Akbar Hunting in an Enclosure

Akbar Hunting in an Enclosure

A painting from Akbarnama
Akbar Period
16th century AD.

          Hunting was essential for every King. It not only refined the martial tactics of the King, it also symbolised the King as good killing the evil and wild beasts. Thus it was a practical skill and symbolic.
           Akbar was fond of his hunt. Here we see him chasing antelope and deers while mounted on his horse. He is hunting animals in an enclosure--in a technique call 'qamargah'.
          In one of the hunts Akbar became disgusted with the nonsensical violence.  Like Ashoka the Great, he too had a revelation.  Henceforth, he diatributed money in charity and stopped hunting. He understood the importance of peace, nonviolence, harmony,  and peaceful co-existence.
        Miskin, the famous Mughal painter, has caught the violence,  the symbolic and the practical senses of the hunt in this painting.

Akbar Restrains Hawai, an Enraged Elephant

Akbar Restrains Hawai, an Enraged Elephant

a painting by Basawan
from Akbarnama
 Akbar period
16th century AD.

      While Babarnama was Babar's autobiography,  Akbarnama is Akbar's biography written by  his friend and court historian Abul Fazal. Akbarnama was written between 1590 to 1596. Akbarnama not only deals with Akbar's life, but also describes his government,  his revenue system, his army etc. It also talks about the customs and religion of different communities in India.  It is a storehouse of information for Akbar period.
        Akbar assigned its illustration to his best painters. This painting is one of the best work done by Basawan,  the great Mughal painter.
         Hawai was a difficult elephant to master. But Akbar not only mounted him, but made him fight with the strongest elephant,  Ran Bhag. Here we see Hawai chase Ran Bhag across a bridge of boats on the Yamuna river. As the two elephants run, as the 'mahawat' (driver) of Ran Bhag falls, the boats creak under the weight of the animals. On the top we see a boatman desperately trying to avoid collision with the other boats. The painting is full of action. It has caught the feverish pitch of the moment.  It is, indeed,  one of the finest paintings of Akbarnama.