library, Windsor Castle, MS 1367, fol. 46b, 1005025.g.
Page 29. Jahangir converses with Chidrup. Detached folio from a Jahangir-nama, circa 1620. Courtesy of the Musée des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, 85EE1944.
Page 33. Portrait of Shuja as a child. The Art and History Collection, courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., LTS1995.2.98.
Page 35. Khurram with young Dara Shukoh. Album folio, painted by Nanha, circa 1618. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 55.121.10.36.
Page 36. Khurram with young son, circa 1620. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, IS 90–1965.
Page 63. Shah Jahan at his accession meeting sons accompanied by Asaf Khan, March 1632. Painted by Bichitr. Lahori, Padshah-nama. © The Royal Collection, Royal Library, Windsor Castle, MS 1367, fol.50b, 1005025.k.
Page 84. Aurangzeb facing the elephant Sudhakar, June 1632. Lahori, Padshah-nama. © The Royal Collection, Royal Library, Windsor Castle, MS 1367, fol. 134a, 1005025.ad.
Page 110. Portrait of Mulla Shah Badakhshi. Album folio. The Art and History Collection, courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., LTS2002.2.4.
Page 112. Portrait of Mulla Shah Badakhshi. Album folio misidentified. Courtesy of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 14.664.
Page 113. Portrait of Mulla Shah Badakhshi under tree. Album folio. © Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1949,0212,0.5.
Page 165. Mughal prince converses with Hindu ascetic and other holy men. Private collection, image courtesy of Stuart Cary Welch.
Page 178. Shah Jahan and Dara Shukoh meet Khizr en route to the Chishti shrine at Ajmer. Padshah-nama. © The Royal Collection, Royal Library, Windsor Castle, MS 1367, fol. 205b, 1005025.ap.
Page 200. Gathering of Holy Men. Album folio, circa 1650. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, IS 94–1965.
Pages 228–229. Battle of Samugarh. Attributed to Payag, circa 1658. Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum. © President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1999.298.
Page 242. Portrait of Dara Shukoh’s head brought to Aurangzeb. Niccolò Manucci, Histoire de l’Inde, also known as the Libro rosso, late seventeenth-century painting in the Deccani style. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, Estampes, Rés., Codex Od. 45, no. 14, pet. fol., fol. 31a.
Page 243. Colophon of Jahanara, Ayat-ul-bayyinat, dated 1663, autograph copy. Author’s photo. Aligarh Muslim University, Maulana Azad Library, Habibganj Collection, MS 1 / 55, fol. 74b.
Pages 252–253. Dara Shukoh with pandits. Illustrated in the Sirr-i akbar, late eighteenth-century manuscript. Author’s photo. Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, MS HL 3662, fol. 2a.
Page 256. Om / Allah, opening to early twentieth-century lithograph edition of Dara Shukoh, Sirr-i akbar, Jaipur: Hiralal Press, n.d. Author’s photo, private collection.
INDEX
Abd-ul-Haqq, 36–38, 103, 120, 154, 171
Abdullah Khan, 46, 48, 50, 51
Abdullah Qutb Shah, 203, 204
Abd-ul-Quddus Gangohi, 70, 71
Abd-ur-Rahim (Khan of Khans), 30–31, 47, 65
Abd-ur-Rahman Jami, 133
Abhay Chand, 183, 184
ab-i hayat, 22
Abraham (Biblical figure), 3
Abu Bakr, 38
Abu Hanifa, 105
Abu Jafar Tabari, 69
Abu-l-Fazl, 38, 75, 103, 106, 137, 156
Abu-l-Hasan (Asaf Khan). See Asaf Khan
Abu-l-Hasan Turbati (Rukn-us-Sultanat), 32
Adam (Biblical figure), 69
Advaita Vedanta, 168, 180, 182, 184, 185. See also Upanishads; Vedanta
Afzal Khan, 79, 154
Ahmad Beg, 48
Ahmad Ghazali, 133
Ahmad Sirhindi, 38–39, 70–71, 73, 74, 120, 154
Ahmadnagar, 18–19, 26, 85
Ahmed, Akbar, 2
Ajmer, 11, 12, 20–22, 177, 178
Akbar (Mughal emperor), 12; Alexander and, 25; birth of, 51; chronicles of reign, 8, 106, 137, 156; circumcision and, 43; embrace of Indic learning, 192; facial hair and, 34; imperial discipleship, 156, 239; legacy of, 137; liberalism of, 9; mansabdari system, 21; as model for Dara Shukoh, 203; religious tolerance and, 38, 219; rings and, 239; succession and, 17; translations commissioned by, 196–197; visit to Chidrup, 30
Alakhdhari, Kanhaiyalal, 3
Alamgir (Aurangzeb), 1; Dara Shukoh’s image and, 247, 248–249; empire’s decline and, 256; expansion of bureaucracy, 248–249; orthodoxy of, 9. See also Aurangzeb (Alamgir); war of succession
Ala-ud-Din Isfahani (Mirza Nathan; Shitab Khan), 48–49, 50–51, 52
alcohol, 34, 39–40, 41–42, 55, 57, 172, 230, 231, 232
Alexander the Great, 18, 25–26, 160, 208; as model for Dara Shukoh, 203; painting of, 28; Zakhira-i Iskandarani, 137, 160, 161, 208
Ali (Prophet’s son-in-law), 187, 193
Ali Mardan Khan, 103, 117
alim, 154
Amar Singh, 11, 12, 14, 176
Amir Khusrau, 116
angels, 209, 210
Anquetil-Duperron, Abraham Hyacinth, 251
apostasy: Ahmad Sirhindi and, 38; Dara Shukoh accused of, 1–2, 219, 220, 230–231, 238–239. See also unbelief
Aqil Khan (Mir Askari Razi), 215, 218, 222, 224
architecture: Dara Shukoh and, 138–139; Pari Mahal, 139–140; Taj Mahal, 68–69, 79, 244, 247; women and, 174–175
aristocracy. See nobility
Aristotle, 160, 194, 208
Arjumand Bano (Mumtaz Mahal), 15; children of, 43, 50, 57 (see also Aurangzeb; Dara Shukoh; Jahanara; Murad Bakhsh); death of, 66–68; family of, 17 (see also Asaf Khan; Nur Jahan (Nur Mahal)); in Khurram’s rebellion, 46, 49, 51, 55; relationship with Khurram, 16, 30–31. See also Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano)
art: in albums, 76; ascetics in, 166; Bichitr, 62, 142; calligraphy, 74–75; Chitarman, 77; depicting battle at Samugarh, 227–230; depicting Dara Shukoh, 62, 64, 77; depicting elephant attack, 82–83; Govardhan, 164, 166; in Mughal elite education, 75; Muslim approaches to figural art, 75; Nanha, 34; nim qalam technique, 76–77; Payag, 227; portraits of women, 78; ruler meeting ascetic motif in, 166. See also paintings
artillery, 146, 147, 159, 226–227. See also Manucci, Niccoló
Asaf Khan (Abu-l-Hasan), 17; capture of Jahangir and, 54–55; control of Dawar Bakhsh, 61; Jahangir’s succession and, 59–60, 62; Khurram’s rebellion and, 45; loyalties of, 61; Parvez’s power and, 53; poem for, 180; status of, 58; trading interests and, 20, 24
asceticism: political authority and, 7. See also religious studies, Dara Shukoh’s; religious studies, Jahanara’s
ascetics, 104; in art, 166; Chidrup, 27–30, 31–32; Hajji Abdullah, 104; health of, 96; Hindu, 76–77 (see also Baba Lal); paintings of, 76–77, 199, 201; rulers’ association with, 30; Sarmad, 183–184, 247. See also Miyan Mir; Mulla Shah
Ashoka (emperor), 25
ashvamedha yagna (horse sacrifice), 211–212
astrology, 132, 136, 143, 146, 158, 233
Athar Ali, 225
Aurangzeb (Alamgir), 1, 66; accusations against Dara Shukoh, 222, 230–231; affair with Hira Bai, 171–173; after Jahangir’s death, 59; alliance with Murad, 232; children of, 101, 102, 171, 203, 224, 230, 232; children of, marriages of, 242, 244; coronation of, 233; death of siblings, 43; elephant attack and, 82–83; estates of, 94; execution of Dara Shukoh and, 237–238, 241; governmental activities of, 101, 126–127, 147, 201; as hostage, 52–53, 55–59; image of in historical memory, 4; independent ties of, 177, 179; invasion of Golconda, 177, 179, 203–204; Iqbal’s representation of, 2–3; in Khurram’s rebellion, 49; Lahori on, 126; legacy of, 4–5; military experience of, 138, 144–147, 179; as mythical character, 4; in Orchha campaign, 100; pact with Murad, 149; pact with Shuja, 149; paintings of, 34; ranks of, 95; relationship with Dara Shukoh, 83, 127, 143, 203; relationship with Jahanara, 126, 127, 142–143, 149; relationship with Shah Jahan, 125–126, 144–145, 173, 230, 231; religious harmony and, 220–221; in scholarship on Dara Shukoh, 6; on Shitab Khan, 52; wine and, 173; wives of, 101–102, 171 (see also Dilras Bano)
authority, political, 7. See also asceticism; emperors, Mughal; kingship; piety
authority, religious, 21. See also scholars, Islamic; Sufis; ulama
authors, 197. See also chronicles; poetry / poets
Baba Lal, 164–169, 170, 171, 186, 189, 190, 201
Babur, 40, 62, 158, 219
Balkh, 131–132, 138. See also Central Asian campaign
Banarsi, 59, 60
Banwali (Banwalidas), 94–95, 196, 254
Baqi Beg, 129
Barthes, Roland, 4
Basisht (Vasishtha), 30, 69, 194, 195
beards, 34, 36, 58, 166
Bernier, François, 175, 176, 181, 182, 183, 186, 212, 224, 235–236, 237, 238, 247–248
Bihishti of Shiraz, 215, 217–218, 231, 232, 236–237
Bihzad, Kamal-ud-Din, 28
Bir Singh Bundela, 100
blasphemy, 246. See also apostasy
book knowledge, 131, 133, 168, 188, 190. See also religious studies, Dara Shukoh’s
books, Dara Shukoh’s. See writings, Dara Shukoh’s
Brahma, 209–210
bureaucracy, Mughal, 21, 248–249
Burhanpur, 26, 65
Busée, Henri (Henricus Busaeu), 182
calendar system, 106
calligraphy, 74–76
Central Asian campaign, 131–132, 138
Central Asian nobility, 144
certainty, 107
Chadha, Ankit, 5
chakras, 134
Chandarbhan Brahman, 136, 167, 175, 177, 246–247, 254
charismatic transference, 96, 108
Chaudhuri, Jatindra Bimal, 190
Chidrup, 27–30, 31–32
child mortality, 31, 43
children: in Khurram’s rebellion, 49; raising of, 26
Chishtis: Abd-ur-Rahman Chishti, 69–70, 71, 72, 129, 199; Ahmad Sirhindi, 38–39, 70–71, 73, 74; Dara Shukoh’s association with, 129–131; eclecticism of, 72; engagement with Indic thought, 69–70; Jahanara’s association with, 105, 122; Khwaja Muin-ud-Din Chishti, 12, 14, 22, 70, 104–105, 122, 201; Nizam-ud-Din, 37, 72; Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki, 201; relationship with state, 71–72; Shaikh Muhibbullah Mubariz, 129–131; tombs of, 175. See also Sufis
Christianity: Dara Shukoh as martyr, 241; Jesuits, 182–183, 184–185; trinity, 210
chronicles, of Akbar’s reign, 8, 106, 137, 156
chronicles, of Aurangzeb’s reign, 238–239
chronicles / chroniclers, of Shah Jahan’s reign, 220; Lahori, 67, 73, 80, 82, 86, 87, 106, 124, 126; Muhammad Salih Kamboh, 214; Orchha campaign in, 100; Padshah-nama, 62, 64, 67, 73, 80, 82, 177, 178; Tabatabai, 79, 99, 202; tax on Hindu pilgrims and, 212. See also Qazwini, Mirza Amin; individual chroniclers
circumcision, 43
civil war. See war of succession
Colebrooke, Henry Thomas, 251
colonial rule, 255, 257
conservatives, religious: Dara’s censure of, 154; in Shah Jahan’s rule, 8–9, 106. See also orthodoxy; piety
corpses, transfer of, 43
Coryate, Thomas, 19, 20, 22–23, 24, 25, 57
Dabistan-i mazahib (The School of Religious Sects; Mu
bad Shah), 94, 183, 184, 191
Dara Shukoh, 105; aesthetic sensibilities of, 74; after Jahangir’s death, 59; after war of succession, 231–232, 233; birth of, 15, 17; children of, 85–86, 97, 102, 126, 233, 236–237, 242, 244 (see also Sipihr Shukoh; Sulaiman Shukoh); context of, 9–10; depictions of in art, 32, 34, 35, 77; execution of, 3, 4, 240–241; grave of, 245–246; health of, 86–87; historical / cultural memory of, 167, 248; as hostage, 52–53, 55–59; image of, 4, 136–137, 247–248; known as Shah Buland Iqbal, 185; legacy of, 5; military experience of, 104, 117, 144, 145, 147, 151, 157–163, 235; as mythical character, 2, 4; Qadiri life and, 88; rank of, 85, 216; redemption of, 4; relationship with brothers, 82; relationship with Jahanara, 26, 97–98; religious and intellectual interests of, 7 (see also religious studies, Dara Shukoh’s); responsibilities of, 103–104; reunion with parents, 62–64; scholarship on, 6–7; siblings of, 26, 43, 66 (see also Aurangzeb; Jahanara; Shah Shuja); sympathy for, 248; trial of, 1–2; visions / dreams of, 128–129, 150, 194–195, 196; visits to Mulla Shah, 94, 128; wives of, 77 (see also Nadira Bano Begam)
dastan, 5
Dawar Bakhsh, 32, 43, 58, 59, 60, 61–62
death, law and, 43
Debi Das, 249
Delhi, 144. See also Shahjahanabad
della Valle, Pietro, 42
Deoras, Bhaurao, 3
Dilras Bano, 101, 171
discipleship, imperial, 156, 239
divine, love for, 71
East India Company, 19, 20, 23, 24. See also colonial rule
eclecticism, 72, 191
ecstatic, 184
education: Dara Shukoh’s, 43; Mughal elite’s, 75; of women, 103
Edwards, William, 19, 20
elephant attack, 82–83
elites, 21; circumcision and, 43; education of, 75; occult arts and, 160, 161; scholars’ relationship with, 71–72. See also nobility
embalming, 42–43
emperors, Mughal: as divine sovereigns, 7. See also Akbar (Mughal emperor); Alamgir (Aurangzeb); Jahangir; kingship; Shah Jahan (Khurram); succession
England, 19–20, 23, 24, 257. See also East India Company; Roe, Thomas; trade
The Emperor Who Never Was Page 45
