This is an unusual love affair between a
Portuguese Slave Girl and a Indian Mughal prince which describes the intensity
of her love that the Portuguese slave girl by the name Dona Juliana Dias Da
Costa(1658–1733), had over Shah Alam, the son of Aurangzeb.
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| Dona Juliana |
It is said that she not only assisted in
safeguarding the Christian in then Mughal-ruled India but was also responsible
in spreading the faith in Portuguese India.
Dona Juliana Dias da Costa was considered to
be a woman of Portuguese origin from Kochi in the court of Aurangzeb the Mughal
Empire in Hindustan. She became Harem-Queen to the Mughal Emperor of India.
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| Dona Julian |
Bahadur Shah I the son of Aurangzeb who
became the monarch in 1707.
In
the suburban village of Okhla, one of the oldest in Delhi, stands a tall board
that reads ‘Sarai Julena Gaon’. This signboard is the last remaining proof of a
sarai, or rest house, built for weary travellers built in the 18th century.
Today, the area houses DDA (Delhi Development Authority) flats.
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| Sarai Juliana |
The architect of this lost structure was a woman who once held much
importance in the Mughal courts, even though she was a Christian and the
daughter of a maid in the palace.
At 17 – Youngest Tutor to Muazzam/Shah Alam
Aurangzeb entrusted the education of Prince
Muazzam (later Shah Alam), his second son, to Juliana. She was 17 and he was 18
at the time.
Muazzam was “filled with remorse for the
merciless imprisonment of his grandfather Shah Jahan”, and the “seeds of a
lifelong affair were sown”.
The
prince held much contempt against his father, who had him imprisoned at one
point for suspected treason. A loyal Juliana stuck by Muazzam’s side to the
point where she risked her own life to give him a comfortable life in prison
for seven long years, smuggling in gifts and other items of luxury.
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| Muazzam-Shah Alam |
This loyalty would pay Juliana when the
prince took over the throne and became Bahadur Shah I. Juliana remained by his
side even in his battle for the throne, where she “prophesied [his]
victory…against his brother because of the prayers of all the Christians were
with him”, and “encouraged him to make one last stand while riding beside him
on an elephant”.
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| Aurangzeb receiving his son prince Muazzam in his court |
After father’s death he became
a ruler in 1707 and she used to
accompany Bahadur (Shah Alam) to the battle fields, riding the war elephant and
never failed to give him moral support. Though closer to a powerful royal
Muslim family, she never gave up her Christian faith, daily prayers, etc.
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| Life Style of that time |
It is
said that Juliana had acclimatized the young prince to Christianity to such a
point that he would kneel before Jesus in prayer, send blessings to the church,
and just about everything short of baptism.
Shah Baradur’s
gratitude towards Dona Juliana knew no limits. In view of Juliana’s trust in
prayer, he gave her this title: “Juliana Fiddawie”, or “Juliana
devoted to prayer”. Moreover he sent her presents valued about ninety
thousand rupees and made over to her four villages yielding a yearly income of
fifty-thousand rupees.
He
also set apart the palace which once belonged to his unfortunate uncle Prince
Dara Shikoh, for her place of residence. Many other titles were conferred upon
her, but the one she herself appears to have cherished most was “Fiddawie
Badahur Shah Juliana”, or “Juliana devoted to Shah Baradur”.
Whenever Dona Juliana went out her long
retinue included two elephants richly caparisoned and on them were borne aloft
two gorgeous vermillion standards with white crosses.
Finally, out of regard for her the Emperor
created a new dignity, known as “the Juliana”, i. e., the dignity of
crowning the Emperor, a position which became hereditary in her family after
her death.
After the death of Bahadur Shah in 1712,
Farrukh Siyar ascended the throne in 1713 through violent struggle. When he was
ill as a result of painful carbuncle, Juliana helped him with her knowledge of
natural medicine plus Christian prayers.
The END
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