Item Info

Media Type: Manuscripts
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes:

This school scene illustrates a portion of the text in which the dying Bhishma explains to Yudhishthira the importance of obeying one’s father, mother, and teacher. By doing so, one may succeed in mastering not only this world but also the hereafter. According to Bhishma, one should honor one’s teacher above all others since parents give only body and being, while a teacher passes on knowledge that is immortal. In this illustration, an adolescent in a pink shirt whips a yellow-clad youth to show a consequence of disobeying one’s instructor. The dramatically curved shape and severe profile of the woman in the center is reminiscent of figures seen in earlier sixteenth-century Jain and Hindu paintings, while the male figures are more reminiscent of Persian and European prototypes.

Region/County: Region/County:Northern India, Mughal court

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1599
Call Number: Lewis M 22
Creator Name: Asa (Kahar) - Artist