"Megha Raga: Two Soldiers Seated on a Carpet Holding Swords Balanced on Their Shoulders," Folio from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)

Two soldiers armed with swords resting on their shoulders and shields held from the
back are seated on a floral carpet against a solid, dotted brown background (depicting falling
rain?) beneath a narrow strip of cloudy sky. The larger figure is obviously the more important of
the two, as his size and expensive jewelry indicate.This figure’s handsome features resemble in
a general way those of Raja Udai Singh of Chamba (r. 1690­1720), the probable patron of the
entire Series to which this painting once belonged. (1) (Making the patron the “hero” of a given
series is a rather commonplace practice in Indian painting.)
For three other paintings from the same Series, see cat. nos. 57­59. See also Catherine
Glynn, Robert Skelton, and Anna Dallapiccola 2011, nos. 7­9 for three published illustrations
from the same Series. For ragamala painting, see cat. no. 7.
This painting (and cat. nos. 57­59) comes from a dispersed album that once belonged
to the Mandi royal family. (Mandi is another kingdom in the Punjab Hills.) Most of the subjects
in this Mandi album illustrated typically Hindu or Rajput series including folios from series
illustrating the various incarnations of Vishnu and other deities ; or folios, as here, from series
illustrating the Pahari classification of ragamalas, or musical modes, the building blocks of
Indian classical music. But as Catherine Glynn has demonstrated, the Series was not painted in
Mandi, or nearby Bilaspur, as had once been thought; but in neighboring Chamba, in the years
circa 1690­1700.
“(Paintings from this Series) are particularly noteworthy for a highly sophisticated color
sense, simplicity of composition, excellent technical quality, and the use of elaborate detailing
and decorative patterning in a sparse but very effective manner.” (2) This painting is inscribed
Megha Raga. In Sanskrit “megha” means raincloud. But this title appears to have very little
relevance to the actual subject depicted in this painting.
(1) For discussion of Raja Udai Singh see W.G Archer 1973, Vol. I, pg. 65.
(2) Catherine Glynn, “The Moscatelli Rajput and Pahari ragamalas”, pg. 34 in
Catherine Glynn, Robert Skelton, and Anna Dallapiccola, Ragamala: Paintings
from India (London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2011)

Inscription: Inscribed on the reverse with three short lines written in devanagari, takri, and takri/sharada
script: “raga megha” Also inscribed in pencil with the numbers 50 and 11099. Also inscribed with a rubber stamp in purple ink enclosing the Indic number 2479.

This series came from a bound volume in a German Collection. Galloway 2005.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Divine Pleasures: Painting from India's Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collections," June 13–September 11, 2016.