An illustration from a Ragamala series: Shubhranga Ragaputra of Hindola Raga, India, Sub-imperial Mughal, circa 1610-20

Shubhranga ragaputra, the third son of Hindola raga, is depicted as a young man playing a drum, accompanied by two ladies playing cymbals and dancing. The music of the ragaputra when played is compared to the sound of cooking mik (Ebeling 1973, p.74).

The illustrated series to which this painting belongs is thought to be the earliest ragamala series based on Kshemakarna’s text. For a note on the series, see lot 148 in the current sale. For a further illustration from the series, see lot 149.