Dara Shikoh translated the Upanishads into Persian, under the title 'Sirr-i-Akbar', in the year:

Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, completed the Persian translation of 52 Upanishads, called "Sirr-i-Akbar" ("The Greatest Secret"), in 1657.

About the translation:

• It was made in Banaras (Varanasi) with the help of Sanskrit scholars (pandits).
• The title is also given as "Sirr-ul-Asrar" ("The Secret of Secrets").
• Dara believed that the Upanishads were the "hidden book" mentioned in the Quran, and that they contained the essence of monotheism.

Its influence:

• In 1801-02, a French scholar, Anquetil-Duperron, translated the Persian version into Latin as "Oupnek'hat".
• This Latin version introduced the Upanishads to European thinkers; the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer greatly admired it.

About Dara Shikoh:

• He was born in 1615 at Ajmer.
• He was the favourite son of Shah Jahan.
• He was a scholar and a mystic, interested in Sufism and in Hindu philosophy.
• He was a follower of the Qadiri order of Sufis, and a disciple of Mulla Shah Badakhshi and Mian Mir.

His other works:

• "Majma-ul-Bahrain" ("The Mingling of the Two Oceans"): a comparison of Sufism and Hindu Vedanta, showing their similarities.
• "Safinat-ul-Auliya" and "Sakinat-ul-Auliya": biographies of Sufi saints.
• He also had the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Vasishtha translated into Persian.

His fate:

• In the war of succession among Shah Jahan's sons (1657-1659), Dara was defeated by Aurangzeb.
• He was captured, tried for heresy, and executed in 1659.
• He is buried in Humayun's Tomb complex, Delhi.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1605 was the year of Akbar's death.
• ✗1627 was the year of Jahangir's death.
• ✗1666 was the year of Shah Jahan's death.