| Jahanara Begum Sahib | |
|---|---|
| Shahzadi of the Mughal Empire | |
| Father | Shah Jahan |
| Mother | Arjumand Banu Begum |
| Born | 2 April 1614 |
| Died | 16 September 1681 |
| Burial | Nizamuddin Dargah, New Delhi |
Shahzadi (Imperial Princess) Jahanara Begum Sahib (Urdu: شاهزادی جہاں آرا بیگم صاحب) (April 2, 1614 – September 16, 1681) was the eldest daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.[1]
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Upon the death of Mumtaz Mahal in 1631, Jahanara, who was just 17, took the place of her mother as first lady in the country, despite her father having three other wives.[2] As well as caring for her younger brothers and sisters, she is also credited with bringing her father out of mourning and restoring normality to a court darkened by her mother's death and her father's grief. One of her tasks after the death of her mother was to oversee the betrothal and wedding of her brother, Dara Shikoh, to a begum, Nadira Banu which had been originally planned by Mumtaz Mahal but postponed by her death. Jahanara's mother Arjumand Banu Begum, Empress Mumtaz Muhal died while giving birth.
Mumtaz Mahal's personal fortune valued at 10,000,000 rupees was divided by Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half and the rest of her surviving children.[3]
Her father frequently took her advice and entrusted her with charge of the imperial seal. Shah Jahan's fondness for his daughter was reflected in the multiple titles he bestowed upon her, which include Sahibat al-Zamani (Lady of the Age) and Padishah Begum (Lady Emperor) or Begum Sahib (Princess of Princesses).
Her power was such that, unlike the other royal princesses, she was allowed to live in her own palace, outside the confines of the Agra Fort.[4]
She was in her wardrobe when the chemicals in her perfume got close to a lamp so that Jahanara was engulfed in flame. Her father nursed her back to health. She was cured by a mendicant named Hanum, who was richly rewarded by Shah Jahan. After her recovery Shah Jahan gifted her rare gems and jewellery and bestowed upon her the revenues of the port of Surat.[4] Later she had visited Ajmer, following the example set by her great-grandfather Akbar.[5]
Historians report a deep love and genuine liking between Jahanara and her brother Dara Shikoh, unlike the cool politeness that existed between Aurangzeb and herself. Jahanara had referred to Aurangzeb as the "white serpent" in a kind of diary she had written also calling him a tiger and panther.[6] Legend says that once when Aurangzeb was severely sick, Jahanara took care of him. Later when he asked her whether she would support him for the throne, she said that he would not be emperor due to which Aurangzeb became very angry with her. When Aurangzeb fell out of favour with his father during the time of Jahanara's convalescence she is credited with using the celebrations of her recovery to encourage her father to restore Aurangzeb to his former positions.
There is record of tensions with her sister Roshanara Begum, three years her junior who resented her elder sister's position as first lady of the empire.[7] Jahanara took the side of Dara Shikoh in the struggle for the throne. Dara had promised her to lift the ban on marriage for Mughal princesses, which Akbar had introduced. Had he triumphed, her power would likely have continued. On Aurangzeb's ascent to the throne, Jahanara joined her father in imprisonment at the Agra Fort where she devoted herself to his care until his death.
After the death of their father Jahanara and Aurangzeb were reconciled. He gave her the title, 'Empress of Princesses' and she replaced Roshanara as first lady.[8] Jahanara's sister Roshanara Begum was reportedly very jealous of her sister's return to power. Jahanara was soon secure enough in her position to occasionally argue with Aurangzeb and have certain special privileges which other women did not possess. She argued against Aurangzeb's strict regulation of public life in accordance with his conservative religious beliefs and his decision in 1679 to restore the poll tax on non-Muslims, which she said would alienate his Hindu subjects.
Upon her death Aurangzeb gave her the posthumous title 'Sahibat-uz-Zamani' ('Mistress of the Age').[9] Jahanara is buried in a tomb in the Nizamuddin Dargah complex in New Delhi which is remarkable for its simplicity. The inscription on the tomb reads as follows:
He is the Living, the Sustaining.
Let no one cover my grave except with greenery,
for this very grass suffices as a tomb cover for the poor.
The annihilated fakir Lady Jahanara,
Disciple of the lords of Chisht,
Daughter of Shah Jahan the Warrior
(may God illuminate his proof).
No formally attributed likeness of her is known to exist.[10] She was highly educated and well versed in Persian and Arabic,[10] as well as a poet of some repute. She was very kind and helped poor people.
Together with her brother Dara Shikoh she was a disciple of Mullah Shah Badakhshi, who initiated her into the Qadiriyya Sufi order in 1641. Jahanara Begum made such progress on the Sufi path that Mullah Shah would have named her his successor in the Qadiriyya, but the rules of the order did not allow this.[5]
She wrote a biography of Moinuddin Chishti, the founder of the Chishtiyah order, titled Mu’nis al-Arwāḥ, as well as a biography of Mullah Shah, titled Risālah-i Ṣāḥibīyah, in which she also described her initiation by him.[11] Her biography of Moinuddin Chishti is highly regarded for its judgment and literary quality. In it she regarded him as having initiated her spiritually four centuries after his death, described her pilgrimage to Ajmer, and spoke of herself as a faqīrah to signify her vocation as a Sufi woman.[12]
Jahanara Begum stated that she and her brother Dārā were the only descendants of Timur to embrace Sufism.[13] However, Aurangzeb was also an ardent follower of sufism.seeAurangzeb#Following_Sufism As a patron of Sufi literature, she commissioned translations of and commentaries on many works of classical literature.[14]
Jahanara was known for her active part in looking after the poor and financing the building of mosques and gardens. In Agra she is best known for sponsoring the building of the Jami Masjid in 1648 in the heart of the old city.
She also made a significant impact on the landscape of the capital city of Shahjahanabad. Of the eighteen buildings in the city of Shahjahanabad commissioned by women, Jahanara commissioned five of them. All of Jahanara's building projects were completed around the year 1650 inside the city walls of Shahjahanabad. The best known of her projects is Chandni Chowk, the central bazaar.
“The story behind the book, The Life of a Mogul Princess: Jahanara Begum (daughter of Shahjahan), is in itself interesting. Andrea Butenschon found a unique handwritten copy in Persian of Jahanara’s book by accident. While she was visiting the Jasmine Tower of the Agra Fort, the manuscript fell into her hands from behind a marble slab which was on the verge of breaking. She translated the manuscript into English and the book was finally published in 1931, almost 300 years after Jahanara had written it.”
Her early life is depicted in The Royal Diaries book series as Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India - 1627 by Kathryn Lasky. Jahanara is the protagonist of the novel Beneath a Marble Sky, by John Shors. Jahanara is the main character in the novel Shadow Princess by Indu Sundaresan, published March 23, 2010. She is also the main character in Jean Bothwell's "An Omen for a Princess" (1963). Actresses Mala Sinha and Manisha Koirala have portrayed the role of Jahanara in their respective films namely Jahan Ara (1964) and Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story(2005). In 'Jahan Ara' the role of Shahjahan was played by Prithvi Raj Kapoor.