Page:Historic Landmarks of the Deccan.djvu/69

57 The first of the missionaries of Islam to be buried at Rauza was the saint Muntajab-ud-din, known as Zar Bakhsh or •* thebestower of gold, in consequence of a supposed miraculous gift which enabled him to supply from day to day, the wants of his seven hundred followers. He was sent from Delhi in 1309 by the famous saint Nizam-ud-din Auliya, but did not long survive his journey to the Deccan. He was succeeded by his younger brother Burhan-ud-din Auliya, who died in 1343 and was buried near the spot afterwards selected as the site of Aurangzib's tomb. He was succeeded by his disciple Zain-ud-din, who also has a fine tomb, at Rauza. With this saint the succession of authorized leaders of missionary enterprise in the Deccan, which was one of the imm.ediate consequences of the southern conquests of Ala-ud-din Khalji, came lo an end.

A later sojourner at Rauza was the saint known as Sayyid Raju Qattal, (" the slayer "), so called from the gift of the evil eye, which he is said to have possessed to such a remarkable degree that he could kill by a glance. His powers have not, it is said, died with him. The inhabitants believe that no bird can settle on the dome of his tomb without bursting asunder. Near this saint's tomb is a small mosque known as the mosque of the fourteen hundred saints, who are supposed to have accompanied Muntajab-ud-din to the Deccan. The number of these worthies seems to have doubled by some mysterious process, for the most authentic information which we have is that Muntajab-ud-din was accompanied by seven hundred disciples. The tombs of the saints who have been mentioned are still objects of veneration, and Burhan-ud-din Auliya is further commemorated by a cenotaph in the fort of Narnala, in Berar, a visit to which is said to be a prophylactic against hydrophobia.

Near the tomb of Sayyid Raju Qattal is a large empty tomb, now used as a rest-house, which formerly held the remains of Ahmad Shah, who died in i 508, and Burhan Shah, who died in 1554, the two first kings of the Nizam Shahi dynasty of Ahmadnagar. Their bones, after resting here for some time, were removed and taken to the shrine of Karbala where they were re-interred. In an enclosure near this tomb stands the fine tomb of Malik Ambar the African, the able solder and administrator who long stemmed the tide of Mughal conquest in the Deccan and fitly finds a resting place near the tomb of the earlier kings of the dynasty which he served so well in the years of its decay. He died in