Jagat Gosain and Nur Jahan | Arch Rivals - Anecdotes

Friends,

For a change, i am posting a fresh topic today. This is about a wife of Jahangir who was an early favorite of his, Jagat Gosain(fondly called Jodh Bai by him). Later, i have added few anecdotes of rivalry between Jodh Bai and his other wife, Nur Jahan Begum.

Jodh Bai was a Hindu princess, the daughter of Mota Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur(not to be mistaken with the Rana Udai Singh of Mewar). She married a 17 year old Jahangir on 21st January, 1586. She was 13 years old this time (her DOB was 13th May, 1573). Her mother was Rani Mann-Rang, the daughter of Raja Askaran Bhimvrajot, who was the Raja of Gwalior.

Though, this marriage is viewed as a political alliance, but there is an interesting anecdote regarding this marriage. Jahangir, it seems, had fallen in love with her at first sight. The incident goes like this - Jahangir was accompanying his mother Mariam-Uz-Zamani Begum, to a function in Rajputana. He happened to see Jodh Bai there. What's next? This clever guy did not go to anyone but his grand mother Hamida Bano Begum, to arrange this marriage. Apparently, his parents were a bit reluctant, but they agreed on Hamida's insistence. The marriage took place with great pomp and show, and the dowry was fixed at a whopping 75 lacs silver coins, among other presents.! 

She bore 3 children to Jahangir. Two daughters and a son. The daughters died early, at an age of 1(1590-91) and 6(1596-1602). The son Khurram(later Shah Jahan) lived long(1592-1666).

She died on 18th April 1619. As per Jahangir, Shah Jahan was inconsolable at death of his mother, and wept continuously to such an extent that the next day after her death, Jahangir had to "personally console him, and took Khurram to his palace for moral support". {Memoirs of Jahangir, Beveridge, II, 84}

Jahangir ordered a fine mausoleum for her. It was a "beautifully carved white colored wonderful edifice" as described by Fergusson. It was pulled down by British authorities around 1850's.


Jodh Bai was known not only for her beauty and charm but for her wit, courage, and spontaneous responses—all of which greatly endeared her to her husband and throughout her life she remained attached to her Hindustani tradition. She was famous for her quick tongue and adroit raillery. Her nature was similar to Aram Banu Begum, the youngest daughter of Akbar and Mariam-Uz-Zamani, who was known for her ever-ready answers and sharp tongue.!!


After her death, by an order of Jahangir, she was addressed as Bilqis Makani Sahiba {meaning, The Lady of Pure Abode, as she stayed close to her simple lifestyle and Hindustani roots} in the Mughal records. 

In the Padshah-Nama, The history of Shah Jahan{Persian section-13a/49a}, her son Khurram(Shah Jahan) remembers her by the same reference as mentioned above.


Rivalry with Nur Jahan:

As per historical accounts, namely, Munthakhab-ul-Lubab of Mohammed Qa-'asim Khan, Jodh Bai(Bilqis Makani) and Nur Jahan were arch rivals in the Mughal harem of Jahangir, where the former always out shown the latter, as per the first example below. Nur Jahan, by her want of dominance; and Jodh Bai, by her quick tongue and dexterous repartee, proved to be a match to each other. Though, these records show Jodh Bai getting an upper hand here. I am mentioning 3 such incidents.

First:
Both these ladies were out on an hunt in Jahangir's company, and when the party was confronted by a lion - "Nur Jahan was left perplexed and spell-bound" while Bilqis Makani quickly picked up the gun and struck a bullet/bullets into the chest of the lion. Jahangir, who was sleeping, during this time, woke up and praised Jodh Bai as a brave one, and chastised Nur Jahan as a coward. To handle the situation, Nur Jahan's mother Asmat Begum had to plead on Nur's behalf. Her argument being - "Women are delicate coquettes and bravery in arms was meant for the soldiers on the battlefield." Apparently, Jodh Bai was rewarded in the court as well. This made Nur Jahan learn the art of shooting and she acquired great skill thereafter.
 
Following 2 anecdotes describe her other side, different from the one mentioned in the first one.

Second:
Both of them were in company of Jahangir. Nur Jahan was dressed in white and Jodh Bai was wearing colored dress. Nur Jahan pointed out to the emperor - "that rustic(simple) Hindu woman was, as usual, clothed in gaudy(bright) rather than the more sophisticated subtle tones" . Jodh Bai replied - "while a married woman could wear clothes of all colors, a widow could wear only white" . This was a quick answer to Nur Jahan, the reference was made not only to Nur Jahan's previous marriage, but also to the rigidly upheld Hindu ban on widow remarriage.


Third:
Once Nur Jahan flattered Jahangir by telling him that his breath was sweet. Jahangir mentioned this to Jodh Bai, perhaps to taunt her, she replied him that - "only a woman who had been around other men(perhaps referring to Nur's previous husband) could judge the sweetness or sourness of any one man's breath".

The article has been posted under the Miscellaneous topics section of this history Blog.



Important:
The Last Blog Post > Excerpts from JahangirNama - Review | Relations of Jahangir with HIS MOTHER was discussed in great details. It is one of the most discussed topics of the blog till now. Due to some technical problems, the comments of that post did not appear in the "Recent Comments" section of the blog. So, in case missed, readers can go through that post to read the comments.