Reading between the eras - Mughal libraries
“Contrary to
popular opinion, the grandeur of the Mughal Empire consisted not only of
fabulous wealth and worldly riches but also great libraries and seats of
learning,” notes Smith in the book. The Sultans of Delhi and their nobles, who
preceded the Mughals, had rich literary tastes and established a large number
of public and private libraries, Jalauddin Khilji founded the Imperial Library
in Delhi and appointed the famous scholar and poet, Amir Khusrau, its
librarian. But it was Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, who
really did augment the Delhi library. “Soldier of fortune as he was,” writes
H.C. Rawlinson. “Babar was nonetheless a man of fine literary taste and
fastidious critical perception.” He was an accomplished poet and musician, and
master of a pure style in prose and verse.
“His son,
Humayun, inherited the legacy and added to the library, seven halls, each named
after a planet. He was so fond of books that he carried them to the
battlefields. On one such occasion in fact he lost several rare ones. At Agra,
he raised a set of magnificent buildings called Khana-i-Tilism (house of
magic), the first floor of which housed the library. There is, unfortunately,
no trace of the complex now, although some of his other buildings are intact.
Towards the end of his adventurous life, he converted the pleasure house of
Sher Shah in Delhi’s Purana Qila into a library and spent a good part of the
day there. It was from the staircase of his library that he tripped and died
after a short time in 1556.”
Humayun’s
son, Akbar, although illiterate, turned out to be the greatest patron of arts,
especially writing, painting, and illustration and translation of books, for
each of which he maintained a separate cell.
The largest
of the several libraries was the Imperial Library in Agra Fort, compared to
which no rival is said to have then existed in the world. According to Abul
Fazal, the library was divided into several parts: some of the books were even
kept inside the harem. “Experienced people bring them daily and read them
before His Majesty who hears (sic) every book from beginning to end,” Smith
observed.
Akbar
personal interest greatly enriched the library. He had books brought from
distant places and also encouraged scholars to write treatises, calligraphists
to copy them and painters to illustrate them; books were also presented to
nobles and distinguished courtiers. He bought a richly-illustrated version of
the manuscript of Razm-Nama (the Mahabharat translated into Persian) for £
40,000. There were more than 24,000 books in the Imperial Library alone and
they kept increasing. Faizi’s collection of 4,300 manuscripts was added to the library
and the library of Itimad Khan was acquired after the conquest of Gujarat.
But even if
many of these libraries and their possessions were intact today, how many
people, with the decline in the love for learning for its own sake, would
cherish them? However, the ASI library is the proverbial silver lining in the
dark clouds as it continues to perpetuate the Mughal legacy.
Source | https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/reading-between-the-eras/article25226788.ece
Regards
Mr. Pralhad Jadhav
Master of Library & Information Science (NET Qualified)
Research Scholar (IGNOU)
Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
Mobile @ 9665911593
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