Folio from an illustrated manuscript of RazmNama, a Persian translation of Mahabharata
Mughal, Dated – 1598 AD, Period of Akbar
Painting Sise – 17 x 27 cm.
The selected painting is part of Razmnama which was commissioned in the court of Shen Shah Akbar by Badouni illustrating the great Indian Hindu epic Mahabharata. Mughal Emperor Akbar had keen interest in all religion, so the artist was once again asked to illustrate Ramayana, which is another great epic of Hindu religion. The emperor desired to minimize the hatred of Muslims for Hindus and believing it to arise from mutual ignorance, ordained that certain Hindu text should be translated into Persian.
The compilation of different episodes of Mahabharata is known as Razmnama, which was probably completed in 1588 but illustrated copies, including the great folios are now in the palace library at Jaipur, was not completed before 1595. The Razmanama is divided into four separate volumes and illustrated with 168 miniatures. Prepared between 1583/4 and 1588 AD these 344 illustrations definitely occupy a very important place in history and development of Mughal painting.
During this period local Hindu artists were working for the Mughal courts which had their own schools of paintings nourished over the years by Persian artists. It was a great dilemma for the local Hindu artist to work under such circumstances although they were well aware of these great epics. The Court paintings portrayed characters and nature in more heroic and royal style as against the traditional style which was more calm and softer in appearance.
In this scene Krishna is shown as the main character of the painting as he his blowing the conch shell to announce the end of the war between the Kaurava’s and Pandavas. While he blows the conch the five Pandavas are depicted more in supportive stature next to him and the kauravas are lying on ground as if highlighting the victory of good over the bad after a long episode of warfare. The painting also includes supportive intervention of the three main terrestrial gods/deities, i.e. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as per Hindu mythology. Moreover the scene reminds us of its importance along with the Krishna’s heroic and royal portraiture which was common in these illustrations. Here Krishna is no longer the romantic lover of Radha or a mischievous guy playing with cowherd females but a well groomed youth of Mughal tradition with vigor of Rajput noble. This picture has a lyrical splendor, a certain wild elation quite distinct from previous Indian paintings which did provide finer insights about facial features, clothes, beauty of the nature.
The scene is portrays Krishna’s life after he has left his cowherd. There is no attempt to stress his romantic qualities or to present him as a lover. He appears rather as the great fighter, the slayer of demons. Such a portrayal is what we might perhaps expect from a Mughal edition. The paintings are remarkable interpretations, investing Krishna with an air of effortless composure, and exalting his princely grace. The style is notable for its use of smoothly flowing outline and gentle shading. Light hues of blue are very mildly used to express the sky along with the three deities from heaven. Features like the tree, a hint of the mountain with 3 smooth strokes on the right corner along with the water body with swans in left corner explains the location of the scene. Although they are include as part of the painting as supportive elements they do not distract the viewer from noticing Krishna in the very first attempt.
As it was common to write about the painting in the Mughal court the bottom space does include few texts which is written in Urdu / Persian which simply asserts the origin of the folio.
Reference Reading
1. Mughal & Rajput Painting. Part 1. Volume 3. by Milo Cleveland Beach
2. Hindu Art by T Richard Blurton
3. Indian Miniature Paintings by Anjan Chakraverty
4. Cultural History of India by Om Prakash
No comments:
Post a Comment