September 11, 2016
No manuscript, grave or any other proof of Bhagmati.
Prince Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah arrives to meet Bhagmati.
Bhagmati is back in focus as Hyderabad city celebrates its 425th birthday on October 9. But did she really exist?
The Deccan Heritage Trust which has researched the story finds Bhagmati to be a piece of fiction, much like the celluloid story of Salim-Anarkali or Jodha-Akbar.
“She simply doesn’t exist. There is no manuscript, no stone inscription, no grave, no coins, no mention in Quli Qutb Shah's poems Kulliyat. There is no evidence to prove her existence. It’s just hearsay. There is conclusive evidence that Bhagmati is fiction and not fact,” said Dr Mohd Safiullah, honorary managing trustee of the Deccan Heritage Trust.
He added, “We are coming out with a book, Hyderabad Forever, on how the story was born. Bhagmati is merely a figment of imagination. I wish the Bhagmati-Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah romance existed.”
As proof, Dr Safiullah points to the graves of Taramati and Premamati, courtesans, and others. But there is no grave for Bhagmati.
Prof. Haroon Khan Sherwani, author of The Foundation of Haidarabad says Bhagmati did not exist.
The lore of the Bhagmati-Quli romance was propagated by Dr Mohiuddin Quadri Zore in the 1940s and 1950s.
The chronicler of Qutb Shahi history, Ferishta, mentions Bhagmati, and says Bhagyanagar was named after her; that the Sultan was fascinated by her charms and ordered that whenever she came to the court, she should be attended by 1,000 horsemen.
Quli Qutb Shah was born in 1566 and died in 1612. According to history, he took up construction of Hyderabad city since the fortress Golconda was overcrowded.
The Charminar was the first structure built in Hyderabad in 1591-92, followed by Badshahi Ashoorkhana to house the alam or replicas of the banner carried by Imam Hussain at Karbala which is the mourning place of Shia kings in 1593-1594 and the Darusshifa, including a hospital, in 1595.
Sherwani, M.A. Nayeem and other historians assert Quli Qutb Shah laid the foundation stone of the new city and named it Haiderabad (City of Haider).
The sultan refers to it in one of the poem as Shahre Hyderabad. Mughal historians and Europeans called the city Bagnagar and Baghnagar (City of Gardens) since the place was replete with gardens, groves and greenery. The Persians called it Aider-Abad.
Historian Narendra Luther in his blog says Bhagmati existed !
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
A multi-faceted prince
A multi-faceted prince
By Narendra Luther
The founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (b.1565; d.1611) was a prince, poet, lover, and a builder.
By Narendra Luther
The founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah (b.1565; d.1611) was a prince, poet, lover, and a builder.
He ascended the throne in 1580 at the age of 15 and ruled for thirty-one years.
Lover
As a young prince he fell in love with a Hindu maiden, Bhagmati by name.
Lover
As a young prince he fell in love with a Hindu maiden, Bhagmati by name.
In 1591 he founded the new city 6 kilometers from Golconda across the river Musi and after his beloved, called it Bhagnagar.
Its chronogrammatic title which yields the year of its completion, was Farkhunda Buniyad which in Persian means ‘of fortunate foundation’ – the equivalent of the name Bhagnagar.
It was one of the first elaborately planned cities anywhere. The Sultan wanted it to be ‘unparalleled in the world and a replica of heaven itself’.
It was one of the first elaborately planned cities anywhere. The Sultan wanted it to be ‘unparalleled in the world and a replica of heaven itself’.
The inspiration for its architectural plans and layout was drawn from Iran – and in particular the then new city of Isfahan.
Builder
First of all, the Charminar was built as the city centre. Four roads were made to radiate from it in the four cardinal directions. Fourteen thousand shops, houses, inns, baths, schools, and mosques were built as part of the original plan.
Builder
First of all, the Charminar was built as the city centre. Four roads were made to radiate from it in the four cardinal directions. Fourteen thousand shops, houses, inns, baths, schools, and mosques were built as part of the original plan.
Amongst the original public buildings was the Dar-ul-shifa or the general hospital. Some of the buildings including this hospital still stand today.
However, none of the dozen-odd palaces, which were constructed by Mohammed Quli, has survived the ravages of the Mughal invasion and subsequent neglect.
Some had as many as nine storeys. Aurangazeb, on his inspection of the city after the Mughal victory in 1687 was surprised to see such tall and magnificent structures.
The city had extensive gardens both within and without it and the name of some localities still carry the prefix or suffix of bagh (garden).
The city had extensive gardens both within and without it and the name of some localities still carry the prefix or suffix of bagh (garden).
The French traveller, Thevenot noted the garden-city character of Bhagnagar and wondered how the arches of mansions supported the weight of terrace-gardens. Tavenier, Barnier, Ferishta, Abbe Carre and other foreign visitors in the 17th century and subsequently sang paeans in praise of the city.
Many believed that it was bigger and better than the Mughal cities of the day like Agra and Lahore!
Mohammed Quli was as great, if not a bigger builder than Shah Jahan the Mughal was.
Mohammed Quli was as great, if not a bigger builder than Shah Jahan the Mughal was.
A recent study by a German architect has tried to prove with reference to the verses in the holy Quran that Mohammed Quli’s injunction about the new city was not a mere figure of speech.
The city was in fact laid on the pattern of the Garden of Eden in its essential features.
Poet
Mohammed Quli was a prolific and a versatile poet. He wrote nearly 1,00,000 lines of poetry in Persian, and in every genre of what was later to be called Urdu.
Before him Dakhni poetry had been largely religious. Quli introduced the secular element into it. He talks of nature in its variegated aspects, seasons of the year, flowers, fruits, vegetables, gardens, social life, customs, and festivals. He sings of the pleasures of physical love with a rare candour and abandon. For him there is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim:
Kufar reet kya hor Islam reet
Har ek reet mein hai ishq ka raaz
(What is the heathen’s creed -- and the Muslim’s.
Every practice is based on the secret of love.)
Further:
Main na janun Kaba o but khana o maikhana koon
Dektha hoon par kahan diktha hai tuj mukh ka safa
(I don’t know the holy Kaaba, the idol’s temple or the tavern,
I look everywhere but can’t see a face as clear as yours)
On love he has some observations of universal truth:
Poet
Mohammed Quli was a prolific and a versatile poet. He wrote nearly 1,00,000 lines of poetry in Persian, and in every genre of what was later to be called Urdu.
Before him Dakhni poetry had been largely religious. Quli introduced the secular element into it. He talks of nature in its variegated aspects, seasons of the year, flowers, fruits, vegetables, gardens, social life, customs, and festivals. He sings of the pleasures of physical love with a rare candour and abandon. For him there is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim:
Kufar reet kya hor Islam reet
Har ek reet mein hai ishq ka raaz
(What is the heathen’s creed -- and the Muslim’s.
Every practice is based on the secret of love.)
Further:
Main na janun Kaba o but khana o maikhana koon
Dektha hoon par kahan diktha hai tuj mukh ka safa
(I don’t know the holy Kaaba, the idol’s temple or the tavern,
I look everywhere but can’t see a face as clear as yours)
On love he has some observations of universal truth:
Suno log meri prem kahani
Keh peela hai rang ashiqui ki nishani
(Listen folks to my tale of love,
A palate complexion signifies a lover).
Figures of Speech
Quli often employs the devices of alliteration and onomatopoeia very effectively. Note the following:
Piya soon rat jagi hai so dikthi hai sudhan sarkhush
Madan sarkhush, sayan sarkhush, anjan sarkhush nayan sarkhush
(Oh lady, you have kept the whole night awake with your lover.
Cupid is happy, so are the couch, the collyrium - and your eyes)
Dandana garja joban badal niman
Kangana jhalkar minj sunao tum
(Youth thunders like a cloud.
Let’s hear the jingle of bangles).
Unfortunately, the rhythm and internal rhyme abounding in his poetry can’t be put across in translation adequately.
Hindi element
Quli had a sound and extensive knowledge of the Hindi ragas. He mentions Asavari, Dhanashree, Gauri, Malahar, Kalyan, Basant and Ramkali in his poems.
He declares his preference for music in the following couplet:
Mere sang mil bajaati sankh gaati, Sankhara abhran
Sriraga jo gati istri to mujko bhati hai
(She who plays the conch with me and sings Snakhrabhram,
The one who sings Sriraga -- that woman I like).
Quli’s choice of subjects was unlimited. He covered the entire range of life in its variations. His idiom sprang from the soil and his language was the one spoken by the common people in their daily lives.
Mere sang mil bajaati sankh gaati, Sankhara abhran
Sriraga jo gati istri to mujko bhati hai
(She who plays the conch with me and sings Snakhrabhram,
The one who sings Sriraga -- that woman I like).
Quli’s choice of subjects was unlimited. He covered the entire range of life in its variations. His idiom sprang from the soil and his language was the one spoken by the common people in their daily lives.
He has been compared to Nazeer Akbar Abadi of Agra (1740-1830) as a people’s poet. But Nazeer was a plebian, whereas Quli was a ruler.
His range
Quli is a poet of sight and sound, of relish and savour, of fragrance and redolence, of spice and flavour, of sunrise and daylight, of rhyme and rhythm, of dance and music – of the celebration of life.
His range
Quli is a poet of sight and sound, of relish and savour, of fragrance and redolence, of spice and flavour, of sunrise and daylight, of rhyme and rhythm, of dance and music – of the celebration of life.
His poetry glorifies all phases of biological existence. He rejoices in seasons of the year, the rhythmic succession of which makes the sum of our life-spring, monsoon, and winter, summer.
He celebrates festivals, birthdays, weddings, New Year Days. On each topic, there is not one poem, but many.
As life’s cycle goes on, he reverts to each of these recurring events with renewed vigour. He doesn’t get bored with life, because every aspect of it excites him. There is no pessimism or cynicism in him.
He is an extrovert whose reaction to events is always positive. He gloats on being the favourite ‘servant’ of the Prophet and the Imams, which made him a favourite of Fate.
He glories in being a ruler and living a life ease and sensuality. A pure sense of life pulsates through his writings.
A Misconception
Some people say that Mohammed Quli was also a poet in Telugu. No such claim has been substantiated. I have been able to find only three words of Telugu in his entire anthology – ‘Em Mari em’.
His invocation at the inauguration of the new city of Bhagnagar, has become famous:
Mera sheahar logan soon mamoor kar
Rakhya joon tun darya mein min Ya Sami
(O God, fill my city with people, as you have the river with fish)
Obviously this prayer was heard and the city now suffers from over- population. It has one of the highest rates of growth in the country!
For his legendary love for Bhagmati, and his rich and enchanting poetry, Mohammed Quli has won a permanent place in the hearts of the people of the city.
A Misconception
Some people say that Mohammed Quli was also a poet in Telugu. No such claim has been substantiated. I have been able to find only three words of Telugu in his entire anthology – ‘Em Mari em’.
His invocation at the inauguration of the new city of Bhagnagar, has become famous:
Mera sheahar logan soon mamoor kar
Rakhya joon tun darya mein min Ya Sami
(O God, fill my city with people, as you have the river with fish)
Obviously this prayer was heard and the city now suffers from over- population. It has one of the highest rates of growth in the country!
For his legendary love for Bhagmati, and his rich and enchanting poetry, Mohammed Quli has won a permanent place in the hearts of the people of the city.
An annual festival is held to commemorate him. Generations of singers have sung his poems. Amongst them the most popular is:
Piya baj pyala piya jai na; piya baj ik til jiya jai na
Kate hain piya bin saburi karo; kaha jai amma kiya jai na
Nahi ishq jis woh bada koodh hai; kadi us say mil baisa jai na
Qutb Shah na do mujh divane ko pand; diwane ko kuch pand diya jai na.
(Without the lover one cannot drink the cup!
Without him one cannot live for a moment.
They counsel patience in the absence of love.
Ah! It is easier said than done.
One unacquainted with love is a half-wit!
Don’t ever have anything to do with him.
Don’t give me any advice to a lunatic like me
You can’t din sense into an insane person).
Mohammed Quli is regarded as the first Urdu poet with an anthology to his credit.
Piya baj pyala piya jai na; piya baj ik til jiya jai na
Kate hain piya bin saburi karo; kaha jai amma kiya jai na
Nahi ishq jis woh bada koodh hai; kadi us say mil baisa jai na
Qutb Shah na do mujh divane ko pand; diwane ko kuch pand diya jai na.
(Without the lover one cannot drink the cup!
Without him one cannot live for a moment.
They counsel patience in the absence of love.
Ah! It is easier said than done.
One unacquainted with love is a half-wit!
Don’t ever have anything to do with him.
Don’t give me any advice to a lunatic like me
You can’t din sense into an insane person).
Mohammed Quli is regarded as the first Urdu poet with an anthology to his credit.
Dr.Zore edited his anthology for the first time in 1940. Professor Syeda Jaffar brought out a more extensive volume in 1985.
Such is the liberal use of Hindi expressions and idiom in his works that, but for the script, he might even be considered a poet of Hindi.
No wonder that of all the rulers of the Deccan, no one is remembered more fondly than this versatile man. He is commemorated every year on a befittingly grand scale
No wonder that of all the rulers of the Deccan, no one is remembered more fondly than this versatile man. He is commemorated every year on a befittingly grand scale
True story of Bhāgyanagar – the people’s Hyderabad
Dr. Rahul A. Shastri, President, Samvit Kendra.
Hyderabad was founded with the construction of Chārminār in 1591-2 CE by Muhammad
Quli Qutb Shāh, then in his mid twenties.
But the story of Bhāgyanagar begins much earlier
with his father Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shāh.
Conditions in which Mohammad Quli Qutb Shāh was born
Ibrahim Quli spent several years in exile in Vijayanagara (1943-50 CE) while his brother
ruled Golkonda. Here he is said to have married Bhagirathi and possibly picked up Telugu.
At any rate, he returned to Kovilkonḍa to a welcome by “Karkuns, officers, naikwaris,
blacksmiths, ‘oddas’, well-diggers, guards, load-bearers, bandsmen, tenants” and many
other Hindus and Muslims of the locality (Sherwani 1967: 8-9).
In other words, he was
welcomed by the native Telugus as well as many muslims.
In his exile he seems to have learnt to love Telugu and he called to his court several Telugu
luminiaries Addanki Gangadhara, Kondukuru Rudra, Ponnaganti Telaganna. Addanki
even says that his court was thronged by men learned in Vedas, Puranas and cognate
sciences (Sherwani 1968: 75).
He gave high posts to Hindus and Telugus poured their
affections upon him calling him ‘Malkibhrāma’ and ‘Abhirāma’.
They seem to have
remained with him, even when he joined the other Sultans in destroying Vijayanagara,
since according to Sherwani, the torch of Telugu literature passed on to him (Sherwani
1967: 9).
The Qutb Shāhis consciously targeted Telugu speaking areas for suzerainty (ibid:
4 fn 2). These were the conditions in which Mohammad Quli was born.
Bhāgyanagar – the foundation of Hyderabad
His father had built a bridge across the river Mūsi (Purāna Pul) in 1578 CE.
Beyond this
bridge, there lay Chichlam, a “predominantly brahmin” settlement in which a Sufi, Shāh
Chirāgh settled (Sherwani 1967: 14).
Near or around this brahmin settlement there must
have been people of other social groups and considerable economic activity, since
Sherwani argues that Mohammad Quli must “have been informed of the increasing
population of the area” (ibid).
In other words, the place in which Charminar was built in 1591-92 CE and Hyderabad was
founded, already had a growing population, several social groups and considerable
economic activity.
Thus Hyderabad, although a city inspired by Persian ideas, was not
thrust upon a social and economic vacuum, but was planted in the bed of native soil and
culture.
The chronogrammatic title of the city was given in Persian as “Farkhunda Buniyad” which
means ‘Foundation of fortune or luck’ (Luther 2016).
Fortune or luck in Telugu is
‘Bhāgyamu’ and in sanskrit ‘Bhāgya’. According to local popular traditions, Mohammad
Quli fell in love with a temple courtesan – Bhāgyamati who served at a Bhāgyalakshmi
temple as a devadāsin.
Enamoured of her, he named the new city Bhāgyanagar.
Evidence for Bhāgyanagar
Popular tradition was echoed in a near contemporary letter written by Faizi to Emperor
Akbar around 1594 CE, which said:
“Ahmad Quli (sic) is steeped in Shiism, and has built a city Bhagnagar by name,
after Bhagmati, the old prostitute (fahisha-i kuhnā) who has been his mistress for a too long time (ma'shuqa-i qadimy)” (quot. Sherwani op cit)
Mohammad Quli (wrongly called ‘Ahmad’ in the above letter) was aged only 22-25 years
when Charminar was built. Hence “mistress for a long time” would imply that he would
have contracted this liaison when he was just in his teens.
Bhāgyamati was his teenage
love, and the city was named after his first passion.
(1)
Writing his Tabqat E Akbar Shāhi in 1594 CE, Nizamuddian also testified that
“Muhammad ‘Ali [sic) Qutbu’l-Mulk, son of Ibrahim, succeeded his father.
He
became so enamoured of a Hindu prostitute (pātare) Bhagmasi (sic) by name that
he founded a city which he called Bhagnagar after her and ordered that one thousand
horsemen should always accompany the whore (fahisha).” (quot. Sherwani ibid)
In 1610 CE Ferishta in his History of Deccan wrote about Mohd. Quli:
“This prince, on the death of his father, ascended the throne of Golconda in his
twelvth year ...
The air of Golconda not agreeing with his constitution, he founded
a city at about eight miles distance, which he called Bhaugnuggur, after his mistress
Bhaug, a celebrated courtezan; but being afterwards ashamed of his amour, he
changed it to Hyderabad” (Scott 1794: 409).
Sherwani rejects these near contemporary accounts of historians by attributing their root
source to Faizi’s letter to Akbar.
(2) Faizi himself is rejected for not being a historian, for
being anti Shia and anti Dekkani, and not venturing beyond Ahmadnagar. But he does not
explain why a letter to the emperor would be circulated among historians and also from
where the additional information in their accounts came. Nor does he say why it was not
possible to know about Hyderabad in Ahmadnagar, without paying a personal visit.
(3)
A book probably written in 1614, called ‘Relations of Golconda’, describes a strange
custom of Golconda two decades after the foundation of Hyderabad. It states:
“Every year in the month of April, the prostitutes of the whole kingdom have to
travel to Bagnagar whither they are summoned ... to dance in the celebration of the
death of the first Moslem King, a thing which seems to me very strange”. (quot. in
Luther 2016)
Such a strange custom practiced under a Muslim king would make sense only if Hyderabad
had originally been named after Bhāgyalakshmi, a devadāsin.
(4) The suppression of Bhāgyanagar and Bhāgyamati
Ferishta’s account suggests that it was shame that led to the renaming of Bhāgyanagar to
Hyderabad. Whence this shame of amour?
One reason could be that Bhāgyamati had not converted in spite of her liaison with the
Sultan. Had she had converted and adopted the names of Haider, Mushtari or any other,
(5)
there would be no shame in naming the city after her. Thus it seems that Bhāgyamati,
inspite of her royal paramour, continued to be Hindu till her death. In fact, Constable, in
his footnotes to Bernier, cites Khafi Khan to say that the change to the name Hyderabad
took place after her death (Bernier 1916: 19 fn 2).
There were also political reasons for the change. The patronage of arts and force of arms
had secured the authority and power of Qutb Shāhis among Telugus. But new problems
emerged in the north. Moghuls had reduced Ahmadnagar, Chand Bibi died, and even Malik
Ambar was defeated in 1601 CE.
In order to face this growing threat, the support of the
more orthodox muslims was sorely needed
In 1585 CE, the young Muhammad Quli had appointed Mīr Mumin Astrābādi, recently
from Iran, as his peshwa.
Possibly Mīr Mumin’s good offices secured an embassy from
King Abbas of Iran 1603 CE. But Iranians were unlikely to be impressed by a Sultan whose
capital city was named after a Hindu Devadāsin.
Hence, the first coins to be struck by Qutb
Shāhis after 1584 CE were issued from “Darus Saltanat Hyderabad” in 1603 CE.
This was
the year when the Iranian embassy came to the kingdom. Bhāgyanagar receded into official
silence.
Tradition holds that Mīr Mumin suppressed the story of Bhāgyamati.
Political
developments after the reduction of Ahmadnagar, explain why Mir Mumin took almost a
decade to use the name Hyderabad and suppress the name associated with the Hindu
devadāsin Bhāgyamati.
Bhāgyanagar was no longer politically convenient. Coinage,
firmans and official missives ignored her.
Even in the odes of the Sultan that spoke of so
many unmentionables, she found no mention.
The natives however continued to call the city Bhāgyanagar. This commonly happens with
renamed cities, and is mentioned by Ferishta (Luther 2016).
The contradiction between
official practice and popular parlance confused many.
Hence, Abdu’l-Baqi Nihawandi
spoke of two separate cities: One - “Bhāgmati” founded in the youth of the Sultan and the
other - “Hyderabad” founded towards the end of reign through the good offices of Mīr
Mumin (quot in Sherwani 1967: 140).
Why was there no official denial of the name “Bhāgyanagar”? Two reasons are possible.
First, an official denial would alienate the affections of indigenous people, whereas merely
using the new name could be understood by them as a concession to the power of
orthodoxy.
Second, the Sultan may have continued to be faithful to the memory of his first
love.
This is suggested by the fact that the chronogrammatic name of the city was
“Farkhunda Buniyad”, where the persian ‘farkhunda’ connects to the sanskrit bhāgya.
Truth, even when politic, cannot be suppressed wholly.
Thus, a document of succession
dated 1637 CE in the state archives, is found to have been issued by one ‘Zaheeruddin,
Qazi of Bhagnagar’ (Luther 2016). In 1672, Abbe Carre called the city Bagnagar (ibid).
Also in his travelogue of 1656-1668, Francois Bernier translates a letter by Mir Jumla
aimed at betraying the Sultan to Aurangzeb, where he refers to the King’s residence “at
Bagnaguer ... in as much as his palace of Bagnaguer where he usually lives is unwalled,
and without a ditch or fortifications of any sort” (Bernier 1916: 19-20).
Finally, a Ghorpade letter which is considered to be authentic (Kruijtzer 2008: 289), refers
to ‘Bhagnuggur”.
Since it is suggestive of negotiations between Shivāji and Qutb Shāhis,
it may be dated c. 1670 CE.
The duality of Hyderabad and the visit of Shivāji Maharaj
All this goes to show that Bhāgyanagar continued to be a name of Hyderabad, especially
popular among the people even though it was absent from official usage, possibly for
political reasons.
It is this duality of the Golconda Sultanate that explains the negotiations
between Chatrapati Shivāji Maharaj and the ministers of the Qutb Shāh, the hospitality
extended to him during his passage to the south.
Shivāji’s visit to Bhāgyanagar, by then
officially Hyderabad, is worth recalling.
Shivāji Maharaj visited Hyderabad and had a “very friendly” interview with the badshāh
Abul-Hasan on March 14, 1677 according to Dutch sources (Kruijtzer 2008: 173).
The visit
unveiled the duality of Hyderabad, the cleavage between Bhāgyanagar and Hyderabad as
it were.
One reaction was hostile and panic ridden.
A report coming through the Dutchman Havart says that Shivāji was “stuffed” with gold to avert plunder.
Since the Dutchman found it
easier to interact with the “the Moors”, i.e. muslims, than with Brahmins, this must have
been the reaction of his muslim interlocutors (ibid: 42), possibly largely non-Shia.
Shias may have had reasons to join hands with Hindus against the Moghuls.
Moghul diktat
had forced them to replace the twelve imams with the four Caliphs in the khutbas in
mosques. The result was a literal desertion of mosques.
In contrast to orthodox sunnis,
Hindus joined Muslims observing the Muharram in rural areas (ibid passim).
(6)
Hence the general populace received Shivāji jubiliantly and the bādshāh went along.
One
account of the reception says:
“The Badshah had adorned the whole city. Streets and lanes were all around
coloured with a thin layer of kunkum powder and saffron. Festive poles and
triumphal arches were erected and flags and standards hoisted in the city. Krors
[literally: tens of millions] of citizens stood to have a look at the Raja [Shivāji]. The
ladies welcomed him by waving innumerable lamps around him. Gold and silver
flowers were showered upon the Raja.”
(Kruijtzer ibid)
Why did Abul Hasan receive Shivāji so favourably?
According to a Sabhasad bakhar, it
was Shivāji’s idea to pay a visit to Abul Hasan.
Received by the Sultan personally, he
charmed him sufficiently to induce him into financing his Karnatak campaign and got a
message from Abul Hasan saying “you are honest”.
Frenchman François Martin’s says that
Madanna induced Abul-Hasan to invite Shivāji to conquer part of the Karnatak for him and
surrender to Golkonda, the fortresses thus captured excepting Vellore.
While Golkonda
delayed paying the second portion of the contracted amount of 450,000 hons, Shivāji held
on to Gingee as well Vellore so that relations soured after the campaign.
After Shivāji died when Aurangzeb’s army approached under Shāh Alam, Akkanna and
Madanna were imprisoned and Muslim rioters attacked Hindus, targeting Brahmins
especially, many of whom lost life and lodge.
The magnificent Shiva complex of
Maheshwaram 27 km from Hyderabad was destroyed. Subsequently, “Deccan was
sunnified” under the Mughals (Kruijtzer 2008 passim).
From this time onward, every twist of fate and fortune revealed that there were two cities
in one place – the Bhāgyanagar of the people and the Hyderabad of the rulers.
Bhāgyanagar – a slip of tongue?
Even Sherwani who is so strongly opposed to the Bhāgyamati “legend”, admits in light of
evidence from European travellers, that “while the common people called the city
‘Bāgnagar’, the ruling aristocracy and government officers ... called it Haiderabad”
(Sherwani 1967: 145).
However, in order to exorcise Bhāgyanagar from our minds, relying
upon Thėvenot and Tavernier he advances the “slip of tongue theory”.
Thėvenot said in 1665-66 CE,
“The capital city of this kingdom [Golconda] is called Bāgnagar; the Persians called
it Aider Abad”.
Decades later, Tavernier added
“Bagnagar was founded by the grandfather of the present king.
Here the king had
very fair gardens — Bagnagar or the Garden of Nagar’’.
From the above testimonies, Sherwani concludes that Bagnagar merely meant a city of
gardens or bāġs, while both Bhāgyanagar and Bhāgyamati were merely legend born of an
5
inability to pronounce ‘bāġ’ – a slip of the tongue as it were causing its confusion with
‘bhāg’.
Several arguments may be advanced against this theory.
First, Tavernier was writing well after the period of shame in which the name
Bhāgyanagar was bypassed in favour of Hyderabad and the story of Bhāgyamati
was suppressed.
It would be natural in such circumstances to explain away the name
Bhagyanagar by word play. Gardens would have been preferable to the memory of
a Hindu devadāsin Bhāgyamati.
Second, as Luther (2016) ably points out, the Frenchman Thėvecot missed ‘H’ in
Hyderabad as well as Bhāgnagar.
European travellers had many difficulties with
native names. For instance, Qutbshāh became Cotebixa with a Dutch merchant,
Pulicat became Paleacattee and Mir Jumla became Mir Sumela in the writings of
Floris.
Thus, the accuracy of the word forms used or explained by them cannot be
assumed.
Third, unlike Europeans, speakers of indigenous languages as well as persian know
the difference between ‘bha’ and ‘ba’. There is no way that native speakers or
“common people” could have confused ‘bhāg’ with ‘bāġ’.
Fourth, the ‘slip of tongue’ theory also does not explain the annual event described
in the ‘Relations of Golkonda’ c 1614 CE.
Revival of Bhāgyanagar in public memory
The story of Bhāgyanagar and Bhāgyamati revived in Asif Jāhi times.
Syed Hossain Bilgrami and Willmott writing in 1884 say that the city was “styled
Bhagnagar after one of the king’s Hindu mistresses ...” and that “After her death
Muhammad Quli changed the name to Haiderabad, although to the present day many
natives, especially Hindus, stile the city Bhagnagar” (quot Luther 2016).
Likewise, Gribble (1896: 209) also testifies that Bhagnagar was the old name of
Hyderabad, named by Mahomed Kutb Shāh at the end of the century after his favourite
wife or mistress, Bhagmati.
Sherwani’s rejection of these and other historians on the ground that “the erotic part of the
story came to have special appeal to the chroniclers” (Sherwani 1967: 143) is unfair to the
historians and does not carry much conviction.
Conclusion
Our study suggests that Bhāgyamati was probably a Hindu devadāsin who never converted
to Islam.
She may have died before the name of Hyderabad was used by officialdom to
refer to the city once named after her.
The study also reveals that Bhāgyanagar lives on in the minds of the people and is the heart
of Hyderabad.
Although much suppressed over centuries of rule by those inspired by
foreign models, it continues to resist oblivion, springing back to manifest life and liberty
at every opportune twist and turn of history.
Bhāgyanagar is the people’s Hyderabad that refuses to die.
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