Maktab Khana
Also called: Translation bureau, House of translation · Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"
Meaning
The Maktab Khana was the "house of translation" that Akbar set up at Fatehpur Sikri, the city he built near Agra. Scholars there translated major Sanskrit texts into Persian, the language of the Mughal court. Akbar could not read, but he was deeply interested in Indian texts and classical Indian thought. The Maktab Khana made these ideas available to Persian-reading nobles and officials. It is a key example of cultural mixing under Akbar.
Example
The Maktab Khana turned the Mahabharata into the Persian Razmnama ("Book of War"). The Persian Ramayana made in Akbar's time was illustrated with 176 miniature paintings. The Bhagavad Gita and the Panchatantra were also translated into Persian.
Don't confuse with
- Ibadat Khana: the "house of worship" at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar held religious debates there. Texts were translated in the Maktab Khana, not the Ibadat Khana.
Related concepts
- Fatehpur Sikri
- Buland Darwaza
- Panch Mahal
- Ibadat Khana
- Din-i-Ilahi
- Razmnama
- Hamzanama
- Daswanth and Basawan
- Navaratnas of Akbar
- Birbal