Ganesha Basohli miniature circa 1730 Dubost p73

Basohli (formerly Vishwasthali) is a town near

Kathua Kathua is a city and municipal council located in Kathua district of Jammu Division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, near its border with Punjab, India and Himachal Pradesh. The city is headquarters of Kathua district and is ...

Kathua district Kathua district is one of 20 administrative districts that comprise the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is surrounded by Jammu to the northwest, the Doda and Udhampur districts to the north, the state of Himachal Pradesh to the ...

in the union territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is situated on the right bank of

River Ravi The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

at an altitude of 1876 ft. It was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal sometime in 1635. It was known for the palaces which are now in ruins and miniatures paintings (Basohli school of

Pahari painting Pahari painting (literally meaning a painting from the mountainous regions: ''pahar'' means a mountain in Hindi) is an umbrella term used for a form of Indian painting, done mostly in miniature forms, originating from Himalayan hill kingdoms ...

). The

Battle of Basoli The Battle of Basoli was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Sikhs. The Mughal Army was defeated in the bloody Battle of Nirmohgarh (1702) earlier in the year. After the battle, Sikh Guru Gobind Singh moved to Basoli where the combined for ...

was fought in this region.

Geography

Basohli is located at . It has an average elevation of 460 metres (1509 feet). Basohli is situated in the uneven lofty hills of Shiwaliks. It is situated in the right bank of Ravi river. Basohli's Thein dam has made it almost landlocked.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Basohli had a population of 5433. Males constituted 52.01% of the population and females 47.99%. Basohli had an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.

Religion

The religious distribution of the population is as follows - Hindu 83.01%, Muslim 16.38%, other 0.61%.

Basohli painting

Basohli is widely known for its paintings, which are considered the first school of

s, and which evolved into the much prolific Kangra paintings school by mid-eighteenth century.Pahari centres
''Arts of India: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, Dance and Handicraft'', by Krishna Chaitanya. Published by Abhinav Publications, 1987. . ''Page 62''. The painter

Nainsukh Nainsukh (literally "Joy of the Eyes"; c. 1710 – 1778) was an Indian painter. He was the younger son of the painter Pandit Seu and, like his older brother Manaku of Guler, was an important practitioner of Pahari painting, and has been c ...

ended his career in Basohli. File:Radha and Krishna in Discussion.jpg,

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also d ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

in Discussion, (An illustration from Gita Govinda) Gouache on paper (ca.1730). File:Goddess Bhadrakali Worshipped by the Gods- from a tantric Devi series - Google Art Project.jpg, Goddess

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vaishnavi ...

, adored by the Gods. Basohli. India. c 1660–70. File:Maharaja Sital Dev of Mankot in Devotion.jpg, Maharaja

Sital Dev Sital ( fa, سيتل) may refer to: * Sital (25°27′ N 61°15′ E), Chabahar * Sital (25°29′ N 61°10′ E), Chabahar {{geodis ...

Mankot Mankot is a Village situated in Bageshwar district in the States and territories of India, State of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of from Bageshwar on the National Highway 309A (India), National Highway 309A. Mankot is a mediu ...

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

, Ink, opaque watercolor, and silver on paper (ca. 1690). File:Ragaputra Velavala of Bhairava.jpg, Ragaputra Velavala of

Bhairava Bhairava ( Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''B ...

, opaque watercolour with gold on paper (ca. 1710). Raja Amrit Pal (Reigned 1757-1776) of Basohli LACMA M

Basohli painting was a vigorous, bold and imaginative artistic style, rich, stylish and unconventional. A style of painting characterized by vigorous use of primary colours and a peculiar facial formula prevailed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in the foothills of the Western

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

in the

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

States. The earliest paintings in this style have been dated to the time of

Raja Kirpal Pal ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

(1678–93).A Review of Basohli Style in Indian Painting, Chandramani Singh, Kailash - Journal of Himalayan Studies vol 2, Number 1&2, 197

Originating in Basohli State, the style spread to the Hill States of

Nurpur Nurpur may refer to: * Nurpur, Fenchuganj, a village in Sylhet, Bangladesh * Nurpur, Comilla, village in Comilla Bangladesh * Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh, a city and municipal council in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India * Nurpur, Jalandhar, a v ...

, Kulu,

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely s ...

, Suket, Bilaspur,

Nalagarh Nalagarh is a city and a municipal committee, near the city of Solan in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Geography Nalagarh is a gateway to Himachal Pradesh in North India, from Shimla, from Delhi and from Chandigar ...

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People *Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer *Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana * Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India * Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh * ...

, Guler and Kangra. The first mention of Basohli painting is in the annual report of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

for the year published in 1921. Referring to the acquisitions of the Archaeological Section of the Central Museum,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, the report states that "a series of old paintings of the Basohli School were purchased, and the Curator concludes that the Basohli Schools is possibly of pre- Moghul origin, and so called Tibeti pictures are nothing but late productions of this school".

History

The

was fought in Basohli between the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

aided by the

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

of the hill states in 1702.

Geography

Demographics

Religion

Basohli painting

History

See also

References

Further reading