The Lesser-known World of Mughal Emperor Jahangir by Som Prakash Verma;

Author:Som Prakash Verma; [Verma;, Som Prakash]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780429320101
Publisher: TaylorFrancis
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

On the 7th Azar [November 18, 1613] I went to see and shoot on the tank of Pushkar, which is one of the established praying-places of the Hindus, with regard to the perfection of which they give (excellent) accounts that are incredible to any intelligence, and which is situated at a distance of three kos from Ajmir. For two or three days I shot waterfowl on that tank, and returned to Ajmir. Old and new temples which, in the language of the infidels, they call Deohara are to be seen around this tank. Among them Rana Shankar, who is the uncle of the rebel Amar, and in my kingdom is among the high nobles, had built a Deohara of great magnificence, on which 100,000 rupees had been spent. I went to see that temple. I found a form cut out of black stone, which from the neck above was in the shape of a pig’s head, and the rest of the body was like that of a man. The worthless religion of the Hindus is this, that once on a time for some particular object the Supreme Ruler thought it necessary to show himself in this shape; on this account they hold it dear and worship it. I ordered them to break that hideous form and throw it into the tank. After looking at this building there appeared a white dome on the top of a hill, to which men were coming from all quarters. When I asked about this they said that a Jogi lived there, and when the simpletons come to see him he places in their hands a handful of flour, which they put into their mouths and imitate the cry of an animal which these fools have at some time injured, in order that by this act their sins may be blotted out. I ordered them to break down that place and turn the Jogi out of it, as well as to destroy the form of an idol there was in the dome. Another belief they have is that there is no bottom to this tank. After enquiry it appeared that it is nowhere deeper than 12 cubits. I also measured it round and it was about 1½ kos.

[R & B, I. 254–5]

An image of the deity Vishnu, the Supreme Ruler, shown with a pig’s head instead of that of a human being, greatly provoked Jahangir, who was totally against the worship of idols. He also disapproved of the Jogi’s act, which encouraged laypeople to keep flour in their mouths and cry to get rid of their sins. Jahangir found these things incredible at any level of intelligence. The locals’ belief that the tank had no bottom was also disproved after an enquiry in it; it was no deeper than 12 cubits [R & B, I. 255]. It is true that Jahangir’s faculty of reasoning was rational to a great extent.

During discussions with believers of different faiths, Jahangir always came forth as a frank critic and an antagonist of the doctrine of incarnation and idol worship.

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