178 Bloclimann — On Mr. Beale's Firuzdhdd Inscriptions. [Atjgtjst, 



of oriental metaphor, the emperor is said to have planted a mangoe tree on 

 the commencement of the siege, and to have eaten the fruit of it ere his 

 success was secured. This success was owed to the anchoret of the ravine, 

 Shah Sufi. During a severe land storm, the lamps of the entire camp 

 were put out, and the lights of the Shah's hut alone glimmered in the sur- 

 rounding darkness.*' This extraordinary fact led to the Shah's being 

 visited by some of the courtiers. The miraculous character of the event 

 being much commented on by the visitors, the Shah acknowledged him- 

 self to be under the special favour of Heaven, and in the end, the conversa- 

 tion turned upon the difficulties of the siege, and the grateful sense of the 

 hermit's interference which the sovereign would entertain in the event of 

 its being brought to a close by his holy means. The Shah promised the 

 required aid, and declared that the fort should be captured by a fixed day. 

 Thus much for the emperor. In respect to the Raja, the Shah acted very 

 effectually upon his superstitious fears, told him that the fort was destined 

 to fall, and proffered his own miraculous powers to secure for the E-aja a safe 

 and honorable retreat for himself, his family, and valuables. The whole 

 were accordingly passed invisible through the besieging camp, and the Raja 

 quitted Hindustan for the eastward. In return for this valuable service, the 

 emperor bestowed half of an hamlet of Chandwar on the Shah. The place 

 assumed the name of Sufipur, and has since been inhabited by the descend- 

 ants of the Shah. The decease of Shah Sufi took place soon after the 

 grant was made, and he was buried on the brow of a deep ravine, a 

 handsome tomb being erected over his remains. The mausoleum is still in 

 good order and forms a picturesque object in the midst of the desolation of 

 the Jamuna ravines in the vicinity of Chandwar and Firozabad. Its pretty 

 dome and minarets, commanding, as they do, the heights of the Jamuna 

 ravines, often lead the voyagers on the river to visit the shrine of the saint, 

 and landwards the building is an object of interest and beauty, which all 

 would regret to see lost to the country. There are several dalans, a hand- 

 some gate, and a small mosque comprised within the building, and the whole 

 is kept in occasional good repairs by the outlay of part of the funds of the 

 grant. The fable of the whole is palpable. Indeed, the Raja, who under 

 the name of Chandersen was ousted from Chandwar, lived in the reign of 

 Alauddinf, and his descendants were the party who fell under the displeasure 

 of Akbar." 



* I cannot say whether this is the Shah ' Siifi Yahya,' mentioned by Mr. F. S. 

 Growse in his Memoir of Mathura District, Voh I, p. 148. 



The same miracle will be found in Ibrahim Bayyu's story, Journal, A. S. BengaJ, 

 1873, Pt, I., p. 300. 



t South of the Darg-ah lies a village of the name of 'Alauddinpur. 



