Ramayana in Pahari Miniature Painting

Author(s): Jutta Jain
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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The Rāmāyana In Pahari Miniature Painting
included in the epic. Narrative passages, moralistic teachings, religious doctrines, love scenes, lyrical portions and dramatic and heroic elaborations, each in turn were enjoyed by the different people. Innumerable later poets, realising the magnificence of this theme, worked upon the epic, imitated or differentiated portions of it and brought out their own versions, often in a vernacular language suitable to the audiences in their respective areas.
The group of Rāmāyana miniatures could be divided into three major types : a. those based on the Sanskritic epic by Vālmiki, b. those based on later versions of the Rāmāyaṇa, like Tulasidasa's Rāmacaritamānasa (Ca. AD. 1575), Kamban's Rāmāyana, or a translation into Persian during and after the Mughal times, and c. those that are illustrations of local and folkish versions of the Rāma story. The Rāmāyaṇa. miniatures of the first type could be included as part of the socalled 'high', sanskritic tradition, to which also the texts belongs. These miniatures are usually done under royal or feudal patronage by master-artists in collaboration with a pandit, a traditional scholar of the scriptures. The painter, who was not always well-versed in the classical scriptures, rendered the visual aspects of the textual scenes often in his own individual ways. A typical example is the series in a Basohli style of Pahari painting dated to ca. A.D. 1720 which will be discussed later.
The second type of Rāmāyaṇa illustrations probably form the majority in this classification. In this type diverse series from various regions and periods are grouped together. A complete series of a Rāmāyana in Persian language from northern India commissioned in Moghul times, a set of about 14 miniatures in a Pahari style of painting based on Tulasidasa's text in Berlin, a complete book based on the same text written both in Hindi and Urdu in a late Rajasthani style in the collection of L. D. Institute of Indology, these are but a few examples. Many more series, which all belong to the large variety of derivations of the Sanskritic version of Vālmiki's text, could be named in this category. It is known that the emperor Akbar was fascinated by the wealth of the Hindu epics. He ordered their translation into Persian that he could derive the benefit of reading them. Not all his officials shared his enthusiasm for the traditional Indian texts. The account of Badaoni bears witness to this :
"In this year the Emperor commanded me to make a translation of the
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