Salim replies that he is not drinking in grief, but instead he is very happy today. Qutub asks Salim in what grief he is drinking so much today. Meanwhile, Salim is seen drinking and enjoying life with his friend, Qutub.
Just then, Jodha shows up while Raukhaiyya is taking her decision, she tries to defend the slave but gets speechless when Raukhaiyya asks her whether she will be responsible if the disease spreads in the castle. Raukhaiyya Begum asks her attendants to keep her out of the castle as the disease she carries might get spread in the castle. The doctors are attending a maid who is suffering from a contact disease. Akbar tells Raukhaiyya that he would disguise himself and then meet Jodha. Two months pass, and Akbar is seen missing Jodha each day. He decides to help the people of the kingdom when his mother is out in the disease stricken land. Salim then understands what Akbar was trying to explain. Akbar replies to Salim saying that after being Mariam-ul-Zamaani, it is Jodha's responsibility to serve the people of the kingdom. Salim asks him the reason behind sending Jodha to help the people suffering from contact diseases. He meets the priests who purify him before he could meet Akbar. On the other hand, Salim visits Akbar's castle. He asks the people to help her, but the people fear that they might get the disease. Just then, Waleeda's husband reaches the spot and finds his wife suffering. People are looking at her standing still, but nobody steps forward to help the suffering woman.
And this is where the soft romance between Akbar and Jodha gets mired in irony.A woman named Waleeda is seen suffering from the disease that has spread in the kingdom.
Having dwelt upon Jodha’s preferred status in Akbar’s life, Akbar’s subsequent marriages cannot be wished away. That Jahangir, Akbar’s successor, too is appreciated as a liberal leader, perhaps only shows the indirect influence that Jodha might have made politically. Akbar’s fondness for Jodha only made him more accepting of Hindu rituals. It is also accepted that Jodha had the permission to worship in the Hindu way in her palace and continued to remain a devotee of Lord Krishna. Jodha used her influence to build gardens, wells, and mosques around the country. She was Akbar’s only queen who could issue farman (official decree), which was normally the exclusive privilege of the emperor. Subsequently, Jodha is said to have enjoyed increased clout over political matters. Was Akbar’s affection for Jodhabai thus familial and borne out of a sense of gratitude? Akbar’s first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum, and his second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan.Ī sense of desperation seemed to mark Akbar’s prayers at the dargah of the Shaikh Salim Chishti, which later led to the birth of his first surviving child Jahangir. But apart from her personality attributes, she gave Akbar what his other queens could not - an heir. Jodha, it is said, was extremely gorgeous and dignified. What then could have possibly led to Jodha being given this preference? Yet, there seems to be near unanimity over Jodhabai being referred to as Akbar’s favourite queen. History does not corroborate any instance of Akbar’s romance with Jodhabai in the real sense. The law of Hindu succession has always been patrimonial, so the threat to lineage, in marrying their princesses for political gain, was pretty inconsequential. The fact that other Rajput kingdoms, subsequently, also established similar matrimonial alliances with Akbar, cannot be disproved. It will be interesting to note here that there is little clarity on the total number of wives that Akbar eventually had. Hira Kunwari (Jodha’s maiden name) was married to Akbar on January 20, 1562, at Sambhar near Jaipur. Akbar’s marriage with the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber (modern day Jaipur) was quite unequivocally a device used for political acquisition.
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