This archaic battle scene, taken from the epic Razmnameh, depicts Arjuna and Bhishma in their war chariots attacking one another from opposing sides. Charioted horses await below, while a group of horsemen, sounding a trumpet and drum, stand in the top right corner.

Artist: Bandi
Mughal style
ca.1598
No text.
Painted in opaque watercolour and ink on paper.

The Razmnameh (Book of Wars) was a Persian translation of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata. Unlike Persian paintings of ancient battles, the Mughal illustrations here depict an archaic form of battle, including two of the Pandava patriarchs in chariots. But the armour is late 16th-century Mughal in type.

© Trustees of the British Museum