Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659)
was the eldest son and
heir-apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
of the Mughal emperor
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank")
and was favoured as a successor by his father and his elder sister, Princess
Jahanara Begum
Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a Mughal princess and later the Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire from 1631 to 1658 and again from 1668 until her death. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Emperor Shah ...
. In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan's illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (later, the Emperor
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
). He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb's orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.
Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb; he authored the work ''
The Confluence of the Two Seas'', which argues for the harmony of
Sufi philosophy
Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, the mystical tradition within Islam, also termed as ''Tasawwuf'' or ''Faqr'' according to its adherents. Sufism and its philosophical tradition may be associated with both Sunni a ...
in Islam and
Vedanta philosophy
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
in Hinduism. A great patron of the arts, he was also more inclined towards philosophy and
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
rather than military pursuits. The course of the history of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, had Dara Shikoh prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.
Early life
![Dara Shikoh and Mian Mir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Dara_Shikoh_and_Mian_Mir.jpg)
Muhammad Dara Shikoh was born on 11 March 1615
in
Ajmer
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
. He was the first son and third child of Prince Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram and his second wife,
Mumtaz Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal (/'/; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, oft ...
.
The prince was named by his father. 'Dara' means owner of wealth or star in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
while the second part of the prince's name is commonly spelled in two ways: Shikoh (''terror'') or Shukoh (''majesty'' or ''grandeur'').
Thus, Dara's full name can be translated as "Of the Terror of Darius" or "Of the Grandeur of Darius", respectively.
Historian
Ebba Koch
Ebba Koch is an Austrian art and architectural historian, who defines and discusses cultural issues of interest to political, social and economic historians. Presently she is a professor at the Institute of Art History in Vienna, Austria and a s ...
favours 'Shukoh'.
Dara Shikoh had thirteen siblings of whom six survived to adulthood:
Jahanara Begum
Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a Mughal princess and later the Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire from 1631 to 1658 and again from 1668 until her death. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Emperor Shah ...
,
Shah Shuja,
Roshanara Begum
Roshanara Begum ( fa, , lit=Adorned in Light); 3 September 1617 – 11 September 1671) was a Mughal princess and the third daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Roshanara was a brilliant woman and a talented poet. She ...
,
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
,
Murad Bakhsh
Muhammad Murad Bakhsh ( fa, ),
(9 October 1624 – 14 December 1661) was a Mughal prince and the youngest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the Subedar of Balkh, till he was replaced by his elder ...
, and
Gauhara Begum
Gauhar Ara Begum (; 17 June 1631 – 1706) was a Mughal princess and the fourteenth and youngest child of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Her mother died giving birth to her in 1631. Gauhar Ara, however, survived th ...
.
He shared a close relationship with his older sister, Jahanara. As part of his formal education, Dara studied the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, history, Persian poetry and calligraphy.
He was a liberal-minded unorthodox Muslim unlike his father and his younger brother Aurangzeb.
Persian was Dara's native language, but he also learned
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and later
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
.
In October 1627, Dara's grandfather Emperor
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
died, and his father ascended the throne in January 1628 taking the regnal name '
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
'. In 1633, Dara was appointed as the ''Vali-ahad'' (heir-apparent) to his father. He, along with his older sister Jahanara, were Shah Jahan's favourite children.
Marriage
![Mughal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Mughal.jpg)
During the life time of his mother Mumtaz Mahal, Dara Shikoh was betrothed to his half-cousin, Princess
Nadira Banu Begum
Nadira Banu Begum (14 March 1618 – 6 June 1659) was a Mughal princess and the wife of the Crown prince, Dara Shikoh, the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. After Aurangzeb's rise to power, Dara Shikoh's immediate f ...
, the daughter of his paternal uncle
Sultan Parvez Mirza.
He married her on 1 February 1633 at
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
amidst great celebrations, pomp and grandeur.
By all accounts, Dara and Nadira were devoted to each other and Dara's love for Nadira was so profound that unlike the usual practice of
polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...
prevalent at the time, he never contracted any other marriage.
The imperial couple had seven children together; two sons,
Sulaiman Shikoh
Sulaiman Shikoh ( ur, ) was a Mughal prince and the eldest son of Crown prince Dara Shikoh. He was executed in May 1662 at Gwalior Fort on the orders of his paternal uncle, Emperor Aurangzeb.
Early life
Shazada Muhammad Sulaiman Shikoh Bahadu ...
and
Sipihr Shikoh
Sipihr Shikoh (13 October 1644 – 2 or 3 July 1708) also known as Sipihr Shukoh, was a Mughal prince as the fourth son of Crown Prince Dara Shikoh and his consort Nadira Banu Begum.
Life
He was also the grandson of the fifth Mughal Emperor S ...
, and a daughter,
Jahanzeb Banu Begum, survived to play important roles in future events.
A great patron of the arts, Dara ordered for the compilation of some refined artwork into an album which is now famous by the name of 'Dara Shikhoh Album.' This album was presented by Dara to his "dearest intimate friend" Nadira in 1641. Dara had at least two concubines, Gul Safeh (also known as Rana Dil) and
Udaipuri Mahal
Udaipuri Mahal (died July 1707) was a concubine of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Life
Described as 'the darling of Aurangzeb's old age', Udaipuri Mahal had been a slave girl in the harem of Prince Dara Shikoh, and before entering his harem, she ...
(a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
or
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n slave girl). Udaipuri later became a part of Aurangzeb's harem after her master's defeat.
Military service
As was common for all Mughal sons, Dara Shikoh was appointed as a military commander at an early age, receiving an appointment as commander of 12,000-foot and 6,000 horse in October 1633. He received successive promotions, being promoted to commander of 12,000-foot and 7,000 horse on 20 March 1636, to 15,000-foot and 9,000 horse on 24 August 1637, to 10,000 horse on 19 March 1638, to 20,000-foot and 10,000 horse on 24 January 1639, and to 15,000 horse on 21 January 1642.
On 10 September 1642, Shah Jahan formally confirmed Dara Shikoh as his heir, granting him the title of ''Shahzada-e-Buland Iqbal'' ("Prince of High Fortune") and promoting him to command of 20,000-foot and 20,000 horse. In 1645, he was appointed as ''
subahdar
Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...
'' (governor) of
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
. He was promoted to a command of 30,000-foot and 20,000 horse on 18 April 1648, and was appointed Governor of the province of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
on 3 July.
As his father's health began to decline, Dara Shikoh received a series of increasingly prominent commands. He was appointed Governor of
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
and
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
on 16 August 1652, and was raised to the title of ''Shah-e-Buland Iqbal'' ("King of High Fortune") on 15 February 1655. He was promoted to command of 40,000-foot and 20,000 horse on 21 January 1656, and to command of 50,000-foot and 40,000 horse on 16 September 1657.
The struggle for succession
![Dara Shikuh with his army](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Dara_Shikuh_with_his_army.jpg)
On 6 September 1657, the illness of emperor Shah Jahan triggered a desperate struggle for power among the four Mughal princes, though realistically only Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb had a chance of emerging victorious.
Shah Shuja was the first to make his move, declaring himself
Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
and marched towards
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
from the east.
Murad Baksh
Muhammad Murad Bakhsh ( fa, ),
(9 October 1624 – 14 December 1661) was a Mughal prince and the youngest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the Subedar of Balkh, till he was replaced by his elder ...
allied himself with
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
.
At the end of 1657, Dara Shikoh was appointed Governor of the province of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and promoted to command of 60,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry.(roughly equivalent to
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
)
Despite strong support from Shah Jahan, who had recovered enough from his illness to remain a strong factor in the struggle for supremacy, and the victory of his army led by his eldest son Sulaiman Shikoh over Shah Shuja in the battle of Bahadurpur on 14 February 1658, Dara Shikoh was defeated by Aurangzeb and Murad during the
Battle of Samugarh
Battle of Samugarh, Jang-e-Samugarh, (May 29, 1658), was a deciding battle in the struggle for the throne during the ''Mughal war of succession (1658–1659)'' between the sons of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the emperor's serious illness ...
, 13 km from
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
on 30 May 1658. Subsequently, Aurangzeb took over Agra fort and deposed emperor Shah Jahan on 8 June 1658.
Death and aftermath
![Humayun's mausoleum, Delhi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Humayun%27s_mausoleum%2C_Delhi.jpg)
After the defeat, Dara Shikoh retreated from Agra to Delhi and thence to Lahore. His next destination was
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
and then to
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
(
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
). From Sindh, he crossed the
Rann of Kachchh
The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into th ...
and reached
Kathiawar
Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...
, where he met Shah Nawaz Khan, the governor of the province of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
who opened the treasury to Dara Shikoh and helped him to recruit a new army. He occupied Surat and advanced towards Ajmer. Foiled in his hopes of persuading the fickle but powerful Rajput feudatory,
Maharaja Jaswant Singh
Jaswant Singh Rathore (26 December 1626 – 28 December 1678) was a Maharaja of Marwar in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan. He was a distinguished man of letters and author of "Siddhant-bodh", "Anand Vilas" and "Bhasa-bhusan".
Early l ...
of Marwar, to support his cause, Dara Shikoh decided to make a stand and fight the relentless pursuers sent by Aurangzeb's, but was once again comprehensively routed in the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer) on 11 March 1659. After this defeat he fled to Sindh and sought refuge under Malik Jeevan (Junaid Khan Barozai), an Afghan chieftain, whose life had on more than one occasion been saved by the Mughal prince from the wrath of
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
. However, Junaid betrayed Dara Shikoh and turned him (and his second son Sipihr Shikoh) over to Aurangzeb's army on 10 June 1659.
Dara Shikoh was brought to Delhi, placed on a filthy elephant and paraded through the streets of the capital in chains. Dara Shikoh's fate was decided by the political threat he posed as a prince popular with the common people – a convocation of nobles and clergy, called by Aurangzeb in response to the perceived danger of insurrection in Delhi, declared him a threat to the public peace and an apostate from Islam. He was assassinated by four of Aurangzeb's henchmen in front of his terrified son on the night of 30 August 1659 (9 September Gregorian). After death the remains of Dara Shikoh were buried in an unidentified grave in Humayan's tomb in Delhi. On 26 February 2020 the government of India through
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
decided to find the burial spot of Dara Shikoh from the 140 graves in 120 chambers inside Humayun's Tomb. It is considered a difficult task as none of the graves are identified or have inscriptions.
Niccolao Manucci
Niccolao Manucci (19 April 1638 – 1717) was a Venetian writer, a self-taught physician, and traveller, who wrote accounts of the Mughal Empire supposedly first-hand but with many details now considered doubtful. He also documented folk beliefs ...
, the Venetian traveler who worked in the Mughal court, has written down the details of Dara Shikoh's death. According to him, upon Dara's capture, Aurangzeb ordered his men to have his head brought up to him and he inspected it thoroughly to ensure that it was Dara indeed. He then further mutilated the head with his sword three times. After which, he ordered the head to be put in a box and presented to his ailing father, Shah Jahan, with clear instructions to be delivered only when the old King sat for his dinner in his prison. The guards were also instructed to inform Shah Jahan that, ''"King Aurangzeb, your son, sends this plate to let him (Shah Jahan) see that he does not forget him".'' Shah Jahan instantly became happy (not knowing what was in store in the box) and uttered, ''“ Blessed be God that my son still remembers me". ''Upon opening the box, Shah Jahan became horrified and fell unconscious''.''
Intellectual pursuits
![Majma-ul-Bahrain page Victoria Memorial view001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Majma-ul-Bahrain_page_Victoria_Memorial_view001.jpg)
Dara Shikoh is widely renowned as an enlightened paragon of the harmonious coexistence of heterodox traditions on the Indian subcontinent. He was an erudite champion of mystical religious speculation and a poetic diviner of syncretic cultural interaction among people of all faiths. This made him a heretic in the eyes of his orthodox younger brother and a suspect eccentric in the view of many of the worldly power brokers swarming around the Mughal throne. Dara Shikoh was a follower of the
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
-
perennialist
The perennial philosophy ( la, philosophia perennis), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a perspective in philosophy and spirituality that views all of the world's religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical trut ...
mystic
Sarmad Kashani
Sarmad Kashani, or simply Sarmad (ca. 1590–1661) was a Persian-speaking Armenian mystic and poet who travelled to and made the Indian subcontinent his permanent home during the 17th century. Originally Jewish, he may have renounced his religion ...
, as well as
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
's famous
Qadiri
The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
saint
Mian Mir
Baba Sain Mir Mohammed Sahib (c. 1550 – 22 August 1635), popularly known as Mian Mir or Miyan Mir, was a famous Sindhi Sufi Muslim saint who resided in Lahore, specifically in the town of ''Dharampura'' (in present-day Pakistan). He was a di ...
, whom he was introduced to by
Mullah Shah Badakhshi
Mullah Shah Badakhshi, popularly known as Mullah Shah was a 17th-century Muslim Sufi, and spiritual successor of the famous Sufi saint Mian Mir (1550 – 1635). He was born to a Qazi in the village of Araska in the Rustaq area of Badakhshan ( ...
(Mian Mir's spiritual disciple and successor). Mian Mir was so widely respected among all communities that he was invited to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Sikhs.
![Dara Shikoh With Mian Mir And Mulla Shah](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Dara_Shikoh_With_Mian_Mir_And_Mulla_Shah.jpg)
Dara Shikoh subsequently developed a friendship with the seventh Sikh Guru,
Guru Har Rai
Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.[Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...]
. Towards this goal he completed the translation of fifty
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
from their original
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
into
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
in 1657 so that they could be studied by Muslim scholars. His translation is often called ''
Sirr-i-Akbar'' ("The Greatest Mystery"), where he states boldly, in the introduction, his speculative hypothesis that the work referred to in the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
as the "''Kitab al-maknun''" or the ''hidden book'', is none other than the
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
. His most famous work,
Majma-ul-Bahrain
''Majma-ul-Bahrain'' ( fa, مجمع البحرین, "The Confluence of the Two Seas" or "The Mingling of the Two Oceans") is a book on comparative religion authored by Mughal people, Mughal Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzada Dara Shukoh as a short treatise i ...
("The Confluence of the Two Seas"), was also devoted to a revelation of the mystical and pluralistic affinities between
Sufic and
Vedantic
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
speculation. The book was authored as a short treatise in Persian in 1654–55.
![Meister des Jog-Vashisht-Manuskripts 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Meister_des_Jog-Vashisht-Manuskripts_001.jpg)
In 1006 A.H,the prince had commissioned a translation of
Yoga Vasistha,after both
Vasistha
Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...
and
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
appeared before Dara Shikoh and embraced him in his dream. Translation was undertaken by Nizam al-Din Panipati this translation came to be known as the ''Jug-Basisht'', which has since become popular in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
among intellectuals interested in
Indo-Persian culture
Indo-Persian culture refers to a cultural synthesis present in the Indian subcontinent. It is characterised by the absorption or integration of Persian aspects into the various cultures of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The earliest introductio ...
. The
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
-era mystic
Mir Findiriski
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
(d. 1641) commented on selected passages of ''Jug-Basisht''.
The library established by Dara Shikoh still exists on the grounds of
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, formerly Indraprastha University (IP or IPU), is a state university located in Dwarka, Delhi, India. The campus occupies 78 acres (31.56 hectares), among the largest in Delhi, and enrolls over 8,000 st ...
,
Kashmiri Gate,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, and is now run as a museum by
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
after being renovated.
Patron of arts
![A Prince in Iranian Costume by Muhammad Khan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/A_Prince_in_Iranian_Costume_by_Muhammad_Khan._Dara_Shikoh_Album%2C_Agra%2C_1633-34.jpg)
He was also a patron of fine arts, music and dancing, a trait frowned upon by his younger sibling Muhiuddin, later the Emperor Aurangzeb. The 'Dara Shikoh' is a collection of paintings and calligraphy assembled from the 1630s until his death. It was presented to his wife
Nadira Banu in 1641–42 and remained with her until her death after which the album was taken into the royal library and the inscriptions connecting it with Dara Shikoh were deliberately erased; however not everything was vandalised and many
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
scripts and paintings still bear his mark.
Among the existing paintings from the Dara Shikoh Album, are two facing pages, compiled in the early 1630s just before his marriage, showing two ascetics in yogic postures, probably meant to be a pair of yogis, Vaishnava and Shaiva. These paintings are attributed to the artist Govardhan. The album also contains numerous pictures of Muslim ascetics and divines and the pictures obviously reflect Dara Shikoh's interest in religion and philosophy.
Dara Shikoh is also credited with the commissioning of several exquisite, still extant, examples of Mughal architecture – among them the
tomb of his wife Nadira Begum in Lahore, the
Shrine of Mian Mir
The Shrine of Mian Mir (Punjabi and ur, ) is a 17th-century shrine located in Lahore, Pakistan, that is dedicated to the Sufi mystic Mian Mir. The shrine is one of the most celebrated in Lahore, and has historically been revered by both Muslim ...
also in Lahore, the Dara Shikoh Library in Delhi, the
Akhun Mullah Shah Mosque in Srinagar in Kashmir and the
Pari Mahal
Pari Mahal or Peer Mahal, also known as The Palace of Fairies, is a seven-terraced garden located at the top of Zabarwan mountain range, overlooking the city of Srinagar and the south-west of Dal Lake in the Indian union territory of Jammu a ...
garden palace (also in Srinagar in Kashmir).
In popular culture
* The issues surrounding Dara Shikoh's impeachment and execution are used to explore contradictory interpretations of Islam in a 2008 play, ''
The Trial of Dara Shikoh'', written by
Akbar S. Ahmed
Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, is a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat. He currently is a professor of International Relations and holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American Universi ...
.
* He is also the subject of a 2010 play called ''Dara Shikoh'', written and directed by
Shahid Nadeem
Shahid Mahmood Nadeem ( ur, ; born 1947) is a Pakistani journalist, playwright, screenwriter, theater and television director, and a human rights activist.
He served as the general manager, program director, and deputy managing director of ...
of the
Ajoka Theatre Group in Pakistan.
* Dara Shikoh is the subject of the 2007 play ''Dara Shikoh'', written by Danish Iqbal and staged by, among others, the director
M S Sathyu
Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu ( kn, ಮೈಸೂರು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯು) (born 6 July 1930) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. He is best known for his directorial ''Garm Hava'' (1973), ...
in 2008.
* He is also a character played by Vaquar Sheikh in the 2005 Bollywood film ''
Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story'', directed by Akbar Khan.
* Dara Shikoh is the name of the protagonist of
Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid ( ur, محسن حامد; born 23 July 1971) is a British Pakistani novelist, writer and brand consultant. His novels are '' Moth Smoke'' (2000), '' The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' (2007), ''How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia'' (2 ...
's 2000 novel ''
Moth Smoke
''Moth Smoke'' is the debut novel by British Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid, published in 2000. It tells the story of Darashikoh Shezad, a banker in Lahore, Pakistan, who loses his job, falls in love with his best friend's wife, and plunges ...
'', which reimagines the story of his trial unfolding in contemporary Pakistan.
* The television series ''
Upanishad Ganga'' had two episodes titled "Veda – The Source of Dharma 1" and "Veda – The Source of Dharma 2", featuring Dara Shikoh played by actor
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
.
*
Gopalkrishna Gandhi
Gopalkrishna Devadas Gandhi (born 22 April 1945) is a former administrator and diplomat who served as the 22nd Governor of West Bengal serving from 2004 to 2009. He is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji). As a former ...
wrote a play in verse titled ''Dara Shukoh'' on his life.
*
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
Writer
Shyamal Gangapadhyay wrote a novel on his life ''Shahjada Dara Shikoh'' which received
Sahitya Academy Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
in 1993.
* Assamese writer and politician,
Omeo Kumar Das
Omeo Kumar Das (21 May 1895 – 23 January 1975), popularly addressed as Lok Nayak, was an Indian social worker, Gandhian, educationist, writer and a former minister at the Government of Assam. He held various ministerial portfolios such as Educ ...
wrote a book called ''Dara Shikoh: Jeevan O Sadhana''.
*
Uzbek writer
Hamid Ismailov
Hamid Ismailov (russian: Хамид Исмайлов) ( uz, Hamid Ismoilov / Ҳамид Исмоилов or Абдулҳамид Исмоил) born May 5, 1954 in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, is an Uzbek journalist and writer who was forced to flee Uzbeki ...
wrote a novel called ''A Poet and Bin-Laden'' the second part of which devoted to the life of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.
* An Assamese novel, ''Kalantarat Shahzada Dara Shikoh'', was written by author Nagen Goswami.
* "Dara Shikoh" – a poem by poet
Abhay K
Abhay Kumar en Name Abhay K.(born 1980) is an Indian poet-diplomat and currently serves as the Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi. He served as India's 21st Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros fr ...
published in 2014 lamented the fact that there were no streets named after Dara.
* New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) changed Dalhousie Road's name to Dara Shikoh Road on 6 February 2017.
* In 2016
Bharatvarsh
The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, "India" and "Bharata". A third name, "Hindustān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states o ...
TV series,
Rohit Purohit
Rohit Purohit is an Indian actor who works in Hindi television. He made his acting debut with ''Shaurya Aur Suhani'' portraying Chitwan in 2009. Purohit is best known for his portrayal of Malik Altunia in '' Razia Sultan'', Alexander in ''Porus' ...
played the role of Dara Shikoh.
* In The 2017 novel 1636: Mission to the Mughals he is one of the central characters.
*
Ranveer Singh
Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. The recipient of several awards, including five Filmfare Awards, he is among the highest-paid Indian actors and has been featured in '' Forbes India''s ...
has been cast as Dara Shikoh in the upcoming
Karan Johar
Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...
directorial Takht.
* Dara Shikoh award awarded by Indo-Iranian society. The award includes a sum of Rs. 1 lakh, a shawl and citation.
Sheila Dixit
Sheila Dikshit () (née Kapoor; 31 March 1938 – 20 July 2019) was an Indian politician. The longest-serving Chief Minister of Delhi, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister of any Indian state, she served for a period of 15 yea ...
former Delhi CM (1998–2013) was a recipient in 2010.
Full title
''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba, Jalal ul-Kadir, Sultan Muhammad Dara Shikoh, Shah-i-Buland Iqbal''
Governorship
![Shah Jahan Receiving Dara Shikoh,](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Shah_Jahan_Receiving_Dara_Shikoh%2C.jpg)
*
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
1635–1636
*
Illahabad 1645–1647
*
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...
1642–1658
*
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
1648
*
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
,
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
1652–1656
*
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
1657–1659
Ancestry
Works
*Writings on Sufism and the lives of ''
awliya
A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by t ...
'' (Muslim saints):
**''Safinat ul- Awliya''
**''Sakinat ul-Awliya''
**''Risaala-i Haq Numa''
**''Tariqat ul-Haqiqat''
**''Hasanaat ul-'Aarifin''
**''Iksir-i 'Azam (Diwan-e-Dara Shikoh)''
*Writings of a philosophical and metaphysical nature:
**''
Majma-ul-Bahrain
''Majma-ul-Bahrain'' ( fa, مجمع البحرین, "The Confluence of the Two Seas" or "The Mingling of the Two Oceans") is a book on comparative religion authored by Mughal people, Mughal Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzada Dara Shukoh as a short treatise i ...
'' (''The Mingling of Two Oceans'')
**''So’aal o Jawaab bain-e-Laal Daas wa Dara Shikoh'' (also called ''Mukaalama-i Baba Laal Daas wa Dara Shikoh'')
**''Sirr-e-Akbar'' (''The Great Secret'', his translation of the Upanishads in Persian)
[See the section on his Intellectual Pursuits.]
**Persian translations of the
Yoga Vasishta and
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
.
See also
*
Majma-ul-Bahrain
''Majma-ul-Bahrain'' ( fa, مجمع البحرین, "The Confluence of the Two Seas" or "The Mingling of the Two Oceans") is a book on comparative religion authored by Mughal people, Mughal Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzada Dara Shukoh as a short treatise i ...
*Mughal–Safavid War (1649–1653)
*Akbar
*Nur Jahan
References
Bibliography
*
*Abraham Eraly, Eraly, Abraham (2004).
The Mughal Throne: The Saga of India's Great Emperors'. Phoenix, London. .
*Hansen, Waldemar [1986].
The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India'. Orient Book Distributors, New Delhi.
*Mahajan, V.D. (1978). ''History of Medieval India''. S. Chand.
*Sarkar, Jadunath (1984).
A History of Jaipur'. Orient Longman, New Delhi.
*Sarkar, Jadunath (1962). ''A Short History of Aurangzib, 1618–1707''. M. C. Sarkar and Sons, Calcutta.
*
External links
* Bernier, Francoi
* Gyani Brahma Singh
in The Sikh Review
* Manucci, Niccol
''Storia de Mogor'' or ''Mogul Stories'* Sleeman, William (1844)
E-text of ''Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official''* Srikand, Yoginde
''Dara Shikoh's Quest for Spiritual Unity''* Majmaul Bahrain by Dara Shikoh English translation with original Persian tex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shikoh, Dara
Assassinated Indian people
Mughal princes
1615 births
1659 deaths
People from Delhi
Indian Sufis
17th-century Indian writers
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Murdered Indian royalty
People from Ajmer
Subahdars of Gujarat
Indian people of Iranian descent
Fratricides
People executed by the Mughal Empire
Sanskrit–Persian translators