| Zeb-un-Nissa | |
|---|---|
| Shahzadi of theMughal Empire | |
.jpg) | |
| Born | (1638-02-15)15 February 1638 Daulatabad,Mughal Empire, present-dayAurangabadIndia |
| Died | 26 May 1702(1702-05-26) (aged 64) Delhi, Mughal Empire, present-day India |
| Burial | |
| House | Timurid |
| Father | Aurangzeb |
| Mother | Dilras Banu Begum |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Zeb-un-Nissa (Persian:زیب النساء)[1] (15 February 1638 – 26 May 1702)[2] was aMughal princess and the eldest child of EmperorAurangzeb and his chief consort,Dilras Banu Begum. She was also a poet, who wrote under thepseudonym ofMakhfi (مخفی, "Hidden, Disguised, Concealed One").
Imprisoned by her father in the last 20 years of her life atSalimgarh Fort,Delhi, Princess Zeb-un-Nissa is remembered as a poet, and her writings were collected posthumously asDiwan-i-Makhfi (Persian:ديوانِ مخفى)- "Complete (Poetical) Works of Makhfi".[3]
Zeb-un-Nissa ("Ornament/ Beauty of Womankind"),[4] the eldest child of Prince Muhi-ud-Din (later, Emperor Aurangzeb), was born on 15 February 1638 inDaulatabad,Deccan, exactly nine months after the marriage of her parents. Her mother,Dilras Banu Begum, was Aurangzeb's first wife and chief consort, and was a princess of the prominentSafavid dynasty, the ruling dynasty ofIran (Persia).[5][6] Zeb-un-Nissa was her father's favourite daughter,[7] and it was because of this that she could compel him to pardon people who had offended him.
Aurangzeb charged Hafiza Mariam, one of the women of the court, with the education of Zeb-un-Nissa. She seems to have inherited her father's keenness of intellect and literary tastes, because Zeb-un-Nissa memorized theQuran in three years and became aHafiza at the age of seven. This occasion was celebrated by her father with a great feast and the declaration of a public holiday.[8] The princess was also given a reward of 30,000 gold pieces by her delighted father.[9] Aurangzeb paid the princely sum of 30,000 gold pieces to theustani (an honorific title for a female "ustad" or well-regarded teacher) for having taught his cherished daughter well.[10]
Zeb-un-Nissa then learned the sciences of the time withAshraf Mazandarani, who was also a great Persian poet.[11] She learned philosophy, mathematics, astronomy,[12] literature, and was a mistress ofPersian,Arabic andUrdu. She had a good reputation incalligraphy as well.[13] Her library surpassed all other private collections, and she employed many scholars on liberal salaries to produce literary works at her bidding or to copy manuscripts for her.[9] Her library also provided literary works on each subject, such as law, literature, history and theology.[14]
Zeb-un-Nissa was a kind-hearted person and always helped people in need. She helped widows and orphans. Not only did she help people per se, but also sentHajj pilgrims toMecca andMedina every year, bearing all their expenses for the pilgrimage.[15] She also took an interest in music and was said to be the best singer among the women of her time.[15]
When Aurangzeb became the emperor afterShah Jahan, Zeb-un-Nissa was 21 years old. Aurangzeb learnt of the talent and capacity of his daughter and began to discuss the political affairs of his Empire with her, listening to her opinions. It has been mentioned in some books that Aurangzeb sent all the royal princes for the reception of Zeb-un-Nissa each time she entered the court. Zeb-un-Nissa had four younger sisters:Zeenat-un-Nissa,Zubdat-un-Nissa,Badr-un-Nissa andMihr-un-Nissa.
Regarding her looks, "... she is described as being tall and slim, her face round and fair in colour, with two moles, or beauty-spots, on her left cheek. Her eyes and abundant hair were very black, and she had thin lips and small teeth. InLahore Museum is a contemporary portrait, which corresponds to this description... In dress she was simple and austere; in later life she always wore white, and her only ornament was a string of pearls round her neck."[16] Also with the way she dressed comes about her making an invention. "Zeb-un-Nissa invented a woman garment known asAngya Kurti. This was a modified form of the dress of the women ofTurkestan. The modification was done to suit Indian conditions".[15]
Zeb-un-Nissa lived in a period when many "great" poets were at the peak of their reputation; e.g. MawlanaAbdul Qader Bedil,Kalim Kashani, Saa'eb Tabrizi andGhani Kashmiri. There is a noticeable influence ofHafez Sherazi's style on the poetry of Zeb-un-Nissa. However, she is considered as one of the poets of the Indian School of Poetry inPersian. "Zebunnisa was trained in the serious study of religious doctrine and in matters in faith, and she was known as an excellent scholar in several academic areas and as a literary figure and patron of some renown. She sang well and composed songs and planted many of the gardens of her day."[17]
Zeb-un-Nissa selected "Makhfi" (which means "Hidden One" in Persian) as her pen-name in her poetry. In addition to her poetic book or collection of poems, calledDiwan, which contains approximately 5,000 verses, she also wrote the following books:Monis 'ul-Roh,Zeb 'ul-Monsha’at (زیب المنشآت / زيب المنشئات, "Literary Compositions of Zeb") andZeb 'ul-Tafāsir (زيب التفاسير, "Quranic Tafsirs of Zeb"), the first and onlytafsir written by a woman. InMakhzan 'ul-Ghaib (مخزن الغيب, "Store of the Unseen"), the author writes that the poetic book of Zeb-un-Nissa contained 15,000 verses. Zeb-un-Nissa encouraged compilations and translations of various works also.
There are multiple conflicting accounts offering explanations for the circumstances which ultimately led to her imprisonment atSalimgarh Fort, Delhi, at the edge ofShahjahanabad (presentOld Delhi). In 1662, when Aurangzeb was taken ill and his physicians prescribed a change in the environment, he took his family and court with him to Lahore. At that time Akil Khan Razi, the son of his Vizier, was Governor of that city.[18] In the following period, Akil Khan and Zeb-un-Nissa allegedly had a brief yet failed affair,[19] after which Aurangzeb began to distrust her and later imprisoned her.[20] Other theories suggest that she was imprisoned for being a poet and a musician (both anathema to Aurangzeb's austere, more orthodox and fundamental way of life and thinking).[21][22] Yet another explanation points to her correspondence with her younger brother,Muhammad Akbar. She supported the young prince in the inevitable ongoing conflict of succession, and was discovered to have written to him during the rebellion in 1681 AD (over the course of which, he had publicly accused Aurangzeb of transgressions against Islamic law). Her punishment was to have her accumulated wealth confiscated, her annual pension of 4 lakhs nullified, and that she was to be held prisoner at Salimgarh until her death.[23]
It was here, after 20 years of imprisonment, that Zeb-un-Nissa died after seven days of illness, still captive in Shahjahanabad while Aurangzeb was on a trip to theDeccan. Conflicting sources state the date of her death alternately as 1701 AD and 1702 AD.[23][24]Her tomb was in the garden of "Thirty thousand trees" (Tees Hazari), outside of theKashmiri Darwaza, the north gate of the city. But when the railway line was laid out by the British atDelhi, her tomb with its inscribed tombstone was shifted toAkbar's mausoleum atSikandra, Agra.[25] There is also a tomb inNawankot,Lahore, Pakistan, but its authenticity is doubtful.[26] Haroon Khalid infers that the apocryphal association of Zeb-un-Nissa with the tomb in Lahore came about after the defeat of rebel princeDara Shikoh in the Mughal war of succession (1657–1661), with the supporters of Shikoh (who had spent time in Lahore) transferring their aspirations to the rebellious princess by connecting her with the tomb even though she remained buried in Delhi and later at Agra.[27]
In 1724, years after her death, her scattered and extant writings were collected under the nameDiwan-i-Makhfi, literally, the Book of the Hidden One. It contained four hundred and twenty-oneghazals and severalruba'is. Subsequently, in 1730 other ghazals were added to the manuscript, which was also illuminated.[3]
Zeb-un-Nissa did not get married and remained single her whole life, despite the fact that she had many suitors. This also came with the rise of speculative gossip about secret lovers and palace trysts.[28]
Zeb al-Nissa had four younger sisters:Zeenat un-Nissa,Zubdat-un-Nissa,Badr-un-Nissa andMihr-un-Nissa.
Her grandfather, EmperorShah Jahan, hadbetrothed her to herfirst cousin, PrinceSulaiman Shikoh, the eldest son of her paternal uncle, Crown Prince,Dara Shikoh.[29] Shah Jahan had intended for her to become a future Mughal empress as Sulaiman was the heir to Dara Shikoh, who was next in line for succession to the Mughal throne after Shah Jahan. The marriage would have been a perfect match but did not, however, take place, due to Aurangzeb's reluctance; who despised his older brother.[30] The King ofIran,Shah Abbas II's son Mirza Farukh also wanted to marry her.[29] Many other proposals also came to her, but she demanded that before the fixation of marriage, she would see the princes.
Zeb-un-Nissa spent all her life on literary works and poetry, as she herself said:
Oh Makhfi, it is the path of love and alone you must go.
No one suits your friendship even if God be though.
According to certain sources, "dehumanizing" scandals (created and/or written by some foreigners) regarding the lives of Mughal ladies were not uncommon (during the post-Renaissance era). For example, a claim of: "A sordid episode of [Zeb-un-Nissa's] carnal romance with Aqil Khan Razi and his death inside a hot cauldron with burning fire under it, gained wider currency and was eagerly picked up by the... populace." However, other sources state that Razi lived long (as a government official) and died naturally.[13]
Her poetic book was printed inDelhi in 1929 and inTehran in 2001. Its manuscripts are in theNational Library of Paris, the library of theBritish Museum, theUniversity of Tübingen library inGermany and in the Mota library inIndia. The garden which she laid out in Lahore itself and which was called the Chauburji, or four-towered, can still be traced by portions of the walls and gates remaining.
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HerGhazal tellsthe story of love:
Translated by Sally Lee Stewart, Elena Bell and Maksuda Joraeva.[31]
The governor of Lahore, Aqel Khan, was smitten with Makhfi. So he sent her this poem:
I'll be your nightingale if I should see you in the garden
With others there I'll be your fluttering moth, if I should see you;
Showing yourself to be the shining light of an assembly—
Well, that's no good to me; it's in your shift I want to see you.
Makhfi sent back this answer:
The nightingale forsakes the rose to see me in the garden,
The pious Brahmin will forsake his idols when he sees me—
I'm hidden in my words, like scent within a rose's petal,
Whoever wants to see me, it's in my words he'll see me.
In another exchange, Aqel Khan took a risk by being a bit risqué:
What feeds on nothing and will rise,And, standing, vomits, and then dies?
Makhfi sent an insult as her reply:
Women provoke this thing to stir...Your mother's sure to know—ask her.
Translated by Dick Davis[32]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The book revolves around Princess Zebunissa (1638–1702) who is defined as the symbol of female power of the Mughal dynasty and portrays their stature in the court life in the seventeenth century...For her the name signified a life dramatically suppressed, cut off from the world. Her mysterious and unexpected imprisonment is also described in this book: Zebunissa's fate changed drastically when she was sent to prison by her father Aurangzeb, where she died leaving a landmark near the Red Fort of Delhi.
MUSIC and dance? But wasn't thatunIslamic in a country celebrating an Islamic revival, I'd thought back then, as I twirled at an Uzbek soiree at Kokand in the Ferghana Valley. My hostess had snatched up a daf (dafli in India) and was dancing slowly to a sad Persian song by Zebunisa 'Makhfi', an Uzbek-Tajik favourite. She was a princess of Delhi via Ferghana; Aurangzeb's daughter, whom he jailed for 20 years in Salimgarh, next to the Red Fort, because of her Sufi sympathies. Aurangzeb had killed music in his realm. Zebunisa's voice sang in her ancestral homeland, though lost to Delhi.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
