An Analysis of the occurrences in the

Mughal Empire as observed by Francois

Bernier
Sama Lavoni
Research Scholar, Dept. of History, University of Delhi, Delhi

ABSTRACT:
This paper critically analyses a few observations documented by Francois Bernier, French traveller and physician,
during his stay in the Mughal Empire of Aurangzeb’s (1656-1707 A.D.) time in the seventeenth century. Bernier has
endeavoured to elucidate upon almost every aspect of the Mughal Empire viz. political developments, wealth of the
emperors, economic conditions of the general populace, living conditions in Agra, Delhi etc, customs, traditions, beliefs
of the subjects and so on. No doubt the author provides first hand interesting information on seventeenth century Mughal
Empire, but at times his comparative analysis of the West and East clearly reflects his propensity of superior feeling
towards West, and also the idea of otherness, the other being India.

KEY WORDS: War of Succession, Ownership of Land, Oriental Despotism, Encampment, Sati system, Travelogue.

INTRODUCTION:
Francois Bernier and his Travels in the Mogul Empire

The advent of scores of European travellers and those of other nationalities, traders, philosophers, ambassadors and
many others was a customary phenomenon in the Mughal Empire. Almost every Mughal emperor had his share of
traders, physicians, travellers and envoys from foreign lands coming to the Mughal court. [1] Francois Bernier was one
among them; he was the French physician and traveller who reached India in the seventeenth century, towards the
end of 1658 A.D. at the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign. Bernier’s aspiration to see the world had kindled him to visit
Palestine, Egypt, Cairo, Arabia and then he urged to go to Abyssinia. But destiny seems to have had some other plans
for Bernier, and he seems to have visited India by chance as his journey towards Abyssinia was diverted to India. He
set for sail towards India and thus reached Surat in 1658 A.D. and there he joined the entourage of Dara Shikoh as his
physician, consequently this was his first ever encounter with the Mughals. But soon Bernier had to disown the
company of Dara and proceeds towards Ahmadabad, and with the passage of time he worked under Danishmand
Khan[2] and lived in Aurangzeb’s court as a physician for twelve years.

It is here during his twelve year stay in the Mughal court and the widely undertaken journey during the period that
Bernier compiled his experiences in the work named ‘Travels in the Mogul Empire.[3]’ It is an important source to
understand the seventeenth century Mughal India where the author was himself an eyewitness of numerous events
that took place then. Bernier has inexhaustibly and intricately provided the testimony of the political intrigues, the
war of succession among the four sons of Shah Jahan, the strategies and methods of warfare, social and economic
aspects of the empire, its geographical and strategic extent, and so on based on his observations and extensive
journeys he undertook, supplemented by additional information which was offered to him by the eminent Mughal
courtiers.
Moreover, the letters dispatched by Bernier to many of his countrymen with regard to the economic conditions and
religious beliefs of the Hindus (whom he referred as Gentils) and social customs followed by the people particularly of
the northern part of the empire offer a deep insight of the socio-cultural as well as the religious practices of the people.
The vivid picture of the capital cities of Delhi and Agra is so neatly illustrated by the author that it enables the reader
to picturize the visual image of the lively description.

Bernier’s observations on Seventeenth Century Mughal Polity

The concluding part of Shah Jahan’s reign witnessed an enduring political discord that polarized around two proficient
and influential sons of the emperor namely, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. Also the acts of the two other sons of the
emperor, Shah Shuja and Murad Baksh, too deserve mention in the crucial ongoing war of succession. It was in the
backdrop of such political anarchy that Bernier stepped on the soil of Mughal Empire. Being a bystander of the
fratricidal war, subsequently Bernier has explained the battle for the throne among the four sons of Shah Jahan, tracing
the characteristic traits of each of his sons.

A brief overview of the character sketches of the four sons of Shah Jahan as drawn by Bernier would facilitate us a
strong platform to understand the war of succession better. Dara, in the opinion of Bernier was considerate, polite,
liberal, and swift at wordplay, and held himself very highly. But at the same time he was also quite irritable, apposite
as pain in the neck and menace, obnoxious, however his anger is said to be infrequent as well as brief. Dara was
popularly believed by many to have abandoned the faith and became Kafer that at the later stage served as a reason
for his death as assigned by Aurangzeb.[4] Moving on to Shah Shuja, the second son of Shah Jahan Bernier observed,
“...he was more discreet, firmer of purpose, and excelled him (Dara) in conduct and address. He was sufficiently
dexterous in management of an intrigue; and by means of repeated largesse, bestowed secretly, knew how to acquire
the friendship of the great Omrahs...He was nevertheless, too much a slave to his pleasures...Shah Shuja declared
himself of the religion of the Persians”[5], although his father and brothers professed that of the Turks. Bernier is also
explaining the purpose of Shuja’s acceptance of Shiism that the latter assumed that since almost all the influential
posts in the court are obtained by the Irani (Persians) fraction of nobility, so it was important to gain their support and
secure interest to fulfil his own motives.

Aurangzeb is believed to have sounder judgement, reticent, subtle, and had presented himself in the garb of
dissimulation hiding his true feelings or intentions[6]. Bernier marked him out as a skilful person in picking up
confidants and Shah Jahan’s high held opinion with regard to Aurangzeb swept in Dara’s envy on him. Talking about
Murad Baksh the youngest son of the emperor, Bernier viewed his inferiority to his other brothers in judgement and
address. However he is considered to be generous and polite, trusted only the strength of his arm and his sword, and
he was filled with courage and valour.

Bernier seems to offer extensive information on the war of succession where he illustrated how the news of Shah
Jahan’s illness spread in A.D. 1657, and the rumour of Shah Jahan’s death prompted the four sons set their eyes on
the throne. Dara collected a huge number of armies in and around the vicinity of the capital. Both Shuja and Aurangzeb
marched towards the capital with necessary war preparations. Even after receiving the news of misinformation of
their father’s death both of them remained determined to attack the imperial capital and materialize their dreams of
ruling the mighty empire. In the meantime Aurangzeb owing to his limited amount of military force seeks help from
his youngest brother by making him feign proffer to become the next ruler. He even persuades Mir Jumla[7] to be on
his side and offer aid for the war.

Bernier described how Shuja was made to retreat by an army led by Sulaiman Shikoh (son of Dara Shikoh) and Raja Jai
Singh. Accounts of confrontation of Dara and Aurangzeb in the battle of Samuhgarh are well portrayed by the author.
A vivid description of military organization, war tactics, armies on both the sides, the cavalry etc have been detailed
out. Meanwhile Aurangzeb also deals with his two other brothers and after inflicting a defeat on Dara[8] crowned
himself the emperor. Detailed description of the battles of Bahadurgarh (1658 A.D.), Dharmat (1658 A.D.) as well as
Samuhgarh (1658 A,D,) is well knitted by the author in his work.

While elaborating upon the war of succession the author has highlighted the hunger for power among the royal
personalities who were busy to attain their sole intention of gaining the ultimate authority disregarding even their
kinship and blood ties. Here Bernier seems to be in conformity with Alauddin Khalji’s opinion that ‘Kingship knows no
Kinship’.

After the victory in the succession war Aurangzeb is presented as treacherously imprisoning his brother Murad Baksh
and publicly humiliating Dara Shikoh. Then the former took every possible security measures and poisoned, prisoned
or home arrested every possible person he doubted. Such act of mercilessness and cruelty led Bernier conclude the
Mughal rulers and in general, the eastern authorities as ‘despots’. To quote Bernier, “Actuated by a blind and wicked
ambition to be more absolute than is warranted by the laws of God and of nature, the kings of Asia grasp at everything,
until at length they lose everything; or; if they do not always find themselves without pecuniary resources, they are
invariably disappointed in the expectation of acquiring the riches which they covet.” Secondly, Bernier saw Mughal
Empire different from European states in two major aspects: 1) the king here was the owner of the soil. In other words,
the exactor of the rent; and 2) those who actually collected the tax-rent held only temporary tenures, as holders of
jagirs or timars, unlike the hereditary European lords, and offers a contrast between the Oriental Despotic state and
the Occidental laissez faire state.[9] This tradition continued till W. H. Moreland who in his book Agrarian System of
Moslem India mentioned that, ‘The fact that in the Mogul period the state disposed of from a third to a half of the
gross produce of the land constituted it by far the most potent factor in the distribution of the national income… (and)
that next only to the weather, the administration was the dominant factor in the economic life of the country.’ This
naturally assigned to the pre-colonial state as an economic role, which distinguished it crucially from its European
counterpart. If one emphasizes the selfish nature of the king and the ruling class of the pre-colonial times, exhibited
in lack of reasonable restraint in taxation one would call it ‘despotic.’ Marx took over the concept of the Asiatic rent-
exacting state (Oriental Despotism), but modified it heavily by ascribing to it a concern for ‘public works’, chiefly
irrigation, and by integrating with it the institution of Village Communities.

The same notion of despotism seems to impress Montesquieu too, and in his work ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ he seems
to have expressed political exoticism from varied travelogues (one of which was Bernier’s Travels in the Mogul Empire)
and categorized various kinds of governance, geographically, assigning ‘republicanism’ as well as ‘monarchy’ to west
and ‘despotism’ as an inherent characteristic of the eastern empires, by extracting information from the travelogues
of the description on legal system, habits and customs, climate, and so on.

Moreover, the observation of Bernier that Shah Jahan used to keep Dara close to the imperial court because he was
the eldest son and expected to succeed to the crown seems to be a weak argument. When viewed, analysed and
scrutinized through other sources[10] it is found that not only because of his age, but Dara was in general liked by Shah
Jahan and thus was always allowed to stay around the emperor, as for instance when Shah Jahan undertook his
journey to Kashmir Dara too accompanied him.[11] Moreover the liberal outlook held by Dara enabled him to earn
support from various nobles and his father, the emperor Shah Jahan.

Bernier also reported on the reception of many foreign diplomats and embassies in Aurangzeb’s court sent by the
Dutch, Uzbek, Persia and so on and their grand reception and treatment in the empire thereby throwing some light
upon the Mughal foreign relations. The Dutch or the Hollanders sent Monsieur Adrican[12] to Aurangzeb’s court with
large amount of gifts consisting of fine cloths, looking glasses, articles of Chinese and Japanese workmanship like a
Takht i Rawan or travelling throne of magnificent beauty. This incidence points towards the fact that the European
influence was exerting its presence in the domain of Indian trade and commerce. There are similar examples of
reception of ambassadors from Ethiopia, Persian and so on tracing the establishment of diplomatic but at the same
time cordial relationship of Mughal Empire with the outside world.
Here Bernier emphasized towards a incredibly imperative tradition of the Mughal India where gifts and exchange of
commodities etc played quite a vital role. This can be corroborated with the fact that numerous rulers as stated above
sent their envoys to the Mughal court to acknowledge the Mughal supremacy over the region. Here one can also refer
to the instance of the Ladakhi envoy sent by its king during the reign of Shah Jahan, accompanied by various presents
and the production of the country like the crystal, musk, peice of jade, and the tails of the Ladakhi yaks (which were
referred as the Great Tibet cows and had a dignified value in the Mughal court) and so on.[13]

Moreover the ambassadors were generally believed to be the sincere emissary under the garb to feign for their ruler
and country. The information on the commerce, polity, economy, customs etc of any region were very finely gathered
by them and were transferred to their kings. This points towards the fact that by the prudent and dexterous use of
gifts and presents were practiced in order to gain commercial benefits.[14]

Mughal Economy as perceived by Bernier

With regard to the Mughal Empire Bernier also conceptualized on the ownership of land and the concept of private
property. He recognizes that the king is the owner of property and none else, be he is noble, zamindar or peasant
owns any land. He also draws a comparative analysis with the system of ownership of property with his own country
France and opines that unlike Mughal Empire, there the king is not the sole proprietor of land. In this regard, opinions
of scholars based on contemporary evidences and comparative analysis helps us to better understand the different
aspects of ownership like who was the proprietor of the agrarian land, the state or the zamindars and the assignees
or the ryots. Bernier’s opinion that in India king alone was the sole proprietor of land rests on studies based on earlier
European accounts and his analysis of Indian context through European experience. The Mughals, on the other hand,
were the followers of ‘Hanafia School of Thought’, and according to this school, ‘once the settlement is made with the
conquered people, the ruler could not revoke their ownership of land, even if they are non-Muslims.’ This became the
guiding rule of Islamic jurisprudence in India, clearly underlining the individual ownership of land. Also when we go
through Aurangzeb’s ‘farmans’ to Rasik Das and Mohammad Hashim, his two famous ‘karoris’, they clearly show
Aurangzeb’s standpoint about ownership of land, vesting it with the ryots…. ‘If one is not carrying out cultivation of
land even after being punished for this, then his rights should be temporarily withdrawn and transferred to some
other.’[15]

Irfan Habib explains that rulers were concerned only with the production and the cultivation rather than land and
states that there is no evidence to prove that there existed communal ownership of land; also there is lack of any
information about periodic distribution or re-distribution of land among the peasants.[16] One was the permanent
owner of his land or simply individual occupancy rights existed. In the context of 17 th century Deccan villages, A. R.
Kulkarni his ‘The Indian Village’[17] brings out that, evidences show that ownership of entire village was neither vested
in the king nor the community, but individual persons. According to B. R. Grover state (Mughals) never claimed
absolute and exclusive ownership of the agrarian land and definitely recognized the private property in it. The
ownership of land was vested in riaya, which had rights of transfer, mortgage and sale. He further says that, Europeans
misunderstood the system of jagir transfers, which led them to conclude that king was the owner of the land.[18] Also
in its chapter on Rowai Rozi (means of subsistence), Ain clearly mentions the land revenue as tax on the property of
the subjects. It states, “In every kingdom, government taxes the property of the subject over and above the land
revenue and this they called Tamgah… In short, what is imposed on cultivated lands by way of quit-rent is termed
Mal… Extra collections over and above the land tax, if taken by revenue officials, are Wujuhat; otherwise they are
termed Furuaat.” As evident from Aurangzeb’s Farmans to his karoris, king never rejected the occupancy rights of the
peasants so long as they continued cultivation of land. King used to buy particular plots of land for his personal use.
For instance, the land for constructing Taj Mahal was bought from the Kacchwaha family of Amber by Shahjahan.

Also Bernier’s belief of the king as sole proprietor of land makes him relate the act of conferring titles or giving similar
upon important royal members and nobles with sovereignty. This can be substantiated with an instance when the
Bernier views and I quote, “The reason why such names are given to the great (like Nour Mehalle, the light of Seraglio
or Nour Jehan Begum, the Light of the World), instead of titles derived from domains and seigniories...as the land
throughout the whole empire is considered the property of the sovereign...The royal grants consist only of pensions,
either in land or money, which the king gives, augments, retrenches or takes away at pleasure.”[19]

In his letter to Colbert, Bernier has put forth vast information about the Mughal administrative system, its judiciary,
the exploitative nature of the state and so on. The sorry state of justice is expressed by Bernier in the following words,
“In Asia, if justice be ever administered, it is among the lower classes, among persons who, being equally poor, have
no means of corrupting the judges and of buying false witnesses...”[20].

Bernier is also accounting about the much oppressive and exploitative nature of the Mughal state where peasantry
remained constantly browbeaten by the governors of the state, the zamindars, upon whom the state bestowed the
revenue collection authority and the rigorous tax collection process, the tyranny and the greed of these officials of the
government with absolute power thus vested, resulted in the abandonment of land by the peasants as well as artisans
and their fleeing to other destinations. This view is also supported by Irfan Habib in his ‘Agrarian System of Mughal
India’ where he asserted that the peculiar feature of the state in Mughal India was that it served not merely as the
protective arm of the exploiting class but was itself the principal instrument of exploitation. Aurangzeb’s farmans to
Rasikdas (1666 A.D.) and to Muhammad Hashim (1668-9 A.D.) reflect oppressive taxation and therefore flight of
peasants, which at times led to revolts like Jat uprising in 1669 A.D. and Satnami revolt in 1672 A.D.. This also formed
what Irfan Habib conceptualized as Agrarian Crisis.

Moreover Bernier also speaks about the prosperous Mughal province of Bengal which is known for its economic
richness, fertility of the soil, production of varied number of crops and cash crops and the highest revenue generating
province of the empire. Bernier very keenly notes that Bengal produces rice, sugar, sweetmeats, cotton, silk and so on
and its exports of these items within as well as outside the frontiers of the Mughal state. As for instance rice is exported
to Ceylon and Maldives, sugar to Golconda, Karnatic, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia.[21] Saltpetre was another
important item, imported from Chaprah, in Patna to Bengal. The Dutch and English merchants sent freights to various
parts of India and also to Europe. Such characteristic of Bengal invited many people, traders and merchants to seek
refuse in the fertile kingdom. Also such extensive acts of export and import enabled the Mughals to get hold of huge
bullion that flowed in from different corners of the world to the empire. Bengal as observed by Bernier was thus the
cache of merchandise for the Mughal India and other countries.

Bernier’s account here reflects upon the commercial aspect of the Mughal Empire thus proffering a huge amount of
information for the European explorers in order to achieve economic prosperity in India. S. Kundra in his work[22]
opines that the information provided by Bernier on the Indian geography, revenue, import and export and so on were
adopted by the French rival European companies and they extracted benefits and advantages from Indian trade and
lot more. Kundra alleged Bernier to be the commercial informer of the French state, who delved into the Indian
economic composition and recommended indispensable course for instituting French trade with India.

Description of the imperial cities of Delhi and Agra

While providing a lively description about the cities of the Mughal Empire a wide range of information is offered with
regard to pattern of houses, bazaars, streets, royal palace etc. Bernier gives a well accounted town planning of the
cities locates the city of Delhi on the banks of river Yamuna, where every side of the city is surrounded with walls
except for the one which is surrounded by the river. The citadel is said to have contained Mahal or Palace or Seraglio
and various other royal establishments, which were constantly guarded by imperial forces. He also describes about
the garden, the royal square consisting of tents of Rajas who were employed in the duty of weekly guarding of the
imperial fort, royal stables, streets, bazaars, the dwelling places of mansabdars, important nobles, justices, influential
merchants and other significant people across the streets. Intermixed with these houses were the houses of common
troopers, small officials and so on. Information regarding the Am-Kas or the audience chamber and Nakarahkhanah
or a chamber where large drums were kept to be played ‘in concert at certain hours of day and night’ are also detailed
out. Then he goes on to talk about the hall inside the great gate which is separated from the Seraglio by a wall and
about the large window from which the emperor materialized the practice of Jharokha Darshan.

The boundaries of the royal bazaars and the imperial quarters, according to Bernier’s Travels, were delineated by
particularly long pillar wedged in the ground at a gap of proper distance, “three hundred paces from each other,
bearing red standards and surmounted with the tails of the Great Tibet cows which have the appearance of
periwigs”.[23]

Moving forward one finds how the courtly etiquettes and manners were strictly followed by the nobles and the
officials. Bernier notes, “Immediately under the throne is an enclosure, surrounded by silver rails, in which are
assembled the whole body of Omrahs, the Rajas, and the ambassadors all standing their eyes bent downwards and
their hands crossed...During the hours and half or two, that the ceremony continues a certain number of royal horses
pass before the throne, that the king may see whether they are well used and in a proper condition...The elephants
come next...”About Agra Bernier mentions how it was the favourite and more frequent abode of the Mughal rulers.
He also views it’s extend much large than that of Delhi and a whole host of residences of Omrahs and Rajas can be
traced built of good stones and bricks.

Not only the sumptuousness of the cities and palaces but Bernier also very ably mentioned about the grandness and
opulence of the Mughal kings. He explained that, “King appeared seated upon his throne, at the end of the great hall,
in the most magnificent attire, his vest was of white and delicately followed satin, with silk and gold embroidery, of
the finest texture”.[24] Moreover, he glorifies the Mughal throne in the following words, “the throne was supported by
six massy feet, said to be of solid gold, sprinkled over with rubies, emeralds and diamonds and the throne values at
four kourours of roupies”.[25]

Bernier’s Travels also reveals some very beguile specifics regarding the Mughals as for instance he mentions about the
Ladakhi yaks or the Great Tibet cows which were held as majestic by the Mughals and thus the royal elephants were
aggrandized with the yak tails dangled from their ears as if the huge and large whiskers.[26]

The above mentioned aspects of the Mughal kings, their nobles, city of Delhi and Agra, palaces and so on underline
the fact that the imperial cities, and various Mughal insignia especially capital cities, worked as a strong hold of political
and economic centrality, decision making, highlighting the emblem of universal identity, power and authority and also
positing the important imperial cities and capital at the helm of the settlement hierarchy. In the backdrop of such
characteristics the supreme authority derives his legitimization and hegemonic authority to rule over the subjects.
Moreover the much display of pomp and show[27] during the times of festivals, the extravagant lifestyle, the
architectural establishments etc also make it possible on the part of the rulers to draw a sense of respect as well as
fear for them.

Bernier’s reflection upon the Indian or the Mughal Society

Here he talks about the gentiles of the country, their religious beliefs, customs and manners, gods and goddesses,
their idea of transmigration of soul, importance assigned to the astrologers, superstitious beliefs held by the people,
and every possible thing one can think of. One of the most striking features that Bernier observes in the section dealing
with social norms and values was about the practice of widow burning or Sati system that was prevalent in India. Sati
the burning of ‘Hindu widow’ on her husband’s funeral pyre has always been a sensational issue and a highly
controversial act. Always exceptional and effecting only a tiny minority of Hindu widows, it has remained close to the
surface of social and political life and has played a disproportionately prominent role within Indian history and culture.
Bernier observed that many women immolate themselves because of the social obligation as well as coercion imposed
upon them by the family members or largely by the Brahmans. Secondly he also witnessed many immolate themselves
out of their affection for their husbands. He even tells us that not only wives burned themselves but the slaves too
immolated themselves with their masters. Bernier once witnessed the horrors of multiple immolation during his
journey from Ahmadabad to Agra, where he saw along with husband’s funeral pyre the wife burned herself. But on
the spot were present five or six other women who were holding each other’s hand and singing and dancing suddenly
followed the first lady and all of them threw themselves turn wise into the flames and thus immolated. Upon enquiry
Bernier discovered that those five women were the slaves and ‘having witnessed the deep affection of their mistress
in consequence of the illness of her husband, whom she promised not to survive, they were so moved with the
compassion that they entered into an engagement to perish by the flames that consumed their beloved mistress.’

Moreover, Michael H. Fisher, in his Beyond the Three Seas, observed that Bernier was puzzled over India’s intricate
caste system which alienated people by birth and hereditary occupation. Bernier illustrated the prevalence of caste
system in India by stating as follows, “the embroiderer brings up his son as an embroiderer, the son of a goldsmith
becomes a goldsmith and a physician of the city educates his son for a physician. No one marries but in his own trade
or profession; and this custom is observed almost as rigidly by Mahametans as by the Gentiles, to whom it is expressly
enjoined by their law.”[28] Such observation on the caste based division in the Indian society, according to S. Kundra
would have undoubtedly assisted the French merchants and the factory owners in engaging the artisans at a minimal
amount of salary.

Bernier’s journey to Kashmir: its beauty and an overview on the elaborate process of encampment during the
imperial journey

Bernier has offered extensive and elaborate information on Kashmir which he gathered when he accompanied Mughal
emperor Aurangzeb in his journey to Kashmir.[29] Here he mentioned about the elaborate process of encampment
when almost a replica of capital is being built for the stay of the emperor facilitating every necessity of life. These
camps consists of many tents large and small, demarcating different chambers for the emperor, nobles, royal ladies,
and even places for camping the animals are also looked after.

The above cited instances reflect the most dramatic example of the Mughal mobile capital was the imperial camp.
From Abul Fazl’s Ain i Akbari we come to know about the existence of two chief kinds of camp in the Mughal empire,
firstly, the small ones used on brief journeys or for hunting parties, and secondly, the large camps erected for royal
tours and military expeditions.

The work of M. A. Ansari, The Encampment of the Great Mughals substantiates upon the convoluted encampment
strategies of the Mughals during their journeys. It is usually believed that the emperor and his nobles and ministers
carried out their stately affairs from these camps only in order to keep an eye on the proper governance of the vast
empire on their absence from the imperial capital. This depicts the fact that the camps were neither short-lived nor
occasional phenomena. Therefore the imperial camp acted as the de facto capital, and a significant portion of the
population of the capital cities happens to have accompanied the king in his tours and journeys.

The description of Kashmir opens up in the work with its formation, geographical location, produces of the province
and so on. Bernier extends a great deal of comparison between Kashmir and his own country or rather with Europe.
But author seems to be spellbound and bewildered by the beauty of the place and it is well evident from the statement
made by Bernier when he mentions, “In truth the kingdom surpasses in beauty all that my warm imagination had
anticipated”. Quite similar in content, but a few centuries earlier, Mughal chronicler Abul Fazl showered similar praise
upon Kashmir.[30] Among various other things the author talks highly about the physical beauty of the inhabitants of
Kashmir, that they are recognizable and well-known for their ‘clear complexions and fine forms’ and draws a
comparative analysis with the physical appearance with that of the Europeans. With respect to female folk of Kashmir
Bernier remarked, “The women specially are very handsome; and it is from this country that nearly every individual,
when first admitted to the court of Great Mogul, selects wives or concubines, that his children may be whiter than the
Indians and pass for genuine Moguls.” Marco Polo also speaks highly about the physical beauty of Kashmiri women.
He writes, “The men are brown and lean, but the women, taking them as brunettes, are very beautiful.” [31] Bernier
also proffered useful information regarding the Shawl trade and other handicrafts production for which Kashmir was
famous for. He observes, “The Kachemirys are celebrated for wit, and considered much more intelligent and ingenious
than the Indians. In poetry and the sciences, they are not inferior to the Persians. They are also very active and
industrious. The workmanship and beauty of their palekys, bedsteads, trunks, ink stands, boxes, spoons, and various
other things are quite remarkable, and articles of their manufacture are in use in every part of the Indies. They
perfectly understand the art of varnishing, and are eminently skillful in closely imitating the beautiful veins of a certain
wood, by inlaying with gold threads so delicately wrought that I never saw anything more elegant or perfect. But what
may be considered peculiar to Kachemire, and the staple commodity, that which particularly promotes the trade of
the country and fills it with wealth, is the prodigious quantity of shawls which they manufacture, and which gives
occupation even to the little children.”[32]

However, the valley was famous not only for its shawls,[33] but also for arts and crafts particularly during the reign of
illustrious Zain-ul-Abidin (1420-70 A.D.), whom tradition attributes with the introduction of Shawl-manufacture for
the first time into Kashmir.[34] Described in contemporary chronicles of Kashmir as ‘Budshah’ (Great King), he is known
for his welfare measures, religious toleration, open handedness, literary activities.[35] Himself a poet, writing under the
pen name ‘Qutb’, Zain-ul-Abidin compiled a diwan, few verses of which are preserved in Persian chronicles. [36] It was
during his reign that Mahabharata, Kalhana’s Rajatarangini,[37] Vrihatkathasara, Hatakeshvara Samhita and the
Puranas were translated into Persian for use and accessibility of common people. [38] Srivara, the author of Jaina-
Rajatarangini, following the order of Sultan translated Mullah Jami’s Yusuf U’ Zalaikha, a romantic masterpiece in
Persian, into Sanskrit and named it Kathakautaka.[39] Mirza Haider Dughlat who ruled Kashmir from 1540-50 A.D.
credited him with the introduction of a number of commercial arts and crafts. It is these arts and crafts which Bernier
details with interest.“In Kashmir,” observes Mirza Haider, “one meets with all those arts and crafts which are, in most
cities, uncommon, such as stone polishing, stone cutting, bottle making, window cutting (tabdan tarashi), gold beating,
etc. in the whole of Transoxiana (Mavara-un-Nahr), except in Samarqand and Bukhara, these are nowhere to be met
with, while in Kashmir they are even abundant. This is all due to the efforts and interest exhibited by Sultan Zain-ul-
Abidin.”[40] He also built and populated many cities so much so that a Mughal historian wrote that, "no other ruler of
Kashmir had the success which he had in settling and increasing the population. [41] It marked the urbanisation of
Kashmiri society at an accelerated pace and "Kashmir became a city", to use the expression of Mirza Haider
Daughlat.[42]Among the enlightened Muslim rulers of medieval India like Ala-ud-din Husain Shah of Bengal (1493-
1519A.D.), Akbar (1556-1605A.D.), Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur (1580-1627A.D.), Zain-ul-Abidin (1420-70 A.D.)
resembles them in versatility and humanism. His chronicler like that of Akbar, without exaggerating his achievements
writes that he performed "what was beyond the power of the past sovereigns and what will be beyond the ability of
the future kings.”[43] Bernier’s account of the social and economic life of Kashmir opens up new vistas of research,
corroborates the contemporary Persian chronicles, and fills the gap where it exists with interpretations and analysis,
interesting and to a great extent impartial.

Other Occurrences

Besides all the above mentioned details on varied aspects of the seventeenth century Mughal Empire, Bernier also
enlists numerous other features of the Mughal polity, administration and so on. As for instance, evidences of
occurrences of political matrimonial alliances can be traced from the citation that Aurangzeb had two Hindu wives
whose sons were Sultan Muhammad and Sultan Muazzam. It is reflected here that though the rulers were Muslims
but they never hesitated to marry a Hindu women whenever necessary. Also Aurangzeb’s proposal of marriage of
Dara’s daughter and his son Muhammad Akbar shows an effort on the part of Aurangzeb to diminish tensions and rule
upon easily. Furthermore, Bernier also refers towards the composition of nobility of the Mughals that consisted of
Irani, Turani and others like Shaikhzadas (Indian Muslims) and Rajputs. The latter seems to have been incorporated by
the Mughals to keep a counter check upon the powers of the formers fraction of nobility and also because without
the help of the latter it would lead to great difficulty for the Mughals to rule a country which is altogether different
from theirs in terms of religion, culture etc.
On the other hand throughout the portion dealing in the issue of war of succession the readers can find frequent break
in the narrative portraying the indirect presence of the royal ladies in the politics, also reflects upon the fact that the
ladies of the royal harem too assumed quite power. The daughters of Shah Jahan, Begum Saheb or Jahanara
Begum and Ruashanara Begum supported Dara and Aurangzeb respectively and took active participation in the war
of succession by helping their brothers.

CONCLUSION:
Therefore it is well evident that the information offered by Bernier is a quite an imperative source to understand the
seventeenth century Mughal history. Above and beyond the socio-political as well as economic, philosophical and
topographical information, Bernier is able to impart huge data on the way of daily life of the common masses, their
cultural ordinances and traditional beliefs, presenting himself as an initial source to the disciplinary evolution of
ethnography and anthropology. Bernier’s testimony persists to embrace value and worth as it proposes the readers
an opportunity to understand not merely an epoch of cataclysm in one of South Asia’s most prodigious Empires, but
also a effective instance of pre modern European mind-set to the Oriental ‘other’ continually attempting to obtain its
riches, but unenthusiastic to forfeit its intrinsic and fundamental value.