THE EMPEROR AKBAR AS A BELIGIOUS MAN

111 Pages·2012·51.98 MB·English

THE EMPEROR AKBAR AS A BELIGIOUS MAN:
SIX INTERPRETATIONS
by
Omar S. Pound
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Islamic Studias
at McGill University
Montreal
August 1958
\
"And 1 feel that in the future when we spaak
of 'the humanities' we shal1 have to incorporate
in that conception not only the legacy of the
Mediterranean world, but the contribution of Asia
to the art and thought of mankind."
Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
PBEFACE .......................................................•i
CLASSIFIED J3IBLIOGRAPHY i i
INTRODUCTION..................•..............................xiii
1. AKBAR, THE 1~ OF FAITH: A SHORT BIOGRAPHY 1
References and Notes 9
II. ABU IL_FADL: COURT HISTORIAN , 13
•
References and Notes....•...•.....•••..•..........24
III. BADA UNI, AND WHY HE WEPT FOR ISLAM 27
1
References and Notes•................•............34
IV. VINCENT ARTHUR SMITH, cor{PlLER COMPILED 36
1 1 --
References and Notes.........•....................50
V. LAUIŒNCE BINYON: POET .AND LOVER OF BEAUTY 54
References and Notes 63
VI. PROFESSOR SRI RAM SHAIU-iA -- HINDU NATrONALrST 65
References and Notes 71
VII. ROY CHOUDHURY: INDIAN NATIONALIST 73
References and Notes...........•..................83
VIII. CONCLUSION 86
PREFACE
The system of trans1iteration in this thesis ie that
used by C.A. Storey in his Persian Bibliography (item no. ? in the
C1assified Bib1iography), in which he retaina popu1ar spelling for
the names of a few cHies, such as Delhi and Lahore, but
transliterates Agrah. l have accepted snch inconsistencies,
preferring the inconsistencies of a scholar to my own. The persian
titles of worka, such as the A:Cin-i Akbari, are not transliterated
according to this system, but have been spelled according to the
title-page of the first volume, likewise with authors' names. This
is in deference to those who use 1ibraries which still catalogue
books according to the title-page.
The quotation at the beginning of this thesis is from
~inyon's book, The Spirit of Man in Asian Art, p.8 (no.?2).
I wish to add my thanks to Mr. William J. Watson,
Librarian at the Institute of Islamic Studies, for Taoist-like
guidance as my adviser; and to Professor Wilfred Cantwell Smith.
Director of the Institute, for the loan of a Bet of mimeographed
unpublished papers delivered at seminars held in London (Summer 1956)
at the London School of Oriental &African Studias. How much, or
little, l have absorbed from these papers l do not know.
CLASSIFIED BIBLIOGRAPHY
This is a bibliography of worka dealing with Akbar rather
than with his period, though l have also included a few works on the
background, and some others, such as Herbert Butterfield's, that
have influenced my approach to the subject. Authors suoh as W.H.
Moreland, the economic historiant are deliberately omitted, as are
writera on anthropologica.l matters. My selection has also been
determined by availability, sânce books published in India and
Pakistan are rarely listed anywhere.
An adequate critical bibl10graphy of the works on Akbar
and his period would teke years to compile. V.A. Smith has listed
many in Akbar the Great Mogul (no.54). though his judgments on their
relative merits have proved mlsleading to those who have followed after
him. C.H. Payne's notes to Akbar and the Jesuits (no.15) and Jahangir
and the Jesuits (no.82) contain important corrections to V.A. Smith,
both in substance and detail.
Chapter l of Maclagan' s Jesuite and the Great Mogul (no.23),
entitled "Sources of Information" (dealing largely with Jesuit sources),
is a meticulous study which deserves to be read with care. However,
in using this book, it should be noted that often important books.
articles and references are given in notes at the end of each chapter
and not ineluded in any general bibliography.
Hodivala's Hlstorical Studies in MUghal Numismatics (no.85)
Is worth serious attention.
Fifty_eight authors wrlting in Sanskrit during Akbar's reign
are listed by Sri Ram Sharma in his Bibliography of Mughal India,
- Hi -
pp.154-6 (no.l). It should be noted that there are two modern Hindu
writers of this name, bath of whom write on Indian history! The one
we are concerned with here is genera11y knawn as Professor Sri Ram
Sharma. He is listed in the Times of India Directory Year Book
(1956-Z)•
This bibliography is divided as follows.
1. GENERAL REFERENCE
II. WRlTERS COUTEMPORARY ~1I'ffi AKBAR
A. Mus1im
B. Christian
1. Jesuit
2. Other
voaxs
II1. LATER
A. General Histories
1. Western
2. Hindu
3. lJIuslim
B. Books. articles and fiction, specifical1y on Akbar
1. Western
2. Hindu
3. Mus1im
4. Parsee
IV. OTIŒR WORXS
CLASSIFIED ~IBLIOGRAPHY
(The works l have not seen are marked with an asterisk *.)
I. GEN:ERAL REFERENCE
1. A13ibliographY of Mughal India, by Sri Ram Sharma, Bombay:
Karnatak Publishing House, n.d.
2. The Chronolog,y of Modern India•.•. (1494_1894), by James Burgess,
Edinburgh: John Grant, 1913.
3. A Dictionary of Islam, by Thomas Patrick Hughes, 2nd ed., London,
1896.
4. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 4 vols. &suppl., Leyden &London,
1913-38.
5. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden & London, 1954 LÏn
progressJ
6. The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James Hastings,
12 vols. & Index, New York: Scribners, 1908-27.
7. persian Literature
vol. I, parts 1 &2,
8. Shorter Encyçlo:paedia of Islam, edd. H.A.R. Gibb & J .R. Kramers,
Leiden: :Brill, 1953.
II. WRlTERS CONTEMPORARY WITH AKBAR
A. Muslim
9. ~b-;' 'l-FB4V The 'Acin-i Akbari, by Abu 'l-Fa~l cAllaml,
Volume I: transe from the original Persian
by H. 13lochmann, 2nd ed., rev.
b~ D.C. Phillott, Calcutta, 1939~
L~ibliotheca Indica, work no.61~
Volume II: trans. by Col. H.S. Jarrett,
2nd ed., corrected & further
annotated by Sir J~-Nath Sarkar,
Calcutta, 19~9. ~1b11othecaIndica,
work no.271J
- v -
9. (conttd) Volume III: trans. by Col. H.S. Jarrett,
rev. & further annotated
bil Sir Jadu_Nath Sarkar, Calcutta~ 1948.
~ibliotheca Indica, work no.270~1
10. {jb-;' ll_Facg] The Akbarnama of Abu-l-Fazl, 3 vols. ,
trans. by H. Beveridge, Càlcutta, 1897
1939. ffiibliotheca Indica, work no.138J
11. Akbar-Nama, by Abu.-l Fazl, Calcutta:
Susil Gupta (India) Ltd., 1953.
Akbar, by Badanm, Calcutta: Susil Gupta
(India) Ltd., 1953.
Munta.khabu-t-Tawir1kh, by cAbdu.-l_Q,';(Ur
13. ----------
ibn-i-MulUk ShSh, known as Al-Banaoni,
Volume 1: trans. from the original
Persian &ed. by G.S.A.
Ranking, Calcutta, 1898.
Volume II: trans. by W.H. Lowe, Calcutta,
1884.
Volume III: trans. &ed. by Sir Wolseley
Haig, Calcutta, 1925.
ffiibliotheca Indica,J
14. !flü.bad sh""é.h7 The Dabistan. or School of Manners, 3 vols.,
trans. from the Persian by David Shea &
Anthony Troyer, Paris, 1843.
B. Christian
1. Jesuit
15. Pierre du Jarric Akbar and the Jesuite. an Account of the
Jesuit Missions to the Court of Akbar,
by Father Pierre du Jarrie, S.J., (The
Broadw8\Y Trave1lers Series}, trans. \fith
intro. & notes by C.H. Payne, London,
1926.
16. Father Monserrate The Commentary of Father Monserra.te, S.J.,
trans, from the Original Latin by J.S,
Hoyland, &annotated by S,N, BanerJee,
O,U,P. (Milford), printed in India, 1922.
- vi -
2. Other
17. N. Manucci storia Do Mogor, (Indian Texts Series),
trans. with intro. &notes by William
Irvine, 4 vols., London, 1907 .
III. LATER WORKS
A. General Histories
1. Western
18. H. Beveridge AComprehensive History of India,
2 vols., London, 1862.
19. Alexander Dow The History of Hindustan, 2 vols.,
London, 1769.
20. Sir George Dunbar A History of India, 4th rev. ed.,
2 vols., London, 1949.
21. W.W. Hunter "The Indian Empire", vol. II of The
Imperial Gazetteer of India, newed.,
London, 1908.
22. Stanley Lane-Poole Mediaeva1 India, under Mohammedan.Rule,
(A.D. 712 - 1764), (The Story of the
Nations Series), London, 1903.
23. Sir Edward Maclagan The Jesuits and the Great Mogul, London,
1932.
24. W.H. Moreland &A.C. A Short History of India, London, 1936.
Chatterjee
25. J.C. Powell-Price A History of India, London, 1955.
26. H.G. Rawlinson India, a Short Cultural History, 4th
impression, new1y rev., London: The
Cresset Press, 1952.
27. Vincent A. smith The Oxford History of India, 2nd ed.,
rev. & continued to 1921 by S.M.
Edwardes, Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1923.
28. J. Tod Anna1s and Antiguities of Rajasthan,
2 vols., ~nglan~7, 1829-32.
- vii -
29. H.G. Wells The Outline of History, Lïst published,
91.
192
2. Hindu
30. R.C. Majumdar, H.C. An Advanced History of India. Part II,
Rayehaudhuri & K. Datta The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughul
Empire, Macmillan, 1951.
31. Sir Jadu.-Nath Sarkar Mughal Administration, 4th ed., Calcutta,
1952.
32. Sri Ram Sharma The Creseent in India, rev. ed., Bombay:
Hind Kitabs Ltd., 1954.
33. Mughal Government and Administration,
Bombay: Hind Kitabs Ltd., 1951.
fue Religious Poliey of the Mughal
34. --------------
Emperors, O.U.P. (Milford), printed
in India, 1940.
3. Muslim
35. Muhammad Akbar The Administration of Justice by the
Mughals, Lahore (Pakistan), 1948.
36. The Pun.1ab under the Mughals, Labore
(Pakistan), 1948.
37. S. Abid Husain The National Culture of India, :Bombay:
Jaico Publishing House, 1956.
38. Pakistan History Board A Short History of Hind-Pak1stan, (for
Pakistan Historical Society), Karachi,
1955.
39. A. Qayyum &Mahmud ANew History of India and Pakistan,
Brelvi 3rd ed., Lahore: Ferozsons, 1951.
40. A. Yusuf Ali The Making of India, London, 1925.
B. Books, articles and fiction. specifica11y on Akbar
1. Western
41, A.S. Beveridge "Akbar", Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-38.