by Wikipedia
Accessed: 12/1/21
Feroz Shah, during one of his campaigns, was enthralled by the two spectacular monoliths –- inscribed Ashokan pillars he saw, one at Topra near Ambala and the other near Meerut, till then undeciphered –- and decided to shift them to his palatial Feruzabad palace in Delhi as "totemic embellishments". He shifted the pillars from these places and got them erected in Delhi; the former in his new capital and the latter on the ridge, near Pir-Ghaib, his hunting palace. The first pillar was erected in the 1350s, next to the Friday mosque in the new city of Feruzabad.).
-- Ashokan Edicts in Delhi, by Wikipedia
10. Congregational mosque, Jahannuma, ca. 764/ 367
The Jahannuma palace is located on the northern ridge of Delhi and is believed to be the same as the kuskh shikar mentioned by contemporary historians....
The mosque may not be extant. It corresponds to the so-called Pir Ghaib, one of two remaining structures located at the northwest corner of the site, but Pir Ghaib has also been identified as the Jahannuma palace.47 [Sharma, Delhi and Its Neighborhood, p. 136; Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," p. 152. Welch and Crane believe that Pir Ghaib is the remnant of the congregational mosque of Jahannuma.] The form of the mosque is impossible to decipher from the ruins of Pir Ghaib, a two-storied structure which is only part of a much larger edifice.48 [Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," Plate 22.]
-- The Architecture of Firuz Shah Tughluq, Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate, School of The Ohio State University, by William Jeffrey McKibben, B.A., M.A., 1988
Pir Ghaib Hunting Lodge and Observatory
Pir Ghaib is a hunting lodge and Observatory built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi in the 14th century
Pir Ghaib Hunting Lodge and Observatory is located in DelhiPir Ghaib Hunting Lodge and Observatory
Location within Delhi
General information
Architectural style: Indo-Islamic
Town or city: Delhi
Country: India
Pir Ghaib Hunting Lodge and Observatory is a medieval building in Delhi, India. It is believed to be built by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century.[1] It is a double storied structure and, just like most other examples of Tughlaq era architecture, is made up of rubble.[2] The building has a hollow masonry cylinder, which is believed to have been used for astronomical purposes. Apart from its theorized uses as a hunting lodge and observatory, it is also believed to have been used as a clock tower[3]
Etymology
The monument's original name was Khushk-i-Shikar(hunting lodge).[4] Its current name Pir Ghaib literally means the saint who vanished. This refers to the popular story of an islamic saint , who had occupied a part of the building(two chambers to be exact) after it had been abandoned by the rulers, vanishing into thin air towards the end of his life.[5] Because of this miracle, he came to be known as "Pir Ghaib" (the saint who vanished) and is still revered today by a few localities.[6]
History
The monument, and the stepwell next to it, were built by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the year 1351 AD. The hunting lodge, along with an enclosure for game animals, was built by the Sultan following the death of his favorite son, Fateh Khan, to help him divert his mind by hunting.[7]
References
1. Taneja, Anand Vivek (2017). "Saintly visions: Other histories and history's others in the medieval ruins of Delhi". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 49 (4): 557–590. doi:10.1177/0019464612463843.
2. "Pir Ghaib". Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
3. Varma, Urmila (2001). Delhi, a tale of seven cities. Smriti Books. p. 55. ISBN 9788187967040.
4. Chaudhuri, Dhruva N. (2005). Delhi, Light, Shades, Shadows. Niyogi Offset. p. 71. ISBN 9788190193641.
5. Smith, Ronald Vivian (2005). The Delhi that No-one Knows. Orient Blackswan. p. xxiv. ISBN 9788180280207.
6. "Pir Ghaib: Medieval observatory or a vanished saint's mausoleum". Hindustan Times. 10 July 2017.
7. Chopra, Prabha (1976). Delhi Gazetteer. The Unit. p. 1066. OCLC 499238960.
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[x]
Facsimile of the inscription which was received by the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal from Colonel Polier, that James Prinsep used to translate one of the pillars.
I now proceed to lay before the Society the results of my application of the alphabet, developed by the simple records of Bhilsa, to the celebrated inscription on Feroz's column, of which facsimiles have been in the Society's possession since its very foundation, without any successful attempt having been made to decipher them.... "Round it" says the author of the Haftaklim, "have been engraved literal characters which the most intelligent of all religions have been unable to explain. Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the rajas or Hindu princes, and that Feroz Shah set it up within his hunting place: but on this head there are various traditions which it would be tedious to relate."
-- VI.—Interpretation of the most ancient of the inscriptions on the pillar called the lat of Feroz Shah, near Delhi, and of the Allahabad, Radhia [Lauriya-Araraj (Radiah)] and Mattiah [Lauriya-Nandangarh (Mathia)] pillar, or lat, inscriptions which agree therewith., by James Prinsep, Sec. As. Soc. &c.
Plate IV: Picturesque Elevation of the Shikar-Gah, & the Celebrated Pillar at Dehli in June, 1797
I have the pleasure of presenting to the Society a Book of Drawings and Inscriptions prepared under the inspection of their late member, Captain James Hoare, and intended by him (I have reason to believe) for the life of the Society.
Two of the drawings represent elevations, taken on the spot, of the stone building near Dehlee, called the Shikargah, or hunting place, of Feeroz Shah; with the pillar in the center, and above the summit of it, commonly known by the designation of Feeroz Shah’s Lat; and described, with an outline of the building and pillar, in the 21st paper of the 1st Vol. of the Society’s Transactions. The copy of the inscriptions on this pillar, which was received by our revered President and Founder from Colonel Polier, enabled him to exhibit a translation of one of them, as accurate as the imperfect state of the transcript would admit; but on comparing it with a more perfect copy made by Captain Hoare, it was found in several parts defective and inaccurate; and the date, instead of being 123 of the era of Vicramaditya, or A.D. 67, as appeared from the former copy, was clearly ascertained, from the present, to be 1220 of the above era, or A.D. 1164. ...
The author of the Huft Akleem, Mohummud Ameem Razee, who wrote his history of the world (or, as the title of his book imports, of the Seven Climes, into which the Mahommedans divide the universe) in the reign of Akbur,... adds the following passage, translated verbatim from his history.“Among the places built by this King (Feeroz Shah) is a hunting place, which the populace call the Lat of Feeroz Shah. It is a house of three stories, in the centre of which has been erected a pillar of red stone, of one piece, and tapering upwards. ... Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the Rajuhs, (or Hindoo Princes,) and that Feeroz Shah set it up within his hunting place. But on this head there are various traditions, which it would be tedious to relate.”...
One of Captain Hoare’s drawings further represents the plans of the three stories of the Shikar-gah; and his Moonshee informs me, the current opinion is, that they were used partly for a menagery, and partly for an aviary, which the plans appear to confirm.
-- Translation of one of the Inscriptions on the Pillar At Dehlee, called the Lat of Feeroz Shah, Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 7, by Henry Colebrooke, Esq., With Introductory Remarks by Mr. Harington, P. 175-182, 1803
Delhi-Meerut, Delhi ridge, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; moved from Meerut to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1356, broken in pieces during transportation.
The next Asokan pillar at Delhi can be seen between the Chauburji-Masjid and Hindu Rao Hospital on the town of Mirath and set up by Firuz over the top of the three storeyed imposing Hunting Palace better known as Kushk-i-Shikar (now mass of ruins). According to Afif this pillar was removed by Sultan Firuz with similar skill and labour, and was re-erected on a hill on the Kushk-i-Shikr. After the erection of the pillar a large town sprang up and the nobles of the court erected their houses there. The hunting palace (Kushk-i-Shikar) was built by Firuz Shah Tughluq in A.H. 755 (A. D. 1354) and was originally a lofty rubble built structure in three storeys, having circular bastions at the corners, The apartments had many entrances of pointed arches on all sides. The bastions as well as top pavilions were covered with low domes of the Khalfi-Tughluq variety. The stone column was fixed on the top of the central structure which was flanked by two square pavilions of similar height....
The pillar of Kushk-i-Shikar, remained intact until it was damaged, and broken into five pieces on account of an explosion of the neighbouring powder magazine during the reign of Farrukhsiyar (A.D. 1713-19.) Its inscribed surface was later sawed off and sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta wherefrom all the pieces were received back and re-set in 1867 by the British on the site of the dismantled palace on the bridge where it can be seen at present. The pillar now measures 10 m. in length.
-- A Study of Asokan Pillars: Re-Erected by Firuz Shah Tughluq, by W. H. Siddiqi, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 36 (1975), pp. 338-344 (7 pages), 1975
Delhi-Meerut, Delhi ridge, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; moved from Meerut to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1356, broken in pieces during transportation.
Firoz Shah is considered to be an early conservationist, with a keen interest in ancient buildings and objects. In addition to the Ashokan pillar that he moved from Topra in Haryana and had installed in his citadel in Firozabad, he moved a second pillar from nearby Meerut to be installed at what was soon to become his hunting lodge on the ridge, the Kushak-i-shikar. In the early seventeenth century, the pillar was described by an English traveller, William Finch, as one with a ‘globe and half-moon at top, and divers inscription upon it’. The pillar was severely damaged in an explosion during the reign of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar (ad 1713–19) and disintegrated into five pieces. The five fragments were later restored to an upright position in 1866, but its inscribed portions were sawed off and sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Later, the inscribed pieces were received back and joined together and this restored pillar was installed back at its current location in 1867. The current height of the pillar is 10 m. Inscribed in Brahmi script and written in the Prakrit language, the inscription of Ashoka contains his messages and instruction for promoting Dharma and the welfare and happiness of the people. At the base of the pillar, a plaque announces its history. Today, the pillar looks forlorn, standing alone in its fenced enclosure near a roundabout on the main ridge road in front of the gate of the Hindu Rao Hospital complex.
-- Ashoka Pillar, by Smit Sandhir, flickr.com
Ashoka's Pillar at Kamla Nehru Ridge, near Hindu Rao hospital, is one of the two brought in by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in the mid-13th century. Brought from Meerut after one of his campaigns, the pillar was transported meticulously through the Yamuna river on barges and then hauled up on a 42 wheel cart from the bank to the ridge. Another of its counterparts can be found in the urban village of Firoz Shah Kotla.
The construction is mostly made of sandstone, quarried from Chunar town in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, presently another small town (known for its pottery) on the Indo-Gangetic belt but historically a very important destination, finding mention in the ancient Hindu Puranas (scriptures). Huge rock slabs were chiseled at the quarry and then sent across the country. The pillar suffered an accident during the tumultuous reign of the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar during the first half of the 17th century. The top of the pillar which got blown off as a consequence still remains in-state as a result. [???] The pieces of the pillar were transported for safekeeping to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta in 1866, but were brought back and restored in its original place in 1887, where it still stands today.
The pillar is about 10 feet in height with a diameter of about three quarters of a metre and features inscriptions in Brahmi Script; mostly focusing on Ashoka’s major propaganda, viz, his conversion to and propagation of Buddhism and social and animal welfare. Further studies have revealed later inscriptions in Sanskrit around Ashoka’s texts, assumed to date back to the rule of the Chauhan King Visala around the 11th century AD. Firoz Shah himself added some bits of decoration to the pillars later.
The pillar is located at one end of the Kamla Nehru Ridge in North Delhi, with Mutiny Memorial situated nearby.
-- Surviving As A Historical Relic Since The 13th Century, Here's All About The Ashokan Pillar, by Delhi Dwell, 21 Aug 2017
Sikargah or Kushak Mahal, 14th-century hunting lodge built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
He brought 2 Ashokan Pillars from Meerut, and Topra near Radaur in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, carefully cut and wrapped in silk, to Delhi in bullock cart trains. He re-erected one of them on the roof of his palace at Firoz Shah Kotla.
... One of his hunting lodges, Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal, is situated within the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, Delhi.
-- Firuz Shah Tughlaq, by Wikipedia
The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, View from the south of the Kotla. Author: Metcalfe, Sir Thomas Theophilus (1795-1853). Medium: Ink and colours on paper. Date: 1843.
Feroze (‘Propitious’) Shah’s (‘King’) Laut (‘Pillar. Club’) is situated in the immediate environs of the city on the High road from the Dehlie Gate towards Muttra. The building on which the Laut now stands was constructed by the Emperor Feroze Shah as a Shekargah or Hunting place.... The height of the pillar now visible above the building is about 37 feet, and its circumference where it forms the terrace is about 10 feet 4 inches; it is composed of a single stone, and tradition asserts that only 1/3 is visible, the remaining 2/3 being buried in the earth. The structure originally consisted of three stories, and used, accorded to current opinion, partly as a menagerie and partly as an aviary.
-- The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, by British Library Online Gallery
Pir Ghaib is a hunting lodge and Observatory built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi in the 14th century
Feroz Shah, during one of his campaigns, was enthralled by the two spectacular monoliths – inscribed Ashokan pillars he saw, one at Topra near Ambala and the other near Meerut, till then undeciphered – and decided to shift them to his palatial Feruzabad palace in Delhi as "totemic embellishments". He shifted the pillars from these places and got them erected in Delhi; the former in his new capital and the latter on the ridge, near Pir-Ghaib, his hunting palace. The first pillar was erected in the 1350s, next to the Friday mosque in the new city of Feruzabad.).
-- Ashokan Edicts in Delhi, by Wikipedia
The Staff of Firuz Shah
[10'4" circumference at base / 37' tall / red]
-- XXI. Inscriptions on the Staff of Firuz Shah, translated from the Sanscrit, as explained by Radha Canta Sarman. Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 1, P. 315-317, 1788
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10. Congregational mosque, Jahannuma, ca. 764/ 367
The Jahannuma palace is located on the northern ridge of Delhi and is believed to be the same as the kuskh shikar mentioned by contemporary historians. [so-called "historian", singular]
-- The Architecture of Firuz Shah Tughluq, Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate, School of The Ohio State University, by William Jeffrey McKibben, B.A., M.A., 1988
The Sultan having selected a site at the village of Gawin, on the banks of the Jumna, founded the city of Firozabad, before he went to Lakhnauti the second time. Here he commenced a palace, * * * and the nobles of his court having also obtained (giriftand) houses there, a new town sprang up, five kos [1.8 miles x 5] distant from Dehli. Eighteen places were included in this town, the kasba of Indarpat, the sarai of Shaikh Malik Yar Paran, the sarai of Shaikh Abu Bakr Tusi, the village of Gawin, the land of Khetwara, the land of Lahrawat, the land of Andhawali, the land of the sarai of Malika, the land of the tomb of Sultan Raziya, the land of Bhari, the land of Mahrola, and the land of Sultanpur. So many buildings were erected that from the kasha of Indarpat to the Kushk-i shikar, five kos apart, all the land was occupied. There were eight public mosques, and one private mosque. * * * The public mosques were each large enough to accommodate 10,000 supplicants.
During the forty years of the reign of the excellent Sultan Firoz, people used to go for pleasure from Dehli to Firozabad, and from Firozabad to Dehli, in such numbers, that every kos of the five kos between the two towns swarmed with people, as with ants or locusts. To accommodate this great traffic, there were public carriers who kept carriages, mules (sutur), and horses, which were ready for hire at a settled rate every morning after prayers, so that the traveller could make the trip as seemed to him best, and arrive at a stated time. Palankin-bearers were also ready to convey passengers. The fare of a carriage was four silver jitals for each person; of a mule (sutur) six; of a horse, twelve; and of a palankin, half a tanka. There was also plenty of porters ready for employment by any one, and they earned a good livelihood. Such was the prosperity of this district; * * but it was so ravaged by the Mughals, that the inhabitants were scattered in all directions. This was the will of God, and none can gainsay it. [???!!!]
***
The Sultan employed himself at Dehli in State affairs. Among his other qualities, he had a remarkable fondness for history. Just at this time Maulana Ziau-d din Barni, the author of the Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi died, and the Sultan expressed to every learned man the great desire he felt for an historical record of the events of his own reign. When he despaired of getting such a work written, he caused the following lines, of his own composition (az zaban-i kkwesh), to be inscribed in letters of gold on the walls ('imarat) of the Kushk-i Shikar-rav, and on the domes of the Kushk-i nuzul, and the walls ('imarat) of the minarets of stone which are within the Kushk-i Shikar-rav at Firozabad: —"I made a great hunt of elephants, and I captured so many:
"I performed many glorious deeds; and all this I have done
"That in the world and among men; in the earth and among mankind, these verses
"May stand as a memorial to men of intelligence, and that the people of the world, and the wise men of the age, may follow the example."
***
Transport of stone Obelisks.
After Sultan Firoz returned from his expedition against Thatta, he often made excursions in the neighbourhood of Dehli. In this part of the country there were two stone columns. One was in the village of Tobra, in the district (shikk) of Salaura and Khizrabad, in the hills (koh-payah); the other in the vicinity of the town of Mirat. These columns had stood in those places from the days of the Pandavas, but had never attracted the attention of any of the kings who sat upon the throne of Dehli, till Sultan Firoz noticed them, and, with great exertion, brought them away. One was erected in the palace (kushk) at Firozabad, near the Masjid-i jama', and was called the Minara-i zarin, or Golden Column, and the other was erected in the Kushk-i Shikar, or Hunting Palace, with great labour and skill. The author has read in the works of good historians that these columns of stone had been the walking sticks of the accursed1 [One MS., to the credit of the writer, omits this execration.] Bhim, a man of great stature and size. The annals of the infidels record that this Bhim used to devour a thousand mans of food daily, and no one could compete with him. * * * In his days all this part of Hind was peopled with infidels, who were continually fighting and slaying each other. Bhim was one of five brothers, but he was the most powerful of them all. He was generally engaged in tending the herds of cattle belong to his wicked brothers, and he was accustomed to use these two stone pillars as sticks to gather the cattle together. The size of the cattle in those days was in proportion to that of other creatures. These five brothers lived near Dehli, and when Bhim died these two columns were left standing as memorials of him. *** When Firoz Shah first beheld these columns, he was filled with admiration, and resolved to remove them with great care as trophies to Dehli. ***
Removal of the Minara-i zarin.
Khizrabad is ninety kos [162 miles] from Dehli, in the vicinity of the hills. When the Sultan visited that district, and saw the column in the village of Tobra, he resolved to remove it to Dehli, and there erect it as a memorial to future generations. After thinking over the best means of lowering the column, orders were issued commanding the attendance of all the people dwelling in the neighbourhood, within and without the Doab, and all soldiers, both horse and foot. They were ordered to bring all implements and materials suitable for the work. Directions were issued for bringing parcels of the cotton of the Sembal (silk cotton tree). Quantities of this silk cotton were placed round the column, and when the earth at its base was removed, it fell gently over on the bed prepared for it. The cotton was then removed by degrees, and after some days the pillar lay safe upon the ground. When the foundations of the pillar were examined, a large square stone was found as a base, which also was taken out. The pillar was then encased from top to bottom in reeds and raw skins, so that no damage might accrue to it. A carriage, with forty-two wheels, was constructed, and ropes were attached to each wheel. Thousands of men hauled at every rope, and after great labour and difficulty the pillar was raised on to the carriage. A strong rope was fastened to each wheel, and 200 men pulled at each of these ropes. By the simultaneous exertions of so many thousand men the carriage was moved, and was brought to the banks of the Jumna. Here the Sultan came to meet it. A number of large boats had been collected, some of which could carry 6,000 and 7,000 mans of grain, and the least of them 2,000 mans. The column was very ingeniously transferred to these boats, and was then conducted to Firozabad, where it was landed and conveyed into the Kushk with infinite labour and skill.
Account of the Raising of the Obelisk.
At this time the author of this book was twelve years of age, and a pupil of the respected Mur Khan. When the pillar was brought to the palace, a building was commenced for its reception, near the Jami' Masjid, and the most skilful architects and workmen were employed. It was constructed of stone1 [Two MSS. call the stone [x] and the other two [x].] and chunam, and consisted of several stages or steps (poshish). When a step was finished the column was raised on to it, another step was then built and the pillar was again raised, and so on in succession until it reached the intended height. On arriving at this stage, other contrivances had to be devised to place it in an erect position. Ropes of great thickness were obtained, and windlasses were placed on each of the six stages of the base. The ends of the ropes were fastened to the top of the pillar, and the other ends passed over the windlasses, which were firmly secured with many fastenings. The wheels were then turned, and the column was raised about half a gaz. Logs of wood and bags of cotton were then placed under it to prevent its sinking again. In this way, by degrees, and in the course of several days, the column was raised to the perpendicular. Large beams were then placed round it as shores, until quite a cage of scaffolding was formed. It was thus secured in an upright position, straight as an arrow, without the smallest deviation from the perpendicular. The square stone, before spoken of, was placed under the pillar. After it was raised, some ornamental friezes of black and white stone were placed round its two capitals (do sar-i an), and over these there was raised a gilded copper cupola, called in Hindi kalas.2 [A spire, pinnacle, or cupola.] The height of the obelisk was thirty-two gaz; eight gaz was sunk in its pedestal, and twenty-four gaz was visible. On the base of the obelisk there were engraved several lines of writing in Hindi characters. Many Brahmans and Hindu devotees3 [[[x], Qy. Hind. [x]].] were invited to read them, but no one was able. It is said that certain infidel Hindus interpreted them as stating that no one should be able to remove the obelisk from its place till there should arise in the latter days a Muhammadan king, named Sultan Firoz, etc., etc.
Erection of the other Obelisk in the Kushk-i Shikar.
This obelisk stood in the vicinity of the town of Mirat, in the Doab, and was somewhat smaller than the Minara-i zarin. This also was removed by Sultan Firoz, with similar skill and labour, and was re-erected on a hill in the Kushk-i Shikar [amid great feasting and rejoicing]. After the erection of the pillar a large town sprang up, and the khans and maliks of the Court built houses there. *** Every great king took care during his reign to set up some lasting memorial of his power. So Sultan Shamsu-d din Altamsh raised the large pillar in the Masjid-i jama' at old Dehli, the history of which is well known. ***
In these days, in the year 801 H. (1398 A.D.), Amir Timur, of Khurasan, has marched into India, and by the will of fate has subdued the empire of Hindustan. During his stay of some days in Dehli, he inspected all the monuments of former kings, *** and among them these two obelisks, when he declared that in all the countries he had traversed he had never seen any monuments comparable to these. * * *
***
His palaces (kushk) were those of Firoz, Nuzul, Mahandwari, Hisar Firozah, Fath-abad, Jaunpur, Shikar, Band-i Fath Khan and Salaura.
***
The Jizya, or poll tax, had never been levied from Brahmans; they had been held excused, in former reigns. But the Sultan convened a meeting of the learned men and elders, suggested to them that an error had been committed in holding Brahmans exempt from the tax, and that the revenue officers had been remiss in their duty. The Brahmans were the very keys of the chamber of idolatry, and the infidels were dependent on them. They ought therefore to be taxed first. The learned lawyers gave it as their opinion that the Brahmans ought to be taxed. The Brahmans of all the four cities then assembled and went to the Kushk-i Shikar, where the Sultan was engaged in building, and represented that the Brahmans had never before been called upon to pay the Jizya, and they wanted to know why they were now subjected to the indignity of having to pay it. They were determined to collect wood and to burn themselves under the walls of the palace rather than pay the tax. When these pleasant words (kalimat i pur naghmat) were reported to the Sultan, he replied that they might burn and destroy themselves at once, for they would not escape from the payment.
-- XVI. Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi, of Shams-i Siraj 'Afif, Excerpt from The History of India As Told By Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, edited from the posthumous papers of the Late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B., East India Company's Bengal Civil Service, by Professor John Dowson, M.R.A.S., Staff college, Sandhurst, Vol. III, P. 269-364, 1871