Johnson 35,19

Vihagra Ragini. The lover mounted on a caparisoned elephant, holds hands with his lady who sits at a window before a starlit sky. Chains on the elephant’s feet suggest it has been a ‘must’ elephant.

Inscriptions on reverse: (1) Persian: ‘kedara’ crossed out and replaced by ‘rag vihagra’ with the time of day appropriate; (2) Persian: ‘khamaj’; (3) Hindi: ‘rag malkaus ki ragini khambhavati 2’; (4) Sanskrit verse (2 lines); (5) Hindi ‘doha’ and ‘kabita’ by Harivallabha (7 lines); (6) Persian description (3 lines).

Published: Ebeling (1973), fig.113.

Note: This subject does not fit into the normal iconography, and the following points are pertinent. The verses on reverse do not refer to the picture. They were probably intended for J.35, 10 ‘(Kedara),’ or J.35, 21 ‘(Khambhavati).’ The title ‘Kedara’ has been crossed out on the reverse of the picture. This is the title given to no.10, but it is also the title given to another Murshidabad picture of the elephant subject (W.G. Archer (1960), pl.51), suggesting that ‘Kedara’ was traditionally depicted in this way in Murshidabad. The title ‘khamaj’ is an alternative for ‘khambhavati,’ and so belongs to the other misplaced inscriptions. The correct title must be ‘Vihagra’ which occurs in the Persian inscription 1. The other version of this title, ‘Bihag,’ has been crossed out on the reverse of no.10, confirming that these two pictures were confused.