218 Ahlar's Tomh at Slhandrah. [Nov. 



3. A king, by the eternal will of God, is in this world the shadow of the light of 

 God's being. 



4. When that shadow disappears from the world, another shadow falls on the world. 



5. In this way, in the opinion of the wise, will ages revolve till the end of all 

 things. 



6. The world changes every moment, and remains for no one unchanged. 



7. When the divine Shah A k b a r, who is now in the highest heaven and whose 

 terror changed rocks to chaff, 



8. Sat upon the throne of royalty, the glory of God's shadow surrounded the earth. 



9. He conferred lustre upon crown and throne ; he was generous, merciful, and 

 successful. 



10. He was clear-sighted and wise : he enjoyed and gave away, he conquered and 

 left the world. 



11. He sowed the seed of goodness in the garden of the world, and reaped the 

 fruit of it in the gardens of paradise. 



12. May his soul shine like the rays of the sun and moon in the light of God ! 



The following three verses are on the northei-n side of the gate (metre, 

 Kliafij)- 



0>-JwJ tj>*'i_y=^ {iy-i-^> ji J •— ^J • U^^^H^-^ "^^^"v" lJ^^JJ FJ"^ 



1. S h a h A k b a r in his wisdom M^ashed his hands of the transitory world. 



2. His power remained unchanged, because he did not cling to this changeable 

 world. 



3. As his spirit was a bird of the highest heaven, it went away and returned to its 

 nest. 



On the front of the entrance facing the north, Mr. Beale found the 

 following inscription* in Nasta'liq characters (metre, Muzari') — 



*j>^\ jiS\ aU> ^j.\/c <XwDjj jt * OAwt j^iiw^ ci^iiA J i^Ii d^i t^j; jjti, ^j( 



1. This is a portico which is higher than the portico of the ninth heaven ; its shadow 

 illuminates the face of the shining star. 



2. This portico is the ornament of the nine heavens and the seven climes : it is the 

 shining Mausoleum of S h a h A k b a r. 



Mr. Keene mentions that Sikandrah was completed in the 7th year of ^ 

 Jahangir's reign, or A. D. 1612- id. 



* Mr. Beale says (Miftah, p. 209), " The inscription has never been read, because it is 

 so high." He gives, however, the first verse. Mr. Keene says — " On the frieze round the 

 great gateway are other poetical inscriptions in the Persian language, setting forth the 

 praises of the monarch and the mausoleum." The writing, according to Mr. Keene, 

 is by a calligrapher of the name of 'Abdul Haq Shirazi. 



