Jahanara - Her Father's Daughter

Hi Friends,

Continuing with the story of Princess Jahanara. Here is the previous post..
Jahanara Begum - Padshah Begum or Sufi Fakeera

 
Princess Jahanara was very much her father's daughter, extremely devoted to him till the end and inheriting his love for buildings and gardens. Shah Jahan too was so fond of her and so dependent on her, specially after the demise of Mumtaz Mahal, that it was said that his affection for her 'exceeded all that he felt towards his other children' and he could not say no to her for anything.  


The Princess Almost Dies...

One particular incident that occurred in 1644 clearly illustrates the deep bond shared by father and daughter. One April night, while she was passing through a hall at night to her sleeping apartment, the border of her delicate dress caught fire from a lamp left burning in the middle of the hall.

'as her consecrated clothing had been saturated with perfume and scented oil, the fire engulfed it completely in the winking of an eye; the flames shot up high, and in a flash the source of happiness and purity became like a moth in a flame.'

The princess was immediately engulfed in flames and almost died! Four servant girls threw themselves on top of her to douse the flames, but their efforts proved unavailing and they too suffered severe burns. It all happened so quickly that before an alarm could be raised and water brought to extinguish the rising flames, 'the back and hands and both sides of the body of that mine of excellence were dreadfully burned'. 

Shah Jahan was inconsolable. He kept donating alms so that the recipients would pray for Jahanara's recovery. Whenever she seemed to be getting a little better, he donated a thousand rupees a day and freed prisoners. He himself took great personal care of her.

Jahanara took over 8 months to recover and walk unassisted. 

The Iranian doctor who finally cured her was rewarded and given a small mansab. Jahanara's recovery was celebrated grandly. At this celebration, Shah Jahan donated 80,000 rupees. He also gave his daughter 139 unpierced pearls, a diamond and the port of Surat. 

Jahanara herself went on a pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif to offer thanks for her recovery, in the tradition of her ancestors.

A Passion for Buildings

Apart from her own passion for poetry and painting, Jahanara also inherited her father's love for aesthetically built and grandly designed buildings. 

She had inherited half of her mother's immense fortune upon the latter's passing away. She also received a handsome annual allowance from the emperor and made profits from her maritime business, especially from her trade with the Dutch. 

In Shahjahanabad, which was constructed by her father, she laid out the Chandni Chowk, a palace, a bathhouse, and several gardens. Between 1634 and 1640, she was involved in making alterations to a garden in Kashmir. In 1648, she donated a mosque made of white marble and red sandstone to Agra. This mosque is now known as the Jami mosque.

She used to ensure that the widows of the mansabdars were taken care of. 


An Excellent Education

Jahanara had received the best education of that time. One of her teachers was Satti Khanum, who had been a lady-in-waiting for her mother and was also the sister of Jahangir's poet laureate, Talib-i-Amuli. She taught the princess classical Persian and the Qur'an.

Note: When Satti Khanum died (1637), she was buried in an octagonal mausoleum near the Taj Mahal, like other women who had been closely associated with the Mughal family.

Putting her erudition to good use, Jahanara contributed a lot to the arts and to learning. She got compiled a series of works on Islamic mysticism, including numerous commentaries on Rumi's Mathnawi. 

The books written by her are listed in the earlier post on Jahanara.
Jahanara Begum - Padshah Begum or Sufi Fakeera

 
Looking After the Family

Jahanara, popularly known as Begum Sahib, had been responsible for the harem since her mother died. She had also taken care of her younger siblings, including arranging their weddings.  

She had lovingly made the arrangements for her brother Dara's wedding to his cousin Nadira Banu and spent lavishly on the festivities. For the first time since Mumtaz's death, Shah Jahan permitted singing and dancing in court.

When her father was imprisoned, she devoted 8 years of her life to taking care of him in prison. She tended to the dying Shah Jahan like a mother and was beside him when he breathed his last. 

Jahanara was the only one who could criticize Aurangzeb and his bigotic policies.That someone like Aurangzeb continued to hold her in high esteem, despite her criticism of his actions and her earlier support to Dara, speaks volumes about her venerable persona. 

Aurangzeb's daughter Zeb-un-nisa (born in 1639)  was close to her aunt, Jahanara. She was more of a spiritual person rather than a practical or assertive one. Like her aunt, Zeb devoted her life to poetry and mysticism and remained unmarried. 

Zeb received the Tees Hazari, the imposing garden house of Jahanara as her property. Here she built one of the best libraries of her time.

Jahanara adopted Dara's daughter, Jani Begum. Jani was totally devoid of bitterness and hatred despite her tragic background. Just how loving a person she was can be gauged by the fact that Aurangzeb also became extremely fond of her and personally asked Jahanara for Jani's hand in marriage to his favorite son, Azam. The wedding was celebrated in a grand manner.   

While Suleiman Shikoh, Dara's son, was killed by Aurangzeb, Jahanara was able to get Dara's younger son, Siphir Shikoh pardoned by Aurangzeb.

Jahanara must have played a crucial role in also arranging the weddings of the other children of her siblings with the children of Aurangzeb. This must have been quite a challenge considering how much Aurangzeb hated his brothers and got them killed. 

Suleiman Shikoh's daughter Salima Begum was married to Aurangzeb's son Muhammad Akbar. Siphir Shikoh was married to Aurangzeb's daughter, Zubdatunnisa Begum. Murad Baksh's son, Izid Baksh was married to Aurangzeb's daughter, Mehrunnisa Begum.  

Begum Sahib Jahanara passed away on September 7th, 1681. But she is still remembered with respect and affection even today. 


This topic was posted under the Miscellaneous Topics section of history_geek's blog.