![Above-Maharaja-Bakhat-Singh-at-the-Jharokha-Window-of-the-Bakhat-Singh-Mahal- 59024 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Above-Maharaja-Bakhat-Singh-at-the-Jharokha-Window-of-the-Bakhat-Singh-Mahal-_59024_2.jpg)
''Jharokha Darshan'' ( fa, جهروکه درشن) (
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
: झरोखा दर्शन) was a daily practice of addressing the public audience (''
darshan'') at the balcony (''
jharokha
The Jharokha is a stone window projecting from the wall face of a building, in an upper story, overlooking a street, market, court or any other open space. A common feature in classical Indian architecture, most prominent in Rajasthan. It is su ...
'') at the forts and palaces of medieval kings in India. It was an essential and direct way of communicating face-to-face with the public, and was a practice which was adopted by the
Mughal emperors. The balcony appearance in the name of ''Jharokha Darshan'' also spelled ''jharokha-i darshan'' was adopted by the 16th-century Mughal
Emperor Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
,
even though it was contrary to
Islamic injunctions. Earlier, Akbar's father Emperor
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
had also adopted this Hindu practice of appearing before his subjects at the ''jharokha'' to hear their public grievances.
''
Darshan'' is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word which means "sight" and "beholding" (also means: "the viewing of an idol or a saint") which was adopted by Mughals for their daily appearance before their subjects. This also showed a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
influence,
It was first practiced by Humayun before Akbar adopted it as a practice at sunrise. ''Jharokha'' is an easterly facing "ornate bay-window", canopied, throne-balcony, the "balcony for viewing" (an
oriel window projecting out of the wall) provided in every palace or fort where the kings or emperors resided during their reign. Its architecture served not only the basic need for lighting and ventilation but also attained a divine concept during the reign of Mughals. The ''jharokha'' appearances by the Mughals have been depicted by many paintings.
[
Giving ''Jharokha Darshan'' from this ''jharokha'' was a daily feature. This tradition was also continued by rulers who followed Akbar (r. 1556–1605 CE). Jahangir (r. 1605–27 CE) and Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58 CE) also appeared before their subjects punctiliously. However, this ancient practice was discontinued by Aurangzeb during his 11th year of reign as he considered it a non-Islamic practice, a form of idol worship. In ]Agra Fort
The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when ...
and Red Fort
The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...
, the ''jharokha'' faces the Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
and the emperor would stand alone on the ''jharokha'' to greet his subjects.
Mughal emperors during their visits outside their capital used to give ''Jharokha Darshan'' from their portable wooden house known as ''Do-Ashiayana Manzil.''
During the Delhi Durbar held in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
on 12 December 1911, King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
and his consort, Queen Mary, made a grand appearance at the ''jharokha'' of the Red Fort to give a "darshan" to 500,000 common people.
Practices by various rulers
During Humayun's reign
The Hindu practice of appearing before the people at the ''jharokha'' was started by Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
, though the practice is generally credited to Akbar. Humayun had fixed a drum beneath the wall so that the petitioners assembled below the ''jharokha'' could beat it to draw his attention.
During Akbar's reign
Akbar's daily practice of worshiping the sun in the early morning at his residence in Agra Fort
The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when ...
led him to initiate the ''Jharokha Darshan''. Hindus, who used to bathe in the river at that hour greeted Akbar when he appeared on the ''jharokha'' window for sun worship. It was also the period when Akbar was promoting his liberal religious policy, and in pursuance of this liberal approach he started the ''Jharokha Darshan''. Thereafter, Akbar would religiously start his morning with prayers and then attend the ''Jharokha Darshan'' and greet the large audience gathered every day below the ''jharokha''. He would spend about an hour at the ''jharokha'' "seeking acceptance of imperial authority as part of popular faith", and after this he would attend the court at the '' Diwan-i-Aam'' for two hours attending to administrative duties.
The crowd of people assembled below the balcony generally consisted of soldiers, merchants, craft persons, peasants, women and sick children. As the balcony was set high, the king would stand on a platform so that people gathered below could reassure themselves that he was alive and that the empire was stable; even when the sovereign was ill. He felt that it was necessary to see them publicly at least once a day in order to maintain his control, and guard against immediate anarchy. It also had a symbolic purpose. During this time people might make personal requests directly to Akbar, or present him with petitions for some cause. Akbar, therefore, began appearing at the ''jharokha'' twice a day and would hear the complaints of the people who wished to speak to him. Sometimes, while the emperor gave his ''Jharokha Darshan'', he would let out a thread down the ''jharokha'' so that people could tie their complaints and petitions seeking his attention and justice. It was an effective way of communication and information exchange process, which Badauni, a contemporary of Akbar noted ''Jharokha Darshan'' worked effectively under Akbar who spent about four and half hours regularly in such ''darshan.'' Akbar's paintings giving ''Jharokha Darshan'' are also popular.[
]
During Jahangir's reign
Akbar's son, Emperor Jahangir, also continued the practice of ''Jharokha Darshan''. In Agra Fort, the ''jharokha'' window is part of the structure which represents the Shah Burj, the Royal Tower. The tower is in the shape of an octagon and has a white marble pavilion. During Jahangir's time and even more frequently under Shah Jahan's rule this ''jharokha'' was used for giving ''darshan''.[ During Jahangir's ''Jharokha Darshan'', hanging a string to tie petitions, was also practiced. This was also a ]Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
system under ''naushrwan.'' Jahangir elaborated on this system by adopting a golden chain to tie the petitions but Aurangzeb stopped it. Nur Jahan
Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627.
Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Gh ...
, Jahangir's wife, was also known to have sat for the ''Jharokha Darshan'' and conducted administrative duty with the common people and hearing their pleas. Jahangir was fully dedicated to the practice and made it a point to conduct the ''Jharokha Darshan'' even if he was sick; he had said "even in the time of weakness I have gone every day to the jharokha, though in great pain and sorrow, according to my fixed custom."
Jahangir's painting giving ''Jharokha Darshan'' shows him sitting at the ''jharokha'' in a side profile, bedecked with jewelry and wearing a red turban in the background of a pale purple coloured cushion.[
]
During Shah Jahan's reign
Emperor Shah Jahan maintained a rigorous schedule during his entire thirty years rule and used to get up at 4 AM and, after ablutions and prayers, religiously appeared at the ''jharokha'' window to show himself to his subjects. During his stay in Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
or Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
, huge crowds used to assemble to receive his ''darshan'' below the balcony. He would appear before the public 45 minutes after sunrise. His subjects would bow before him which he would reciprocate with his imperial salute. There was one particular group of people known as ''darshaniyas'' (akin to the guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s of Augustales
The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...
of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
) who were "servile" to the king and who would take their food only after they had a look at the face of the emperor which they considered as auspicious. More than half an hour had to be spent by the King at the balcony as it was the only time people could submit petitions to the king directly through the chain let down for the purpose (which was drawn up by attendants) of receiving such petitions by passing the nobles of the court. At one time in 1657 when Shah Jahan was sick he could not appear for the ''Jharokha Darshan'' which spread speculations of his death.[
There were times when people used to gather below the ''jharokha'' window to hold protest demonstrations to place their grievances before the emperor. One such incident occurred in 1641 in ]Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
when people who were affected by famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
and were starving pleaded before Shah Jahan to provide famine relief.
It is also said of Shah Jehan that his Islamic orthodoxy was more than that of his father or his grandfather and that he was skeptical to carry out the function of ''Jharokha Darshan'' as it could be misconstrued as worship of the sun. However, this practice was so deep-rooted with in the "Mughal Kingship and State" that he was compelled to continue this practice.
During Aurangzeb's reign
There is a proof that Aurangzeb continued the Mughal practice of ''Jharokha Darshan'' in a painting dated 1710 in which he is shown at the ''jharokha'' with two noblemen in attendance in the foreground. In this painting, the emperor is painted in a side profile and has a white jama (upper garment) attire adorned with a turban in a background of blue colour.[ In 1670, Hindus had assembled at the ''jharokha'' to protest against the ]jizya tax
Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law. The jizya tax has been understood in Isl ...
imposed on them by Aurangzeb. However, Aurangzeb who was a "puritanical" and practiced strict Islamic codes of conduct in his personal life, stopped this practice on the basis that it was idolization of human beings.
He stopped this practice during the 11th year of his rule. He also felt that it was "savouring of the Hindu ceremony of darshan".
Guru Gobind Singh
The Ibratnama written by Muhammad Qasim Ibrat, mentions that the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh showed his face from the jharokha and his followers called him " Badshah". It is mentioned that Aurangzeb issued an order to Wazir Khan, the faujdar of Sirhind, that he should be stopped from doing so.
Do-Ashiayana Manzil
''Do-Ashiayana Manzil'' was a portable wooden house used by the Mughal emperors during their visits outside their capital. This was a double storied house built with a platform supported over 16 pillars, of 6 yards height. Pillars were 4 cubits in height joined with nuts and bolts which formed the upper floor. This functioned as a sleeping quarter for the king and also for worship and holding ''Jharokha Darshan'', and considered it an emulation of Hindu practice.
Delhi Durbar
On the occasion of the Delhi Durbar that was held on 12 December 1911, King George V and his consort, Queen Mary, made a grand appearance at the ''jharokha'' of the Red Fort to give a "darshan" to 500,000 common people who had assembled there to greet them.[
]
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{{authority control
Indian culture
Government of the Mughal Empire
Hindi words and phrases
Indian royalty
Mughal Court