A research scholar in an archive is reading two Mughal documents. The first is an imperial order of 1598. It allows a group of Christian fathers to build a house of prayer in a port city of Gujarat, so that they may engage in their own worship, and it adds that the emperor's order must be obeyed in every way. The second is a letter of 1661-62 from an emperor to a guru. With it the emperor sends a piece of cloth for a cloak and twenty five rupees as an offering, and offers to render any service the guru may ask for.
Which of the following correctly identifies the emperor who wrote the letter of 1661-62 and the deity worshipped by the guru?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Aurangzeb; Shiva
Option (1) Aurangzeb; Shiva — Correct. The letter was written by Aurangzeb to a Jogi, Guru Anand Nath. It wishes him peace under the protection of Sri Shiv Jio, so the guru was a worshipper of Shiva. The offering shows the emperor's respect for him.
Option (2) Akbar; Shiva — Incorrect. Shiva is right, but Akbar had died long before 1661-62. The letter of that year was written by Aurangzeb.
Option (3) Aurangzeb; Vishnu — Incorrect. Aurangzeb is right, but the letter calls on Sri Shiv Jio. The guru was a Jogi, a devotee of Shiva.
Option (4) Akbar; Vishnu — Incorrect. Both parts are wrong. The writer was Aurangzeb, and the deity in the letter is Shiva.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.1 Faiths of rulers and subjects … |