[Illustration]

PLATE 1

The Death of Balarama

Illustration to the Persian abridgement of the
Mahabharata, the Razmnama (or Book of the Wars)
By Basawan
Mughal (Akbar period), c. 1595
Collection H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur

Although illustrations of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, were rarely commissioned by Hindu patrons, the gigantic text possessed a unique appeal to Indian minds and for this reason the Mughal emperor, Akbar, chose it for translation into Persian.  ’Having observed the fanatical hatred prevailing between Hindus and Muslims,’ writes his biographer, Abul Fazl, ’and convinced that it arose only from their mutual ignorance, the enlightened monarch wished to dispel the same by rendering the books of the former accessible to the latter.’  The work of translation was begun in 1582 and was probably concluded in 1588 when Abul Fazl wrote the preface.  It is unlikely, however, that the illustrations were completed before 1595.

The present picture by one of Akbar’s greatest Hindu artists illustrates the sensitive naturalism which from antecedents in Khurasan came to elegant maturity in Mughal India between 1585 and 1600.  Certain details—­the drapery with its shaded folds, the steeples rising in the distance—­are modelled on the European Renaissance pictures which by 1580 had already reached the court.  Other details such as the lithe squirrels gambolling in the tree, the rearing snakes and dense luxuriant foliage can only have been painted by an artist devoted to the Indian scene.

In subject, the picture represents what Krishna saw on his return from destroying the Yadavas at Prabhasa.  Balarama, his half-brother, has gone down to the sea and has there yielded up his spirit.  Sesha, the great serpent, who is part of Vishnu himself, is now issuing from the body Balarama having been his incarnation.  Snakes come to greet him while Varuna, the god of water, stands as ‘an old man of the sea’ ready to escort him to his long home.

[Illustration]

PLATE 2

The Death of Krishna

Illustration to the Persian abridgement of the
Mahabharata, the Razmuama (or Book of the Wars)
By Mukund
Mughal (Akbar period), c. 1595
Collection H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jaipur

Following the death of Balarama, Krishna prepares to leave the world.  He sits in meditation and is shot in the sole of his right foot by Jara, a Bhil hunter—­the arrow which kills him being tipped with part of the iron which has caused the destruction of the Yadavas.