The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c12.s1.4

c12.s1.4

Abul Fazl writes about the Mughal emperor Akbar that His Majesty pays much attention to music and is the patron of all who practice this enchanting art.⁴ About Tansen he says that a singer like him had not been in India for the last one thousand years. Tansen was originally a Gaur Brahman of Gwalior and he had been trained in the school established by Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior (C.E. 1486-1518). The Raja was the author of a treatise on music entitled *Man Kutuhal*. He also got the *Ragadarpan* translated into Persian. Similarly, during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq (1351-88) was composed *Ghunyat-ul-Munya* by a Muslim scholar of Gujarat. Under the patronage of Sikandar Lodi was written the *Lahjat-i-Sikandar Shahi* by one Umar Yahiya. Yahiya was a scholar of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit and his work is based on many Sanskrit treatises like *Sangit Ratnakar*,⁵ *Nritya Ratnakar*, *Sangit Kalpataru* and the works of Matang.⁶