The ruined town of Brahmanabad, probably the most interesting spot in
Sind, lies about eleven miles from Shahdadpur. A road sufficiently good
for a Ford Car leads thither and a run there on a cold weather morning
is a bracing and exhilarating experience. When Brahmanabad is reached
one sees, as far as the eye can range, an endless waste of brick ruins,
the site of a once mighty city. It flourished in the time of Alexander.
It was still great in the eighth century when Mahomed Kasim invaded
Sind. What caused its downfall? The whole question was admirably
discussed in 1854 by Mr. Bellasis of the Indian Civil Service. His
conclusion was that the city had been overwhelmed by an earthquake,
which at the same time changed the bed of the Indus, formerly close by
the city walls and the source of its greatness. The destruction of
Brahmanabad, wrote Mr. Bellasis, was so complete that it could not have
been caused by a fire or by a hostile force. There were, moreover, no
signs of fire. There were quantities of jewellery among the ruins,
which neither fugitive inhabitants nor an enemy would have left. At the
same time there were many skeletons visible in corners and doorways—the
skeletons of men and women overwhelmed, no doubt, as they sought to
escape. The skeletons have long ago gone to manure the neighbouring
fields, just as the bricks of the houses in which they once lived are
to be found in the villages round about. Still we may safely accept the
evidence of Mr. Bellasis as well as the accuracy of his conclusions.
But if Brahmanabad was overwhelmed by an earthquake, what were the
circumstances attending it? We have no historical record. But there
exist two legends—a Musulman and a Hindu legend. They differ widely
from each other, only agreeing in this that the end of Brahmanabad came
because of God’s wrath at the wickedness of its ruler, Dalu Rai. I
shall relate the Musulman legend first. It is to be found in the
Tufat-ul-Kiram and runs somewhat as follows:
Once upon a time there ruled over the city of Brahmanabad a Hindu king,
called Dalu Rai (May Allah confound him!) whose wickedness is still
well remembered in the land of Sind. He had, however, a brother called
Chota Amrani, who had given up kufar or ingratitude and had won
immortal happiness by embracing Islam. He had left Brahmanabad and had
committed to memory the whole Koran and also all the customs of the
True Believers. On his return to the city his relatives wanted him to
marry; but King Dalu Rai said with a cruel sneer “He is a renegade. Let
him go on a pilgrimage to Mecca and there wed the daughter of some
famous Arab; but he shall not marry the daughter of any Hindu subject
of mine!”
Chota Amrani feared to stay longer in Brahmanabad, so he set out on a
pilgrimage to Mecca. After many hardships and dangers he reached the
Holy City. As he walked through the streets, he passed a shop, wherein
a woman, instead of attending to her customers was reading aloud the
Koran. Chota Amrani stopped to listen. The woman saw him and asked him
why he did not pass on. “I have stopped,” said Chota Amrani, “to listen
to the words of Holy Writ. I have learnt the Koran by heart; but if you
will teach me its various readings, I shall become your slave.” “Nay,”
said the woman, “I am not fit to teach you. I have a teacher of my own.
She is a maiden and you cannot enter her home in a man’s dress. But if
you change your clothes and dress like a girl, I shall take you to
her.” Chota Amrani who was still quite young and without any beard on
his chin, agreed. He dressed up as a girl and was taken to the house of
the learned maiden by the woman in the shop. The maiden’s name was
Fatima and she readily undertook the instruction of the foreign girl,
who had come from so far off to see Mecca. One day the shopwoman asked
Fatima some questions concerning the marriage of her daughter. Fatima,
who was skilled in astrology as well as in matters religious, answered
the questions with ease. Chota Amrani then to test the maiden said “As
you can tell the future of others, you can surely tell your own
future.” Fatima replied “My fate is to be married to a man from Sind.”
“But when?” asked the astonished visitor. “In no long time,” replied
Fatima. “But where is the man?” asked Chota Amrani. Fatima pretended to
consult her astrological books and said with a smile “You are the man.”
Then she added “Begone and come no longer in the garb of a girl. Put on
a man’s dress and ask formally for my hand, for I am destined to be
yours.”
Chota Amrani, abashed at the penetration of his disguise, went away and
returned dressed as a man. He formally asked for the hand of Fatima.
His request was granted and she became his wife.
After two or three months had passed, Chota Amrani told Fatima that he
must take her back with him to Sind. Fatima made no objection and they
set sail for the land of the Indus river. When they reached
Brahmanabad, they found that Dalu Rai had recently issued a law that
every young married woman should be brought to his couch for at least
one night. He therefore demanded that Chota Amrani should send Fatima
to his palace. Chota Amrani refused and Dalu Rai did nothing for the
moment. But one day when Chota Amrani was absent from the city, Dalu
Rai forced his way into his brother’s house and tried to seduce Fatima.
The noble lady virtuously resisted all his efforts to lead her astray
and fortunately before he could use violence to her, Chota Amrani
returned. He drove the wicked king from his house and instantly left
Brahmanabad with Fatima. As he left, a voice from heaven was heard to
say “This city will soon be swallowed because of its king’s wickedness.
Let those who are warned flee from the accursed spot or keep watch
against the day of atonement.” A few obeyed and shook from their feet
the dust of the doomed city, but most of the people paid no heed. The
first night the city was spared, because an old woman working at a
wheel kept awake all night, as the voice had commanded. The second
night an oil presser kept watch unceasingly. But the third night the
inhabitants forgot the divine warning. Suddenly, while all slept the
entire city was swallowed up. Of all its splendid buildings only one
minaret remained, as an example and a warning to other kings and
peoples.