12 F. S. Growse — Inscriptions from Mathnra. [Jan. 



He did not many, and lived and died a strict ascetic. He often 

 practised severe penances (riazat i shdqqali) and prayed at night sitting on 

 a wall ; for should sleep overpower him, he would fall down and thus wake 

 up and continue his prayers. Or he would place thorns and spikes round 

 ahout himself, so that they might pierce his body, if he should fall down 

 asleep. In winter, he used to put on wet clothes, and stand praying in his 

 courtyard. 



Abulfazl in the A'in (p. 434, of my text edition), which was written in 

 1596 A. D., says, ' Shaikh Mma lies buried at Lakhnau, and people believe 

 that he was a saint.' 



Major Stubbs says that the tomb, from which the above inscription is 

 taken, stands on the esplanade of Fort Machhi Bhawan in Lakhnau. 



3. From F. S. Growse, Esq., M. A., C. S., Mathura, forwarding copies 

 of the following Persian and Hindustani Inscriptions on buildings in the 

 city of Mathura, N. W. P. 



I. 



Lr, ^f** ^Jt Uj ^w cjLL ( _ 5 axJ[ j-^jl */ * ^Uwe j\yi\ e~<»| U3 &l)\ ±+2s>. 



UjJ osr* ^i\ ^'ii> ^LL is&t'WjZi * ^T f*i(3*0^i*3 u^^J^d^p 1 "^^ 



1. In the reign of Shah Alamgir Muhiuddin walmillah, the king of the world, 

 A u r a n g z i b, who is adorned with justice, 



2. The lustre of Islam shone forth to the glory of God; for 'Abdunnabi 

 Khan built this beautiful mosque. 



3. This second ' Holy Temple' caused the idols to bow down in worship. You 

 will now see the true meaning of the text, " Truth came, and error vanished." [" Qo- 

 ran, XVII, 83."] 



4. Whilst I searched for a tdrihh, a voice came from blissful Truth, ordering me 

 to say ' Abdunnabi Khan is the builder of this beautiful mosque.' A. H. 1071, or 

 1660-61. 



Mr. Growse writes as follows — ■ 



' This inscription is over the principal entrance to the Jami' Masjid 

 which stands in the centre of the city on the site of an earlier Hindu" temple. 

 The building is of considerable size and has four very lofty minarets, which 

 with other parts of the fabric were once veneered with bright coloured plaster 

 mosaics ; but only a few panels now remain, and the whole of the mosque 

 is rapidly becoming a ruin.' 



Mr. Blochmann said — 



The builder of the mosque, 'Abdunnabi Khan, is known to us from 

 the histories of Aurangzib's age. He is first mentioned as a partisan of 

 Dara Shikoh, and fought against Aurangzib in the battle of Samogar, near 

 A'o-rah (6th Eamazan, 1068, or 28th May 1658 ; vide Journal, A. S. Bengal, 

 1870, Pt. I., p. 275). About a week after the defeat, he joined Aurangzib's 



