Dara Shikoh

Timeline

1. 1615–1656Agra · North IndiaAs Shah Jahan's favored eldest son, he presided over court scholarly activities, invited Sanskrit scholars, and in 1655 completed Majma' al-Bahrayn — a Persian translation of the Upanishads. He authored works such as The Confluence of Religions and The Essence of Mysticism, advocating the idea of 'Tuhfat al-'Ulam' (the unity of the two lights).
2. 1657–1659Delhi · North IndiaAfter Shah Jahan fell gravely ill, his four sons contested the throne. Dara Shikoh was repeatedly defeated by Aurangzeb at battles such as Deorai and Samugarh, lost Delhi in 1658, was defeated again after the Battle of Deorai in 1659, fled to Multan and Sindh, was captured, and was executed on charges of apostasy and heresy.
3. 1660–1670North Indian Mughal scholarly circles · North IndiaAlthough Aurangzeb banned and destroyed some of his works, texts such as Majma' al-Bahrayn were still secretly transcribed by Sufi scholars and court intellectuals in the 1660s. His religious synthesis continued to influence scholars in the Akbarian tradition and became an important intellectual reference point for contrasting Aurangzeb's orthodox policies.