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Razmnamah (British Library, Or. 12076)

December 23, 2023

The Razmnama, British Library Or.12076 is an incomplete illustrated Mughal manuscript of the Razmnama, which is a translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata written by Naqib Khan, and copied in AH 1007 (1598/99). It contains sections 14–18, the concluding part of the work, with some detached parts. There are 24 full-page Mughal paintings of high quality, all attributed to artists (two artists in three cases).[1] It is the second of the four surviving Mughal illustrated manuscripts,[2][1] described in the BL catalogue as "Sub-imperial Mughal".

Bhima Kills Kichaka and his brothers, by Dhannu. Though from the same copy, this folio is not in the British Library, and uses much less colour than most folios.

British Library ("BL"), Or. 12076 has 138 folios which were already numbered when bought, the numbers running from 715 to 846, with others not numbered, but several leaves missing from the text.[1]

History edit

The manuscript appeared in an auction at Sotheby's in London in 1921 (24-25 Oct. 1921, lot 203), when the BL portion was bought for £76 by the art historian Gerald Reitlinger (then only 21). It appeared again at Sotheby's in 1954 (Lot 230, Sotheby's sale 8 Nov. 1954), and was bought by a dealer who sold it to the British Museum (now BL) a few weeks later.[1]

In the 1921 sale, several lots included parts of the manuscript, which had presumably recently been divided for the sale, and altogether the locations of 161 miniatures are known, and were recorded by Seyller. The location of the "remaining portions" of the text, sold to a dealer for £1, are not known. A further eight leaves later reached the BL as British Library Add.Or. 2776–2783.[1]

British Library, Or. 12076 has only the last five sections (Parwa) of 18 in the whole work. The text follows the Jaimini version of Ashvamedhika Parva.[3]

Miniatures edit

 
Arjuna and his men attempt to free the white horse from the rock. Artist: Banavari Khurd

As described by the British Library catalogue, the 24 miniatures are:

  • f.4v. Krishna and the Pandavas being told by the sage Vyasa where to obtain the horse for the sacrifice (‘asvamedha’). (Mohan ibn Banwari).
  • f.7v. The discovery of the horse, Syamakarna, by Bhima who is sitting on the mountain above the city of Bhadravati watching the soldiers of the army of Raja Yauvanasva. (Narayan Khurd).
  • f.13v. Bhima arriving at the castle of Dvaraka to invite Krishna to the ‘asvamedha’. Krishna who is with his wife Satyabhama pretends not to hear. (Bhawani).
  • f.17r. The horse being taken to the ‘zanana’ so that Krishna's wives and the Pandava ladies can see it. Krishna is drinking with Yudhisthira. (Bhagwan).
  • f.20r. Anusalva who had stolen the horse being forced by Vrsaketu, Karna's son, to bow down in submission before Yudhisthira and Krishna. (Lohanka).
  • f.23v. The god Agni creating the fire to help his father-in-law Raja Niladhvaja of Malwa whilst Arjuna quenches the flames with magic arrows which produced springs of water. (Ahmad Kashmiri).
  • f.26v. Arjuna trying to free the horse from the rock watched by the other Pandavas. Brahma, Visnu, Siva and Indra are in the sky. (Banwari Khurd).
  • f.35b. Suratha, second son of Raja Hamsadhvaja, challenging Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna after the death of his brother Sudhanvan. (As ibn Mahesh). f.44r. Arjuna treating his son Babhruvahana with contempt in Manipur. (Khem).
  • f.48r. Rama's servant listening to the dhobi quarrelling with his wife. (Da’ud, brother of Daulat). f.5lar. Laksmana abandoning Sita in the forest on the orders of Rama. (Makar). *
  • f.56r. The battle between Kusa and Naga in which Kusa killed Naga's elephant and then cut off Naga's arm. (Dharmdas Lunj). f.62v. Kusa and Lava defeating Bharata, Laksmana and the monkey army. (As ibn Mahesh).
  • f.67r. Babhruvahana decimating Arjuna's army. (Bulaqi ibn Ghulam ‘Ali).
  • f.71v. Battle between Babhruvahana, son of Arjuna, and the snakes in the nether regions. Babhruvahana used arrows which turned into the natural enemies of the snakes such as storks, peacocks and ants and obtained the jewel which saved Arjuna’s life. (Sangha).
  • f.76r. Battle between the armies of Arjuna and Tamradhvaja. Brahma and other deities in the sky. (Paras).
  • f.80v. Viravarman, Raja of Sarasvata, falling to the ground as Hanuman overturns his chariot with his tail, watched by Krishna. (Ibrahim Qahhar).
  • f.83v. Candrahasa kneeling before the Raja of Kuntala on being presented to him by the minister Dhrstabuddhi after Candrahasa’s victory over the king’s enemies. The elephants, horses and hawk are booty from the enemy. (Kanhar).
  • f.87v. Madana, Visaya’s brother, explaining to his father Dhrstabuddhi how she (Visaya) came to be married to Candrahasa. (Dhanu). f.90v. Candrahasa sacrificing himself at the temple of Candika by cutting off pieces of his own flesh and putting them on the fire. A male divinity is trying to restore him to life while Dhrstabuddhi and Madana lie dead nearby. (Qabil ibn Maqbul).
  • f.95r. Krishna telling Bhima of Arjuna’s exploits to which the women also listen. (Banwari Khurd).
  • f.106r. Yudhisthira and Dhrtarastra together when the latter renounces his kingdom. (Hajji).
  • f.110v. Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhrtarastra and following Kunti when Dhrtarastra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. (Dhanu). f.130v. Arjuna burning the bodies after the battle between the Andhakas and Yadavas at Prabhasa on the coast of Gujarat. Ghee is being poured on the funeral pyre. (Narayan).

British library Razmnama has 24 Miniatures with two ditched Miniatures by 21 different Artists.[1] Illustration like "suggestion of vyasa"(4b), "Bhima Discovers horse"(7b), "Rama's servant listens gossip about sita"(48a), "Dhitrashtra retirement"(106a and 110b) and "cremation of yadavas"(130b) are completely absent in Razmnama of Akbar and Rahim.

While "Bhima arrives at Dwarka"(13b), "Fight with Niladhwaja"(23b), "Horse stuck at vindhya"(26b), "Arjuna spurns Babhruvahana"(44a), "Viravarma episode"(80b) and "Sacrifice of Chandrahasa"(90b) illustrated in All three manuscript of Razmnama of Akbar, Rahim and British library copy.[4]

Gallery edit

Razmnama
  •  
    Vyasa gave suggestion of Ashwamedha, Artist Mohana
  •  
    Bhima discovers the white horse while watching the army of Yauvanasva from above the city of Bhadravati. Artist Narayana khurd
  •  
    Bhima arrive Dwarka while Krishna serve satyabhama. Artist Bhawani
  •  
    Ladies of Krishna's Harem are shown the Sacrificial Horse. By Bhagwan
  •  
    Anusalva defeat by Vrishaketu surrender to Krishna. Artist Lohanga
  •  
    Arjuna attempts to quench the fire that Agni created to help his father-in-law, Niladhvaja, in his battle against Arjuna. Artist Ahmad kashmiri
  •  
    Suratha challenge Arjuna. Artist: Asa, son of Mahesh
  •  
    Arjuna spurns Barbhuvahana Artist: khem
  •  
    Rama's servant heard gossip about sita. Artist: Daud, Brother of Daulat
  •  
    Lakshmana leave sita in Forest. Artist: Makara
  •  
    Lava and Kushu engage Lakshmana in battle. Artist: Makara, Edwin collection
  •  
    Kusha cut arms of Naga. Artist: Dharmdas Lunja

Summary of this part of the story edit

At the suggestion of Vyasa, the Pandavas perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice. First Bhima and his army went to Bhadravati, the city of king Yuwanshwa and find a white horse ideal for the sacrifice. Bhima also went to Dwarka to invite Krishna, and also tell Anusalwa who tried to abduct the white horse but was defeated by Vrishakethu. The Jaimini version tells many adventures of white horse. First the horse reaches Malwa where Arjuna fights and defeats King Niladhwaja. Then the horse stuck in a rock in the Vindhya Range and the sage Saubhari tells the story of Chandi.

Next the horse reaches the city of King Hansadhwaja. Arjuna with the help of Krishna kills Hansadhwaja's son Sudhanva and Suratha. Then the horse reaches Manipura where Arjuna's son Babruvahana kills Arjuna. Here Jaimini tells the story of Rama who fights with his own son Lava-kusha. But later Arjuna is save by a magical gem. Next the horse reaches the city of Tamaradhvaja but Krishna manage to defeat them. Then horse come country of Viravarma, King of Saraswata but defeat with help of Krishna and Hanuman. When horse reached country Chandrahasa, sage Narada tell his story of Chandrahasa who adopt by king and married to Bikhaya also he sacrifice himself to save relatives and finally became king. Chandrahasa surrender himself to Krishna. Horse finally reached Hastinapur and yudhisthira completed his Sacrifice. Next Book, Ashramavasika Parva tell Dhitrashtra renounce to Hastinapur with Kunti and gandhari and went to live forest but soon died by Fire of forest. Last three books Mausala Parva, Mahaprasthanika Parva, Svargarohana Parva tell end of krishna and pandavas.[5][6]

Notes edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Razmnama, British Library (Or. 12076).
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Razmnamah: the Persian Mahabharata - Asian and African studies blog". blogs.bl.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  2. ^ Seyller, 37
  3. ^ Audrey Truschke (2016). Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court. Columbia University press.
  4. ^ Seyller
  5. ^ By MAJOR DAVID PRICE. THE LAST DAYS OF KRISHNA AND THE SONS OF PANDU.
  6. ^ "Jaiminiya Mahabharata".

References edit

  • Audrey Truschke, Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court (Columbia University Press, 2016), (also her PhD thesis: Cosmopolitan Encounters: Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court. Columbia University Academic Commons, 2012)
  • John Seyller, "Seyller, John. Model and Copy: The Illustration of Three 'Razmnama' Manuscripts", Archives of Asian Art (1985)., 37-66
  • J. P.Losty and Malini Roy, Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire, British Library, 2012, pp. 55-8

Further reading edit

  • Amy S. Landau, Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts (Baltimore, 2015), especially Adamjee and Truschke's chapter “Reimagining the ʻIdol Temple of Hindustanʼ,” pp. 141–65
  • Yael Rice, “A Persian Mahabharata: The 1598-1599 Razmnama,” Manoa 22/1 (2010): 125-131
  • G. Meredith-Owens and R. H. Pinder-Wilson,“A Persian translation of the ‘Mahabharata’, with a Note on the Miniatures,” The British Museum Quarterly, 20/3 (1956): 62-65
  • M. Athar Ali, “Translations of Sanskrit Works at Akbar's Court,” Social Scientist 20, no 9/10 (1992): 38-45

December 23, 2023
razmnamah, british, library, 12076, razmnama, british, library, 12076, incomplete, illustrated, mughal, manuscript, razmnama, which, translation, hindu, epic, mahabharata, written, naqib, khan, copied, 1007, 1598, contains, sections, concluding, part, work, wi. The Razmnama British Library Or 12076 is an incomplete illustrated Mughal manuscript of the Razmnama which is a translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata written by Naqib Khan and copied in AH 1007 1598 99 It contains sections 14 18 the concluding part of the work with some detached parts There are 24 full page Mughal paintings of high quality all attributed to artists two artists in three cases 1 It is the second of the four surviving Mughal illustrated manuscripts 2 1 described in the BL catalogue as Sub imperial Mughal Bhima Kills Kichaka and his brothers by Dhannu Though from the same copy this folio is not in the British Library and uses much less colour than most folios British Library BL Or 12076 has 138 folios which were already numbered when bought the numbers running from 715 to 846 with others not numbered but several leaves missing from the text 1 Contents 1 History 2 Miniatures 3 Gallery 4 Summary of this part of the story 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further readingHistory editThe manuscript appeared in an auction at Sotheby s in London in 1921 24 25 Oct 1921 lot 203 when the BL portion was bought for 76 by the art historian Gerald Reitlinger then only 21 It appeared again at Sotheby s in 1954 Lot 230 Sotheby s sale 8 Nov 1954 and was bought by a dealer who sold it to the British Museum now BL a few weeks later 1 In the 1921 sale several lots included parts of the manuscript which had presumably recently been divided for the sale and altogether the locations of 161 miniatures are known and were recorded by Seyller The location of the remaining portions of the text sold to a dealer for 1 are not known A further eight leaves later reached the BL as British Library Add Or 2776 2783 1 British Library Or 12076 has only the last five sections Parwa of 18 in the whole work The text follows the Jaimini version of Ashvamedhika Parva 3 Miniatures edit nbsp Arjuna and his men attempt to free the white horse from the rock Artist Banavari KhurdAs described by the British Library catalogue the 24 miniatures are f 4v Krishna and the Pandavas being told by the sage Vyasa where to obtain the horse for the sacrifice asvamedha Mohan ibn Banwari f 7v The discovery of the horse Syamakarna by Bhima who is sitting on the mountain above the city of Bhadravati watching the soldiers of the army of Raja Yauvanasva Narayan Khurd f 13v Bhima arriving at the castle of Dvaraka to invite Krishna to the asvamedha Krishna who is with his wife Satyabhama pretends not to hear Bhawani f 17r The horse being taken to the zanana so that Krishna s wives and the Pandava ladies can see it Krishna is drinking with Yudhisthira Bhagwan f 20r Anusalva who had stolen the horse being forced by Vrsaketu Karna s son to bow down in submission before Yudhisthira and Krishna Lohanka f 23v The god Agni creating the fire to help his father in law Raja Niladhvaja of Malwa whilst Arjuna quenches the flames with magic arrows which produced springs of water Ahmad Kashmiri f 26v Arjuna trying to free the horse from the rock watched by the other Pandavas Brahma Visnu Siva and Indra are in the sky Banwari Khurd f 35b Suratha second son of Raja Hamsadhvaja challenging Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna after the death of his brother Sudhanvan As ibn Mahesh f 44r Arjuna treating his son Babhruvahana with contempt in Manipur Khem f 48r Rama s servant listening to the dhobi quarrelling with his wife Da ud brother of Daulat f 5lar Laksmana abandoning Sita in the forest on the orders of Rama Makar f 56r The battle between Kusa and Naga in which Kusa killed Naga s elephant and then cut off Naga s arm Dharmdas Lunj f 62v Kusa and Lava defeating Bharata Laksmana and the monkey army As ibn Mahesh f 67r Babhruvahana decimating Arjuna s army Bulaqi ibn Ghulam Ali f 71v Battle between Babhruvahana son of Arjuna and the snakes in the nether regions Babhruvahana used arrows which turned into the natural enemies of the snakes such as storks peacocks and ants and obtained the jewel which saved Arjuna s life Sangha f 76r Battle between the armies of Arjuna and Tamradhvaja Brahma and other deities in the sky Paras f 80v Viravarman Raja of Sarasvata falling to the ground as Hanuman overturns his chariot with his tail watched by Krishna Ibrahim Qahhar f 83v Candrahasa kneeling before the Raja of Kuntala on being presented to him by the minister Dhrstabuddhi after Candrahasa s victory over the king s enemies The elephants horses and hawk are booty from the enemy Kanhar f 87v Madana Visaya s brother explaining to his father Dhrstabuddhi how she Visaya came to be married to Candrahasa Dhanu f 90v Candrahasa sacrificing himself at the temple of Candika by cutting off pieces of his own flesh and putting them on the fire A male divinity is trying to restore him to life while Dhrstabuddhi and Madana lie dead nearby Qabil ibn Maqbul f 95r Krishna telling Bhima of Arjuna s exploits to which the women also listen Banwari Khurd f 106r Yudhisthira and Dhrtarastra together when the latter renounces his kingdom Hajji f 110v Gandhari blindfolded supporting Dhrtarastra and following Kunti when Dhrtarastra became old and infirm and retired to the forest Dhanu f 130v Arjuna burning the bodies after the battle between the Andhakas and Yadavas at Prabhasa on the coast of Gujarat Ghee is being poured on the funeral pyre Narayan British library Razmnama has 24 Miniatures with two ditched Miniatures by 21 different Artists 1 Illustration like suggestion of vyasa 4b Bhima Discovers horse 7b Rama s servant listens gossip about sita 48a Dhitrashtra retirement 106a and 110b and cremation of yadavas 130b are completely absent in Razmnama of Akbar and Rahim While Bhima arrives at Dwarka 13b Fight with Niladhwaja 23b Horse stuck at vindhya 26b Arjuna spurns Babhruvahana 44a Viravarma episode 80b and Sacrifice of Chandrahasa 90b illustrated in All three manuscript of Razmnama of Akbar Rahim and British library copy 4 Gallery editRazmnama nbsp Vyasa gave suggestion of Ashwamedha Artist Mohana nbsp Bhima discovers the white horse while watching the army of Yauvanasva from above the city of Bhadravati Artist Narayana khurd nbsp Bhima arrive Dwarka while Krishna serve satyabhama Artist Bhawani nbsp Ladies of Krishna s Harem are shown the Sacrificial Horse By Bhagwan nbsp Anusalva defeat by Vrishaketu surrender to Krishna Artist Lohanga nbsp Arjuna attempts to quench the fire that Agni created to help his father in law Niladhvaja in his battle against Arjuna Artist Ahmad kashmiri nbsp Suratha challenge Arjuna Artist Asa son of Mahesh nbsp Arjuna spurns Barbhuvahana Artist khem nbsp Rama s servant heard gossip about sita Artist Daud Brother of Daulat nbsp Lakshmana leave sita in Forest Artist Makara nbsp Lava and Kushu engage Lakshmana in battle Artist Makara Edwin collection nbsp Kusha cut arms of Naga Artist Dharmdas LunjaSummary of this part of the story editAt the suggestion of Vyasa the Pandavas perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice First Bhima and his army went to Bhadravati the city of king Yuwanshwa and find a white horse ideal for the sacrifice Bhima also went to Dwarka to invite Krishna and also tell Anusalwa who tried to abduct the white horse but was defeated by Vrishakethu The Jaimini version tells many adventures of white horse First the horse reaches Malwa where Arjuna fights and defeats King Niladhwaja Then the horse stuck in a rock in the Vindhya Range and the sage Saubhari tells the story of Chandi Next the horse reaches the city of King Hansadhwaja Arjuna with the help of Krishna kills Hansadhwaja s son Sudhanva and Suratha Then the horse reaches Manipura where Arjuna s son Babruvahana kills Arjuna Here Jaimini tells the story of Rama who fights with his own son Lava kusha But later Arjuna is save by a magical gem Next the horse reaches the city of Tamaradhvaja but Krishna manage to defeat them Then horse come country of Viravarma King of Saraswata but defeat with help of Krishna and Hanuman When horse reached country Chandrahasa sage Narada tell his story of Chandrahasa who adopt by king and married to Bikhaya also he sacrifice himself to save relatives and finally became king Chandrahasa surrender himself to Krishna Horse finally reached Hastinapur and yudhisthira completed his Sacrifice Next Book Ashramavasika Parva tell Dhitrashtra renounce to Hastinapur with Kunti and gandhari and went to live forest but soon died by Fire of forest Last three books Mausala Parva Mahaprasthanika Parva Svargarohana Parva tell end of krishna and pandavas 5 6 Notes edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Razmnama British Library Or 12076 a b c d e f Razmnamah the Persian Mahabharata Asian and African studies blog blogs bl uk Retrieved 2018 02 19 Seyller 37 Audrey Truschke 2016 Culture of Encounters Sanskrit at the Mughal Court Columbia University press Seyller By MAJOR DAVID PRICE THE LAST DAYS OF KRISHNA AND THE SONS OF PANDU Jaiminiya Mahabharata References editAudrey Truschke Culture of Encounters Sanskrit at the Mughal Court Columbia University Press 2016 also her PhD thesis Cosmopolitan Encounters Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court Columbia University Academic Commons 2012 John Seyller Seyller John Model and Copy The Illustration of Three Razmnama Manuscripts Archives of Asian Art 1985 37 66 J P Losty and Malini Roy Mughal India Art Culture and Empire British Library 2012 pp 55 8Further reading editAmy S Landau Pearls on a String Artists Patrons and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts Baltimore 2015 especially Adamjee and Truschke s chapter Reimagining the ʻIdol Temple of Hindustanʼ pp 141 65 Yael Rice A Persian Mahabharata The 1598 1599 Razmnama Manoa 22 1 2010 125 131 G Meredith Owens and R H Pinder Wilson A Persian translation of the Mahabharata with a Note on the Miniatures The British Museum Quarterly 20 3 1956 62 65 M Athar Ali Translations of Sanskrit Works at Akbar s Court Social Scientist 20 no 9 10 1992 38 45 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Razmnamah British Library Or 12076 amp oldid 1148324750, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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