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. |
The interpretation of this picture by me is that it is a representation of the myth of young Hanuman, which is more than a simple event ,it is a battle of the innocence of a boy, his power and mightiness and the forces of the whole Universe. The way young Hanuman tries to reach the Sun symbolizes his playful and daring character whereas Indra attacking him with the Vajra symbolizes the might of the gods. What is particularly meaningful in this painting is the contrast between the bright sky and dark and small figure of Hanuman because it emphasises his vulnerability despite his divine mightiness. A number of gods, demons, clouds and even Airavata in this painting make it look dynamic. Moreover, the way clothes of the people are depicted shows the influence of the Indian culture on Indian mythology during Akbar's reign through the Mughal art. It seems like this painting is the combination of the two cultures : Hindu storytelling and Mughal art.