Akbar commissioned the Persian translation and illustration of the Mahabharata, which came to be known as the Razm Nama. Under whose supervision was it completed in 1589?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Daswant
Option (1) Daswant — Correct. The Razm Nama was completed in 1589 under the supervision of the master artist Daswant.
Option (2) Basawan — Incorrect. Basawan painted Madonna and Child, an early Mughal work of the time of European contact with Akbar’s court.
Option (3) Abd us Samad — Incorrect. He was one of the two Persian masters who supervised the Hamza Nama. Princes of the House of Timur is probably his work.
Option (4) Mir Sayyid Ali — Incorrect. He was the other Persian master who supervised the Hamza Nama, with Abd us Samad.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Mughal School of Miniature Painting …Akbar envisioned cultural integration and commissioned translation of several revered Hindu texts. He commissioned translation and illustration of revered Sanskrit texts into Persian. The Persian translation and illustrated version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata done this period came to be known as Razm Nama. This was completed in 1589 under the supervision of master artist Daswant. This manuscript was scribed in ornate calligraphy and contained 169 paintings.…” “The Mughal School of Miniature Painting …The painted folios of Hamza Nama are scattered all over the world and housed in various collections. It is recorded to have consisted of 14 volumes with 1400 illustrations and took nearly 15 years to be completed. The suggested date of this magnificent project is 1567–1582 and was completed under the supervision of two Persian masters — Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd us Samad.” |