“The king and the ascetic in Keśavadāsa’s Jahāmgīra Jasa Candrikā”

The paper deals with the portrait of the Emperor Jahangir as depicted in Keśavadāsa’ Jahāṁgīra Jasa Candrikā, and with the canonical features of the sovereign in classical Indian literature. Analysing in particular the Emperor’s behaviour towards religious men, we aim to delineate his attitude for faith, a very important trait of his personality. In the Jahāṁgīra Jasa Candrikā Jahangir appears very indulgent towards Hindus as much towards Muslims, to such an extent that Keśavadāsa calls him “the lord of both religious faiths” and represents him as paying attention to the requests of a poor ascetic. The poet describes Jahangir’s tolerance towards common people, which was a real trait of his government aimed at granting a long social peace. Quite the opposite, Keśavadāsa uses the services of a brāhmaṇa to reveal the bad outcomes of the Emperor’s rule in a very ironic way. More generally, in the Jahāṁgīra Jasa Candrikā religious characters coming from a Hindu background are just ambassadors of the submitted culture, disapproving of the aggressors’ despotism with a sarcastic approach. Thus, even dealing by a panegyric, Keśavadāsa offers a critical perspective over the Mughal court, using sharp wit and a sophisticate style.