[6] After he had sat with me an hour and a half he took his
leave, and I conducted him to the door, whence he was carried to his
elephant in his litter, from which he mounted without touching the
ground.
This litter is called a 'nalki'. It is one of the three great
insignia which the Mogul Emperors of Delhi conferred upon independent
princes of the first class, and could never be used by any person
upon whom, or upon whose ancestors, they had not been so conferred.
These were the nalki, the order of the Fish, and the fan of the
peacock's feathers. These insignia could be used only by the prince
who inherited the sovereignty of the one on whom they had been
originally conferred. The order of the Fish, or Mahi Maratib, was
first instituted by Khusru Parviz, King of Persia, and grandson of
the celebrated Naushirvan the Just. Having been deposed by his
general, Bahram, Khusru fled for protection to the Greek emperor,
Maurice, whose daughter, Shirin, he married, and he was sent back to
Persia, with an army under the command of Narses, who placed him on
the throne of his ancestors in the year A.
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