Jahanara Begum Sahib
| Malika-e-Hindustan Padshah Jahanara begum | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Padshah Begum of Mughal | |
| 1st Tenure | 17 June 1631 - 31 July 1658 |
| Predecessor | Mumtaz Mahal |
| Successor | Zeb-un-Nissa |
| Born | 2 April 1614 |
| Died | 16 September 1681 (aged 67) |
| Burial | Nizamuddin Dargah, New Delhi |
| Rajgharana | Timurid |
| Father | Shah Jahan |
| Mother | Arjumand Banu Begum |
| Religion | Islam |
Jahanara Begum Sahib (Urdu: شاهزادی جہاں آرا بیگم صاحب) (April 2, 1614 – September 16, 1681) was Shahzadi (Imperial Princess) of the Mughal Empire as the eldest surviving daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. She was also the older sister of her father's successor and the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. After Empress Mumtaz Mahal died from complications of giving birth to her fourteenth child, Jahanara became Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire.
Jahanara's early education was entrusted to Sati al-Nisa Khanam, the sister to Jahangir's poet laureate, Tali Amuli. Sati al-Nisa Khanam was known for her knowledge of the Qur'an and Persian literature as well as for her knowledge of etiquette, housekeeping and medicine. She also served as principal lady-in-waiting for Mumtaz Mahal, Jahanara's mother.
Many of the women in the royal household were accomplished at reading and writing poetry and painting.They also played chess, polo and hunted outdoors. The women had access to Akbar's library, full of books on world religions and Persian, Turkish and Indian literature. Jahanara was no exception. She was engaged in her daily game of chess with her father Shah Jahan when they first learned of Mumtaz Mahal's difficulty with labor. Jaharnara rushed to her mother's side but could do nothing to save her.
Upon the death of Mumtaz in 1631, Jahanara, aged 17, took the place of her mother as First Lady of the Empire, despite her father having three other wives. As well as caring for her younger brothers and sisters, she is also credited with bringing her father out of mourning and restoring normality to a court darkened by her mother's death and her father's grief.
One of her tasks after the death of her mother was to oversee, with the help of Sati al-Nisa Khanam, the betrothal and wedding of her brother, Dara Shikoh to Begum Nadira Banu, which had been originally planned by Mumtaz Mahal, but postponed by her death.
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