Order of a Mughal official to Jayanti Das and other landlords granting lands as reward for services
Since Jayanti Das, Narhari Das and others have populated and cultivated the district of Dhar, a tax-free grant (inʿam) of 200 bighas of land is made to them.
Functional document type: Orders
Formal document type: Parvana
Themes: Grants, Taxation and Tribute
Date:
Hijri-qamri calendar: 984
Gregorian calendar:
April 1576 – March 1577
[Page 1r]
invocation (top centre): Arabic
هو
…
خلد اله تعلی مالکه اندر
He [God] is
…
May God make his kingdom eternal
authorisation (middle right and centre): Persian
غلام
جھانگیر
شاھ
…
یعقوب
۹۸۲
…
…
[Round black ink seal]
…
Yaqub, servant of Jahangir Shah1 982
…
[Round black ink seal]
…
2
main text: Persian
1چون مطیع السلام
جینتی داس
و
نرھرداس
وغیرہ دولتخواہ اند و در باب ابادانی و معموری پرگنہ
دار
فی
…
2مندو
اھتمام می نمایند بنابرین از ابتدای خریف
سیچقانیل
موازی دویست بیگه زمین
افتادہ
3از موضع
گرداود
وغیرہ از پرگنه مذکور در وجه انعام مطع اسلام
جینتی داس
مذکور وغیرہ مقر شد باید که متصدیان
4مھمات و معاملان پرگنه مذکور اراضی مذکور را
[بتنخواه]
واگذاشته بتصرف ایشان گذارند که
باستطاعت خود
5مزروع نموده حاصل آنرا صرف معاش خود نموده بدعاگوی دوام دولت بندگان حضرت
___
مشغول باشند
6و بعلت مالواجب و اخراجات
…
دیوانی مزاحمت عامل ایشان نرساند و آن مطع اسلامان در باب ابادانی
7
و معموری پرگنه مذکور چنان سعی نمایند که اثار دولتخواھی ایشانان بظھور رسد سنه
۹۸۴
1Since Obedient to Islam Jayanti Das and Narhar[i] Das etc. are loyal and have
demonstrated diligence in the populating and managing of pargana D[h]ar in
…
2[sarkar] Mandu; on this basis, from the beginning of the autumn season of Sichqan-il [Year of the Mouse], 200
bighas of fallow land
3from the mauza Gardawad etc. from
the said pargana is allocated to
Obedient to Islam Jayanti Das etc. as inʿam. Officers
4of the said pargana must give over the said lands [as an assignment]3 and
transfer [the lands] into their [the assignees’] possession; so that getting
these lands cultivated through their own efforts
5[and] using the collections from these [lands] for their living expenses, they may
occupy themselves with praying for the endurance of the good fortune of the servants
of the Lord ___ .
6And the
[officers]
of the diwani should not trouble them on account of land tax and other taxes. And these [people who are] Obedient to Islam
should
7make such efforts for the populating and governing of the said pargana [so] that
their loyalty becomes evident.
Year 984.
clerical notes (middle): Persian
1
۲۰۰
بیگه زمین
2
مطیع السلام
3جینتی داس
4
از موضع
[گرداود]
5
۹۰
[بیگه]
6
بهگتو
7
از موضع
[انارد]
8
۷۰
[بیگه]
9
[سورت]
10
از موضع
[مغل پور|موهن پور]
11
۲۰
[بیگه]
12
نرهرداس
13
از موضع
[مات پورا]
14
۲۰
[بیگه]
15
[بانجک]
16
موضع
…
17از موضع مذکور
18
۲۰
19بیضه
1
200 bighas
of land4
2Obedient to Islam
3Jayanti Das
4
From the village [Gardawad]
590
[bighas]
6
Bhagto
7
From the village [Anarad]
870
[bighas]
9
[Surat]
10
From the village [Mughalpur|Mohanpur]
1120
[bighas]
12
Narhar Das
13
From the village [Matpura]
1420
[bighas]
15
[Banjak]
16
Village
…
17From the aforesaid village
18205
19Ended.
clerical notes (bottom): Persian
بتاریخ … [نقل] …
On the date … [copy] …
Notes
1. While it is possible that this is a reference to Mughal emperor Jahangir, this interpretation is uncertain as he would have been about five years old in the year the seal was issued. [BACK]
2. Below and to the left of the first seal. Its position somewhat overlapped by the maintext is unusual. [BACK]
3. While the term 'tankhwah' usually refers to pay, or to a jagir assigned in lieu of pay (see Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, p. 329), its usage here in the context of a grant of inʿam may refer more generically to any assignment on the land revenue. For this sense, see Wilson, Glossary, p. 509. [BACK]
4. The amounts of lands granted to each grantee is written in siyaq numerals; the information is presented in tabular format. [BACK]
5. The total amount of land mentioned in these entries is 220 bighas rather than the 200 bighas mentioned in the section header. This discrepancy, combined with slight difference in the handwriting and ink colour of the last entry suggest that the last entry may be a later addition. [BACK]
district
territorial division, larger than district; generic term for a sovereign or government (Mughal term)
a measure of land, corresponding to between 1600 and 3200 acres depending upon the region
village (Mughal fiscal-administrative division)
district
reward, grant of tax-free land
district
revenue department
district
a measure of land, corresponding to between 1600 and 3200 acres depending upon the region
a Perso-Arabic accounting shorthand that uses cryptic symbols to represent numbers
a measure of land, corresponding to between 1600 and 3200 acres depending upon the region
a measure of land, corresponding to between 1600 and 3200 acres depending upon the region
Participants
Grantee:
Jayanti Das
Grantee:
Narhar Das
Grantee: Bhagto
Language(s)
Arabic
Persian
Source
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, LNS 235 MS a
Archival Collection: Purshottam Das collection
Transcribed from manuscript image
Edited by Nandini Chatterjee and Elizabeth Thelen
Encoding support and website development by Lizzy Williamson, Eva Bodenschatz, Richard Holding, Julia Hopkin and Gary Stringer