Babur. Memoirs (Babur-Nama), Translated by A. Beveridge. Delhi, 1979. 120 quoted in Ibn Warraq, Why I am not a Muslim, 1995. p 340
“

In those leisurely days I discovered in myself a strange inclination, nay! as the verse says, "I maddened and afflicted myself" for a boy in the camp-bazaar, his very name, Baburi, fitting in. . . . From time to time Baburi used to come to my presence but out of modesty and bashfulness, I could never look straight at him; how then could I make conversation and recital? In my joy and agitation I could not thank him (for coming); how was it possible for me to reproach him with going away? What power had I to command the duty service to myself? One day, during that time of desire and passion when I was going with companions along a lane and suddenly met him face to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right off. To look straight at him or put words together was impossible. . . . In that frothing up of desire and passion, and under that stress of youthful folly, I used to wander, barehead, bare-foot, through street and lane, orchard and vineyard.

— Babur

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In those leisurely days I discovered in myself a strange inclination, nay! as the verse says, "I maddened and afflicted myself" for a boy in the camp-bazaar, his very name, Baburi, fitting in. . . . From time to time Baburi used to come to my presence but out of modesty and bashfulness, I could never look straight at him; how then could I make conversation and recital? In my joy and agitation I could not thank him (for coming); how was it possible for me to reproach him with going away? What power had I to command the duty service to myself? One day, during that time of desire and passion when I was going with companions along a lane and suddenly met him face to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right off. To look straight at him or put words together was impossible. . . . In that frothing up of desire and passion, and under that stress of youthful folly, I used to wander, barehead, bare-foot, through street and lane, orchard and vineyard." in the context of "Babur. Memoirs (Babur-Nama), Translated by A. Beveridge. Delhi, 1979. 120 quoted in Ibn Warraq, Why I am not a Muslim, 1995. p 340" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Babur" (Quotes from the Baburnama) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Babur

About Babur

Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad Babur or Babur (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530) was a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur; Babur was a military adventurer, a soldier of distinction, a poet, diarist and statesman. Babur was the first Mughal Emperor and founder of the Mughal Empire.