The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c17.68

v4.c17.68

Jahāngīr's love of natural beauty was genuine and his aesthetic sense sometimes widens and almost expands into a spirit of scientific enquiry, which was, however, cramped by the empirical doctrines of his time and country. He made an arduous journey through the mountain passes to Kashmīr to enjoy a view of the spring flowers there and during repeated visits recorded the names of the animals, birds and flowers he saw, distinguishing those which are not found in the plains of India. Occasionally he would have a bird or animal dissected and note the peculiarities observed. But when it was found that the gall bladder of a lion was enclosed in the liver his deduction was that the courage of the lion might be due to this cause. More wisdom appears in his suggestion that the sweetness of camel's milk might be due to the nature of its food, and he made experiments in breeding wild birds in captivity. In art his favourite branch was painting, which rose during his reign, owing to his patronage, to its highest state. Mughul pictures were developed from the Safavid type of Persian art, modified by Indian influence and to some extent by the study of European pictures.¹ Jahāngīr constantly notes that he had rare birds or animals painted, and his remarks about his own excellence as a connoisseur are valuable not only for the light they throw on his tastes and character, but also for their explanation of the composite work performed by Indian artists: