House Kachwahas of Amber Children Khusrau Mirza Spouse Jahangir (m. 1585–1605) | Name Manbhawati Bai Father Raja Bhagwant Das | |
Issue Khusrau Mirza, Princess Nithar Begum Mother Rani Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba Died May 16, 1605, Lahore, Pakistan Parents Rani Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba Grandchildren Dawar, Sultan Buland Akhtar, Sultan Gurshasp Mirza Similar People Jahangir, Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani, Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan, Mariam‑uz‑Zamani | ||
Man Bai (died 16 May 1605) was the first wife of Shahzada Nur-ud-din Mohammad Salim, future Mughal emperor Jahangir, and the mother of Prince Khusrau Mirza. She received the title of Shah Begum after giving birth to her son.
Man Bai was the daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber and married her first-cousin, Salim, when he was 15 years-old in 1585. She was a bad choice as a wife for Salim as both her and her father were mentally unstable. While Bhagwant Das had once attempted suicide, Man Bai died by her own hand.
She was a neurotic woman, quick to take offence over imagined insults, for which there was plenty of scope for the Rajput princess in Jahangir's polygamous and predominantly Muslim household. "The lady [Man Bai] was ever ambitious of an ascendancy over the other inmates of the harem, and grew violent at the slightest opposition of her will" said Inayatullah. "From time to time her mind wandered, and her father and brothers all agreed in telling me she was insane," writes Jahangir.
Man Bai committed suicide on 16 May 1605 by an overdose of drugs (opium) due to her unhappiness over her son's surliness towards her husband. But Muhibb Ali gives a different reason for her suicide: "As Prince Salim always behaved improperly to her, her mind became jealous and she killed herself by taking opium." Her tomb is in Khusrau Bagh in Allahabad.