COLLECTION NAME:
Rylands Collection
Record
Image Number:
BRO_Persian_MS_340
Reference Number:
Persian MS 340
Link to Catalogue:
Parent Work Title:
Sirr-i-Akbar, Tarjumah-'i Upnakhat
Alternative Parent Work Title:
Persian translation of the Upanishads of the Four Vedas
Creator:
Dārā Shikūh, Prince, son of Shahjahan, Emperor of India, 1615-1659
Creator Role:
Author
Creator Role:
Translator
Creator:
Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad ‘Azīm
Creator Role:
Scribe
Creator:
Anand Ram Mukhlis, -1751
Creator Role:
Compiler
Date Created:
1785
Description:
A complete copy of the Sirr-i-Akbar, Tarjumah-'i Upnakhat (The Greatest Secret translated from the Upanishads), also known as the Sirr-i Asrār (Secret of Secrets), by Prince Dārā Shikūh (1615–1659), eldest son and intended successor of the Mughal ruler Shāhjahān I (b. 1592–1666 r. 1628–58), but then ultimately defeated and executed by his younger brother ‘Awrangzīb, who would later rule as ‘Alāmgīr I (b. 1618, r. 1658–1707). A Persian translation of fifty Sanskrit Upanishads of the Four Vedas, Dārā completed the work with the help of Hindu pandits in Benares (Varanasi) over the course of six months then finished it on 26 Ramaz̤ān 1067 AH (8 Jul. 1657 CE). A scribe named Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad ‘Azīm copied this manuscript from one collated by the Anand Rām Mukhliṣ (ca. 1699–1571) held in the royal library of the Nawwāb in Lucknow, at the behest of British orientalist, linguist, and the first translator of Upanishads into a Western language from Sanskrit, Sir William Jones (d. 1794). While undated, Jones notes that he received it on 3 May 1785, probably in Calcutta.
Language Code:
per
Language:
Persian
Subject:
Religion
Subject:
Hinduism
Category of Material:
Manuscripts
Sub-Category:
Codex
Technique Used:
Handwriting
Medium:
Ink
Support:
Paper
Item Height:
230 mm
Item Width:
200 mm
Current Repository:
The University of Manchester Library, U.K.
Provenance:
Lindsay family Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, former owner
Provenance:
Bland, Nathaniel, 1803-1865, former owner
Provenance:
Quaritch, Bernard, 1819-1899, former owner
Provenance:
Jones, Anna Maria 1748-1829, former owner
Provenance:
Cochrane, John George, 1781-1852, former owner
Provenance:
Lewin, Samuel Hawtayne, 1795-1840, former owner
Rights Holder - Image:
The University of Manchester Library
Access Rights:
Date Captured (yyyy-mm-dd):
2023-11-20
Image Creation Technique:
Digital capture by The University of Manchester Library
Date Image Added (yyyy-mm):
2024-01
Metadata Language:
eng-GB
Collection Code:
Rylands