Bull.lnd.Hist.Med Vol. XXVIII - 1998 pp 129 to 138

THE TERMS KHALISA AND DAR-BAHARA INJAHANGIR'S DASTUR -UL- AMAL AND HIS

PHYSICIANS

APARNA CHATTOPADHYAY*

ABSTRACTAfter his accession Jahangir passed twelve orders (dastur-ul-amal).

According to the tenth order hospitals were to be built in all the big citiesand physicians were to be appointed and expenditure for this purposewere to be made from "Khalisa" establishment. The term 'Khalisa' has beentranslated as royal treasury by scholars. But according to the Encyclopaediaof Islam the term means crown land. Jahangir's yearly income from hiscrown-land was fifty crores of rupees. So he in all probability orderedmoney to be spent from his personal fund. According to the fifth order,Jahangir forbade manufacture and sale of dar-bahara (rice-spirit). It hasbeen suggested that probably the right term was 'dil-c ahara' (exhilaratingdrink) because Jahangir the emperor would know title of rice-spirit a cheapdrink meant for poor people. But in the history of the fourth year of his reignJahangir says that he forbade the sale of bhang and buza (rice-spirit) in themarket as those were injurious for health and he g••ve stringent orders forthe abolition of gambling. So Jahangir was anxious for the physic.al andmoral health of his subjects.

Out of the twelve orders passed byJahangir after his accession, accordingto the tenth order "hospitals were to bebuilt in the big cities and physicians wereto be appointed f.orthe healing of the sick.Whatever the expenditure might be,should be given from the Khalisaestablishment" (Tuzuk, 1989;ChaUopadhyay, 1995). Here the term'Khalisa' most probably means theincome from the crown-land. Becausewe find the term 'Khalisa (PI. Khalisadjat)as signifying crown-lands (Brill; 1977).According to Prof. Srivastava also

Khalisa means crown-land (Srivastava,1972). So it will be perhaps, wrong tosay that according to this tenth orderJahangir meant that the expenses ofopening hospitals, were to be paid fromthe royal treasury, though an eminentauthor has translated this term 'Khalisaas royal treasury (Jaggi, 1977). MajorGeneral Bhatia also has translated thatorder of Jahangir as follows:-

"In all big cities hospitals should beestablished for the treatment of the sickand the expenses for running thosehospitals will be paid by the government

• Reader in History (Retired) C/o Post Master, Malaviya Nagar Post Office, Central Office, Banaras

Hindu University, Varanasi - 221005, U.P. (India).

130

(Bhatia, 1977). The same opinion is giveby Dr. M.Z. Siddiqi (Siddiqi, 1959).

The yearly income of Jahangir fromhis crown-land was fifty crores of rupeesaccording to Hawkins. He says, "TheKings yearly income of his c.rownelandis fiftie crou (Kror) of rupias" (Foster,1985), So we can reasonably hold thatJahangir had sanctioned money from theincome of his crown - lands for theopening of and running the hospitals. Itcertainly shows his magnanimity andgenuine interest in Public Health.

According to the fifth dastur-ul-amalJahangir forbade making & sellingdarbahara, that is, rice-spirit. It has beansuggested that this term will be'dilbahara' that is exhilarating spirit whichwas probably forbidden to be made andsold, because Jahangirwould have knownlittle about 'rice-spirit' that is, 'darbahara'(Tuzuk, VoJ.J, 1989; a Chattopadhyay.1995a). This means Jahangir, theemperor, would have known little of wineprepared from rice, which is a cheap drinkin India and is drunk by poor people. Butnarrating the history of the fourth year ofhis reign, Jahangir says, "I gave an orderthat as bang and buza (rice spirit) wereinjurious, they should not be sold in thebazars, and that gambling should beabolished and on this subject I issuedstringent orders" (Tuzuk VoJ.J, 1989 b).so we find that Jahangir was anxious forthe physical as well as moral health ofhis subject.

Bull. Ind.lnst.Hist, Med. Vol.XXVIII- 1998

Mukarrab khan, the PhysicianJahangir tells us in his Tuzuk, - 'In

the fifth year of the reign a widowcomplained that Mukarrab Khan hadtaken her daughter by force in the port ofCambay and somewhile, during which hehad kept her in his own house, when sheenquired for the girl, had said that shehad died by an unavoidable death. Iordered an enquiry to be made into theaffair. After much search I discovered thatone of his attendants had been guilty ofthe outrage, and had him put to death,and reduced Mukarrab Khans mansab byone half and made an allowance to thewoman who had been thus injured (Tuzukvol. I, 1989; c). This Muqarrab Khan wasa great favourite of Jahangir(Chattopadhyay 1995, b).

Jahangir's special regard forMukarrab Khan i!: recorded by DavidPrice. We find Jahangir saying aboutMukarrab Khan that he had conferredupon Shaikh Hassan Bulnar, the title ofMukurrab Khan, sometimes previous tohis accession. He had entrusted to thisperson, the task of bringing the childrenof his dead brother Danial from theDekkan. The task was performed byMukkarab Khan. About Mukarrab KhanJahangir says, "In justice I can not omitto add, that as a servant the merit ofMukurrab Khan is of the very highest order,and few are the sovereigns who possesshis equal. In fine, I raised him to thedignity of an Ameir of five thousandhorse, with insignia of the great drum and

The Terms Khalisa and Oar - Bahara _.Chattopadhyay

standard, presenting him at the sametime with a scimitar (Shemsheir) set with- Diamond, a charger with enrichedcaparison, a jewelled airgrette, asumptuous honorary dress and a trainedelephant. It was on this occasion alsothat I conferred upon him the governmentof Gujarat." (Price, 1904). We learn fromWilliam Hawkins who was in India from1608 to 1613 that Mukarrab Khan was incharge of the ports of Surat and Cambay& that he was a great favourite of Jahangirfer his skill in surgery & his usefulnessin the field of sports to which Jahangirwas very much addicted. We learn fromAin-i-Akbari als that Jahangir was muchattached to him and he was madegovernor of Gujarat by Jahangir(Chattopadhuyay. 1995). But here wefind Jahangir punishing Mukarab Khanand influcting capital punishment on oneof his attendants without any hesitationfor the sake of justice.Hakim Sadra the eye surgeon

We learn from Intikhab-i-JahangirShahi that Jahangir had ordered hisrebellious son Khusruo to be deprived ofhis sight "When the wire was put in hiseyes, such a pain was inflicted on him, -that it was beyond all expression. ThePrince after being deprived of sight, wasbrought to Agra; and the paternal loveagain revived. The most experiencedphysicians were ordered to takemeasures to heal the eyes of the prince,that they might become as sound as theywere before. One of the physicians of

131

Persia, hakim Sadra by name, undertookto cure the Prince within six months, Byhis skill the prince recovered his originalpower of vision in one os his eyes butthe other remained a little defective in thatrespect and also became smaller thanits original size. After the lapse of theassigned time, the Prince was presentedof His Majesty, who showed thephysician a great favour and honouredhim with the title of Masihu-z-Zaman(Elliot and Dowson 1964). Hakim Sadrabelonged to the family of Harith - bin-Kalada, the great physician of Arab. Hewas born in Shiraz and studied differentsubjects and medicine from ShaikhBaha-ud-din Amili and MuhammadBaqer-bin-Imad-ud din-Mahmood Shirazi.He came to India in the reign of Akbar.He completed the study of medicineunder Hakim Ali Gilani. Then Akbar madehim one of his physicians (Jaggi, 1977a) It is, however, noteworthy that thoughJahangir had shown him special favourand had given him the title Masihu-z-Zaman. Hakim Sadra later refused to givetreatment to Jahangir (Tuzuk, 1989, d).Mukarrab Khan as an expert eye-specialist

We learn from Intikhab-i-JahangirShahi that Shahriyar, one of the sons ofJahangir, who was "the most beautiful ofall the princes, got a pain in his eyes,and Mukarrab khan was ordered to curehim. He used many appropriate remediesand succeeded in his endeavour. Whenhis recovery was reported, His Majesty

132

asked MukarrabKhan about the Prince's health; whenthe Khan replied that his eyes were quitewell again, the emperor said" yes, theywill no doubt continue quite well, if theybe not deprived of light by his brothers( Elliot and dowson, 1964, b). Jahangir'sforesight 'is noticeable here. Princeshahriyar had a miserable death. At theinstigation of Nurjahan, he hadproclaimed himself emperor of Lahorea few days after the death of Jahangir.He was killed either at the order of DawarBakhsh or of Asaf Khan ( Ain, 1965). Hewas the fifth son of Jahangir (Ain, 1965a).He was thrown into prison blinded andlater killed (Iswari Prasad, 1939).

In the 16th year of his reign Jahangirwas ill. Hakim sadra who was given thetitle Masihu-z-Zaman ( Messiah of theage) by Jahangir and whose position whowas made more honourable than of theother court physicians by Jahangir,refused to give treatment to Jahangir. Hesaid to Jahangir" I have no such relianceon my knowledge that I can take thecure" (Tuzuk Volume.lI, 1989g,). HakimSadrasuddenly asked for leave toundertake a journey to theHijaz ..... Jahangir agreed and he says"I gave him leave with and open brow.Though he had kind of things ( for thejourney) I made him a present of rupees20,0001- in aid of his expenses ...." (Tuzuk ,Vol.lI, 1989 ,h). Here we findthe honesty of Hakim Sadra who

BUll. Ind. Inst.Hist, Med, Vol,XXVIII- 1998

expressed his inability to cure Jahangir.Conspiracy of Fathu-lIah son of HakimAbul-Fath to murder Jahangir

We learn ofTuzuk that in the secondyear of Jahangir's reign Khusru, tl1e rebelson of Jahangirhad conspired with Fathu-lIah, son of Hakim Abul Fath Nuru-d-din,and sharif son of Itimadu-d-daulah(Nurjahan's father) to assassinateJahangir. About five hundred men atKhusrus instigation had conspired withthe above mentioned persons to attackJahangir in the hunts that look place inKabul and those parts, Jahangir 'handedover Fathu-llah in confinement andordered capital punishment for the othertwo wretches (Tuzuk, Vol. I 1989, i).

The fact that Noorjahan's brother, theabove mentioned sharif had plottedagainst Jahangir;'s life to help Khusru toget the throne, is mentioned by Delaet(Hoyland, 1928, b) we also learn theabove facts from S.L. Goomer, the editorof Ain-i-Akbari. We are told that in thesecond year of Jahangir's reign the eldestson of Ghiyas Beg (Itimadud-Daullah,Nurjahan's father), named MuhammadSharif joined a conspiracy to set Khusrauat liberty and murder the emperor; butthe plot being discovered Sharif wasexecuted and Itimadud-daulah himselfwas imprisoned. After some time he wasleft off on a payment of a fine of two lacsof rupees (Ain, 1965, b). Here we arealso told that Hakim Abul Fatha had ason called Fath-ullah. He was killed by

The Terms Khalisa and Dar - Bahara - Chatlopadhyay 133

an order of Jahangir, as he was anaccomplice of Khusrau (Ain, 1965 c). SoFath-ullah son of Hakim Abul-Fatha, whowas a very important person of the court,was involved in a plot to kill Jahangir andthen he ease executed. Hakim AbulFatha was a very eminent person inAkbari Court (Chattopadhyay, 1979).

In connection with the conspiracy welearn from Delaet that Noorjahan (thenMehrunissa) also went to Jail with herfather and brother. (Hoyland, 1928, b).The Charming Physician HakimJalaluddin Ardistani

In the second year of Jahangir's reigndied the above mentioned Hakim.Jahangir tells in his Tuzuk that thisHakim was of a family of skill andmedicine and claimed to be a descendentof Galen. Jahangir says "At all event hewas an unequalled healer. Hisexperience added to his knowledge. Ashe was very handsome and well-made inthe days 'of his youth (sada-ru-iha) hefrequented the assemblies of ShahTahmasp and the king recited thishemistish about him we have a pleasantphysician. Come let us all be i11. .

It is really unique that just in twolines. The pleasing personality of thephysician is presented before us. The

full name of the Hakim was Hakim Jalalu--d-Din Muzaffar of Ardistan. Ardistan isa Persian town which lies betweenkashan and Isfahan. The Hakim was atfirst a physician at the court of ShahTahmasp, and emigrated, when young toIndia, where he was looked upon as avery experienced doctor. He servedAkbar as an administrator in Bengal,Gujarat and Kachh. Jahangir was fondof him, as he had been with him inlIahabad, when as a prince he ohadrebelled against Akbar. The news of theHakim's death reached Jahangir on the22nd Jumada 1, 1016. For about twentyyears before his death he had sufferedfrom qarha-yis-shush or disease of thelungs, but his uniform mode of living(yaktawri) prolonged his life. His cheeksand eyes often got quite red, and whenhe got older, his complexion turned.bluish. He was accidentally poisoned byhis compounder (Ain., 1965,d)

So this exceptionally charmingphysician continued to live for long twentyyears as a patient of the disease of thelungs and his disease did not terminatehis life. If he were not accidentallypoisoned, he would have lived perhapsmany more years and died a naturaldeath.

134 Bull. Ind. Inst.Hist, Med. Vol. XXVIII - 1998

REFERENCES1. Ain 1965 The Ain-i-Akbari, Fazl Allami, Translated

into English by H.Blochmann, Edited byS.L. Goomer, published by Naresh. C.Jain for New Imperial Book Depot, 53/DDev Nagar, New Delhi - 5 19"65, p. 323Ibid, p.574, Ibid b, p.573 Ibid c, p.469,Ibid d, p.582.

2. Bhatia 1977 Major General S.L. Bhatia, A History ofmedicine, Published by the ManagementCommittee, Dr. B.C. Roy National AwardFund Office of the Medical Council ofIndia, Aiwan-e-Ghalib Marg. Kwtela Road,New Delhi -110002, 1977 .p.119

3. Brill 1977 The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition.Edited by C.E. Bosworth, E.van DonzelB.Lewis and Ch. Pellart vol IV LeidenJ.BriIl1977, p.973.

4.Chattopadhyay 1995 Aparna Chattopadhyay, Jahangir'sInterest in Public Health and Medicine,Bull.lnd.lnst.Hist.Med. Vol.XXV (Jan toJuly 1995) p.174 Ibid a pp 170, 178, Ibidb pp 177-178.

5.Chattopadhyay 1979 Aparna Chattopadhyay, The Physiciansof the Court of Akbar as Poets,Administrators and Diplomats, NagarjunJuly 1979, p.260.

6. Elliot and Dowson 1964 Elliot and Dowson, The History of Indianas told by its own Historians, Kitab MahalPvt Ltd. 56A Zero road, Allahabad FirstIndian Edition 1964, vol. VI, pp. 448-449Ibid a pp-450-451

The Terms Kha/isa and Oar - Bahara - Chattopadhyay 135

7. Foster 1985 Williams, Foster, Early Travels in India,Published by Oriental Books ReprintCorporation, 54, Rani Jhansi Road,N.Delhi -110055, First Indian Edition.1985, P.99.

8. Hoyland 1928 The Empire of the Great Mogol,(reprint-1975) Translation of De Laet's Description of

India and Fragment of Indian History Tr.by T.S. Hoyland and Annotated by S.N.Banerjee published by MohammadAhmed for Idarah -i- Adabiyat - 1 Delli 2009Qasimjan st., Delhi - 6 pp. 177-182 Ibid ap. 177-182 Ibid b, P.177-182.

9. Ishwari prasad 1939 Ishwari prasad, A short History of theMuslim Rule in India, Published by TheIndian Press Private Ltd. Allahabad, FirstEdition, 1939, The New Edition -pp. 334-335.

10. Jggi 1977 O.P. Jaggi, Medicine in Medieval India,History of Science and Technology inIndia 1977 Published by Ram Lal Pury ofAtma Ram and Sons (H.O.) KashmereGate, Delhi, 110006. pp. 167 Ibid a,pp.163.

11. Price 1904 Major David Price, Memoirs of theEmperor Jahangueir Rare Books Inc Delhi-7, Published by J.K. Ahuja for RareBooks Inc 24/4 Shakti Nagar, Delhi-7.Introduction writtenb y te publisher May1904 - pp. 63-64.

12. Siddiqi 1959 Dr. Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi, Studiesin Arabic and Persian Medical LiteraturePublished By the Calcutta University,1959, p.xXIX.

136 Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist, Med. Vol.XXVII/- 1998

13. Srivastava, 1972 AL. Srivastava, Akbar the Great, Vol I,Second Edition, 1972, p.162.

14. Tuzuk 1989 Tuzuk-i- Jahangiri, Tr. by A Rogers andedited by H. Beveridge, First Published1909-1914. Reprinted 1989 Published byLow Price Publications, 425. Nimri. AshokVihar, Phase IV, Delhi - 11052V.I .. P.9.Ibid a, 157,Ibid b, p.172Ibid c, Vol II, pp. 212-213Ibid d, Vol I. pp. 122-123Ibide.Ibid f, Vol II, p.213Ibid g. Vol II, p.217Ibid h. Vol I. pp. 122-123Ibid i. Vol I, p.124

The Terms Khalisa and Dar-Bahara-Chattopadhyay 137

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