UPSC CDS 2016 (I)

Mughal Illustrated Manuscripts

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Which one of the following books was NOT illustrated with paintings in Akbar's court?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: D

Concept Akbar’s royal atelier produced massive illustration projects for Persian epics and family chronicles to visualize the power and heritage of the Mughal state.

Explanation The Hamzanama, Razmnama (Persian translation of Mahabharata), and Baburnama were all famously illustrated by the court studio. The Tarikh-i-Alfi, a history of the first Muslim millennium, was primarily a historical text compiled without the extensive painting programs assigned to epics and memoirs.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Epics and family memoirs were the priority for illustration as they served a storytelling and legitimization role.
Logic 2: Historical compilations like the Tarikh-i-Alfi were often treated as formal scholarly records rather than illustrated narrative art.

Active Recall

Question

What is the Razmnama?

Answer

It is the Persian translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, commissioned and illustrated by Emperor Akbar.

Core Insight

Under Akbar, painting became a collaborative tool for translating different cultural epics into a visual Mughal language.