It is said about Zebunnisa that his love for literature did not diminish even in prison. The princess, who came directly from the palaces to the prison, continued to write shero-shayari and ghazals even in captivity.
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The image of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb has been that of a fundamentalist emperor who hated Hindus and was full of religious frenzy. For the throne, he also imprisoned his father and made his elder brother Dara Shikoh Not spared either. This Aurangzeb One more thing is said about him that he had an affinity for literature. Apart from religious Islamic literature, he had also read Turkish literature. Aurangzeb’s daughter Zebunnisa went far ahead of him.
According to the report of The Heritage Lab, Jebunnisa not only had expertise in subjects like philosophy, geography, history, but her attachment to literature was such that she became a famous poetess. She used to write in Farsi. Father Aurangzeb did not accept this at all, so to hide her name, she used to write under the name Makhfi. She even used to go to Mushairas secretly from her father.
Later, when Aurangzeb came to know all these things about the daughter, he got the daughter locked in the prison. Zebunnisa died in captivity. Jebunnisa’s works were published in the name of Diwan-e-Makhfi, whose manuscripts are still preserved in the British Library and the National Library of Paris.
trends in poetry
Jebunnisa was the eldest daughter of Aurangzeb and his Begum Dilras Bano. There is no specific mention about his childhood. It is said that she was betrothed to her cousin Suleman Shikoh in childhood, but Suleman died at an early age, due to which she could not get married. Since adolescence, Zebunnisa was very interested in studies.
After studying subjects like History, Geography, Philosophy, she started reading literature. His mentor, Sayeed Ashraf Majandharani, was a Persian poet. In this way Zebunnisa got inclined towards poetry and shero-shayari. Aurangzeb was very fond of his daughter Zebunnisa, who was sharp in reading and writing. He used to spend gold asharfia on his daughter, with the money that Zebunnisa had started translating the texts into common language.
After reading and writing literature, Zebunnisa emerged as an excellent poetess. He started being called in Mushairas. Aurangzeb’s court poets also used to invite him in poetry gatherings. Father Aurangzeb does not accept this at all. In such a situation, she started living there secretly.
love hindu king
It is said about Zebunnisa that she fell in love with a Hindu Bundela Maharaj Chhatrasal while coming to a gathering of Shero-Shayari. Aurangzeb had a fierce enmity with Bundela Maharaj. Aurangzeb, very religiously devout, never wanted his daughter to be associated with any Hindu. Somewhere it is mentioned that he had fallen in love with a minor poet and Aurangzeb had passed this thing exasperated. He started explaining to the daughter and then also took strict action. The daughter did not agree. Aurangzeb imprisoned him in the Salimgarh Fort of Delhi.
Works written in devotion to Krishna
It is said about Zebunnisa that even in prison, his love for literature did not diminish. The princess, who came straight from the palaces to the prison, kept writing poetry and ghazals even in prison. Annoyed with the religious fanatic father, the princess became a devotee of Lord Krishna in the prison itself and wrote many compositions in the devotion of Krishna.
Zebunnisa was imprisoned for 20 years and wrote about 5000 compositions during this period, whose compilation was published after his death in the name of Diwan-e-Makhfi. These manuscripts are preserved in the British Library and the National Library of Paris. Jebunnisa died in May 1702 while in captivity. Buried in Tis Hazara Bagh outside the Kabuli Gate of Salimgarh Fort.
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