The reflection of contagious diseases in the literary and historical texts of the Indian Subcontinent

In various historical periods of the Indian Subcontinent, there have surged fatal pandemics causing thousands of people to die. This catastrophic happening has come to be a source of inspiration for a number of literary works revealing personal and social reactions of the populations around the land to infectious diseases, particularly plague and cholera. The historians at the courts of the Gurkāni (Mughal) Emperors have addressed this calamity - which affected various parts of India - in their history books such as Tabaqāt-e Akbari, Jahāngir-nāmeh, Shāhjahān-nāmeh and so forth. Poets like Tāleb-e Āmoli, Kalim-e Kāshāni and others serving the Gurkān court have mentioned this issue in their works. They have even created separate verses in this respect. Furthermore, a religious and Sufi perspective regarding the transmission of plague and other communicable diseases.The present article tracks down infectious diseases, especially plague, in the books produced in the Subcontinent to demonstrate how this occurrence has become the focus of attention in the creation of several literary, mystical, and historical works.