There used to be a popular saying during the days of Mughal dynasty which ruled India during the medieval period of 1526 to 1750. "TAKHT YA TAKHTA", meaning "Crown or Coffin", it aptly described the fratricidal wars fought between the brothers for the prized Kingship which knew no Kinship. In the end one ended up with Crown, the rest rested in their graves.
The last powerful Mughal emperor Aurganzeb was no different. After killing his 3 brothers he captured the prized Peacock Throne and put his ailing father Sahajahan to house arrest overlooking river Yamuna.
It is probably true that when Aurangzeb sent his father, his dad's favorite son and his own blood brother Dara Shikoh's head (actually served on a platter when Shah Jahan was dining), the old man fainted at the sight and his face crashed into the table, breaking his teeth.
But Sah Jahan, the old man who fainted at the sight of the ghastly, macabre sight of his son's severed head, at prime of his youth had no qualms about blinding and killing his brothers for securing his throne. He inhereting these traits from his father Jahangir, who blinded his rebellious son who wanted to usurp his father for the coveted crown.
So why was Aurangzeb so cruel ? The question can be reversed. Why did Shah Jahan hated Aurangzeb so much? It is not easy to understand, but it is true. From a very young age, before he was an adult, Aurangzeb was sent out by his father on impossible missions, like reconquering their ancestral lands in the badlands (still is) of modern day Afghanistan, while his pampered eldest son Dara Shikoh was mollycoddled in court, apparently groomed as Sah Jahan's heir.
Unfortunately, for both father and his favored son Dara, this mistreatment of Aurangzeb backfired and produced a hardened and experienced warrior. While the suave, erudite Dara Sikoh sat with Pundits busy learning Sanskrit and translating Upanishad (a sacred Hindu text) to Persian, the younger Aurangzeb was mastering military strategies in dry and dusty Deccan.
It was no surprise when the crunch time came, the battle tested 3rd son of Sah Jahan used his hard earned military skills and strategies against his elder brother. He defied the odds by making strategic military alliances with his other brothers, and then defeating his father's blue eyed boy Dara Sikoh in spite of the later having the backing of the Royal Mughal Army. Eventually Aurangzeb double crossed his other brothers, killed them and went on to rule Delhi for half a century. After long time the Mughal Dynasty produced an able warrior since Akbar (Jahangir was a hedonist and Sah Jahan an indolent).
It explains why Aurangzeb trusted nobody. Childhood psychology is known to percolate deep into the later age - a person who can't trust his father can't be expected to trust others. Aurangzeb was no exception. Sah Jahan groveled over Dara's gruesome death for rest of his life, looking vicariously at the mammoth masterpiece called Taj Mahal he built on the banks of Yamuna river until he died.
Fast forward to three and a half century later, a similar parallel can be drawn. Like Aurangzeb, the current Chief Minister of Odisha is also known to be ruthless and trusts no one. This part of his personality can be attributed to his legendary father who was rumored to have a very low opinion of his youngest son, which contributed to the low self esteem of the son before the eyes of his father.
I would like to lift this episode from a well researched book by my friend Biswajit Mohanty. Sometime during the early 1990s when Biju Patnaik was in his last and final tenure as the Chief minister of Odisha, his Delhi based socialite son Naveen, a frugal visitor to the state suddenly dropped in with his British friend at the state capital. (Now it's other way round. Naveen, the Chief minister rarely ventures out of his state).
The father avoided entertaining the duo at his home and instructed one of his ministers to house them at a local hotel. This is one of several instances of the Odia legend snubbing his son for reasons best know to him.
It is said, the son has paid back by not being a big fan and protagonist of his legendary father's ideas and vision, except using his name for political purposess. Yet, a la Aurangzeb who ruled the longest amongst the Mughals, the ignored son of Biju eventually had the last laugh by ruling the state for the longest tenure by any single individual the post independent Odisha has seen, with the possibility of lasting for quarter of a century.
The last powerful Mughal emperor Aurganzeb was no different. After killing his 3 brothers he captured the prized Peacock Throne and put his ailing father Sahajahan to house arrest overlooking river Yamuna.
It is probably true that when Aurangzeb sent his father, his dad's favorite son and his own blood brother Dara Shikoh's head (actually served on a platter when Shah Jahan was dining), the old man fainted at the sight and his face crashed into the table, breaking his teeth.
But Sah Jahan, the old man who fainted at the sight of the ghastly, macabre sight of his son's severed head, at prime of his youth had no qualms about blinding and killing his brothers for securing his throne. He inhereting these traits from his father Jahangir, who blinded his rebellious son who wanted to usurp his father for the coveted crown.
So why was Aurangzeb so cruel ? The question can be reversed. Why did Shah Jahan hated Aurangzeb so much? It is not easy to understand, but it is true. From a very young age, before he was an adult, Aurangzeb was sent out by his father on impossible missions, like reconquering their ancestral lands in the badlands (still is) of modern day Afghanistan, while his pampered eldest son Dara Shikoh was mollycoddled in court, apparently groomed as Sah Jahan's heir.
Unfortunately, for both father and his favored son Dara, this mistreatment of Aurangzeb backfired and produced a hardened and experienced warrior. While the suave, erudite Dara Sikoh sat with Pundits busy learning Sanskrit and translating Upanishad (a sacred Hindu text) to Persian, the younger Aurangzeb was mastering military strategies in dry and dusty Deccan.
It was no surprise when the crunch time came, the battle tested 3rd son of Sah Jahan used his hard earned military skills and strategies against his elder brother. He defied the odds by making strategic military alliances with his other brothers, and then defeating his father's blue eyed boy Dara Sikoh in spite of the later having the backing of the Royal Mughal Army. Eventually Aurangzeb double crossed his other brothers, killed them and went on to rule Delhi for half a century. After long time the Mughal Dynasty produced an able warrior since Akbar (Jahangir was a hedonist and Sah Jahan an indolent).
It explains why Aurangzeb trusted nobody. Childhood psychology is known to percolate deep into the later age - a person who can't trust his father can't be expected to trust others. Aurangzeb was no exception. Sah Jahan groveled over Dara's gruesome death for rest of his life, looking vicariously at the mammoth masterpiece called Taj Mahal he built on the banks of Yamuna river until he died.
Fast forward to three and a half century later, a similar parallel can be drawn. Like Aurangzeb, the current Chief Minister of Odisha is also known to be ruthless and trusts no one. This part of his personality can be attributed to his legendary father who was rumored to have a very low opinion of his youngest son, which contributed to the low self esteem of the son before the eyes of his father.
I would like to lift this episode from a well researched book by my friend Biswajit Mohanty. Sometime during the early 1990s when Biju Patnaik was in his last and final tenure as the Chief minister of Odisha, his Delhi based socialite son Naveen, a frugal visitor to the state suddenly dropped in with his British friend at the state capital. (Now it's other way round. Naveen, the Chief minister rarely ventures out of his state).
The father avoided entertaining the duo at his home and instructed one of his ministers to house them at a local hotel. This is one of several instances of the Odia legend snubbing his son for reasons best know to him.
It is said, the son has paid back by not being a big fan and protagonist of his legendary father's ideas and vision, except using his name for political purposess. Yet, a la Aurangzeb who ruled the longest amongst the Mughals, the ignored son of Biju eventually had the last laugh by ruling the state for the longest tenure by any single individual the post independent Odisha has seen, with the possibility of lasting for quarter of a century.
No wonder, History loves to repeat itself. Not much has changed - In the gory medieval days a severed head served on a platter was the harbinger of a long reign. In modern democracy days, the natural death of a father has paved the way for a long tenure of his distrustful son.
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