Dasaratha summons Rama to inform him of the coming investiture
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Gouache |
| Current Location: | Freer Gallery of Art (National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution), Washington, D.C., USA {Accession number: F1907.271.72 (part of the Freer Ramayana manuscript F1907.271.1-172)} |
| Location History: | This painting was made for the Mughal nobleman Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan in Northern India during the late 16th to early 17th century. By 1890 it had entered the collection of Colonel Henry Bathurst Hanna in England. In 1907 Charles Lang Freer bought it from Hanna, and in 1920 it was given as a gift to the Freer Gallery of Art, where it remains today. |
Mushfiq’s Dasaratha summons Rama to inform him of the coming investiture is a poignant masterpiece that captures the quiet dignity of familial love interwoven with imperial duty. Commissioned by the legendary statesman Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan for the Freer Ramayana, the miniature transcends its historical context to map the emotional landscape of human connection. Through a delicate palette of soft inks and shimmering gold, Mushfiq renders a pivotal moment of political transition into an intimate, quiet sanctuary. King Dasaratha’s gentle grasp of Rama's hand visually bridges the heavy burden of the crown with the tender vulnerability of a father passing a legacy to his son. Preserved today at the Freer Gallery of Art, this stunning synthesis of Hindu epic storytelling and Mughal artistic refinement captures a timeless truth: the enduring beauty of an ancient heritage anchored in love.