Question

Which of these is not correctly matched regarding the reign of Shahjahan?
A. Chintamani-Hindi Poet
B. Jagannath Pandit- Poet Laureate
C. Asaf Khan-Wazir
D. Sunder Das- Singer

Answer 1

Hint: Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal ruler who reigned from 1628 to 58. He is especially known to have promoted art, culture and architecture along with the expansion of Mughal Empire in Deccan.

Complete answer: Shah Jahan’s court consisted of various artisan’s from painters, poets, musicians, architects and so on.
The option A, Chintamani Tripathi was a Hindi language poet in the Shah Jahan’s court. He was one of the pioneers of the riti tradition. His works included political poetry and panegyric to the emperor himself. Few notable works of his include Kavittvichar and Rasvilas.
The option B, Jagannath Pandit Rayalu was another poet at Shah Jahan’s court and commanded the title Panditaraja or poet laureate from emperor himself. Some of his major works include Bhamini-Vilasa, Rasagangadhara and Ganga Lahari.
The option C, Asaf Khan acted as a grand vazir for Shah Jahan. He for most of his lifetime remained under the emperor’s favour, being the father of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal and also elder brother to Nur Jahan. Eventually, his inability to conquer the Bijapur territories led to the fall of his political career.
The option D, Sunder Das too was part of the Shah Jahan’s court but he was a poet and not a singer. He was a Brahmin Braj poet from Gwalior. He wrote the famous work Sundar Shringar which included a short eulogy to the emperor as well. He eventually received two titles from the emperor–Kaviraja and Mahakaviraja.

Poet	Role
Chintamani	Hindi Poet
Jagannath Pandit	Poet Laureate
Asaf Khan	Grand Wazir
Sundar Das	Braj Poet

Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Note: Shah Jahan sent the poet Sundar Das on diplomatic missions as well given his Brahmin origins, which provided him an edge over other Muslim nobles while dealing with the Hindu kings. The most important mission was to the Orchha King, Jujhar Singh Bundela, who rebelled against Mughals.