SSC
'Chahar Chaman' (Char Chaman), a Persian work describing life at Shah Jahan's court, was written by:
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Answer: Option A — Chandrabhan Brahman
Detailed Solution
"Chahar Chaman" ("Four Gardens"), a Persian prose work describing life at the court of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, was written by Chandrabhan Brahman.
About Chandrabhan Brahman:
- He was born in Lahore in the early 17th century, in a Brahmana family.
- He became one of the most famous Persian poets and prose writers of the Mughal period.
- He served as a munshi (secretary) in the Mughal administration for many years.
- He worked under several nobles, including Afzal Khan and Sadullah Khan, who were wazirs of Shah Jahan.
- He later served Prince Dara Shikoh.
- He wrote poetry under the pen name "Brahman".
About the Chahar Chaman:
- It is divided into four parts ("chaman", meaning garden or meadow).
- It describes the ceremonies, festivals and daily routine of the imperial court, the nobles, and the administration.
- It also includes descriptions of cities such as Delhi, Agra and Lahore, and of Chandrabhan's own life and career.
- It reflects the world of the Persian-educated Hindu officials (munshis) who served the Mughal state.
His other works:
- "Munsha'at-i-Brahman": a collection of his letters, used as a model for letter-writing in Persian.
- A diwan (collection) of Persian poems.
Importance:
- Chandrabhan is an example of how Hindus, especially from the Kayastha and Khatri communities and some Brahmanas, learnt Persian and served in the Mughal administration as clerks, accountants and secretaries.
- Persian was the language of administration, and knowledge of it opened the way to official careers.
- Modern historians (such as Rajeev Kinra) have studied him as a representative of the Mughal "secretarial" class and its culture.
Persian literature in Shah Jahan's reign:
- Several official histories were written about Shah Jahan's reign.
- Poets such as Abu Talib Kalim (the poet laureate) and Qudsi wrote at his court.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Khafi Khan and Ishwardas Nagar wrote histories of later reigns.
- ✗Mutamad Khan wrote a history of Jahangir's reign.
Quick tip
Remember: Chahar Chaman = Chandrabhan Brahman (Persian munshi and poet of Shah Jahan's time; pen name "Brahman"); shows Hindu officials in the Mughal administration.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.