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49-626: The Razmnāma (Book of War) (رزم نامہ) is a Persian translation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata , commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar . In 1574, Akbar started a Maktab Khana or "House of Translation" in his new capital at Fatehpur Sikri . He assigned a group to translate the Sanskrit books Rajatarangini , Ramayana and Mahabharata into the Persian language , the literary language of

98-669: A large tradition of commentary texts, which were called Bhāṣyas , Vṛṭṭis, Ṭīkās, Vārttikas and other names. These commentaries were written on numerous genres of Sanskrit texts, including on Sūtras, on Upaniṣads and on the Sanskrit epics. Examples include the Yogabhāṣya on the Yoga Sūtras , Shankara's Brahmasūtrabhāṣya, the Gītābhāṣya and Śrī Bhāṣya of Ramanuja (1017–1137), Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana 's Nyāya Sūtra Bhāṣya and

147-743: A poor wretched man, who wrote it in Persian. Today a copy of the work can be found in the “City Palace Museum” of Jaipur , with many paintings by Mushfiq . Abul Fazl wrote the preface for this Razmnama. In folio 11 of this copy Abul Fazl give date 1588 A.D. of his prefer. The Jeypore RazmNamah, written by Khwaja Inayatullah on paper from Dowlatabad, contains 169 full-page miniatures with Name of Artist. Jaipur Razmnama has seal of Akbar, shahjahan and shah Alam. In this Manuscript, 169 episode illustrated in this manuscript. The artist of this copy were Basawan , Daswanth and Lal. 147 illustrations of this Razmnama manuscript were reproduced in T.H. Hendley book Memorials of

196-466: Is in a sense not just a single 'epic poem', but can be seen as a whole body of literature in its own right, a massive collection of many different poetic works built around the heroic tales of the Bharata tribe. Most of this literature was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE by numerous authors, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE. Already in

245-476: Is largely secular in subject-matter. On the other hand, the Classical Sanskrit language was much more formalized and homogeneous, partly due to the influence of Sanskrit grammarians like Pāṇini and his commentators. Sanskrit was an important language for medieval Indian religious literature. Most pre-modern Hindu literature and philosophy was in Sanskrit and a significant portion of Buddhist literature

294-469: Is made of 1028 hymns named sūktas , composed of verses in strictly regulated meters. These are collected into saṃhitās . There are about 10,000 of these verses that make up the Ṛg·veda. The Ṛg·vedic hymns are subdivided into 10 maṇḍala s, most of which are attributed to members of certain families. Composition of the Ṛg·vedic hymns was entirely oral, and for much of its history, the Ṛg·veda has been transmitted only orally, written down likely no sooner than in

343-458: Is more purely regular, ornate epic poetry, a form of style which is the basis of the later Kāvya tradition. There are two parts to the story of the Rāmāyaṇa , which are narrated in the five genuine books. The first revolves around the events at the court of King Daśaratha at Ayodhya with one of his wives vying for the succession of the throne to her own son Bharata in place of the one chosen by

392-460: Is never predominant in his work. Basawan was also noted for his exploration of space, the delineation of his backgrounds, the strength of his colors, and the strong, moving characterizations of his subjects. Abu al-Fadl 'Allami , historiographer for Akbar, wrote about Basawan: "In designing and portrait painting and colouring and painting illusionistically... he became unrivalled in the world". Despite these significant contributions to Mughal Art , he

441-496: Is rife with notions of witchcraft, derived from a much earlier period. The Brāhmaṇas (a subdivision within the Vedas) concern themselves with the correct application of Vedic ritual , and the duties of the Vedic priest ( hotṛ : 'pourer, worshiper, reciter') the word being derived from bráhman meaning 'prayer'. They were composed at a period in time by which the Vedic hymns had achieved

490-476: Is vast and includes Hindu texts , religious scripture , various forms of poetry (such as epic and lyric ), drama and narrative prose . It also includes substantial works covering secular and technical sciences and the arts. Some of these subjects include: law and custom , grammar , politics , economics , medicine , astrology - astronomy , arithmetic , geometry , music , dance , dramatics , magic and divination , and sexuality . Literature in

539-651: The Brahmanas and Aranyakas . However, numerous scriptures titled "Upaniṣads" continued to be composed after the closure of the Vedas proper. Of these later "Upaniṣads" there are two categories of texts: Sūtra style aphoristic literature continued to be composed on numerous topics, the most popular being on the different fields of Hindu philosophy . The main Sūtra texts (sometimes also called kārikās ) on Hindu philosophy include: The various Sanskrit literature also spawned

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588-737: The Mahābhārata is the Bhagavadgītā , which became a central scripture for the Vedanta school and remains widely read today. Another important associated text, which acts as a kind of supplement ( khila ) to the Mahābhārata , is the Harivanhśa , which focuses on the figure of Krishna . In contrast to the Mahābhārata , the Rāmāyaṇa consists of only 24,000 ślokas divided into seven books, and in form

637-700: The Shiva Tandava Stotra . Another group of later Sanskrit Hindu texts are those which focus on Hatha Yoga , and include the Dattātreyayogaśāstra (13th century), the Gorakṣaśataka (13th century) , the Haṭhayogapradīpikā (15th century) and the Gheraṇḍasaṁhitā (17th or 18th-century). Basawan Basāwan , or Basāvan (flourished 1580–1600), was an Indian miniature painter in

686-616: The Vedānta ( "end of the Vedas" ) system. The Vedic Sūtras were aphoristic treatises concerned either with Vedic ritual ( Kalpa Vedanga ) or customary law. They arrived during the later period of the Brāhmaṇas when a vast mass of ritual and customary details had been accumulated. To address this, the Sūtras are intended to provide a concise survey of Vedic knowledge through short aphoristic passages that could be easily memorized. The Sūtras forego

735-791: The Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha (which is important in Advaita Vedanta ), the Yoga-Yājñavalkya and the Devi Mahatmya (a key Shakta work). When it comes to poetry, there are numerous stotras (odes), suktas and stutis , as well as other poetic genres. Some important works of Hindu Sanskrit poetry include the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi , the Hanuman Chalisa , the Aṣṭāvakragītā , Bhaja Govindam , and

784-579: The Śrautas ūtras (focusing on ritual), Śulbasûtra (on altar construction), Gṛhyasūtras which focus on rites of passage and Dharmasūtras . Most ancient and medieval Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit, either epic Sanskrit (the pre-classical language found in the two main Indian epics) or classical Sanskrit (Paninian Sanskrit). In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other Indian languages and some in Western languages. Prior to

833-647: The Birla manuscript, is in the Birla Academy of Art and Culture in Kolkata and in dated 1605. A fourth, from which only two or more miniatures are currently identified, was made around 1616–1617. Contemporary author Badauni's Muntakhab al-tavārīkh describes the translation process: Collecting together the learned men of India, His Majesty directed that the book Mahabharat should be translated. For some nights His Majesty personally (had it) explained to Naqib Khan, who wrote out

882-466: The Brāhmaṇas contain material which also discuss theology and philosophy . These works were meant to be imparted or studied in the peace and calm of the forest, hence their name the Āraṇyaka s ("Of the forest") The last part of these are books of Vedic doctrine and philosophy that came to be called Upaniṣads ("sitting down beside"). The doctrines in the Vedic or Mukhya Upaniṣads (the main and most ancient Upaniṣads) were later developed into

931-719: The Hindu gods , cosmogony , cosmology , stories of ancient kings and sages, folk tales, information about temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar and Hindu theology and philosophy . Perhaps the most influential of these texts is the Bhāgavata Purāṇa , a central text for Vaishnava theology. Other Purāṇas center on different gods, like the Shiva Purāṇa and the Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa . The principal Upaniṣads can be considered Vedic literature since they are included within

980-477: The Mahabharata, which has one lakh (100,000) Shlokas , was carried out during the period 1584–1586. Some copies contain this inscription: Naqīb Khān, son of ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Ḥusaynī, translated [this work] from Sanskrit into Persian in one and a half years. Several of the learned Brahmans, such as Deva Miśra, Śatāvadhāna, Madhusūdana Miśra, Caturbhuja and Shaykh Bhāvan…read this book and explained it in hindī to me,

1029-574: The Matharavṛṭṭi (on the Sāṁkhyakārikā ). Furthermore, over time, secondary commentaries (i.e. a commentary to a commentary) also came to be written. There are a varied group of Hindu Tantric scriptures titled Tantras or Agamas. Gavin Flood argues that the earliest date for these Tantric texts is 600 CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards. Tantric literature

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1078-552: The Mughal style . He was known by his contemporaries as a skilled colorist and keen observer of human nature, and for his use of portraiture in the illustrations of Akbarnama , Mughal Emperor , Akbar 's official Biography, which is seen as an innovation in Indian art . Little is known of the life of Basawan. He became a court painter for Akbar , where he came under the influence of Abd al-Samad . Only four artists have been commented on in

1127-575: The Vedic literature , among the certain hymns of the Ṛgveda (which contain dialogues), as well as the Ākhyānas (ballads), Itihāsas ('traditional accounts of past events') and the Purāṇas found in the Vedic Brāhmaṇas . These poems were originally songs of praise or heroic songs which developed into epic poems of increasing length over time. They were originally recited during important events such as during

1176-535: The Ṛgveda , but also contains several prose formulas. It is called the book of sacrificial prayers yajus . The last of the four, the Atharvaveda , both by the internal structure of the language used and by comparison with the Ṛg·veda, is a much later work. However, the Atharvaveda represents a much earlier stage of thought of the Vedic people, being composed mainly of spells and incantations appealing to demons, and

1225-449: The 13th century severely damaged Indian Sanskrit scholarship and the dominance of Islamic power over India eventually contributed to the decline of this scholarly language, especially since Muslim rulers promoted Middle Eastern languages. However, Sanskrit remains in use throughout India, and is used in rituals, religious practice, scholarship, art, and other Indian traditions. Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within

1274-626: The Ain-i-Akbari. It includes Sayyid Ali, Abd al-Samad, Daswanth and Basawan. Basawan's son Manohar Das succeeded him as a court painter. His family still lives in their heritage home in Kala Mahal, Agra . Currently, the family is holding a manufacturing and export business of handmade carpets (Diamond Carpets). Over 100 paintings are attributed to Basawan. His earliest mention is found in an illustrated version of Tutinama c. 1556-61. Most of them are illustrations for manuscripts. In many of them, Basawan

1323-561: The Jeypore Exhibition in 1883. The second copy of the Razmnama was completed between 1598 and 1599. When compared with the first copy, the second copy is more elaborate, with 161 paintings. The copies were sent to members of royal families as gifts to help them understand the Hindu religion better. According to Akbar's courtier Abd al-Qadir Badayuni , Akbar ordered the copies to be sent to all

1372-1023: The Mughal court. Akbar's court translations were made in several steps: the meaning was explained by Hindu scholars and a first draft was made by the Muslim theologian Naqib Khan into Persian and this was then improved upon by Faizi into elegant prose or verse. In Persian, “Razm” means “war” and "nama" means "tale", "history", or "epic"; the name Razmnamah, therefore, means a tale of war. Four illustrated Mughal manuscripts are known, one complete, made between 1584 and 1586, and now in Jaipur , with 176 paintings of which 147 were reproduced in 1884 by Thomas Holbein Hendley . The final five parts (of 18) from another, made between 1598 and 1599 and split up in 1921, form British Library, MS Or. 12076 and has other pages spread out in collections across North America, Europe and India. A third, known as

1421-408: The Vedic horse sacrifice (the aśvamedha ) or during a funeral. Another related genre were the "songs in praise of men" ( gatha narasamsi), which focus on the glorious deeds of warriors and princes, which also developed into long epic cycles. These epic poems were recited by courtly bards called sūtas , who may have been their own caste and were closely related to the warrior caste . There

1470-585: The Vedic and the Classical language differ in numerous respects. The Vedic literature that survives is almost entirely religious, being focused on the prayers, hymns to the gods ( devas ), sacrifices and other concerns of the Vedic religion . The language of this archaic literature (the earliest being the Rigveda ), Vedic Sanskrit , is different in many ways (and much less regular) than the "classical" Sanskrit described by later grammarians like Pāṇini . This literature

1519-455: The emirs of his kingdom, with instructions to receive them as a gift from God. According to the preface written by Abul Fazl the historian in Akbar's court, the intention behind these gifts and their distribution was very pious. Sanskrit literature Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the extensive liturgical works of the Vedic religion , while Classical Sanskrit is the language of many of

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1568-494: The interpreters and translators are in hell along with Korus and Pandavs, and as for the remaining ones, may God save them, and mercifully destine them to repent.... His Majesty named the work Razmnaama (Epic), and had it illustrated and transcribed in many copies, and the nobles too were ordered to have it transcribed by way of obtaining blessings. Shaikh Abul Fazl... wrote a preface of the length of two quires (juzv) for that work. The following details are preserved on some copies of

1617-471: The king, Rāma . The second part of the epic is full of myth and marvel, with the banished Rāma combating giants in the forest, and slaying thousands of demons. The second part also deals with the abduction of Rāmā's wife, Sītā by king Rāvaṇa of Lankā, leading Rāma to carry out to expedition to the island to defeat the king in battle and recover his wife. The Purāṇa are a large class of Hindu scriptures which cover numerous topics such as myth, legends of

1666-467: The literature of Vedic Sanskrit : The first three are commonly grouped together, as the Saṃhitās comprising the four Vedas: ṛk, atharvan, yajus, sāman, which together constitute the oldest texts in Sanskrit and the canonical foundation both of the Vedic religion, and the later religion known as Hinduism. The Ṛg·veda, the first and oldest of the four Vedas, is the foundation for the others. The Ṛg·veda

1715-446: The need to interpret the ceremony or custom, but simply provide a plain, methodical account with the utmost brevity. The word sūtra , derived from the root siv- , 'to sew', thus meaning 'sewn' or 'stitched together' eventually became a byword for any work of aphorisms of similar concision. The sutras in many cases are so terse they cannot be understood without the help of detailed commentaries. The main types of Vedic Sūtras include

1764-743: The prominent texts associated with the major Indian religions , especially Hinduism and the Hindu texts , but also Buddhism , and Jainism . Some Sanskrit Buddhist texts are also composed in a version of Sanskrit often called Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit or Buddhistic Sanskrit, which contains many Middle Indic ( prakritic ) elements not found in other forms of Sanskrit. Early works of Sanskrit literature were transmitted through an oral tradition for centuries before they were written down in manuscript form. While most Sanskrit texts were composed in ancient India , others were composed in Central Asia , East Asia or Southeast Asia . Sanskrit literature

1813-409: The resultant text in Persian. On the third night His Majesty summoned me and ordered me to translate it in collaboration with Naqib Khan. In three or four months out of the eighteen chapters (fan) of that stock of useless fables... I wrote out two chapters. ... Thereafter Mulla Shiri and Naqib Khan completed that section, and one section Sultan Haji Thanesari ʻMunfaridʼ brought to completion. Shaikh Faizi

1862-585: The second half of the first millennium of the Common Era. The Sāmaveda is not an original composition: it's almost entirely (except 75) made of stanzas taken from the Ṛgveda and rearranged with reference to their place in the Soma sacrifice. This book is meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, and may thus be called the book of chants, sāman . The Yajurveda like the Sāman is also largely made of verses taken from

1911-588: The start of the common era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennium before they were written down into manuscripts. This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era. Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Hindu Sanskrit texts are subdivided into two classes: The first traces of Indian epic poetry are seen in

1960-414: The status of being ancient and sacred revelations and the language had changed sufficiently so that the priests did not fully understand the Vedic texts. The Brāhmaṇas are composed in prose, unlike the previous works, forming some of the earliest examples of prose in any Indo-European language . The Brāhmaṇas intend to explain the relation between the sacred text and ritual ceremony. The later part of

2009-443: The translation: Naqīb Khān, son of ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Ḥusaynī, translated [this work] from Sanskrit into Persian in one and a half years. Several of the learned Brahmans, such as Deva Miśra, Śatāvadhāna, Madhusūdana Miśra, Caturbhuja and Shaykh Bhāvan…read this book and explained it in hindī to me, a poor wretched man, who wrote it in Persian. In 1582 an order was passed to translate the Mahabharata into Persian. The translation work of

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2058-556: The Ṛgveda, the Bharatas find mention as a warlike tribe, and the Brāhmaṇas also speak of Bharata , the son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā . The core of the Mahābhārata is a family feud in the royal house of the Kauravas (the descendants of Bharata), leading to a bloody battle at Kurukshetra . Over the centuries, an enormous mass of poetry, myths, legends, secondary tales, moral stories and more

2107-488: Was added to the original core story. The final form of the epic is thus a massive 100,000 ślokas across 18+1 books. According to Winternitz, the Mahābhārata also shows the influence of the Brahmin class , which he argues was engaged in a project of appropriating the poetry of the bards (which was mainly a secular heroic literature) in order to infuse it with their religious theology and values. The most influential part of

2156-397: Was also a related group of traveling singers called kusilavas. Indian kings and princes seem to have kept bards in their courts which sung the praises of the king, recite poems at festivals and sometimes even recite poetry in battle to embolden the warriors. While there were certainly other epic cycles, only two have survived, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa . The Mahābhārata

2205-640: Was also written in either classical Sanskrit or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit . Many of these Sanskrit Buddhist texts were the basis for later translation into the Chinese Buddhist Canon and Tibetan Canon . Many Jain texts were also written in Sanskrit, like the Tattvartha sutra , Bhaktamara Stotra , etc. Classical Sanskrit also served as a common language of scholarship and elites (as opposed to local vernacular who were only understood regionally). The invasions of northern India by Islamic powers in

2254-836: Was the designer, in collaboration with a second artist who supplied the color. Among the works that can definitely be attributed to Basawan are illustrations for the Razmnama , the Akbar-nama , the Darab-nama , the Baharistan of Jami and the Timur-name . Basawan was one of the first Indian artists to be interested in western techniques, inspired by the European paintings brought to Akbar's court by Jesuit missionaries. It can be seen in his use of strong contrasts of light and shade, although Western influence

2303-547: Was then appointed to write it in verse and prose, but he too did not complete more than two Chapters (fan). Again, the said Haji wrote out two sections and rectified the errors which were committed in the first round, and fitting one part with another, compiled a hundred fasciculi. The direction was to establish exactitude in a minute manner so that nothing of the original should be lost. In the end upon some fault, His Majesty ordered him (Haji Thanesari) to be dismissed and sent away to Bhakkar, his native city, where he still is. Most of

2352-490: Was transmitted orally during the Vedic period, only later was it written down. Classical Sanskrit literature is more varied and includes the following genres: scripture (Hindu, Buddhist and Jain), epics , court poetry ( kavya ), lyric, drama , romance, fairytale, fables, grammar , civil and religious law ( dharma ), the science of politics and practical life, the science of love and sexual intercourse ( kama ), philosophy , medicine, astronomy, astrology and mathematics , and

2401-572: Was very popular during the "Tantric Age" (c. 8th to the 14th century) , a period of time when Tantric traditions rose to prominence and flourished throughout India. According to Flood, all Hindu traditions, Shaiva , Vaishnava , Smarta and Shakta (perhaps excepting the Srautas ) became influenced by Tantric works and adopted some Tantric elements into their literature. There are also numerous other types of Hindu religious works, including prose and poetry. Among prose works there are important works like

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