The translation and explanation of the inscription, manifestly made by a Musalman and as such having special value, are as follows:--
1. By the command of the Emperor Babur whose justice is an edifice reaching up to the very height of the heavens,
2. The good-hearted Mir Baqi built this alighting-place of angels;
3. Bavad khair baqi! May this goodness last for ever!)
The year of building was made clear likewise when I said, Buvad khair baqi (=935)
The explanation of this is:--
1st couplet:-- The poet begins by praising the Emperor Babur under whose orders the mosque was erected. As justice is the (chief) virtue of kings, he naturally compares his (Babur's) justice to a palace reaching up to the very heavens, signifying thereby that the frame of that justice has not only spread in the wide world but had gone up to the heavens.
2nd couplet:-- The poet tells who was entrusted with the work of construction. Mir Baqi was evidently some noble of distinction in Babur's Court. The noble height, the pure religious atmosphere and the scrupulous cleanliness and neatness of the mosque are beautifully suggested by saying that it was to be the abode of angels.
3rd couplet:-- The third couplet begins and ends with the expression Buvad khair baqi. The letters formed by the numerical values represent the number 935. The poet indirectly refers to a religious commandment (dictum?) of the Qoran that a man's good deeds live after his death, and signifies that this noble mosque ie verily such a one.
The explanation of the inscription outside the mosque follows:--
In the first couplet the poet praises God, in the second Muhammad and in the third Babur. The author hints that the mosque is meant to be the abode of God, though He has no fixed abiding-place. In the first hemistitch of the third couplet the poet gives Babur the apellation of qalandar, which means a perfect devotee, indifferent to all worldly pleasures. In the second hemistitch he gives as the reason for his being so, that Babur became and was known all the world over as a qalandar, because having become Emperor of India and having thus reached the summit of worldly success, he had nothing to wish for on this earth.
The insciption is incomplete and the above is the plain interpretation which can be given to the couplets that are to hand. Attempts may be made to read further meaning into them but the language would not warrant it.
Note: Presumably the order for building the mosque was given during Babur's stay in Aud (Ajodhya) in 934 Al Hajira, at which time he would be impressed by the dignity and the sanctity of the ancient Hindu shrine it (at least in part) displaced, and like the obedient follower of Muhammad he was in intolerance of another Faith, would regard the substitution of a temple by a mosque as dutiful and worthy. The mosque was finished in 935 AH but no mention of its completion is in the Babur Nama. The diary for 935 AH has many minor lacunae; that of the year 934 AH has lost much matter, breaking off before where the account of Aud might be looked for.