Observe the image and answer the following question.
In the painting in the image, what is held by the two winged angels?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A golden halo of the Sun and Moon
Option (1) A globe of the world — Incorrect. The globe is not held by the angels. The two kings, Jahangir and the Persian Shah, stand on the globe.
Option (2) A golden halo of the Sun and Moon — Correct. The painting is Jahangir’s Dream by Abul Hasan. The angels hold the golden halo of the Sun and Moon shared by the two kings, a motif taken from European art.
Option (3) A book for a Sufi saint — Incorrect. A book appears in Jahangir enthroned on an Hourglass by Bichitra, where Jahangir offers a book to Shaikh Husain of the Chisti Shrine.
Option (4) A painting as an offering — Incorrect. In Jahangir enthroned on an Hourglass, the painter Bichitra holds a painting as his offering to the emperor. No angel holds it.
NCERT (2026-27): “Jahangir’s Dream (1618–22) by Abul Hasan, given the title Nadir al Zaman, meaning the ‘Wonder of the Age’, refers to the Emperor’s dream, in which he was visited by Persian Safavid emperor Shah Abbas, his rival, who possessed the much desired province of Qandahar. … The kings stand on a globe, and between them, they hover over much of India and Middle East. Two animals sleep quietly. However, the symbolism of their depiction does not escape the viewer. The powerful lion, on which Jahangir towers, and the docile sheep, on which the Persian Shah stands, sharing a magnificent resplendent golden halo of the Sun and Moon held by two winged angels indicate of being inspired by the incoming European art motifs and imageries in the Mughal court.”
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