Mahabharata of the Mughals: Power, Translation and Sovereignty in Akbar’s Razmnama

Abstract

This paper investigates the Persian translation of Mahabharata, titled Razmnama , to locate the text at the nexus of power, translation, and imperial sovereignty in the court of Akbar. The Razmnama, translated in the late sixteenth century, was more than a literary endeavor; it was a political gesture that transvalued the Sanskrit epic into the ideological discourse of the Mughal Empire. The translation, overseen by the intellectual patronage of Abu'l-Fazl and collectively translated by Brahmin scholars and Persian literati, is a paradigm of translation as a form of governance. Through the translation of Mahabharata into Persian, the language of imperial administration, Akbar translated epic power into a universalist manifesto of kingship based on the ideology of sulh-i kul (peace with all). The manuscript also embodied sovereignty through visual hybridity, fusing Persian miniature painting traditions with Indic narrative subject matter. The Razmnama , therefore, is a location where the process of textual transformation becomes an instrument of political integration, intercultural encounter, and symbolic empire-building .Anything, be it beautiful or ugly, dignified or despicable, dreadful or of a pleasing appearance, deep or deformed, object or non-object, whatever it be, could be transformed into an aesthetic experience by the imagination and skill of an artist.