Padshahnamah fol. 214v
(plate 43)

Shah-Jahan receives Prince Awrangzeb at Agra in 1637.

In 1636 Shah-Jahan appointed his third son Prince Awrangzeb Governor of the Deccan. This scene depicts Shah-Jahan receiving Awrangzeb on his return from the Deccan to the court at Agra on 27 April 1637, shortly before his marriage. The Emperor holds a spinel (a precious jewel) to present to his son as a gift. His three other sons, Dara-Shukoh, Murad-Bakhsh and Shah-Shuja, stand either side of Shah-Jahan on the balcony. Dara-Shukoh and Shah-Shuja both gesture towards their own spinels which they wear on arm bands. Awrangzeb stands in the foreground, below the balcony, performing a formal greeting in front of nobleman of the court and two mullahs.

The artist Payag signed the work on the marble platform underneath the Emperor as an expression of his humility.

Bibliography:
Milo Beach and Ebba Koch, King of the world : the Padshahnama, an imperial Mughal manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, 1996
Saqib Baburi, Beyond the Akbarnamah: Padshahnamahs and Official Regnal Chronography for Shah-Jahan Padshah (r. 1037/1628-1068/1658), 2010.