Ayodhya Revisited

by Kunal Kishore

  “They are not to darken and disturb their time by enmity to any of the religious communities (millata), and with all persons of the various creeds, they should pursue the path of Absolute Peace (Sulh-i kul). They should kill no living being with their own hand, nor should they skin anything except in war and chase:

  Do not render lifeless a thing of life.

  Except in chase or the field of strife.

  The luminaries, which are the reflectors of God’s light, must be shown respect according to their ranks. At all times and in all circumstances they must remain aware that God is the real causer and Creator, nay they should so meditate on Him that whether in private or in company their heart should not for a moment be without thought or attention in respect of Him:

  The lame, the ignorant, the sleepy-looking, the unmannerly;

  You (too) should go on looking at Him and calling for Him.

  My father had obtained mastery over these truths, and few were the times when he was free from such thoughts.” (Tuzuk-i-Jahangir, p. 28)

  The following was his view on the coexistence of the Hindus and Muslims in his empire:

  “I ordered that, with this exception (prohibition of forcible sati), they (the Hindus) may follow whatever is their prescribed custom and none should exercise force or compulsion or oppression over another. Since God the Almighty has made me shadow of God, and just as God’s grace is extended to all creatures, God’s shadow too must also do the same. It is impossible to carry out a general slaughter. Five-sixths of the people of Hindustan are idol-worshipping Hindus. Most of the work of agriculture, cloth-weaving and crafts is in their hands. If we wish to make all of them Muslims, that is not possible except by killing them, which too is impossible. God the Almighty will judge at the Day of Judgment. What have I to do with the religious practices of the world.”

  Though this view is found in the first version of Jahangir’s Memoirs translated from a Persian Manuscript, by Major David Price (1829) it was omitted in the Standard version translated by Alexander Rogers and edited by Henry Beveridge (1909). It has been argued that it was omitted with a view to not displeasing his Persian readers who were mostly from the clergy and the nobility. Whatever might have been the reason for its omission from the later version, the fact remains that Jahangir was a tolerant and benevolent monarch.

  (14) Jahangir’s reverence to many Hindu ascetics

  Jahangir had high respect for many Hindu ascetics. Jadrup Gosain was such a venerated ascetic whom Jahangir first met in 1617 on his way to Gujarat. On his return journey the Emperor met him twice. Next year in 1618 the Emperor met him twice at Mathurā. Hakim Beg, brother-in-law of Nur Jahan, was summarily dismissed from service at Mathurā for misbehaving with Jadrup.

  In 1618-19 Jahangir wrote of Jadrup, “

  “On Saturday for the second time, my desire for the company of Jadrup increased. After performing the midday devotions… I ran and enjoyed his society in the retirement of his cell. I had many sublime words to religious duties and knowledge of divine things. Without exaggeration, he sets forth clearly the doctrines of wholesome Sufism and one can find delight in his society. He is sixty years age. He was 22 when, forsaking all external attachments, he placed the foot of determination on the high road of asceticism, and for 38 years he had lived in the garment of nakedness… God Almighty has granted him an unusual grace, a lofty understanding, an exalted nature, and keen intellectual powers, etc… On Wednesday I again went and bade him Good-bye. Undoubtedly parting from him weighed upon my mind which desires the truth.”

  Other ascetics whom Jahangir had met are Yogī Motī, Gussain Chitrupa and an unnamed Sannyāsī at Ahmadabad. In 1621 he visited Hardwar and distributed gifts in cash and kind to Brahmins and ascetics. He had visited Brindāvana and confirmed many grants issued earlier and gave new grants to some important temples. All these facts confirm complete eclectic character of Jahangir.

  Jahangir with Hindu ascetic Jadrup. (Ms. Jahangirnama, c. 1620)

  During the regime of Jahangir also Hindus were admitted to the higher public service. Out of 47 mansabdars above the rank of 3,000, six were Hindus. It comes to 12%. He appointed Hindus as Governor and Diwans. During his rule temples and churches, too, were freely built. Hindu pilgrims visited their holy places freely and the number of persons visiting Hardwar was between 4 and 5 lakhs. In 1616 he did not prevent 20 baptisms taking place and he even permitted the baptism of his brother Daniyal’s sons, who, however, reverted back to Islam. He continued the system of appointing a Hindu Judge to decide the cases of the Hindus. The author of the Dabistan-i-Mazahib informs that Śrī Kānta of Kashmir, who was a profound scholar of all branches of Hindu jurisprudence, was appointed to this post. In his words:

  “His Majesty Nuruddin Muhammed Jahangir appointed Sri Kant to the office of the Qazi (Judge) of the Hindus so that they might be at ease and be in no need to seek favour from a Muslim.”

  (15) Farmans patronising Jain monks

  Various Farmans of Jahangir confirm that he followed the footsteps of his great father in religious matters. In one such Farman issued in the 3rd year of his accession, i.e. 1608 A.D. to Paramānanda he ordered his officers to allow repairs to and re-erection of their temples and resting places. Having mentioned that the Jain Dharmāchāryas had ‘temples and dharmashalas in every place and every town’, he ordered:

  “No one shall put up in the temples and dharmashalas of that community and no one shall enter into them without permission. And should they wish to rebuild them, no one shall oppose them. And no one shall alight at the horses of their disciples.”

  Thereafter, like his father he orders that those who visit the pilgrim place Śatruñjaya in Saurāshtra, will be exempted from toll and other taxes.

  In another Farman Jehangir’s universal concern for persons of every caste and creed is reflected. The Farman of emperor Nuruddin Jahangir dated 26th of Farvardin in the 5th year of his accession, i.e. 1610 A.D. is a direction to all his officials throughout the empire not to allow slaughter of animals during 12 days of the Jain Paryushana festival. The second paragraph of this Farman reads as follows:

  “And as we have directed our royal merciful attention towards encouraging the objects and actions of every caste and creed, rather towards making every creature happy, we consented and issued our Jahangiri order accepted and acceptable by the world… .”

  Farman of the emperor Nuruddin Jahangir dated 17th of the Ilahi month of Asfandarmuz in the 10th year of the accession, i.e. 1615 A.D., is a permanent grant of land in Akbarpur near Cambay to Chandu Sanghavi for the construction of a temple. The relevant portion of the Farman is quoted below:

  “Whereas on account of the dispatch made by Sayyad Ahmad Kadu, the mainstay perfection and exellence and a truthful and learned man, on account of the support of Jogi a modern Jalinus (a great physician) and a modern Jesus Christ, on the introduction made by Subaha a benevolent magnate of the present times, and at the recommendation of Isahak an humble disciple and a recorder, Chandu Sanghavi prayed that land measuring ten bighas in the village Akbarpur be granted for the purpose of making thereon a temple of the deceased teacher Vijayasena a grader, a Farman and a memorial in honour of him. Thereupon an order, shining like rays of the sun and worth being obeyed by the world, was passed that Chandu Sanghavi be granted a plot of agricultural land measuring ten bighas at Akbarpur in Chorasi pargana which is near Cambay as a jagir known as madad-i-maash. This is written after ascertaining it in accordance with the order.”

  Here the emperor grants 10 bighas of land for the construction of a temple in which the statue of Guru Vijayasena Suri was to be installed. This itself shows how liberal Jehangir was in religious affairs.

  One more Farman of the emperor Nuruddin Jahangir, ordering his officials throughout the empire to allow complete freedom to the monks of the Jain community, is cited here. It is dated the 2nd of the Ilahi month of Amardad in the 11th year of the accession (July 1616 A.D.). This Farman is “in f
avour of the Jain community (jamat), who are virtuous and have no other business except the worship and adoration of God, this Jahangiri (royal) order, which is obeyed by the world and which is necessary to follow” was issued to all his officers that they “should not interfere with or obstruct in any way the practices of this community, and should allow them to attend to their worship and devotion and the adoration of God (yazdan parashti) in perfect peace of mind holy, exalted and auspicious empire.”

  This shows that the Jain community had a very cordial relation with the emperor Jahangir who had granted it complete freedom in the sphere of religious practice.

  (16) Derisive remarks on the Jains in his Memoirs

  But it is surprising that despite all these Farmans issued by Jahangir in favour of the Jain monks, he makes the following observation in his Memoirs, in 1617 A.D. –

  “The sect of the Sewras exists in most of the cities of India, but is especially numerous in Gujarat. As the Banyans are the chief traders there, consequently the Sewras also are plentiful. Besides making idol-temples for them, they have built houses for them to dwell in and to worship in. In fact, these houses are the headquarters of sedition. The Banyans send their wives and daughters to the Sewras, who have no shame or modesty. All kinds of strife and audacity are perpetrated by them. I therefore ordered that the Sewras should be expelled, and I circulated Farmans to the effect that wherever there were Sewras in my empire they should be turned out.” ( Memoirs of Jahangir, translated by Alexander Rogers, Preface by Henry Beveridge)

  One reason attributed is that Jain Dharmāchārya Man Singh had represented one sect of Jains in the court of Akbar and after the latter’s death, when the former’s patron king Rai Singh Bhurtiya of Bikaner had asked him as to how long Jahangir’s reign would continue, Man Singh had made a prophecy that it would not continue beyond two years. So, when he remembered this episode in Gujarat in 1617, he called Man Singh to the imperial court. But Man Singh committed suicide by consuming poison on the way. It seems that in a fit of anger the Emperor wrote the above passage in his Memoirs. However, it was implemented in default because Jahangir continued to have cordial relation with the Jains and they, too, were praising him in subsequent edicts. A Jain savant Siddhi Chandra Upādhyāya was conferred the title of Khush Fahm (of good understanding) by Jahangir.

  (17) Persecution of Sikh Guru Arjan Deva

  There was another aberration in the harmonious religious policy of Jahangir which relates to the execution of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Deva. In his Memoirs (Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri) Jahangir writes:

  “In Gobindwal, which is on the river Biyah (Beas), there was a Hindu named Arjun, in the garments of sainthood and sanctity, so much so that he had captured many of the simple-hearted of the Hindus, and even of the ignorant and foolish followers of Islam, by his ways and manners, and they had loudly sounded the drum of his holiness. They called him Guru, and from all sides stupid people crowded to worship and manifest complete faith in him. For three or four generations (of spiritual successors) they had kept this shop warm. Many times it occurred to me to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring him into the assembly of the people of Islam.

  At last when Khusrau passed along this road this insignificant fellow proposed to wait upon him. Khusrau happened to halt at the place where he was, and he came out and did homage to him. He behaved to Khusrau in certain special ways, and made on his forehead a finger mark in saffron, which the Indians (Hinduwan) call qashqa, and is considered propitious. When this came to my ears and I clearly understood his folly, I ordered them to produce him and handed over his houses, dwelling places, and children to Murtaza Khan, and having confiscated his property commanded that he should be put to death.” (Tuzuk-i-jahangiri, Translated by Mr. Rogers, pp. 72-73)

  Some historians have tried to defend Jahangir on the ground that the capital punishment of Guru Arjun Dev as mentioned in the Memoirs was to please the Muslim clergy in the beginning of his reign. But it is not convincing because the aforementioned description comes from the pen of an emperor and that is retained in the standard version also.

  Prof. Athar Ali defends Jahangir in the following unreasonable manner:

  “This account of Guru Arjan’s tragic end is inaccurate both with regard to motive (insofar as the idea of a preconceived object of furthering Islam and suppressing Sikhism is introduced) and to the actual circumstances of the punishment.

  As for the first, the motive, Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi wrote a letter to Shaikh Farid (Murtaza Khan) immediately after receiving the news of Guru Arjan’s death, in which with much jubilation he says:

  “At this time, the killing of the accursed kafir of Gobindwal, has been a very happy event. It is a matter of great defeat of the reprobated Hindus. For whatever reason he has been killed, and for whatever motive he has been put to death, the humiliation of kafirs is the very life of Islam.

  Since Murtaza Khan was himself concerned in the enforcement of the punishment (as stated by Jahangir himself), it is inconceivable that Shaikh Ahmad would have suggested that the action was taken on grounds other than religious persecution, had this not been the case.” (p. 189)

  There is nothing in the Sirhindi’s letter which goes against the tenet of the text of Jahangir’s Memoirs; rather it confirms Jahangir’s writing. It may be easily accepted that while torturing the Sikh Guru to death, he was guided by both religious prejudice and political consideration because Guru Arjan Deva had blessed Prince Khusrau when he rebelled against Jahangir. But the conclusion of Athar Ali that ‘there was no order for the execution of Guru Arjan from Jahangir himself’ is contrary to the historical facts and the Sikh tradition.

  (18) Khusru’s rebellion

  Jahangir’s mother was the daughter of Raja Bihari Mall and his wife was the daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das. The marriage had been solemnized in 1584. From this wife was born Khusru, who was as liberal as Akbar and Dara Shukoh and had been offered throne by Nur Jahan, if he could abandon his wife and marry her daughter. But Khusrau preferred love to the throne. Very few people know of this sacrifice. Khusrau was the darling of his grandfather and even father Jahangir but because of his petulant and peevish nature, he lost the race of the throne.

  (19) Jahangir’s 10 commandments

  Jahangir’s 10 commandments are famous. The following commandments relate to the general welfare of his subjects without any discretion on the line of religion:

  “2. On roads where thefts and robberies took place, which roads might be at a little distance from habitations, the jagirdars of the neighbourhood should build sara’is (public rest-houses), mosques, and dig wells, which might stimulate population, and people might settle down in those sara’is.”

  “5. They should not make wine or rice-spirit (darbahra) or any kind of intoxicating drug, or sell them.”

  “11. In accordance with the regulations of my revered father, I ordered that each year from the 18th of Rabi’u-l-awwal which is my birthday, for a number of days corresponding to the years of my life, they should not slaughter animals (for food). Two days in each week were also forbidden, one of them Thursday, the day of my accession, and the other Sunday, the day of my father’s birth.” (edited by R.C. Majumadar “The Mughal Empire”, Vidya Bhavan)

  (20) Jahangir’s Chain of Justice

  Jahangir is known for providing justice to his subjects. He had set up a chain of justice between a stone-pillar erected on the banks of Jamuna and Shah Burje in the fort of Agra to enable the aggrieved persons to place their grievances before the Emperor. Jahangir mentions this chain of justice in his Memoirs:

  “After my accession, the first order that I gave was for the fastening up of the Chain of Justice, so that if those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practise hypocrisy in the matter of those seeking justice, the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention. Its fashion was this: I ordered them to make a chain of pure gold, 30 gaz in length and containing 60
bells. Its weight was 4 Indian maunds, equal to 42 Iraqi maunds. One end of it they made fast to the battlements of the Shah Burj of the fort at Agra and the other to a stone post fixed on the bank of the river.”(The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; or, Memoirs of Jahangir. Translated by Alexander Rogers, p. 7)

  Establishing a chain of justice with 60 bells itself was a symbol of Jahangir’s lack of religious bigotry and sense of social justice.

  During the reign of Jahangir new temples and churches were built without any hesitation or hindrance. Hindu pilgrims visited pilgrim-places. Coryot has put the number of Hindu pilgrims visiting Haridwar at 4,00,000 while Roe has put it at 5,00,000.

  (21) Harideva Miśra’s Jahāngīra-virudāvali

  Harideva Miśra was the nātī (maternal grandson) of Achyuta Thakkura, the son of Maheśa Thakkura, the founder of the Khandavalā dynasty in Mithilā and author of the book ‘Sarva-deśa-vrittānta-sam¢graha’. He was a great Sanskrit scholar. He has composed ‘Jahāngīra-virudāvalī’ in praise of the emperor Jahangir. It consists of 140 ślokas, out of which the following two verses are quoted below:

  त्रीषु त्वं कुसुमायुधोऽसि दुरितोद्रिक्तेषु दण्डायुधो

  हृन्मत्तेषु हलायुधो बलिविपच्चक्रे तु चक्रायुधः।

  क्षोणीभृच्छतपक्षविक्षतिविधौ वज्रायुधो न स्फुर-