One of the nine gems of Akbar’s palace, and one of the wittiest people in Indian history, Birbal, would make his trip to the palace on foot. Once, Emperor Akbar saw him walking to court and wondered why this noble did not have a horse. Akbar immediately promised him a fine, healthy horse. However, when he went to the stable, the Emperor changed his mind. Instead of a sound horse, he demanded a weak horse just for fun. The horse died soon after it reached Birbal’s doorstep. The next day, the Emperor saw Birbal again coming to court on foot. The Emperor inquired about the horse he sent. Birbal replied:
Jahapanah, it indeed was the fastest horse of all. He was in fact, so fast that he crossed the distance from the earth to heaven in one night.
This story is among the many stories of Akbar-Birbal narrated to children. The stories are mostly untrue. However, Akbar’s love of horses is true. The Emperor’s birth was aided by his father’s (Emperor Humayun) loyal horse. Thus, it can be said that Akbar and the horse go a long way back. The horse that helped Emperor Akbar also saved Emperor Humayun’s life.
Akbar gave importance to horses. The animal had a unique role to play in the mansabdari system of administration. The Emperor personally chose people to swat flies off his precious horses when they were in the stables. They also paid special attention to the grooming of the horses. The horsemen must certainly have had a lot of work to do as the estimated cavalry size during Akbar’s rein administration was around 400,000.
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