86 
[No. 1, 
Kavi Riij Sliyamal Das —Birthday of the Emperor 
tliat is, 1, age, 2, wealth, 3, defects in one’s household, 4, mantra (Yedic 
or Tantric), 5, coition, 6, medicine, 7, charity, 8, honour and 9, dis¬ 
honour should be concealed. 
Now, the first of these with which we are immediately concerned, is 
still strictly observed by well-to-do Hindus, of whom only 10 per cent, 
of enlightened views would ever dare to lay aside this rule. The annual 
birthday festivities are in most cases held a day or two previous to or 
after the actual birthday ; and if the date is published in this way, the 
year of birth is kept a profound secret. Horoscopes of the nobility and 
gentry are always entrusted to confidential family-priests, who never 
betray their charge, or are at least expected not to do so. 
The writer has personally observed people sometimes accusing their 
enemies of practising witchcraft against the life of some person; and 
to confirm the charge brought by them, the accusers try to produce 
fabricated horoscopes bearing special symbols, and a puppet figure of 
the proposed victim, from the houses of the parties accused. 
The Mughals borrowed these superstitious notions from the Hindus. 
This is corroborated by the accouut, my able friend Major (now Colonel) 
John Bidduljfii gives of the superstitious observances current among the 
tribes of the Hindu-Kush in his book of the same name, under the 
headings : 
1, constellations, 2, earthquakes, 3, fairies and demons, 4, magic 
charms and 5, divination* &c., &c. 
From his description of these things it is evident that the people 
of Central Asia and the Tibetan regions have not, in spite of their con¬ 
version to Islam, given up the customs prevalent among the Aryan 
Hindus. 
The Mughals consulted good or bad omens before important under¬ 
takings, as for instance— 
(1) On the eve of the battle at Fatehpur Sikri between Babar 
and Maharana Sanga (Sangram Singh) in S. 1584 (= A. D. 1527), the 
astrologer Sharif announced that the planet Mars being in the van, the 
Emperor’s defeat was certain. Babar did not care a fig for the prophecy, 
seeing it was against his purpose to believe it: but all his peeple were 
utterly discouraged at the astrologer’s remark, and their hearts failed 
them. 
(2) When prince Humayun was taken seriously ill, Babar was 
advised to sacrifice the thing most precious to him, for the prince’s re¬ 
covery. He proposed to go round the prince’s bed, wishing the sickness 
might leave the prince and visit his own person. The courtiers, be¬ 
lieving the Emperor would thus stake his life, tried to persuade him 
* Tribes of the Hindu-Kush, pp. 9t—98. 
