Shah Jahan was confined for 8 years in his prison at agra fort is well known to all. But the atrocities of aurganzeb did not end there. Aurangzeb hated Shah Jahan because he loved Dara Sikoh his elder brother and would always listen to him in matters of the state. Aurangzeb never forgot that after Shah Jahan’s capture.
Aurangzeb sent Dara Sikoh’s head in a plate at lunch time to Shah Jahan is a well known incident. But what many are not aware are the other atrocities he committed on Shah Jahan in his confinment. Some of them are listed below.
Since Shah Jahan was still healthy after years of confinment Aurangzeb told his personal adviser an eunuch Itibar Khan to give slow poison to Shah Jahan. Itibar would mix the slow poison in Shah Jahan’s food a little everyday and this detoriated his health in last 2 years of life. He had severe stomach pain and internal bleeding and fell unwell frequently and became so weak that he became confined to the bed.
Itibar and Aurangzeb did not stop at that. Itibar brought a poisonoous oil and told the royal masseur to massage it on Shah Jahan’s body. This caused him severe itching and after a few times of applying it his skin blackened and he had blisters all over his body.
Many more atrocities were committed in the closed confines of agra fort on Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan was tortured so much at his old age that he wished to die soon rather than take so much pain and misbehaviours at hand of the servants who once served him while he was emperor at the biddings of Aurangzeb.
Atlast on 22nd Jan 1666 he breathed his last at age of 76. His funeral was even more secluded. He was taken out from the rear gate of Agra fort by four palaquin bearers. None of his family be his wives or daughter were allowed to accompany him on his final journey. His wives and daughter pleaded with the gaurds to not take his body out at night for funeral as usually funerals took place in day but they did not agree. No son, grandson, relative or nobel accompanied the body of the emperor who ruled 30 years. He was given a funeral of traitors without any ceremony and without any family, friends accompanying him on last journey or proper funeral rites and buried next to Mumtaz Mahal his beloved wife.
Thus ended the tragic life of a powerful and richest emperor on earth of his time who had been raised lovingly and was a favourite of his grandfather Akbar and father Jehangir.
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