Rajasthani painting drew on court history and on poetic texts. Consider the following statements:
(A) Jahangir gave part of the Bundi kingdom to Madhu Singh for defending him against Prince Khurram’s rebellion.
(B) The Rasikapriya, translated as ‘The Connoisseur’s Delight’, was composed to give aesthetic pleasure to elite courtiers.
(C) Bundi and Kota were once parts of the same kingdom.
(D) The Rasamanjari of Bhanu Datta was written in Brajbhasha.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Three
(A) Jahangir awarded a part of the Bundi kingdom to Madhu Singh for defending him against Prince Khurram’s rebellion in the Deccan. — Correct. This part became the separate state of Kota in 1625.
(B) The Rasikapriya, translated as ‘The Connoisseur’s Delight’, was composed to give aesthetic pleasure to elite courtiers. — Correct. It is full of complex poetic interpretations meant for elite courtiers.
(C) Bundi and Kota were once parts of the same kingdom. — Correct. They stayed one kingdom until Jahangir divided it.
(D) The Rasamanjari of Bhanu Datta was written in Brajbhasha. — Incorrect. The Rasamanjari was written in Sanskrit. Brajbhasha is the language of Keshav Das’s Rasikapriya.
NCERT (2026-27): “Kota School of Painting …Bundi and Kota were parts of the same kingdom till 1625 when Jahangir divided the Bundi empire and awarded one part to Madhu Singh, the younger son of Rao Ratan Singh (son of Bhoj Singh of Bundi), for his bravery in defending him against his son Prince Khurram’s (Shah Jahan) rebellion in Deccan.” “Themes of Paintings – An Overview …Rasikapriya, translated as ‘The Connoisseur’s Delight’, is replete with complex poetic interpretations and was composed to incite aesthetic pleasure to elite courtiers.” “Themes of Paintings – An Overview …Bhanu Datta, a Maithil Brahmin who lived in Bihar in the fourteenth century, composed another favourite text of artists, Rasamanjari, interpreted as the ‘Bouquet of Delight’. Written in Sanskrit, the text is a treatise on rasa and deals with the classification of heroes (nayakas) and heroines (nayikas) in accordance with their age — baal, taruna and praudha; physiognomic traits of appearance, such as padmini, chitrini, shankhini, hastini, etc., and emotional states, such as khandita, vasaksajja, abhisarika, utka, etc.” |