Posts
 |
| Article published in Times of India, Agra edition |
Historical Treasure
Manuscripts of MughalPriod
were prominently written in Persian language, Hindi Historical literary
compositions are very rare, and if any be found are in poetry style. One such
rare manuscript is Akklnama Chakatta which is a BrajBhasha composition. This
composition is a prose which is its second speciality. This Manuscript has been
scripted on 138 Indian papers.
According to Mr.
Laxminarayan Tiwari secretary, Braj
Culture Research Institute “Manuscripts mirror the trends of the period they
were written in, likewise Akklanama Chakatta in our institute conserved on
accession no. 207, is a composition on the administration, culture and
governance of Mughal Empire. It is a rare manuscript and seems to be written to
provide knowledge to the upcoming noble lads of Mughal Empire. The manuscript
has a total of 138 folios out of which folios 1,3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 129, 130, 131, 132,
133, 134, 135 and 136 are unavailable thus leaving only 124 folios. The manuscript
defines various aspects of Mughal Empire.”
The period of composition
of this manuscript is not known but on analyzing the manuscript it can be said
that the Manuscript was written between 1760-1778A.D. The copy of Manuscript
was scribbed in 1854A.D. by some Lala Bakhwat Singh for the recital of Some
Lala Ganga Prasad at Jhansi. Jhansi was during this period known as the centre
for copying manuscripts. Manuscripts were collected at the Royal Library in
Jhansi. During the revolt of 1857 english men had destroyed this library
resulting in a huge loss of Indias prestigious manuscripts. It cannot be said
as to this manuscript was in the library or not.
The name of the Manuscript can be divided into
two parts ‘Akkla and Chakatta’ . Akla here denotes knowledge or understanding
and Chakatta is medieval times was used to refer to the Mughals. The manuscript
aims at providing Knowledge about the Mughal Empire there by meaning ‘Akklanama
Chakatta’.
The manuscript is a
valuable source of general knowledge of the era it was written in comprising of
immediate information on history, Geography, society, culture and
administration. It provides valuable information of the history of emperors from
the Taimurs to the Mughals. According to the manuscript the Mughal Empire
consisted of 12 provinces. Minutest details of these provinces their geography,
area, climate, agriculture, trades, mines etc can be found in this manuscript.
The initial 21 folios of
the manuscript describe the lineage of Mughal emperors while foloios 22 to 44
describe the provinces during Mughal empire.On the 44th folio of the
manuscript the names of offices and workers have been given. The manuscript
also defines other precious information like names of Administration offices of
Mughal emperors, lists Textiles/ foreign Textiles, Sari and types of textile
designing. In short the manuscript is like
treasure hunt for valuable and scholastic information on Mughal Empire.
The manuscript is indefinitely useful for scholars of history who want to gain
knowledge regarding Mughal Empire.
After going through the
manuscript we can say that the author of manuscript was closely associated with
Amer King Sawai Madho Singh. It can be assumed that the author was a part of
Sawai Madho Singh court because the author has not only praised the kings of
Amer province but has also penned down appraisal for Sawai madho Singh in a
separate chapter as well.
