The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
History
The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan, 1483-1530; Mogul Empire
The meeting with the Mīrzās was on Monday the 8th of the latter Jumāda
(Oct. 26th 1506 AH.). Abū'l-muḥsin Mīrzā came out a mile to meet me; we
approached one another; on my side, I dismounted, on his side, he; we
advanced, saw one another and remounted. Near the camp Muz̤affar Mīrzā
and Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā met us; they, being younger than Abū'l-muḥsin
Mīrzā ought to have come out further than he to meet me.[1180] Their
dilatoriness may not have been due to pride, but to heaviness [Sidenote:
Fol. 186.] after wine; their negligence may have been no slight on me,
but due to their own social pleasures. On this Muz̤affar Mīrzā laid
stress;[1181] we two saw one another without dismounting, so did
Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā and I. We rode on together and, in an amazing crowd
and press, dismounted at Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā's Gate. Such was the
throng that some were lifted off the ground for three or four steps
together, while others, wishing for some reason to get out, were
carried, willy-nilly, four or five steps the other way.
We reached Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā's Audience-tent. It had been agreed that
I, on entering, should bend the knee (_yūkūnghāī_) once, that the Mīrzā
should rise and advance to the edge of the estrade,[1182] and that we
should see one another there. I went in, bent the knee once, and was
going right forward; the Mīrzā rose rather languidly and advanced rather
slowly; Qāsim Beg, as he was my well-wisher and held my reputation as
his own, gave my girdle a tug; I understood, moved more slowly, and so
the meeting was on the appointed spot.
Four divans (_tūshuk_) had been placed in the tent. Always in the
Mīrzā's tents one side was like a gate-way[1183] and at the edge of this
gate-way he always sat. A divan was set there now [Sidenote: Fol. 186b.]
on which he and Muz̤affar Mīrzā sat together. Abū'l-muḥsin, Mīrzā and I
sat on another, set in the right-hand place of honour (_tūr_). On
another, to Badī`u'z-zamān Mīrzā's left, sat Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā with
Qāsim Sl. _Aūzbeg_, a son-in-law of the late Mīrzā and father of
Qāsim-i-ḥusain Sulṯān. To my right and below my divan was one on which
sat Jahāngīr Mīrzā and `Abdu'r-razzāq Mīrzā. To the left of Qāsim Sl.
and Ibn-i-ḥusain Mīrzā, but a good deal lower, were Muḥ. Barandūq Beg,
Ẕū'n-nūn Beg and Qāsim Beg.
Although this was not a social gathering, cooked viands were brought in,
drinkables[1184] were set with the food, and near them gold and silver
cups. Our forefathers through a long space of time, had respected the
Chīngīz-tūrā (ordinance), doing nothing opposed to it, whether in
assembly or Court, in sittings-down or risings-up. Though it has not
Divine authority so that a man obeys it of necessity, still good rules
of conduct must be obeyed by whom-soever they are left; just in the same
way that, if a forefather have done ill, his ill must be changed for
good.
After the meal I rode from the Mīrzā's camp some 2 miles to [Sidenote:
Fol. 187.] our own dismounting-place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account