imported>RosalieHowes26 at 23:58, 27 April 2026

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{{Short description|Balcony addresses given by medieval Indian kings}}
{{Italic title}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:25 Abu'l Hasan. Emperor Jahangir At The Jharoka Window Of The Agra Fort, ca. 1620, Aga Khan Museum (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Abu'l-Hasan (artist)|Abu'l Hasan]], Emperor [[Jahangir]] at the ''jharoka'' window of the [[Agra Fort]], c. 1620, [[Aga Khan Museum]]]]
[[File:Above-Maharaja-Bakhat-Singh-at-the-Jharokha-Window-of-the-Bakhat-Singh-Mahal- 59024 2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Maharaja [[Bakht Singh of Marwar]] at the ''jharokha'' window of the [[Bakhat Singh Mahal]], [[Nagaur]]]]
'''''Jharokha Darshan''''' ({{langx|fa|جهروکه درشن}}) was a daily practice of addressing the public audience (''[[Darśana|darshan]]'') at the balcony (''[[jharokha]]'') 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 Empire|Mughal]] emperors.{{sfn|Reddi|2001|p=81}} The balcony appearance in the name of ''Jharokha Darshan'' also spelled ''jharokha-i darshan'' was adopted by the 16th-century Mughal [[Emperor Akbar]],{{sfn|Wade|1998|p=12}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Together with History|isbn=8181370740|page=97}}</ref><ref name=Post>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/trends/frames-with-a-rich-history/54800.html|title=Frames with a rich history|date=21 March 2015|work=The Tribune|access-date=10 August 2015|archive-date=23 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623094700/http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/trends/frames-with-a-rich-history/54800.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> even though it was contrary to [[Islam]]ic injunctions.{{Sfn||Goswami|p=72}} Earlier, Akbar's father Emperor [[Humayun]] had also adopted this Hindu practice of appearing before his subjects at the ''jharokha'' to hear their public grievances.{{sfn|Wade|1998|p=12}}

''[[Darśana|Darshan]]'' is a [[Sanskrit]] word which means "sight" and "beholding" (also means: "the viewing of an idol or a saint"{{sfn|Hansen|1986|p=102}}) which was adopted by Mughals for their daily appearance before their subjects. This also showed a [[Hindu]] influence,{{sfn|Gopal|1994|p=35}}<ref name=Kaur>{{Cite web|last= Kaur
|first= Manpreet |url=http://www.ijifr.com/pdfsave/01-03-2015778V2-E6-064.pdf|title=Romancing The Jharokha: From Being A Source Of Ventilation And Light To The Divine Conception|date= February 2015|publisher=International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research}}</ref> It was first practiced by Humayun before Akbar adopted it as a practice at sunrise.{{sfn|Eraly|2007|p=44}}{{sfn|Wade|1998|p=12}} ''Jharokha'' is an easterly facing "ornate bay-window", canopied, throne-balcony, the "balcony for viewing" (an [[oriel window]] projecting out of the wall{{sfn|Liddle|2011|p=289}}) 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.<ref name=Kaur/>

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.{{sfn|Eraly|2007|p=44}} In [[Agra Fort]] and [[Red Fort]], the ''jharokha'' faces the [[Yamuna]] and the emperor would stand alone on the ''jharokha'' to greet his subjects.{{sfn|Fanshawe|1998|p=33}}

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]] on 12 December 1911, [[King George V]] and his consort, [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], made a grand appearance at the ''jharokha'' of the Red Fort to give a "darshan" to 500,000 common people.<ref name=Delhi>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Art/Delhi-what-a-capital-idea/Article1-771462.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131010065508/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Art/Delhi-what-a-capital-idea/Article1-771462.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 October 2013 |title=Delhi, what a capital idea! |date=19 November 2011 |access-date=8 October 2013 |publisher=Hindustan Times }}</ref>

==Practices by various rulers==
[[File:Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)-2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)|Shah Burj]], the Royal Tower [[in Agra]].]]

===During Humayun's reign===
The Hindu practice of appearing before the people at the ''jharokha'' was started by [[Humayun]], 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.{{sfn|Wade|1998|p=12}}

===During Akbar's reign===
Akbar's daily practice of worshiping the sun in the early morning at his residence in [[Agra Fort]] 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''.{{sfn|Congress|1998|p=247}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Themes in Indian History |last=Rai |first=Raghunath |page=141 |year=2010 |publisher=FK Publications |isbn=9788189611620 }}</ref>

The crowd of people assembled below the balcony generally consisted of soldiers, merchants, craft persons, peasants, women and sick children.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of India|year = 1943|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GWw7GXAZQQC&pg=PA150|access-date=27 September 2013|publisher=Saraswati House Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-81-7335-498-4|pages=150–}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Wade|1998|p=12}}{{sfn|Mohammada|2007|p=310}} 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.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} 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.''{{sfn|Reddi|2014|p=72}} Akbar's paintings giving ''Jharokha Darshan'' are also popular.<ref name=Post/>

===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 [[Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)|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''.<ref name=Kaur/>{{sfn|Nath|2005|p=192}} During Jahangir's ''Jharokha Darshan'', hanging a string to tie petitions, was also practiced. This was also a [[Persian people|Persian]] system under ''naushrwan.'' Jahangir elaborated on this system by adopting a golden chain to tie the petitions but Aurangzeb stopped it.{{sfn|Grover|1992|p=215}} [[Nur Jahan]], 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."{{sfn|Eraly|2007|p=44}}

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.<ref name=Kaur/>

===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]] or [[Delhi]], 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]]s of [[Augustales]] of the [[Roman Empire]]) 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.{{sfn|Hansen|1986|p=102}} At one time in 1657 when Shah Jahan was sick he could not appear for the ''Jharokha Darshan'' which spread speculations of his death.<ref name=Kaur/>
[[File:Emperor Aurangzeb at a jharokha window, two noblemen in the foregroundIn 1710 San Diego Museum of Art.jpg|right|thumb|Emperor Aurangzeb at the ''jharokha'' window with two noblemen in the foreground, in 1710]]

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]] when people who were affected by [[famine]] and were starving pleaded before Shah Jahan to provide famine relief.{{sfn|Eraly|2007|p=44}}

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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvhtAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, St. Xavier's College.}}</ref>

===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.<ref name=Kaur/> In 1670, Hindus had assembled at the ''jharokha'' to protest against the [[Jizya|jizya tax]] imposed on them by Aurangzeb.{{sfn|Eraly|2007|p=44}} 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.{{Sfn|Gandhi|2007|p=648}}
<ref>{{cite book|title=A Text Book of Social Sciences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5O4JthFKUkC&pg=RA1-PA4-IA5|publisher=Pitambar Publishing|isbn=978-81-209-1467-4|page=1}}</ref> He stopped this practice during the 11th year of his rule.{{Sfn|Gopal|1994|p=35}} He also felt that it was "savouring of the Hindu ceremony of darshan".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Shorter History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQk9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA420|publisher=CUP Archive|pages=420–|id=GGKEY:S0CL29JETWX}}</ref>

=== 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 "[[Padishah|Badshah]]". It is mentioned that [[Aurangzeb]] issued an order to [[Wazir Khan (Sirhind)|Wazir Khan]], the faujdar of Sirhind, that he should be stopped from doing so.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grewal|first=J.S.|title=Sikh History from Persian Sources|publisher=Tulika|year=2001|isbn=81-85229-17-1|location=India|pages=131–138}}</ref>

==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'',{{sfn|Nath|2005|p=192}} and considered it an emulation of Hindu practice.{{Sfn|Mehta|1986|p=493}}

==Delhi Durbar==
[[File:Delhi Durbar 1911 Jharokhan Darshan.jpg|thumb|King George V and Queen Mary giving the Jharokha Darshan at the [[Muthamman Burj (Red Fort)|Muthamman Burj]] of the Red Fort on the occasion of the 1911 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.<ref name=Delhi/>

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
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*{{cite book|last= Nath |first=Ram |title=Private Life of the Mughals of India: 1526 – 1803 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHRPDL90nDsC&pg=PT192|year=2005|publisher=Rupa & Company|isbn=978-81-291-0465-6}}
*{{cite book|last= Reddi |first=C. V. Narasimha |title=Public information management: ancient India to modern India, 1500 B.C.-2000 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3DgAAAAMAAJ|date=January 2001|publisher=Himalaya Pub. House}}
*{{cite book|last= Reddi |first=C.V. Narasimha |title=EFFECTIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA STRATEGY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZJeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA72|date=1 January 2014|publisher=PHI Learning|isbn=978-81-203-4871-4}}
*{{cite book|last= Wade |first=Bonnie C. |title=Imaging Sound: An Ethnomusicological Study of Music, Art, and Culture in Mughal India|url=https://archive.org/details/imagingsoundethn0000wade|url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/imagingsoundethn0000wade/page/12 12] |date=20 July 1998|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-86840-0}}

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[[Category:Culture of India]]
[[Category:Government of the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Hindi words and phrases]]
[[Category:Indian royalty]]
[[Category:Mughal court]]

Jharokha Darshan - Revision history

imported>RosalieHowes26 at 23:58, 27 April 2026