Art. VI.—Māham Anaga

Abstract

This lady was one of Akbar's nurses, and is said to have watched over him from the cradle to the throne. She must have been a notable woman, for she acquired great influence over Akbar, and was for a time the administratrix of his kingdom. It was in great measure through her intrigues that Akbar emancipated himself from the control of Bairām Khān. There has long been a mystery about her status and about the paternity of her children. She had two sons, Bāqī Khān Kōka and Adham Khān Kōka, but their father's name is never mentioned. Abū'l - faẓl, Niẓāmu - d - dīn, Badāōnī, and other writers, always speak of them as the sons of Māham Anaga, but give no hint as to their father's identity. Hence Mr. Blochmann concluded that Adham Khān, the more celebrated of the two, was “doubtless a royal bastard.” Professor Dowson demurs to this view on account of the great respect with which Māham Anaga is always spoken of, but admits that there is a mystery about the paternity. If, however, an illuminated MS. in the possession of Colonel Hanna is to be trusted, the mystery is cleared up, for its author states that Māham Anaga was the wife of Nadīm Khwāja Kōka, the sherbet-provider (sharbat-bardār) or butler of Humāyūn. The statement occurs at p. 9b of the MS., in telling the story (also given in the Akbarnāma) of how Akbar, while still an infant, comforted his nurse Jījī Anaga.