Malik Muhammad Jayasi was an Indian Sufi poet and pir. He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. His best known work is the epic poem Padmavat (1540).
"Who is more beautiful, I or Padmavati?, Queen Nagamati asks to her new parrot, and it gives a displeasing reply..."; an illustrated manuscript of Padmavat, c. 1750
Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh in northern India and in Terai region of western Nepal. The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, which is regarded as the homeland of the Hindu god Rama. It was, along with Braj, used widely as a literary vehicle before being displaced by Hindi in the 19th century.
Queen Nagamati talks to her parrot, Padmavat, 1750 C.E.
Lovers shoot at a tiger in the jungle. From the mystical Sufi text Madhumalati.
Image: 5 Illustration from the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (1532–1623) Jodhpur, c. 1775; 62.7 x 134.5 cm Mehrangarh Museum Trust
Image: 7 Rama's Army reaches Lanka from the Ram Charit Artist Unknown, ca. 1780, 63x 125.8cm Mehrangarh Museum Trust