252 
Notes on several Arabic and Persian Inscriptions. [No. 3, 
cW u 
'i a r 
* 
u 
sS cul |jj 
O God, 0 Opener, O God, Opener ! 
There is no God bnt Allah; Muhammad is the Prophet of God, in truth. 
Well done, Gar wish Bahrain, who hast travelled over the world, whose heart 
in knowledge is like the ocean. 
He left the world on his way to Ceylon; Bahram Saqqa left the transitory 
realm. 
We reflected on the year in which this great man died, and, in fulfilment of 
our wishes, 
A voice came from heaven, announcing that the chronogram of his death 
lies in the words £ Buwad Danvtsh i ma Bahram i Saqqa ‘ our Darwish is 
Bahram Saqqa.’ A. H. 982, or 1574. 
This inscription is on a black stone, measuring about 2J> ft. by 1J, 
and lies at the inner door of Bahrain’s shrine. The shrine is in 
Bard wan itself, about a mile from the Bail way station, and looks 
like a little fortress. There are many tombs in the neighbourhood. 
A few steps lead through a low portico into the gahn, or open 
courtyard, of the shrine. On the right of the portico there is 
another inscription, which is, however, so defaced, that it is impos¬ 
sible to read it. The tomb itself is in a low vault, and is quite plain. 
After entering the gahn, to the left, two tombs without inscriptions 
were pointed out to me as the resting-places of Sher Afkan and 
Qutbuddin Khan. The former was Nur Jahan’s first husband 
and Jagirdar of Bardwan ; he killed Qutbuddin, the Governor of 
Bengal, who had received orders from Jahangir to make away 
with him and conduct Nur Jahan to the imperial harem.* 
The meeting of Sher Afkan and Qutbuddin took place, according 
to the tradition, at Sadhinpur, which lies east of the Bailway 
station, on a field where a tomb now is. The field to this day 
is called Ganj i Shahiddn , ‘ the place of the martyrs.’ Whether the 
tombs in the courtyard are really those of Sher Afkan and Qutb- 
nddfn, is doubtful, notwithstanding the tradition ; for Jahangir says 
in his * Memoirs’ that Qutbuddin’s body was taken to Fatlipur 
Sikri and buried there. 
It is also said that Akbar granted a daily allowance of Bs. 2 to 
* For full accounts of Slier Afkan, Nur Jahan, and Qutbuddin, vide Ain 
translation, pp. 497, 509, 524. 
