The maharaja in Palace Amber
Decided that he oughta
Betroth him his daughter.
So "Jodaa" married Akbar.
Would it cause a rough patch
That their faiths were a mismatch?
For Akbar it was no whim,
For crucial it was to him
That a son she should hatch.
As they married, Akbar was elated.
Then patiently he waited and waited.
He displayed a big smile
As he waited a long while
Till their marriage was consumated.
There was naught, I must say,
That she gained by delay.
Had she been a bit smarter,
She'd have been a prompt starter
And cozied up right away.
Couldn't she have pretended
When so much depended?
Shouldn't she have cooperated
While instead her husband waited
For a period so extended?
I guess it wasn't easy
For a Hndu to love a Ghazi.
We shouldn't be surprised
That when he gazed into her eyes
She felt a little queasy.
After quite some time the empress,
Naked and with tenderness,
Came on to the emperor
And, just then, likewise he to her,
And it led to success.
For the truth did not escape her
That otherwise he might rape her.
So they loved hot and heavy
Till with child she was heavy
And that caused them to taper.
If the film's suggestion be true,
"Jodaa" ever remained Hindu.
Of his three wives, she was the one
Who gave Akbar a son.
'Twas the best thing she could for him do.
Things for them had clicked.
Don't know if they were strict.
Akbar had a helpful Hindu hon
And now as well his son --
The future king and addict.
Their joy was extreme
Now that true was their dream.
'Twas truly earth-shaking.
Seven years it had taken.
And they named him Salim.
Akbar, who was nice at court,
In war was a different sort.
Especially early in his reign,
From cruelty he did not refrain
But practiced it like a sport.
And "Jodaa," perhaps she changed.
Much help for Islam she arranged
When she could along her path.
I wonder if her faith
For Islam she exchanged.
"Jodaa" became a power in the court.
To good projects she gave support.
No longer Hindu (should we assume?),
She built herself a tomb,
According to report.
On January 20, 1562 the third Mughal emperor, Akbar, married a Rajput Indian princess. They were both the same age, 19 years. She was Hindu. He was Muslim. She was the eldest daughter of the maharajah in the Amber Fort Palace near the present city of Jaipur. The maharajah's territory bodered the emperor's. The marriage was intended to cement peaceful relations and create an alliance between the two realms. (The emperor was famous for diplomacy, and the maharajah was a good diplomat as well. And marriage was a diplomatic device.) It's reasonable to assume that the religion difference may have been seen by some as a potential problem.
In the evening in our hotel near Jaipur we watched the 3.5-hour film "Jodaa Akbar." We also learned about a little about "Jodaa" from our guides, particularly when we toured the fort-palace Fatehpur Sikri near Agra (her home after she was married).
About the film, I remarked to our trip leader-guide, Som Bose, that it must be a little history and a whole lot of fill in. He agreed. I didn't realize then the extent of it.
I composed several verses based on what I had learned. Then I read some Wikepedia articles on the subject. I wrote additional verses to reflect some of the things I learned from the articles. Here are some points that interest me:
1. Jodaa wasn't her name at all (nor Jodhaa, nor Jodha, nor Jodha Bai, nor Jodhabai) although there is a popular perception that she was known as Jodha Bai. She was never known as such during her lifetime. Her maiden name was Rajkumari Hira Kunwari Sahiba (or just Hira Kumwari), alias Harkha Bai. Her married title was Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba, often shortened to Mariam-uz-Zamani, and meaning "Mary of the age."
The name Jodha Bai erroneously first came into use for her in historical writings of the 18th and 19th centuries. A particular book is mentioned as first using the name Jodha for her. According to the Wikipedia article, Jodha Bai or rather Jodh Bai was actually the name of Jahangir's Rajput wife Princess Manmati of Johhpur, whose real name was Jata Gosain. (This Jodh Bai was a daughter-in-law of "Jodaa.")
"Jodaa" was indeed the mother of Nuruddin Salim Jahangir (1569-1627), who became Akbar's successor, the fourth Mughal emperor (ruled 1605 - 1627).
Akbar is a title meaning "Great." Akbar's full name was Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.
2. A major theme of the movie is that "Jodaa" insisted on remaining Hindu (not converting to or being force or coerced to convert to Islam), and that she was permitted to remain Hindu, and that she did remain Hindu. According to the movie,"Jodaa" (who in reality probably had no say in the matter) was willing to marry Akbar but only if she could remain Hindu.
It is reasonable that she was permitted to remain Hindu because Akbar has the reputation of being exceptionally liberal about religion and tolerant of Hinduism. Actually, Akbar was liberal toward Hindus some of the time and cruel to them at other times.
Apparently "Jodaa" was allowed to practice Hinuism freely. But did she eventually change her faith of her own accord? Here are four items in a Wikipedia article that suggest that she may have changed her faith:
(a) "Maryam Zamani died in 1622. .... Her tomb, built in 1611, is on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, near Fatehpur Sikri. She was buried according to Islamic custom and was not cremated according to the Hindu religion."
(b) "... the mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was constructed in Lahore, Pakistan, in her honour."
(c) "Maryam Zamani owned and oversaw the ships that carried pilgrims to and from the Islamic holy city Mecca."
(d) "Maryam Zamai used her wealth and influence to build ... mosques around the country." It doesn't say she supported the building of Hindu temples.
3. Another major theme of the movie is that it was Jodaa's father, the maharajah in the Amber Fort Palace, who came up with the idea and advanced the idea of her marrying the Mughal emperor, Akbar. (He was Kacchwaha Rajput, Raja Bharmal, Raja of Amber, the older name of the state of Jaipur.) There is an item in the Wikipedia article that hints it might have been otherwise, i.e., that maybe Akbar came up with the idea and applied pressure, or that maybe it was the maharajah's idea, but he and others of his family didn't feel good about it, maybe felt it was something distasteful that circumstances required.
"Still there is an ambiguity over her rajput origin. Rajputs are said to have swapped their daughter with a low caste maid as the final revenge just before the royal marriage. Though there is no historical evidence, such stories are common among Rajputs mostly suggesting redemption of her honor."
Well, Akbar wasn't always the fairy-tale nice guy depicted in the movie. (Maybe he was in court.) Terrible things happened to the citizens of little kingdoms who defied and fought him and lost, and they were sure to lose. See Items 8 and 10.
4. The movie doesn't make anything explicit about other wives. Since other wives are not mentioned in the movie, one could conclude from it that "Jodaa" was Akbar's only wife at the time, i.e., his first wife. At Fatehpur Sikri we learned that Akbar had three wives. From a Wikipedia article I learned that "Jodaa" was indeed Akbar's third wife.
I went to the Internet about the question of how many wives Akbar eventually had. It seems that he eventually had seven principal wives, whereas Islam allowed only four wives, and that he eventually had a total of some 300 wives, and a total harem or over 4,000 women (mostly concubines and slaves)!
I was curious what other children besides Salim were fathered by Akbar. I didn't learn any specifics, but I presume with 300 wives or even seven wives, there must have eventually been a bunch.
I also took an interest in learning some details about his first and second wives. "Akbar's first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum." She was his cousin, and he married her when he was 15. I couldn't learn when she was born or when she died. Akbar's "second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan." Bairam Khan was also Akbar's regent and guardian. I couldn't learn much about Salima Sultan except that she died in 1613. Since Bairam Khan's death was in 1561, her marriage to Akbar had to have occurred right after Bairam's death and only a short time before Akbar's marriage to "Jodaa" in January, 1562. How old Salima Sultan was in 1561 I can only guess, and I guess she was 25 or 30. Salima Sultan at least had one daughter with Bairam because she is mentioned as a mother-in-law of Jahangir.
5. The movie ends early in the marriage -- before the birth of her son. There was no mention one way or the other in the movie about the eventual standing of "Jodaa." She lived from 1542 to 1622. Akbar lived from 1542 to 1605 and ruled from 1556 to 1605. I learned from a Wikipedia article that "Jodaa" became an exceptionally powerful person in the Mughal court.
"She is said to have been politically involved in the court until Nur Jahan became empress."
"Like few other women at the Moghul court, Maryam-uz-Zamani could issue official documents (singularly called farman), which was usually the exclusive privilege of the emperor. Maryam Zamai used her wealth and influence to build gardens, wells, and mosques around the country."
6. Mention of Nur Jahan in my Wikipedia article on "Jodaa" led me to look up a Wikepedia article on Nur Jahan. And that's a heck of a story. Nur Jahan (1577-1645) was the 20th and favorite wife of Jahangir. (So she was a daughter-in-law of "Jodaa.") She married fourth emperor Jahangir in 1611 and became the most famous empress of the Mughal Empire. The name Nur Jahan was given to her by Jahangir and is composed of parts of his name. "She remains historically significant for the sheer amount of imperial authority she wielded - the true 'power behind the throne,' as Jahangir was battling serious addictions to alcohol and opium throughout his reign - and is known as one of the most powerful women who ruled India with an iron fist."
7. It seems strange to me that Akbar was illiterate, could barely sign his name. The court certainly would have had the resources to provide him an education as a youth. Could it be that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to educate him? His grandfather, Babur, was literate. His father, Humayan, died from a fall on the steps in his library. His guardian, Bairam Khan, was a noted poet who wrote in three languages. Although Akbar was illiterate, he had libraries of books on various subjects, and he had people read them to him. And he had his "nine jewels," learned men who discussed various topics with him.
8. Akbar is depicted in the film as the exact opposite of what he was in terms of treatment of captured "infidels."
I have an article from the Internet titled The Real Akbar, The (Not) So Great. "Akbar ... ordered slaughter of all the captives from Hemu's army after the second battle of Panipat and had a victory tower built with their heads." Hemu's elderly father was slain when he refused to convert to Islam.
"Similarly, Akbar later on ordered a massacre of 30,000 plus unarmed captive Hindu peasants after the fall of Chitod on February 24, 1568."
"It is indeed true that Akbar drifted from orthodox Islamic practices and became more tolerant of other religions. However, more often Akbar used and twisted religious principles to his own advantagee."
"... his rule was better compared ONLY to the other Mughal and Turko-Afgani rules."
See Item 10.
9. Akbar attempted without success to found a religion "in which he vaguely tried to combine practices of Islam and Hinduism."
10. A critical event in the movie is based on historical fact, but related details were changed. This is from an Internet article: "In this second battle of Panipat, the Mughals were saved by a lucky accident after a hard fight which looked more than likely to go against them. An arrow hit Hemu in the eye and although it did not kill him it had peirced the cerebral cavity enough to make him unconscious. In any battle of this period the death of the leader meant an end of the fight, and the sight of Hemu slumped in the howdah of his famous elephant Hawai was enough to make his army turn tail. Shah Quli Khan captured the Hawai elephant with its prize occupant, and took it directly to Akbar. Hemu was brought unconscious before Akbar and Bairam. Bairam pleaded Akbar to perform the holy duty of slaying the infidel and earn the Islamic holy title of 'Ghazi.' Among much self-congratulation Akbar then severed the head of unconscious Hemu with his saber." Apparently the title of Ghazi was a badge of honor and right of passage. "Akbar like all Mughal rulers had the holy Muslim title of Ghazi (slayer of kaffer - infidel)."
In the movie this arrow shot was not an "accident." Rather, an archer was sent into battle with the mission to shoot Hemu in the eye and succeeded in doing so. Taking nothing away from the skill of medieval archers, I think this is far-fetched. His eyes were his only features not protected by Hemu's helmet and other armor.
In the movie Akbar (age 14) declined to slay Hemu. So Bairam slayed Hemu on the spot.
According to the movie, in a scene in a later battle, Akbar permanently dismissed Bairam because he was too cruel and sent him on a hajj to Mecca. (Bairam was about to slay another defeated infidel.)
This does have a connection with actual history in that Bairam Khan was dismissed as Akbar's regent and guardian in 1560 upon Akbar's coming of age (18), and he did leave on a hajj to Mecca. But there is no historical indication of the two men differing on treatment of captured infidels. Bairam Khan was killed by an assassin in 1561. His year of birth is not given.
According to the historical articles, Bairam was Akbar's "most trusted general" as well as his regent and guardian, and Akbar married Bairam's widow, Salima Sultan. (She was Akbar's second wife.)
11. The movie shows Akbar abolishing a tax on Hindus making religious pilgrimages. This turns out to be true to actual history. "... Akbar did abolish two obnoxious taxes on Hindus namely the pilgrimage tax in 1563 CE and Jizya (A tax stipulated in the Koran to be paid by Zimmis or unbelievers) in 1564 CE, ..."
12. Our trip leader, Som, mentioned the phenomenon of Jauhar, the self-immolaton of women in cases of defeat in wartime. I found a mention of that where women jumped into a roaring fire rather than face the cruelty of Akbar upon the fall of Chitod: "That night flames leapt to the sky as thousands of Rajput women performed Jauhar ... They preferred jumping into a roaring fire, to being captured by Mughal Akbar. Later events do lend credit to their astute judgement."
13. The movie shows Akbar dismissing an Islamic scholar because of a long-standing disagreement between them. I think the issue was that there was a practicing Hindu at court who was not converting to Islam. In real life, over quite a different issue, Akbar, a Sunni, "dismissed the Khazi, the highest religious officer from his court, a Sunni, and replaced him with a Shiite who did agree with him!" The issue was that Akbar had more wives than the four allowed by Islam. Akbar "used 'Mutta' principle to justify his 300 wives. As per Shia interpretation, 'Mutta' constituted a legal Muslim marriage. ... a Muslim can have a 'Mutta' marriage with a free woman of OTHER religion. A 'Mutta' marriage involves no ceremny, but is a private pact between a man and a woman for, officially, ' a limited period of time (as short as one night)' agreed between them."
------------------------------------------------
Regarding my third verse, for those who've not seen the film, although "Jodaa" was willing to marry Akbar (since she could remain Hindu), it took her a very long time to develop affection for him. I guess that's "Hollywood," India-style. I suppose in reality, "Jodaa" might well have had a fear hang-up, not just a lack-of-affection hang up.
-----------------------------------------------
The Mughals were cruel foreigners. Yet it seems to me that, for the most part, the Indian people have chosen to "adopt" the Mughals as their own, take pride in them, emphasize whatever good they can find in them, and overlook their cruelty.
Admittedly, the Mughals would have become "Indianized" to an extent because of their marriages with Indian pricesses and because they hung around so long. Yet I believe their lives at court were isolated from the Indian people, and they kept their foreign culture pretty much intact.
Here is a final quote: "Why don't the Indian School texts give these details of Akbar and What else are they hiding?"
No comments:
Post a Comment