that they were finally glad and proud to devote themselves to his
service, and, under the leadership of their own princes, proved
themselves to be the best and truest soldiers of the imperial army,
even far from their home in the farthest limits of the realm.

The great masses of the Hindu people Akbar won over by lowering the
taxes as we have previously related, and by all the other successful
expedients for the prosperity of the country, but especially by the
concession of perfect liberty of faith and worship and by the
benevolent interest with which he regarded the religious practices of
the Hindus. A people in whom religion is the ruling motive of life,
after enduring all the dreadful sufferings of previous centuries for
its religion's sake, must have been brought to a state; of boundless
reverence by Akbar's attitude. And since the Hindus were accustomed to
look upon the great heroes and benefactors of humanity as incarnations
of deity we shall not be surprised to read from an author of that
time[17] that every morning before sunrise great numbers of Hindus
crowded together in front of the palace to await the appearance of
Akbar and to prostrate themselves as soon as he was seen at a window,
at the same time singing religious hymns. This fanatical enthusiasm of
the Hindus for his person Akbar knew how to retain not only by actual
benefits but also by small, well calculated devices.

[Footnote 17: Badâoni in Noer, II, 320.]

It is a familiar fact that the Hindus considered the Ganges to be a
holy river and that cows were sacred animals. Accordingly we can
easily understand Akbar's purpose when we learn that at every meal he
drank regularly of water from the Ganges (carefully filtered and
purified to be sure) calling it "the water of immortality,"[18] and