Royal Library, Windsor Castle, United Kingdom, held in the Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 1005025.ag). The folio is part of the Windsor Padshahnama.
Location History:
Made at the Mughal court for Shah Jahan, c. 1640–50, as part of the Padshahnama. It was kept in the Mughal imperial library.
Around 1780–90, Asaf al-Dawlah, Nawab of Awadh, acquired the manuscript it belongs to.
In June 1799, Saadat Ali Khan, Nawab of Awadh, presented it to King George III through Lord Teignmouth.
Today it is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, UK (RCIN 1005025.ag).
The Departure of Prince Shah-Shuja for Kabul (16 March 1638) is an opaque watercolour with metallic paint on paper, painted c. 1640–50 and measuring 34.3 × 23.9 cm. It is a folio (fol. 147v, plate 32) of the Windsor Padshahnama, the imperial illustrated chronicle of Shah Jahan's reign, now in the Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 1005025.ag). The scene shows Prince Shah-Shuja taking leave of his father on the jharoka, the viewing balcony of the Hall of Public Audience. His grandfather, the prime minister Asaf Khan, stands directly behind him, and his brothers stand behind the emperor. Below, courtiers assemble, and some wear cameos and medals bearing the emperor's likeness on their necks or turbans (Royal Collection Trust, n.d.).
The manuscript's text identifies the occasion as the prince's departure for the Deccan, but the Royal Collection Trust argues that it more probably records his departure from Agra for Kabul in March 1638, since the nobles shown are those appointed to accompany him against the Safavids. This reading fits the political situation. In 1638 the Safavid governor Ali Mardan surrendered Kandahar to the Mughals, and Shah Jahan sent Shah-Shuja to Kabul with 20,000 horsemen to guard against a Persian response (Calabria 2022, 8–9). A "chain of justice" of bells and animal tails hangs beneath the balcony. It recalls Jahangir's golden chain of petition and here signals Shah Jahan's authority and his recent success over the Persian ruler (Royal Collection Trust, n.d.). Kalb (2023, 757–62) reads Windsor Padshahnama audience scenes as imperial documents, not neutral records. They separate the emperor above from the courtiers below, and she cites this folio (761 n. 66) as a darbar scene whose attendants are bearded men, not beardless eunuchs.
The painter signed on the scroll held by the courtier Afzal Khan, beside the chain: "the work of the slave of the court, the lowliest, Murar" (Royal Collection Trust, n.d.). Murar is therefore the form of the name written on the folio and the form used in museum cataloguing, including by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A attributes to him the replacement heads in Shah Jahan Riding with One of His Sons, a painting by Manohar of c. 1615 that Murar altered c. 1630, signing in minute inscriptions near the figures (Victoria and Albert Museum 2025). Some catalogues and online databases render the name as Murad, and the two forms differ by one letter in Persian script, so they are likely variant transliterations of one name. In either form the name belongs to a Shah Jahan–period court painter, and it should not be confused with Prince Murad Bakhsh, Shah Jahan's youngest son, who appears in many paintings as a sitter.
The Departure of Prince Shah-Shuja for Kabul can be interpreted as a visual statement of Mughal imperial power, hierarchy, and political legitimacy. Rather than simply recording Shah-Shuja’s departure, the painting constructs the event as a carefully ordered imperial spectacle. Shah Jahan appears elevated on the jharoka, physically and symbolically separated from the courtiers below. This spatial hierarchy emphasizes the emperor as the supreme centre of authority, while the prince’s departure demonstrates his obedience to imperial duty. The presence of Asaf Khan and the assembled nobles reinforces the political importance of the occasion. Their participation suggests that Shah-Shuja’s journey was not merely personal but part of a larger military strategy following the Mughal capture of Kandahar and the threat of Safavid retaliation. The chain of justice hanging beneath the balcony further connects Shah Jahan with the ideal of the just and accessible ruler, while also recalling imperial authority over conquered territories.
