7 Joachim K. Bautze liya ¯

Kr. s. n. a quells the serpent Kāliya Folio 57 from an Illustrated Paper Manuscript of the Tenth Book of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata-Mahā-Purān. am in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Before examining this noteworthy folio in depth, some background is required to understand what this piece of inscribed and painted paper is all about. Initially a hero mentioned in inscriptions as early as the 2nd century BCE, Kr.s.n. a became one of the most popular and hence most frequently depicted Hindu gods on the subcontinent, with representations dating back to the 3rd-4th century CE. He is particularly known for his childish pranks while living in the village of his foster family, which initially was completely unaware of his divine origin and powers. It was foretold to the ruler of Mathurā, Kam. sa, that the eighth child of his sister (some say his cousin), Devakī, would kill him. Vasudeva, Kr.s.n. a’s natural father-to-be and Devakī, his future birth mother, were henceforth confined and over the years, Devakī gave birth to eight children, all of whom were killed by Kam. sa, or so he thought. Kr.s.n. a’s father saved him by taking him to a village near Mathurā, where he exchanged Kr.s.n. a for a newborn child, a girl, whose mother, Yaśodā, exhausted from giving birth, was asleep. Kr.s.n. a grew up with the cowherds of the village as the son of Yaśodā and, after having overcome all the demons that Kam. sa sent to finish him off, finally slew his uncle (or distant cousin) . saKam in Mathurā and freed his parents. a quells the serpent K Krsna’s life story is told in the Harivamśa (the genealogy of Hari, i.e.,

· . . . . n Vis.n. u), a text dating to the 3rd century CE, and, as in the present case, the · s Tenth and Eleventh skandha (‘Book’) of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata-Mahā- · Purān. am (‘glorious fabulous ancient history of the Lord’), the full name of the Bhāgavatapurān. a. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavata-Mahā-Purān. am is one of K r 18 great (mahā) ancient (purān. am) texts of Hinduism, the oldest parts of which might date back to the 6th or 7th century of our era.

The present folio (fig. 1) belongs to the most extensive early 17th-century illustrated manuscripts of the said text, which, at a certain stage, was remargined with inner rules in red, yellow and green, probably to protect the folios from further deterioration and to facilitate turning the pages. The back of the present folio (fig. 2) shows that the remargining covers part of the original page reference in the top left corner. A few folios from this manuscript reveal that this remargination might even cover parts of the painted surface. Circular paper labels undercoated in yellow, blue or white with a red border were glued to the extremities of these new margins: daśama / 63 (Tenth [Book], 63; on the left hand side) and: pūrvārddha 63 (first half [of the Tenth Book], 63; on the right hand side).

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Fig. 2 A review of these added circular labels with their numbers has shown that Krishna quells the they might create more confusion than order and should therefore not serpent Kaliya, paper, colour, folio: be considered dependable. Solely and exclusively reliable is the centrally h. 230 × w. 405 mm; placed text on each inscribed folio, according to which the image: h. 345 × following sequence of published folios could be established. w. 175 mm, Northwest , ca. 1614- Some 40+ published folios (of about 300 to 400?) of this apparently 1640, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv.no. unfinished manuscript could be traced. They are listed below. In the list, RP-T-1993-465 (verso). the ‘X’ (Tenth) is followed by the number of the chapter (adhyāya), which Gift of P. Formijne, is followed by the quoted verses according to the printed edition; the 1993. Listed: Christie’s numbering in the manuscript might differ occasionally. The original folio [sale catalogue of] number, if visible, comes next; an ‘x’ indicates an illegible or hidden figure. Important Islamic and Indian Manuscripts and This is often followed by a quotation from the information provided Miniatures. London, on the added circular paper label on the right hand side of the verso of Christie, Manson & each remargined folio. For the references to sale catalogues it is useful Woods Ltd., 1 April to consult the online versions, as these generally have more illustrations 1982, p. 29, lot 80 compared to the printed versions.

X.5.16-25 (verso). Folio 19. ‘pūrvārddha / 22’. Sotheby’s [sale catalogue of] Indian & Southeast Asian Art. New York, Sotheby’s, 26 March 2003, p. 146, lot 120.

X.6.33. ‘uttarārddha / 30’. Formerly in the collection of Dr. Horst Metzger, Grünstadt, Germany. Now in the Museum Rietberg,

Zurich. Joachim Bautze, Lotosmond und LöwenrittDownloaded. Indische from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 9 Miniaturmalerei, Stuttgart, Linden-Museum, 1991, p. 44, cat.no. 5, p. 46. The back of this folio is blank.

X.10.5-12 (recto); [descriptive text] (verso). Folio 68[?]. ‘pūrvārddha 74’. Formerly in the collection of Dr. Alvin O. Bellak, Philadelphia. Now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Stella Kramrisch, Painted Delight. Indian Paintings from Philadelphia Collections, Philadelphia, Pa., Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986, p. 69, no. 62 and p. 170f (with a translation of the descriptive text). Darielle Mason et al., Intimate Worlds. Indian Paintings from the Alvin O. Bellak Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2001, p. 210, cat.no. 19 (recto) and p. 68f (verso).

X.11.36-44 (recto); X.11.45-54 (verso). ‘pūrvārddha / 40’. Formerly in the collection of Günter Heil, Berlin. Christie’s [sale catalogue of] Images of : A Private Collection of Indian Paintings. 17-27 May 2016. Online only. London, Christie’s, 2016, p. 15, lot 50 for verso. (See figure 3).

X.13.13-18 (verso). Folio 40. ‘pūrvārddha / 46’. Bonhams’ [sale catalogue of] Islamic and Indian Art. London, Bonhams, 2 October 2012, lot 163.

X.13.19-23 (recto); X.13.24-29 (verso). Folio 41. ‘pūrvārddha / 47’. Arthur Millner - [sale of] Islamic, Indian, Himalayan & South-East Asian Art. London, 25 Blythe Road, 11 November 2015, lot 193-0, top / lot 193-2 (recto); lot 193-3 top; lot 193-5 (detail) for verso.

X.15.24-35 (verso). Folio 55. Maggs Bulletin, Oriental Miniatures & Illumination. Bulletin no. 40. London, Maggs Bros. Ltd., October 1986, p. 97, no. 98, ‘(Only part of manuscript leaf showing)’.

X.15.36-43 (recto); X.15.44-52 + colophon (verso). X.16.1. Folio 56. ‘pūrvārddha / 62’. Bonhams’ [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art. New York, Bonhams, 18 September 2013, p. 98, lot 148, part of lot, only reproduced in the online version of the catalogue.

X.16.2-7 (recto); X.16.8-16 (verso). Folio 57. ‘pūrvārddha / 63’. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv.no. RP-T-1993-465(R). The folio under discussion, figures 1 and 2.

X.20.26-31 (recto); X.20, 32-37 (verso). Folio 7x. Arthur Millner - [sale of] Islamic, Indian, Himalayan and South East Asian Works of Art, including Greek Island and Coptic Textiles. London, 25 Blythe Road, 8-11 June 2015, p. 45, lot 191-0 and lot 191-1.

X.21.18-20 + colophon, X.22.1 (recto); X.22.2-13 (verso). Folio 74. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas III, 1984. Acc.no. 1984.476_verso [sic] for recto and 1984.476 for verso.

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Fig. 3 Krishna slays Bakasura, a demon in the guise of a huge crane, paper, opaque watercolours and ink on wasli, folio: h. 233 x w. 405 mm; image: h. 172 x w. 337 mm, Northwest India, ca. 1614-40. Formerly in the collection of Günter Heil (1938-2014), Berlin. Present whereabouts unknown Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 11

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 12 X.22.14-21 (recto). Bonhams’ [sale catalogue of] Islamic and Indian Art. London, Bonhams, 2 October 2012, lot 163.

X.22.28-38 + colophon (recto); ‘Untitled’ (verso). Williams College Museum of Art. Gift of Wendy Findlay. 83.18.3. Christopher Noey and Janet Temos, Art of India from the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williams College Museum of Art, 1994, p. 52f, no. 19 and p. 124f.

X.23.10-18 (recto); X.23.19-24 (verso). Folio 7x. ‘pūrvārddha / 83’. Arthur Millner - [sale of] Islamic, Indian, Himalayan & South-East Asian Art. London, 25 Blythe Road, 11 November 2015, lot 193-3, bottom / lot 193-4 (detail) for recto; lot 193-0, bottom / 193-1 (detail) for verso.

X.25.17-26. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Sotheby’s New York [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art. New York, Sotheby’s, 6 October 1990, lot 193.

X.33.5-7. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Vicky Ducrot, Four Centuries of Painting. , and . Indian Miniatures from the Collection of Isabella and Vicky Ducrot, Milan, Skira Editore, 2009, p. 28, ME2.

X.34.32-34. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Sotheby’s New York [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art. New York, Sotheby’s, 6 October 1990, lot 192.

X.38.38-41 (recto); X.38.42-43 + colophon, X.39.1-5 (verso). Folio 126. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Eisenberg, 1983. Acc.no. 1983.507.3 (recto) and 1983.507.3_ verso. Cf. 1983.507.4 for a photograph showing this folio before the removal of the added margins.

X.39.40-41 (recto); X.39.42-46 (verso). ‘pūrvārddha / 138’. Formerly in the collection of Dr. Horst Metzger, Grünstadt, Germany. Now in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich. Bautze, op.cit., p. 44, cat.nos. 6a-6b, pp. 46-47.

X.44.37-47 (recto); X.44.48-50; X.45.1-2 (verso). Folio 14x. ‘pūrvārddha / 154’. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes, 83.164.1. Amy G. Poster et al., Realms of Heroism. at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, The Brooklyn Museum in Association with Hudson Hills Press, 1994, p. 201f, no. 154.

X.45.16-21 (recto); X.45.22-28 (verso). Folio 147 corrected to 148. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Daniel Slott, 1980. Acc.no. 1980.527.2b for recto. Acc.no. 1980.527.2a for verso.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 13 X.45.37-42 (recto); X.45, 43-47 (verso). Folio 149[?]. ‘pūrvārddha / 158’. Formerly in the collection of Dr. Horst Metzger, Grünstadt, Germany. Now in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich. Bautze, op.cit., p. 45, cat.no. 7, p. 47, bottom, for verso.

X.46 [? no Sanskrit text, folio 28 in the second half of the Tenth Book of the Bhāgavatapurān. a according to the label pasted on the right margin on verso.] ‘uttarārddha / 28’. Sotheby’s [sale catalogue of] Important Indian Paintings from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection. New York, Sotheby’s, 22 March 2002, p. 17, lot 13.

X.50.43-52 (recto); X.50.53-59 + colophon (verso). Folio 4. ‘uttarārddha / 4’. Artcurial, Arts d’Orient dont la Collection Françoise et Claude Bourelier. Paris, Artcurial, 12 May 2015, lot 307 recto [sic! i.e., verso], lot 307 verso [sic! i.e., recto].

X.57.20-28 (recto); X.57.29-31 (verso). Folio 24. Christie’s [sale catalogue of] Fine Indian Miniatures and Islamic Manuscripts. London, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd, 7 July 1977, p. 14, lot 40, pl. 4 (verso). Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Findlay, 1980. Acc.no. 1980.530.1a_verso for recto [sic]; acc.no. 1980.530.1a,b for verso.

X.57.32-39b (recto); X.57.39c - X.58.1-6 (verso). Folio 25. Shridhar Andhare, Chronology of Mewar Painting, Delhi, Agam Kala Prakashan, 1987, pl. 27A (recto, detail) and pl. 27B (verso, detail). B[rijender] N[ath] Goswamy and Usha Bhatia, Painted Visions. The Goenka Collection of Indian Paintings, New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi, 1999, p. 32, no. 26 (recto) and p. 33, no. 26a (verso).

X.59.7-17 (recto); X.59.18-25 (verso). Folio 29. ‘uttarārddha / 32’. Daniel J. Ehnbom, Indian Miniatures. The Ehrenfeld Collection, New York, Hudson Hills Press in Association with the American Federation of Arts, 1985, p. 112f. Sotheby’s New York [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art. New York, Sotheby’s, 21-22 March 1990, lot 22 (recto).

X.59.26-29 (recto). Sotheby’s New York [sale catalogue of] Indian and Southeast Asian Art. New York, Sotheby’s, 22 March 2000, p. 153, lot 163.

X.62.16-28 (recto); X.62.29-35 + colophon (verso). Folio 40. ‘uttarārddha / 43’. Bonhams’ [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art. New York, Bonhams, 18 September 2013, p. 98, lot 148, bottom (recto) and top (verso).

X.63.1-13 (recto); X.63.14-25 (verso). Folio 41. ‘uttarārddha / 44’. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes, 83.164.2. Poster, op. cit., p. 202, no. 155.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access Fig. 4 and detail The three-eyed Siva in conversation with Krishna about Bana, a devotee of Siva and Aniruddha, Krishna’s grandson, paper, opaque watercolours and ink on wasli, folio: h. 234 x w. 407 mm, image: h. 153 x w. 320 mm, painted surface: h. 96 x w. 112 mm, Northwest India, X.63.44-53 + colophon (recto); X.64.1-10 (verso). Folio 44. ca. 1614-40, P&G ‘uttarārddha / 47’. P&G Collection, Karlsruhe-Berlin, P.037b. collection, Karlsruhe- (See figure 4) Berlin, inv.no. P.037b

X.64.11-21 (recto); ‘(verso: Illustration [for the Bhagavata Purana])’. Williams College Museum of Art. Gift of Wendy Findlay. 83.18.4. Christopher Noey and Janet Temos, op. cit., p. 124f.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 15 X.68.13-24. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Sotheby Parke Bernet [sale catalogue of] Fine Oriental Miniatures, Manuscripts, Islamic Works of Art and 19th Century Paintings. New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 14 December 1979, lot 91.

X.68.35-44 (recto); X.45-54 + colophon (verso). Folio 53. Formerly in the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Dickes. Bonhams’ [sale catalogue of] Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art. New York, Bonhams, 14 September 2015, p. 110, lot 106.

X.77.14-25 (probably verso). Folio 75. Sotheby’s New York [sale catalogue of] Indian Art including Miniatures and Modern Paintings. New York, Sotheby’s, 22 March 2007, p. 182, lot 149.

X.78.3-7. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Sotheby’s New York, Sotheby’s [catalogue of] Fine Indian and Persian Miniatures. New York, Sotheby’s, 25 March 1987, lot 123.

X.79.9-20c (probably verso). Folio 79 [?]. Sam Fogg, Manuscripts from the and the Indian Subcontinent. Catalogue 17. London, Sam Fogg Rare Books & Manuscripts, 1996, p. 83, no. 84 (as ‘Illustrated leaf of the Mahabharata’).

X.83.41-43 + colophon, X.84.1-6. No information if front or back of this folio is reproduced. Sotheby Parke Bernet [sale catalogue of] Fine Oriental Miniatures, Manuscripts, and Islamic Works of Art including the Fraser Album. New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 9 December 1980, lot 79.

X.84.29-32 (recto); X.84.33-37 (verso). Folio 94. Christie’s [sale catalogue of] Important Islamic and Indian Manuscripts and Miniatures. London, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd, 24 April 1980, p. 84, lot 181. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at . Art Under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, Zurich, Museum Rietberg, n.d. [ca. 2002]. Artibus Asiae Publishers. Supplementum XLIV, p. 59, fig. 25 (detail) for recto. Artcurial, Arts d’Orient dont la Collection Françoise et Claude Bourelier. Paris, Artcurial, 12 May 2015, lot 308 [= 309], top (recto) and lot 309 bottom (verso).

X.85.12-17. Arthur Millner 2015, op. cit. p. 45, lot 191-2. The back of this folio, lot 191-3, is blank.

After having established the position of the present folio within this manuscript of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata-Mahā-Purān. am, its details call for attention. The Rijksmuseum’s Folio 57 recto is inscribed with 17 lines of text in Devanāgarī script.1 The central part of the text, lines 5-13, quotes chapter 16, verse 2 (||rājovāca katham artajjale ‘gadhe...) to verse 7.2 This text ends with an abbreviated invocation to Rāma (||Rāma °), Kr.s.n. a’s elder half-brother from his father’s first wife, Rohin. ī. Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 16 The texts at the top (lines 1-4) and bottom (lines 14-17) quote a summary in the local language as well as a commentary. This kind of text distribution is called tripāt.ha (lit: ‘three ways’) and is used in semi-official editions of this text to this day, for example, in The Śrīmad-Bhāgavata-Mahā- Purān. am edited by Nag Publishers (Delhi, 1987), used for the concordance of the illustrated manuscript to which this folio belongs.

Folio 57 verso is inscribed with 19 lines of text in Devanāgarī between vertical rules. The central part of the inscription, lines 4-16, continues the text from the recto in quoting chapter 16, verses 8-16.3 Here, the text ends with an abbreviated invocation to Rāma and Kr.s.n. a (||Rāmakr.s.na° [sic]). And comparable to the recto, lines 1-3 and 17-19 are a summary in the local language as well as a commentary.

The story

The incident in the life of Kr.s.n. a told and illustrated here is as follows: One day in summer, Kr.s.n. a and his friends went to the river Yamunā. The boys drank from the river and died from poison in the water. Kr.s.n. a revived them with a mere glance and established that the source of the poison was a black serpent, Kāliya (kālī in the short inscription near the hoods of the black serpent in both paintings).

Climbing up a very tall Kadamba tree [Neolamarckia cadamba] (on the bank of the Yamunā), he tightened his girdle and striking his arms (as if challenging Kāliya to fight) jumped down into the poisonous waters. […] Hearing the thunderous sound of water agitated by the strokes of the mighty arms (of the Lord) who was sporting with the prowess of a supreme powerful elephant, and perceiving it as an attack on his abode, and unable to tolerate it, the serpent (whose eyes also functioned as ears) advanced against Kr.s.n. a […]. Biting him in all tender parts, twisting himself, he enclosed completely in his coils the Lord who looked extremely beautiful, delicate and effulgent, like a cloud....

The continuation of the fight is illustrated on the back of this page (fig. 2). Kr.s.n. a almost kills Kāliya by dancing on the serpent’s head, but spares him after Kāliya’s wives beg for their husband’s life. Kāliya submits and Kr.s.n. a orders him to go to the sea with his family. Kāliya obeys and the waters of the Yamunā become sweet again. Kr.s.n. a’s footprints on Kāliya’s head warded off attacks by the mighty bird Garud.a, the archenemy of snakes, from whom Kāliya initially fled to the place where Kr.s.n. a fought him.

Noteworthy is the depiction of the Yamunā which flows through the length of the page, a peculiarity also observed on other pages.4

Special features

The main special feature of this manuscript is the fluid relationship between text and image. Turning the pages, a reader/observer will be constantly surprised by the distribution of text and image(s), which is

unpredictable, as the space allotted to the illustration(s)Downloaded and/or from Brill.com09/28/2021 the text 06:24:50PM via free access 5 17 varies from page to page, and some pages have only text, while some illustrations fill an entire page.6 As far as can be said from the available folios, the majority of illustrations appear on the right side of the page. While the story of Kr.s.n. a quelling the serpent Kāliya ranks amongst the most frequently illustrated incidents in the life of the god, many stories are depicted in this manuscript which are not or hardly known from any other illustrated manuscript of the Tenth Book of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata- Mahā-Purān. am.

The date

In the current absence of relevant scribal remarks following the final colophon, an accurate dating is desirable but not possible. To the general characteristics of this manuscript belongs the constant use of the primary colours red, green, yellow and blue with only very occasional use of mixed or soft colours like light blue, light green and ochre. These colour fields are generally without any inner drawing. Like a stage décor, the red colour is often intended to highlight the position of the main character, mostly Kr.s.n. a and his elder brother and/or associates.7 The pictures have, in the Western sense, no spatial depth. Whatever appears in the lower part of the painting has to be imagined as being in front. Whatever is shown in the top part of the composition has to be imagined as being further away.

Many characters are identified by small inscriptions (figs. 1 and 3) throughout the manuscript, an apparently archaic feature which was used as late as the late 18th century. In outdoor scenes the horizon is high, if indicated at all, covering only about one twentieth of the composition (figure 2, to give just one example). Movement within one composition is occasionally indicated through the moving character being depicted multiple times (fig. 1).8 On one occasion, the god Śiva, recognisable by his white complexion (resulting from the ash rubbed on his skin), a third eye on his forehead, the snake around his neck and dressed in a tiger skin, praises Kr.s.n. a with his raised palms joined after the latter vanquished the army of one of Śiva’s followers, the mighty Bān. āsura (fig. 4)9. The artist intended to show Śiva in three-quarter view by painting his face in full profile while adding an eye to the side of the face the viewer cannot see. This ‘protruding eye’ was an essential feature of Indian manuscript painting since the 14th century. The artists of the studio that created this manuscript were, however, also fully aware of the ‘Persian’ way of showing people in three-quarter view, that is, a face shown almost in frontal view with an ear indicating the direction the depicted person is supposed to be facing.10 Many ladies wear an earring, a kind of peg resembling the tip of an elephant’s tusk.11 Practically all the women wear a black pompom on each wrist and usually one at the end of the long plait. The end of the cunat. (Hindi for the part of the sād.ī which is folded flat hanging down from below the navel) protrudes like a triangle or spade.12 All the above characteristics are already apparent in a manuscript of similar dimensions dated 1516.13 That the present manuscript does not date from the is indicated almost solely by the male fashion

and the rare use of somewhat more naturalistic andDownloaded less pictogram- from Brill.com09/28/2021 06:24:50PM via free access 18 like representations of certain compositional elements such as water or stairs.14 In some cases, the hem of the often transparent robe (jāmā) worn by men of note shows six corners indicating a certain familiarity with the then elegant and popular fashion of the Mughals.15 The turbans are generally flat and show no open parts at the back of the head, a style favoured by many of the Rajput rulers during the second half of the 16th century, which fell into disuse in the first quarter of the 17th century.

A possible clue to a somewhat more precise dating of this manuscript is offered by the earrings worn by most of the men consisting of a golden ring with a small ruby flanked by a pearl on either side. It seems that this fashion was triggered by the then Mughal emperor, Nur-ad Din Abu’l- Muzaffar Muhammad (r. 1605-1627). For August 1614 he noted in his memoirs after having recovered from a protracted illness:

During my illness I had said to myself that if I was granted a recovery, just as inwardly I was a devotee and believer in the exalted khwaja, and I considered his attention to be the reason for my existence, outwardly too I would pierce my ears and join the circle of his ear-pierced devotees. On the eve of Thursday the twelfth of Shahrivar [26 August] corresponding to [the middle of] the month of Rajab, I had my ears pierced and put a lustrous pearl in each ear. When this was noticed by the court servants and intimates, both those who were in attendance and those who were on the frontiers, they all rushed off to have their ears pierced. They were given pearls from the royal gem department as tokens of their loyalty. It gradually caught on even with the ahadis and ordinary people.16

In an alternative translation of this passage, not only the pearls but also the rubies are mentioned.17 This passage suggests that, despite all the archaisms to which we may add the red dots at the left and right margin of almost each reverse (cf. figs. 2 and 3), the manuscript was completed sometime after 1614 and before the mid-17th century, by which time the style of the illustrations became completely outdated.

The provenance

Ever since the publication of X.59.7–17 and X.59.18–25 in 1985 it has been stated again and again that this ‘is the earliest illustrated Bhāgavata that can be assigned to Mewar with any certainty’ [italics mine, JKB]. Despite the fact that some 20 published folios were available by 2002, Andrew Topsfield in his opus magnum on Mewar painting reproduces only two details of two folios from this manuscript.18 He states: ‘The series overall remains within the Mewari artistic tradition, and in view of the evident extensiveness of the original manuscript, it seems possible that it was executed by a workshop supplying the library of Rana Karan, a few years before the ascendancy of Sahibdin in the royal studio.’ Since Rana Karan Singh ruled from 1620 to 1628 and since the earliest paintings by the artist Sahibdin are dated 1628, Topsfield dates the manuscript to early in Rana’s reign. In contrast to most authors, Topsfield is more cautious about the provenance of this manuscript as were several other scholars including myself. The Āran. yaka Parvan from 1516, to give an example, was produced in a place some 37 kilometres from AgraDownloaded (Uttar fromPradesh) Brill.com09/28/2021 and 06:24:50PM via free access 19 hence not necessarily in Mewar, Rajasthan. How large was Mewar during the reign of Rana Karan Singh? What Topsfield calls ‘the Mewari artistic tradition’ is probably wishful thinking, especially since several stylistically related illustrated manuscripts, including the Āran. yaka Parvan from 1516, are not considered by Topsfield at all. The Chunar Rāgamālā from 1591, to give an example, was painted at Chunar (Mirzapur district, ), while its style is deeply associated with the kingdom of Bundi, Rajasthan.19 In the present absence of a contemporary scribal remark which provides the date and place of manufacture of this manuscript it seems almost pointless to speculate about the place of origin when taking all stylistically relevant paintings and illustrated manuscripts into account. Stylistically related illustrated manuscripts and/or murals were produced in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Datia () and (Rajasthan). The present manuscript was most probably illustrated by artists somewhere within this geographical area who were trained in the then prevailing north Indian tradition but who were also aware of popular Mughal paintings from the first third of the 17th century.

notes

1 Cf. Hutchinson 1877: 15. 2 For an English translation see Bhāgavata Purān. a, Part IV, The, translated and annotated by Tagare 1988:1358-1360. 3 For an English translation see Bhāgavata Purān. a, Part IV, The, translated and annotated by Tagare 1988: 1360-1361. 4 X.39.40-41; X.39.42-46. 5 X.21.18-20 + colophon, X.22.1. 6 X.6.33. 7 X.11.45-54=figure 3; X.13.13-18; X.13-19-23; X.15-44-52 + colophon; X.20.26-31; X.23.10-18; X.39.40-41; X.39.42-46; X.50-53-59; X.57.20-28; X.59.7-17; X.59.18-25; X.77.14-25. 8 Figure 1 or X.57.20-28. 9 X.63.44-53 + colophon. 10 As in X.50.53-59 + colophon. 11 X.13.13-18, second from left; X.22.2-13, second kneeling woman from left; X.23.10- 18, bottom; X.38.38-41, first from left; X.45.22-28, top left, to mention but a few. 12 X.15.36-43; X.22.14-21; X.23.10-18; X.23.19-24; X.38.38-41; X.45.22-28. 13 Khandalawala and Chandra 1974. 14 X.85.12-17. 15 X.38.38-41; X.45.16-21 or X.62.16-28. 16 Jahangirnama, The, translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston 1999: 161. 17 Tūzuk-i-Jahāngīrī or Memoirs of Jahangir, The, translated by Alexander Rogers 1978: 267f. 18 Cf. under X.84.29-32. 19 Bautze 1987: 58-61.

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Fig. 1 Krishna uproots the Arjuna trees, folio from a dispersed Bhagavatapurana, paper: h. 294 × w. 386 mm, image: h. 238 x w. 331 mm, Datia, ca. 1800, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv.no. RP-T-1993-422 (verso). Gift of P. Formijne 1993

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