The Dvādas Bhāv, a Mughal Version of a Sanskrit Story

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-04-73268-1
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 04, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 245 mm

Reihe: Perspectives on Islamicate South Asia

The Mughal emperor Akbar had a Sanskrit book called the Dvadas Bhav translated to Farsi. Dismembered pages or painted folios from this manuscript were dispersed in auctions. This is the first time this book has been put back together and translated into English. The study reveals how the thirtheen paintings that interspersed this text were intrinsic to communicating its meaning.

This was not the first or last Sanskrit work to be translated to Farsi or be illustrated for a Muslim monarch in Hindustan. The Mughals (and some of the Sultans before them) recognized the significance of Indian knowledge traditions. This book however, provides insight into what went into such translations. Who decided which text should be translated and what governed the decisions?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Duhan-Gulia, Anjali

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstformen, Kunsthandwerk Malerei: Gemälde
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Barock, Klassizismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Note on Transliteration and Other Scholarly Conventions

Introduction

1 The Narrative of Mrigank

2 The Dvadas Bhav: Exploring Its Patronage, Sources and Reception 1 Who Was the Patron of the Dvadas Bhav? 2 The Dvadas Bhav: Search for a Source 3 The Dvadas Bhav: Written Source or Oral Transmission? 4 The Kathasaritsagar for Akbar—Fantasy Tales for an Emperor 5 Another Version of the Kathasaritsagar 6 Reception of the Dvadas Bhav

3 Manuscripts for Edification and Pleasure 1 Translation of Indic Knowledge Traditions 2 Akbar’s Translation Bureau 3 Sanskrit Texts Translated for Akbar

4 The Translator, the Translation and the Politics in Translation 1 The Translator 2 The Translation 3 Political and Ethical Norms Embedded in the Dvadas Bhav

5 The Paintings and Painters: Their Style 1 The Imperial Mughal Atelier in the 1590s 2 Style of the Dvadas Bhav Paintings 3 The Dvadas Bhav Painters 4 The Paintings of ?usayn Naqqash in the Dvadas Bhav 5 The Paintings of Mulla Shah Mu?ammad and Nur Mu?ammad in the Dvadas Bhav 6 Collaborative Efforts 7 Illumination by ?adiq?

Epilogue: Multiple Shades of Engagement 1 The Knowledge Economy 2 Sanskrit Texts—Pedagogy for Princes and ?ikmah for Nobles 3 The Big Picture 4 An Immersive Experience

Appendix A: Translation of Twenty Three Pages of the Dvadas Bhav

Appendix B: Transcription of the Dvadas Bhav

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Dr Anjali Duhan-Gulia, Ph.D. (2017), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is Assistant Professor of Art History in the Maharshi Dayanand University, Haryana. She was a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.