Dara Shikoh was the elder son of Mughal emperor Shah jahan. He was a great and iconic literary figure of the Mughal dynasty. He was deeply rooted in indian culture. He was born on march 20, 1615 A.D. in Ajmer. He was distinct from many Mughal princes in several aspects. He was blessed with curious mind and had an insatiable hunger for knowledge. he inherited the profound interest in compprative relegious study and humanism from his great grandfather Akbar, the great. He received his education in the mughal palace like other princes. He was immensely influenced and inspired by philosophical ideas and principles of Sufi Mian Mir and Mulla Badakhshi of the Qadri Sufi order. The itellectual company of these Sufis helped Dara develop into a broad-minded and liberal scholar. he always kept himself busy in the study of books. As a result of his thorough study, he himself started writing articles and books. he dis-played his literary skills in his books the Safinat-ul-Auliya (1640 A.D.) and the Sakinat-ul-Auliya (1643 A.D.). He was married to Nadira Banu Begum on February 1, 1633.
Prince Dara Shikoh proved himself as a good administrator also. He served numerous administrative posts. he served the Mughal empire as the Governor of Allahabad, Gujarat, Multan, Kabul and Punjab. Dara Shikoh was also declared as heir of Mughal throne by his father Shah Jahah. Emperor Shah jahan also granted him the title of 'Shahzada-e-Buland Iqbal' (Prince of High Fortune). But other Mughal princes like Murad, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb posed serious threat to the position of their elder brother Dara.
When Emperor Shah Hahan fell seriously ill in September 1657, all the four Mughal princes started to strengthen their strategic positions to boost their respective chances for the royal throne. Here Dara failed to sail through the military genius and skills of Prince Aurangzeb. Despite enjoyuing the power of Rotal Mughal army and the backing of his father, Dara was defeated in the battle Samugarh, decisively. Prince Aurangze succeeded in clinching the royal crown. Prince Dara died on August 30, 1659.
Some important fact about Dara Shikoh
- Majm-ul-Bahraim (mingling of oceans) was a great literary work by Prince Dara Shikoh. In it he tried to show the similarity between Hinduism and Islam. Actually Dara was a liberal and broad-minded scholar who rirmly believed in Hi9ndu-muslim Unity
- The Safinat-ul-Auliya and The Sakinat-ul-Auliya are biographical dictionalries of sufi-saints in Persian language.
- The Risala-i-Haq Numa (1647 A.D.), The Tariqat-ul-Haqiqat and The Hasanat-ul-Arifin (1653 A.D.) are other literary works by Prince Dara. In these books he expressed his philosophical views on sufism.
- He translated many upanishads from sanskrit to Persian under the name of 'Sirr-e-Akbar' to spread the teaching of Hindu religion among Muslims.
