Mughal Culture - Painters and Manuscripts

Mughal painting and manuscript culture is a CDS-OTA favourite because individual painter-emperor pairings recur as direct questions. The 2020 and 2021 PYQs ask about specific painters, translators and the Jahangir-Shah Abbas embrace — the level of granularity is high.

Foundation under Humayun

• Humayun's exile in Persia (1540-55) exposed him to the Safavid royal kitabkhana of Shah Tahmasp.
• He brought back two Persian masters when he reclaimed Delhi: Mir Sayyid Ali (of Tabriz) and Khwaja Abd as-Samad (of Shiraz).
• Other painters of Humayun's circle: Maulana Dost Musawir, Maulana Yusuf, Bihzad never went to India (he was a Herat master who died 1535) — so the 2021 CDS-I PYQ excludes Bihzad as not associated with Humayun.
• Humayun's tomb (1571-75, by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas) — a Persian char-bagh prototype for the Taj.

Akbar's Tasvirkhana

• Establishment ~1560: Akbar built a regular atelier with about a hundred painters under Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd as-Samad. Many were Hindu — Dasavant (Daswanth), Basawan, Lal, Kesu, Mukund, Miskin.
• Major projects:
  • Hamzanama (Dastan-e-Amir-Hamza) — 1,400 large cotton folios, ~1562-1577.
  • Razmnama — Persian translation of Mahabharata (translated by Naqib Khan, Faizi, Abdul Qadir Badauni among others), illustrated 1582-86.
  • Akbarnama — Abul Fazl's history, illustrated 1590s.
  • Anwar-i-Suhaili (Lights of Canopus — Persian Panchatantra), Tutinama, Babarnama, Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuriya.
• Style features: Group composition with several active scenes per page, integration of landscape, beginnings of portraiture, European motifs (after Jesuit missions, post-1580).
• Translators at Akbar's court: Abul Fazl, Faizi (poet laureate), Badauni (translated parts of Mahabharata and Ramayana), Naqib Khan, Faizi translated Bhaskaracharya's Lilavati into Persian (2021 CDS-I PYQ — option b).

Jahangir's Naturalism

• Jahangir's personal interest: He boasted in Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri that he could identify any painter's work even from a single figure.
• Star painters:
  • Abul Hasan (titled Nadir-uz-Zaman) — son of Aqa Riza of Herat. Painted the famous "Jahangir embracing Shah Abbas" (~1618) — the answer to the 2020 CDS-I PYQ. Also painted Jahangir's accession and many portraits.
  • Mansur (titled Nadir-ul-Asr) — animal and bird studies. The dodo (only known life painting), Siberian crane, Turkey-cock, zebra.
  • Bishandas — portrait specialist. Sent by Jahangir to Persia to paint Shah Abbas from life (Rembrandt later copied this).
  • Govardhan, Manohar, Daulat, Bichitr — court portraitists. Bichitr's "Jahangir preferring a Sufi shaykh to kings" is iconic.
• Innovations: Hashiya (decorated margins), single-figure album leaves (muraqqa), individual portraits replacing dense narrative.
• Halos in royal portraits begin under Jahangir (light-of-truth motif).

Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb

• Shah Jahan: Painting became more formal — frontal portraits of nobles, durbar scenes, gem-set jewellery rendered exactly. Painters Govardhan, Bichitr, Mir Hashim, Payag, Hashim. Padshahnama the great chronicle (illustrated; the Windsor copy is famous).
• Aurangzeb: Discouraged painting in line with his orthodox piety. Painters migrated to the Deccan sultanates and to Rajput courts in Mewar, Bikaner, Bundi, Kishangarh — where Rajasthani schools absorbed Mughal naturalism. Pahari schools (Basohli, Guler, Kangra) flourish in the 18th century.
• Pahari painting: Basohli (bold, primary colours, beetle-wing iridescence) ~1690-1750. Guler (refined). Kangra (Nainsukh's family, Sikh-era classical Krishna and Radha scenes).

Architecture and Other Arts

• Akbar: Agra Fort (red sandstone), Fatehpur Sikri (1571-85 - Buland Darwaza, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai's palace, Salim Chishti tomb), Humayun's Tomb (commissioned by Bega Begum, designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas).
• Jahangir: Akbar's tomb at Sikandra; Itimad-ud-Daulah's tomb at Agra ("Baby Taj" — first all-marble Mughal tomb, pietra dura).
• Shah Jahan (architectural peak): Taj Mahal (1632-53, Ustad Ahmad Lahori chief architect), Red Fort Delhi (1638-48), Jama Masjid Delhi (1650-56), Shahjahanabad city, Moti Masjid Agra Fort, Wazir Khan mosque Lahore.
• Aurangzeb: Bibi-ka-Maqbara at Aurangabad (a smaller copy of the Taj for his wife), Badshahi Masjid Lahore (1673).
• Decorative arts: Pietra dura (parchin kari), Carpet weaving (after Akbar's Persian invitation), jade carving, miniature ivory inlay, brocades (Banarasi), enamel (Lahore).
• Music: Tansen of Gwalior at Akbar's court — Akbar's Navaratna. Hindustani classical raga system. Aurangzeb is said to have buried music (apocryphal); in fact, court musical life continued but moved private.
• The Ain-i-Akbari (Abul Fazl, part of Akbarnama) is a major source on customs, including the Mandor sculptures and women's protests at jharokhas (referenced in the 2016 CDS-II PYQ).

Mughal Sources

• Tuzuk-i-Baburi (Baburnama, Turki — translated by Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan to Persian).
• Humayunnama by Gulbadan Begum (Humayun's sister).
• Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl. Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by Abdul Qadir Badauni (critical of Akbar).
• Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri by Jahangir.
• Padshahnama by Abdul Hamid Lahori (Shah Jahan).
• Alamgirnama by Mirza Muhammad Kazim (only first ten years of Aurangzeb, since later he forbade chronicles).
• Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh by Sujan Rai Khatri (late 17th c, popular history).

CDS/OTA PYQ Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Mughal and Rajput painting?

Mughal: Persian-influenced naturalism, court portraits, single-leaf album format, Persian themes. Rajput: brighter palette, devotional and lyrical themes (Krishna-Radha, Ragamala, Baramasa), flatter perspective, Hindi or Sanskrit texts. After Aurangzeb, Mughal-trained painters migrated to Rajput and Pahari courts.

Why is Jahangir's reign the peak of Mughal painting?

Jahangir was a connoisseur — he kept a kitabkhana, knew individual painters' strokes, and demanded life-like portraiture. His court produced single-figure album leaves (muraqqa), naturalist studies (Mansur), and diplomatic portraits (Bishandas).

What is pietra dura?

Parchin kari — inlay of semi-precious stones (jasper, lapis, carnelian, turquoise) into polished marble. Used most spectacularly at the Itimad-ud-Daulah tomb, Taj Mahal and Diwan-i-Khas (Red Fort).

Why did Mughal painting decline under Aurangzeb?

Aurangzeb discouraged painting on orthodox grounds; painters lost imperial patronage and migrated to Rajput courts (Mewar, Kishangarh, Bundi) and the Pahari hills (Basohli, Guler, Kangra), where the tradition continued in new schools.

Who built the Taj Mahal?

Shah Jahan commissioned it (1632-53) for Mumtaz Mahal. Ustad Ahmad Lahori was the principal architect; Ustad Isa is also named in some sources. Ismail Effendi designed the dome; calligraphy by Amanat Khan.

Related Topics

CDS/OTA HistoryMughal Administration CDS/OTA HistoryDelhi Sultanate CDS/OTA HistoryVijayanagara CDS/OTA HistoryMaratha Empire CDS/OTAHistory — Full Syllabus