Profile of Dara Shikoh
Pen Name : 'Qadri'
Real Name : Dara Shikoh
Born : 01 Mar 1615 | Ajmer, Rajasthan
Died : 01 Aug 1659 | Delhi, India
Relatives : Mulla Shah Badakhshi (Disciple)
Dara Shikoh the Great Mughal emperor was the eldest son of Mumtaz Mahal and the Mughal prince Shahab-ud-Din Shah Jahan I. Born on Friday 20th March 1615 AH in the suburbs of Ajmer, he was crowned in 1633. In 1654 he was appointed Subedar of Allahabad. Later, the provinces of Punjab, Gujarat, Multan and Bihar were also handed over to him. In 1649, Kandahar was captured by the Iranians. Two military campaigns of the Delhi Sultanate failed to drive them out, so in 1653 Dara was sent to Kandahar. But he, too, failed in this battle and his reputation as a commander was tarnished. In a letter to Shah Muhammad Dilrba, Dara Shikoh has explicitly acknowledged that he revered saints like Sarmad, Baba Pyare, Shah Muhammad Dilrba, Mian Bari, Mohsin Fani Kashmiri, Shah Fateh Ali Qalandar, Sheikh Sulaiman Misri Qalandar. He was fond of Sufis like Shah Mohibullah Sabri Allahabadi, and had great devotion to them. He himself was a disciple of an elder like Sarmad. He knew Persian very well. He has been a calligrapher and a great writer. He died on 30 August 1659 and was buried in Humayun's Tomb.