Indra Strikes Down Hanuman with a Thunderbolt
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Gouache |
| Current Location: | Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. |
| Location History: | The folio is part of Akbar's imperial Ramayana manuscript. The delicately rendered one hundred and seventy-six miniatures of the Ramayana were accomplished within just seven months after submission of its final translation by Badaoni on 28th Zulhijjia, 997 AH (November 6, 1589), consisting of three hundred and sixty-five finely calligraphed folios. After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript passed to Jahangir. After Akbar's demise, the imperial manuscript was dutifully passed down to his heir, emperor Jahangir, followed by his successors, as determined from the seals, inscriptions and dated notes, on the leaf. Interestingly, similar to other imperial illustrated manuscripts, like the Akbarnama, the Ramayana too has an autographed note by Jahangir on the opening folio, stating that it entered in kitabkhana in the first year of his reign, i.e. 1013 Hijri (1605). The manuscript remained in imperial custody across subsequent Mughal reigns and eventually became part of the royal collection at Jaipur, where it is now held by the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust. A photographic archive of the Jaipur Ramayana paintings was later given by the Museum to the Freer Gallery of Art in the early 1970s. The third is a set of 154 photographs of paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana from the collection of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, which gave the photographs to the Freer Gallery of Art in the early 1970s. |
This stunning folio captures a profound intersection of innocence, cosmic order, and cross-cultural harmony, transforming a dramatic mythological moment into a moving testament to syncretism. At its narrative core, the scene illustrates the tender vulnerability of the infant Hanuman, whose harmless, instinctual curiosity in chasing the sun meets the fierce, humbling force of Indra's thunderbolt, creating a poignant contrast between childish wonder and the rigid authority of divine order. Beyond the dramatic fall, what proves most emotionally resonance is the painting's quiet ideological triumph: seeing Hindu deities moving across Persian-inspired swirling skies while attired in Mughal court garments feels like witnessing a thoughtful dialogue between distinct worlds. Through the seamless collaboration of Lala’s structure and Jagajivana’s vibrant colors, Akbar’s atelier did not merely document an epic; they built an aesthetic bridge, reminding us how art can transcend religious and political boundaries to find a shared human language in the timeless myths that define us.