These activities also gave them an excuse to enter territories where they suspected the provincial governor of harbouring rebellious intentions. Thus they were able to maintain direct contact and strengthen their allegiance with their subjects and the local army without the intercession of the governor.
The most popular outdoor pastime was the royal hunt. Akbar was very fond of hunting, in fact, he gave the impression that he was more interested in hunting than in state business. But in doing so, Abul Fazl says, “he pursues higher aims”.
He often used the pretext of hunting to solve political problems. When he wanted to throw off the yoke of Bairam Khan, he went out of Agra, presumably on a hunt, and from the hunting ground galloped off to Delhi where Queen Dowager Hamida Banu Begum and many courtiers were organising an attempt to put an end to Bairam Khan. Similarly, when he learnt about the rebellion of Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, the governor of Malwa, he left the capital on the pretext of hunting elephants in the jungle of Malwa.
There were many hunting areas (shikargahs) reserved for emperors throughout the empire. No one, not even the princes, were allowed to hunt there without royal permission. The officials who arranged the royal hunt were known as mir shikar, qush begi, and qarawals. Before a royal hunt qarawals made all the preparations. A royal hunting party often consisted of a thousand men or more; sometimes ladies also accompanied the hunt. A hunting expedition could last a week, a month or more, depending on the whim of the emperor. The best season for hunting was from November till the end of March.
During the hunt the emperor remained seated on an elephant; on his return he used a palanquin.
The writer (waqia nawis) recorded all the details of the game killed by the emperor, such as the type and the weapon used; for instance, Akbar killed 1,019 animals on different occasions with the Sangran gun.
Mughal emperors were very good huntsmen. At Nawar, Akbar killed a tiger with a sword. Jahangir was a very good shot and once shot eighteen deer. On another occasion he asked his guest, Karan Singh, where he would like the tiger shot. Karn indicated the eyes, and Jahangir, in spite of the wind and the instability of the elephant, shot it in the eye. Shahjahan killed 40 black deer with his gun.
The royal hunt, arranged on a large scale under the Great Mughals, was known as Qamargah (ring-hunt). The Qamargah was a royal prerogative; neither the highest nobles of the court, nor even a favourite prince was allowed to hunt in this manner. When the emperor wished to have a Qamargah hunt, the mir shikar hired thousands of men to frighten away various kinds of wild animals from all sides to a central area by beating drums and shouting. The area was surrounded by a canvas-wall guarded by armed men.
When all the animals were gathered together and all the arrangements had been perfected, the emperor would enter the Qamargah ground with a few selected nobles and start to hunt. While the emperor himself hunted the animals, no one else was allowed to do so. After him some nobles were allowed to hunt, and then all the others were allowed to do so.
When Akbar was at Lahore in 1567, he ordered a Qamargah hunt. Fifty thousand beaters were employed to drive out the animals and a wide space was selected for the hunt. For one month animals and birds were driven to this place; it was the greatest hunt that had ever taken place. According to Badayuni nearly 15,000 wild animals were collected in the arena.
Another method of hunting was shakhband (tying together of horns or branches) in which animals were hunted into a circular enclosure; the hake was another kind of hunt in which animals were brought within the range of the emperor’s gun.
Hunting the lion was a royal prerogative and could only be done after gaining royal permission. Whenever the emperor wanted to hunt a lion or tiger, the whereabouts of such a beast were discovered by the officials of the royal hunt. The area where the beast was found was then surrounded and it was driven towards the place where the emperor was waiting.
The killing of a lion or a tiger was regarded as a significant occasion. The dead lion was brought into the presence of the emperor. It was minutely viewed by officers and measured. Afterwards an account of the dead lion was written down including its size, colour, hair, teeth and claws, the time when it was killed and the name of the king who killed it. People took it as an auspicious sign when the emperor killed a lion.