Legendary & romantic tales of Indian history

In the forests of Candahar, a solitary traveller was pursuing his way. Overcome by the heat of noon he sat down on the margin of a small stream that gurgled through the thick un...

The traveller now pursued his way through the intricacies of the jungle, with much difficulty and equal patience. He had not long quitted the spot of his last night’s repose, wh...

The purchase being completed, the slave was removed to the Governor’s palace. Here he was placed among the household servants; but Aluptugeen, soon perceiving in him the promise...

Shortly after the sun had risen, a beautiful Hindoo was washing her graceful limbs in the crisp waters of the sea, which gently curled over a smooth pebbly beach, a short distan...

The Hindoo mother, having made her acknowledgments to the deliverer of her child, entered the walls of Somnat, and sought her home. She related the adventure of the morning to h...

The sun went down in glory, and smiled upon its own land when it withdrew behind the ocean, as if unwilling longer to look upon the griefs with which the world that had so latel...

Immediate communication was made to the relations of the defunct, that the deity of Somnat had heard the prayers of his relict, and he that was transported to a higher region, t...

The unhappy widow now prepared herself to perform the dreadful sacrifice which was to free her from the cares of this world and exalt her to the Swerga bowers, or Hindoo paradis...

When the Hindoo widow ascended the pile, the straw by which it was surrounded was immediately ignited, and having been previously wetted in a slight degree, a smoke was raised w...

Although Mahmood had been so severely foiled in his attempts upon the city of Somnat, still he resolved not to abandon the enterprise. Their success in repelling the besiegers h...

The circumstances related in the last chapter took place during the occurrence of those which happened to the Hindoo widow, from the period of her husband’s death. She still rem...

“Boy,” said Sam to his son Eiz-ood-Deen, “I’m sadly tired of this banishment. One’s own country, after all, is the only paradise upon earth, and to be exiled from it is a sad pe...

Eiz-ood-Deen returned to his father’s house stunned with the shock he had received at the Parsee cemetery. It struck his mind with the fiery quickness and impetuosity of the thu...

Eiz-ood-Deen was so exhausted on being cast upon the strand, that when he had disengaged himself from the spar and crawled up the beach beyond the reach of the surf, he fell int...

Eiz-ood-Deen was made prisoner with the rest or the robbers, who were severally put in irons, and finally marched to Ghizny, where they were cast into separate dungeons. The mer...

In consequence of the licentiousness and cruelty of Rookn-ood-Deen Feroze, King of Delhi, he was deposed, and his sister Ruzeea Begum raised to the throne. On her elevation grea...

Early the next morning Yakoot was at work in the palace garden, which was watered by a thousand fountains, and seemed to be the abode of all the beautiful genii which preside ov...

Her anger knew no bounds. She summoned the Abyssinian. He appeared before the presence of his sovereign, not without some suspicion of what was about to take place. Bameea stood...

In consequence of the marriage of Ruzeea Begum with Mullik Altoonia, her brother Beiram, who had been elevated to the empire of Delhi, was securely seated upon the musnud. The d...

The beautiful Jaya was on her way to join the relatives of her father, who had lately been made prisoner by the sovereign of Delhi. She was in a close hackery, accompanied by a...

The Mahomedan officer had been quite struck with amazement at the sight of the beautiful Rajpootni, and he bent the knee with gallant homage. He was, however, delighted to find...

Just as the party with their lovely captive had turned from a narrow path into an extensive plain, they perceived a large body of horsemen in full career towards them. The Mahom...

Jeipal reached Delhi not long after Alla-ood-Deen’s proposal to the father of the beautiful Jaya, and his first object was to see the captive Rajah; but this was a matter of no...

When Jeipal reached Jesselmere, he confided to Jaya the secret of having attacked the king’s life. He immediately quitted Delhi, after having shot Alla-ood-Deen, whom he conclud...

The only thing that now remained to complete the happiness of Jaya was her father’s liberty. It happened about this time that Ray Ruttun Sein was taken alarmingly ill. Fearing t...

Mujahid, the son of Mahomed Shah, sovereign of the Deccan, was remarkable for his courage and amazing strength of body. He was tall of stature, prodigiously muscular, yet, in di...

The death of Moobarik afforded a subject of conversation for several weeks at the court of Mujahid’s father. It was a matter of extreme surprise that a mere boy should have so e...

In order to avoid the importunities of Mujahid, the sister of Musaood was obliged to feign illness, that she might not give him umbrage by opposition. The chase was again her br...

The situation of the prince, his friend, and attendant, was becoming every moment more critical. The lion seemed determined to remain stationary at the entrance of the cave, and...

When Mujahid had recovered from his wounds he renewed his addresses to the sister of Musaood, who, finding that she could no longer delay the gratification of the prince’s desir...

Gheias-ood-Deen, a young and handsome youth in his eighteenth year, was attended by a slave who was scattering perfume round the spot upon which his master sat. This youth had j...

Although a slave, Lallcheen was possessed of considerable wealth, and his house would not have disgraced the dignity of a nobleman. On the day Gheias-ood-Deen had seen his slave...

The conduct of Lallcheen excited great indignation: but the king had so lately given way to intemperance and the indulgence of his grosser passions, that those hopes entertained...

When Shums-ood-Deen was placed upon the musnud, intimidated by the fate of his unhappy brother, he was afraid to oppose the man who had raised him to the throne; he had therefor...

The disgust which the pampered minion daily excited by his arrogance rendered him shortly so unpopular, that the brothers Feroze and Ahmud Chan resolved to embrace the advice of...

The fort of Gualior was in a state of siege. Tartar Chan was at this time governor of it; but being beleagured by the Rajah of that country, to whose family it had formerly belo...

When the Moguls had got into the heart of the forest, beyond the probable reach of pursuit, they halted, picketed their horses in a small grassy glen, and casting themselves ben...

Tartar Chan was anxiously expecting a reply to his messenger from the Mogul Emperor. Famine was already raging within the walls of Gualior, and there was yet no prospect of reli...

One morning a poor Pariah was seated at the door of his miserable hovel in a solitary spot not far from the bank of a river. He was in a state of the saddest destitution. Famine...

From this moment the Pariah’s family prospered. With the Emperor’s benefaction, he purchased a large quantity of cattle, which he fed with grass from the jungles. By selling the...

“One of this class,” says Abul Fazil,[25] “can steal away the liver of another by looks and incantations. Other accounts say, that by looking at a person he deprives him of his...

“Because the Mahomedans have no more antipathy towards Pariahs than they have towards the castes; and among them our wealth would gain us respect, though our social degradation...

On the next day of public audience the bereaved parent repaired to the Dewan Aum, or Hall of Public Audience. When he entered he was dazzled by the extraordinary splendour of th...

The Governor of Chittore was upon the ramparts observing the progress of the enemy, who were making their approaches behind wicker frames filled with earth and covered with leat...

The siege now proceeded with vigour. The Emperor gave orders that approaches should be made by a sabut, a description of defence for the besiegers peculiar to India. They were c...

The inhabitants of Chittore now gave themselves up to despair. Their governor was dead, a great number of the garrison had been slain in the late sally, and no hope of rescue ap...

“Tell your king,” was the reply, “that we accept no terms from him who seeks to dispossess us of our homes. We deem that capitulation is a word only admitted into the vocabulary...

The morning dawned upon two travellers in the midst of a blighted wilderness. As the sun threw its level rays over the horizon, they flooded a plain where no boundary could be t...

Aiass raised himself from the earth, cast his eye with a look of reproach towards heaven, and gave way to a burst of sorrow; then bringing the strong energies of his mind to res...

Soon after she had been betrothed to Shere Afkun, the lovely Tartar was seen by Prince Selim, afterwards well known as the Emperor Jehangire, who became so desperately enamoured...

Repeated disappointment only served the more to exasperate the sovereign’s jealousy. It raged like a furnace within him; for to exercise a due control over their actions is not...

The daughter of the Tartar Aiass was a woman of haughty spirit, and could ill brook the indifference with which she was treated by her former admirer. It preyed deeply upon her...

A few years after the elevation of this extraordinary woman, Churrum, the third son of Jehangire, who afterwards ascended the imperial throne under the assumed designation of Sh...

Among the extraordinary occurrences of Noor Jehan’s life, perhaps there is none that more forcibly developes her character than her bearing towards Mohabet Chan, after the signa...

At daybreak the Vizier retraced his steps with the army. Upon reaching the bridge, finding that it had been burned down, he instantly came to the determination of fording the ri...

Mohabet, feeling that his future safety depended upon the death of Noor Jehan, had sent a soldier to despatch her. The minister of destruction entered her tent after midnight, w...

On the crest of a lofty hill in the province of Delhi, towards the north, was a fortress of impregnable strength, which had been frequently converted by the Mogul emperors into...

Next morning the prisoner was confined to the ante room, and told that on the following day his cell would be changed for one deeper in the heart of the mountain. He knew that t...

“Welcome,” said the venerable man, “to the abode of the free! You interpreted the symbols as I had anticipated, and your liberty is secured. The Emperor is dead, and the Vizier...

The royal fugitive now thought that he was beyond the reach of pursuit, and, in a state of enviable tranquillity, threw himself upon a rug in a corner of his hovel. He was too h...

Prince Dawir Buxsh was received with loud acclamation by the troops. His late exploit gave them hopes of an emperor that would lead them on to conquest. He was borne in triumph...

Lody Chan was seated in the veranda of his palace, smoking his hookah, and enjoying the luxury of repose which that exquisite instrument is so admirably calculated to induce. Be...

Within a few weeks after the events related in the preceding chapter, Chan Lody was apprised of Shah Jehan’s accession to the imperial throne. He was too powerful an Omrah not t...

The conflict between the followers of Chan Lody and the imperial troops had been short but desperate. Many of the latter, taken by surprise, were slain, whilst scarcely one of t...

Chan Lody and his son Hussein had great difficulty in stemming the rapid current. Their horses were carried a considerable distance down the stream, and almost exhausted before...

Shah Jehan was alarmed at the successful resistance which Chan Lody had made against his armies; but, being determined to crush him, he despatched for this purpose an exterminat...

About noon, under the scorching beams of a tropical sun, a young Mussulman was on his way towards the Mewat hills, accompanied by a party of fakeers. His hands were bound behind...

The Mogul was left chained to one of the statues on the side-wall, when the fakeers betook themselves to their night’s repose: the chain by which he was fastened only enabled hi...

At midnight the granddaughter of Bistamia entered the dreary vestibule, and approaching the prisoner, he immediately released himself from his bonds. Several fakeers were sleepi...

A cavalcade was on its way to Madura through one of those deep gorges with which the Western Ghauts abound. Evening had already set in, and thickened by the dense shadows of the...

The rise of the Mahratta power in India was one of those sudden and surprising revolutions which, amid the troubled currents of political events, have been so frequently seen to...

The Mahratta, who had been wounded by Sevajee, on being lowered from the fortress, lay some time upon the ground exhausted from loss of blood. As evening advanced, he crawled in...

Sevajee soon summoned his warriors into the field, and, at the head of ten thousand men, invested the fortress of which the Moguls had possessed themselves. In the course of a f...

Aurungzebe, exasperated beyond all bounds at being thus perpetually foiled by a petty chieftain, determined at once to stop the further progress of his arms. He therefore sent a...

Sevajee had found no difficulty in leaving his prison unsuspected, disguised as the flower vendor, being about the same height, and loosely clad, according to the fashion of Eas...

Sevajee, on his return, finding that there was no enemy to oppose him, soon regained the territory which he had lost during his captivity. All the mountain forts again fell into...