4
Most of the provinces were conquered but owing to impatience, that unfortunate man (Mūrád) returned (to the capital) without having been recalled by His Majesty and thereby lost the favour of the people and the grandees of those provinces. The kingdoms conquered and possessed were lost; and money was wasted on them. It is for this reason that it is said that "A daughter is better than an unworthy son". Attend to this (verse) that "If a father is unable to finish a work, the son must carry it out to completion". This mortal creature (Aurungzebe) has a wish which is still unfulfilled. It was the desire of Sháh Jehán that I should send a grandson of His Majesty's to those districts with a grand army and sufficient equipment. What more can I do? When you were here, I had insisted upon you to take Kandahár;[1] but you have not conquered it. What of other cases, then? Evidently you have not done the work entrusted to you by me. One who professes to know a thing must know it fully. This my perishable life is now like the sun (setting) on the top of a mountain. What does it concern me if I have these provinces or not? How will you shew your face to your rivals in this world and to the Holy, High, and Exalted God in the next world?
- ↑ Aurungzebe was sent to Kandahar by his father to conquer it; but having failed to do so he returned to Delhi. 1649. Aurungzebe tried to recover Kandahar a second time, but again he failed. 1652. The great Akbar wrested Kandahar from the Persians. Shah Abbas took the city from Jehangir. It fell to Shah Jehan through the treachery of Ali Merdan Khan. It was again besieged and captured by the son of Shah Abbas, and afterwards twice unsuccessfully attacked by Shah Jehan.
"The wise of ancient times considered Kabul and Kandahar as the twin gates of Hindustan, the one leading to Turkestan and the other to Persia. The custody of these highways secured India from foreign invaders, and they are likewise the appropriate portals to foreign travel."
Ain-i-Akbari. Cf. Let. IV.
was murdered in 1661. The date of his death is found from the following Persian verse: "Aya vaye! ba har bahaneh kushtand" (Alas! he was killed on a pretext). He was very brave, but much addicted to drinking and at the same time foolish in politics. Khafi Khan calls him a simpleton.
