House of Orchha submits to Shah Jahan

In this allegorical painting made by Bichitr, Shah Jahan stands on a globe as King of the World. Beneath his feet, the sheep (ewe) maternally licking its natural enemy, the lion, alludes to the peaceful harmony of a kingdom under a just ruler. Mullas (religious leaders) float on clouds to the right and left of the monarch, and Western-style angels holding a crown hover above him, his head engulfed in a glowing nimbus. The figure who kneels in submission before him is the Rajput (Hindu) ruler Jujhar Singh Bundela, the Raja of Orchha, who was defeated by Shah Jahan’s forces early in 1629. Orchha State, founded in 1531 by reached its political zenith and also its downfall under Jhujhar Singh who ruled from the capital Orchha on the banks of the river Betwa in the 17th century. Jhujhar Singh, the first-born son of Vir Singh Deo, succeeded his father in 1626 as ruler. From day one he was determined not to remain a vassal of the Mughal Empire as his father had been. However, his attempt to assert independence from the reigning emperor, Shah Jahan, led to his downfall. The Mughal army, which was led by the teenager Aurangzeb, conquered his kingdom in 1635 and forced Singh to retreat to Chauragarh, the land of the Gond people. Jujhar Singh had written a letter to Kok Shah, the Gond king of Deogarh, to let him pass through his territory unharmed and was waiting for an answer at Chauragarh. He heard rumors that king of Deogarh was dead and hence he travelled through his territory toward Golconda. However, he and his son were killed by Gonds in the kingdom of kingdom of Chanda. Their heads were cut by Khan-i-Dauran and sent to Firoz Jung to be presented to Shahjahan. The Mughal army recovered treasures worth one crore which Jujhar Singh had hidden in various wells in Deogarh territory. The Orchha state survived as the Mughal’s put Jhujhar Singh’s brother on the throne to replace him and made Orccha a tributary state.

Bichitr made the present work was made a few years before the fall of Orchha. Bichitr, a brilliant young student of the artist Abu'l Hasan who became one of Shah Jahan's leading court artists was a prolific and all-encompassing painter capable of capturing a vast spectrum of complex subjects and elements. He served under two great Emperors Jehangir and Shahjahan and perhaps even under Alamgir. Influenced by his studies of European artworks, Bichtr incorporated figures with shadows, Western perspective, and putti (cherubs or angels) into his work. His technically refined portraiture and ability to render hands won him the respect of the Emperors. As a portraitist and a commemorator of great occasions, Bichitr’s cold perfectionism and brilliant shadow techniques are a magnificent reflection of his own place and time, despite his strong European influences. Like many artists in the Mughal court, Bichitr too was of the Hindu faith. The painting is presently located in Dublin, Ireland at the Chester Beatty Library.

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