The land of five waters gave the world its first cities, its saints and its songs. Broken by every empire that crossed it, it is still ours to remember, and to make whole again.

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PUNJAB WIKIਪੰਜਾਬپنجابMuseum
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Englishਪੰਜਾਬੀپنجابی

Land & Ages

The LandRivers, doabs, Harappa and the first cities, seasons, numbersAgesEight ages of the Punjab, from the Soan to todayTimelineEvery dated event on one lineAtlasEvery place on one map, age by agePlacesCities, ancient sites, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, battlefieldsLanguage & scriptsPunjabi, its dialects, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

People & Faiths

PeopleSaints and teachers, poets and singers, rulers, rebels, the people of both PunjabsPeople of the landJats, Rajputs, Arains, Khatris, Dalit communities and more, across every faithFaithsHindu traditions, Islam and the Sufis, Sikhi, and the Punjab's other faiths

Kingdoms & Struggles

Kingdoms & WarsWho ruled the Punjab, the Kingdom of Lahore, and the battles fought over itWho ruled the PunjabEvery ruling power, 518 BCE to todayWars & BattlesFrom the Hydaspes to BasantarStruggles & Partitions1849, 1919, 1947, 1966, 1984, 2020

Culture & Museum

CulturePoets, qisse, songs, music, dance, festivals, foodMuseumSculpture, coins, manuscripts, painting, arms, buildings, and where to see themChronicles & ProphecyThe poetry of the old chroniclesAboutWhat this atlas is, its sources, and every word explainedHelp maintain this siteCorrections, pictures, sources and new entries
Punjab WikiMuseumFrom the world's museums
From the world's museums · 15

Music and the qissa legends

Musicians, instruments and the qissas: Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal, Mirza Sahiban.

Explore the collectionA map, a timeline and a web of the people, places and battles the objects show

Vedas, Alexander and Gandhara

1900 BCE – 1000 · 2
Dancers and Musicians from PhrygiaDancers and Musicians from Phrygia1–100 CE · Pakistan, Gandhara, Buner area, early Kushan periodCleveland Museum of Art ↗Seated musicianSeated musician5th century-6th century · Gandhara© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗

Gurus and Mughals

1469 – 1708 · 2
Guru Nanak attended by his musician and holy man.Guru Nanak attended by his musician and holy man.Wellcome Collection (via Europeana) · CC BY ↗Page 101: Guru Nanak attended by his musician and holy manPage 101: Guru Nanak attended by his musician and holy manWellcome Collection ↗

The Kingdom of Lahore

1799 – 1849 · 1
TausTausc. 1800 · India, PunjabCleveland Museum of Art ↗

Colonial Punjab

1849 – 1947 · 1
Stringed instrument (sarinda)Stringed instrument (sarinda)19th century · Punjab (India)© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗

Through the ages

9
Eldtång, fire tongs, chimpta/chimtaEldtång, fire tongs, chimpta/chimtaIndien India Индия Intia Índia Индия Indija Indija Indija Inde India India IndijMuseum of Ethnography (via Europeana) ↗Ranjha holding Heer after she died, scene from the Heer Ranjha folktaleRanjha holding Heer after she died, scene from the Heer Ranjha folktaleWikimedia Commons · Chitarman II (Indian, c. 1680–с. 1750) ↗Brooklyn Museum - Sohni Swims to Meet her Lover MahinwalBrooklyn Museum - Sohni Swims to Meet her Lover MahinwalBrooklyn Museum · photo Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Bracket with Two MusiciansBracket with Two Musicians100s CE · Pakistan, Gandhara, probably Butkara in Swat, Kushan periodCleveland Museum of Art ↗Corner Railing Pillar with Drinking Scenes, Yakshis, and MusiciansCorner Railing Pillar with Drinking Scenes, Yakshis, and Musicians100s CE · India, Mathura, Kushan periodCleveland Museum of Art ↗Gandharan musician playing an arched harpGandharan musician playing an arched harpIndian Museum, Kolkata · photo Original artwork from Gandharan artist, (circa 1st-3rd centu (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA ↗Fragment of Panel with Gandharvas, Dancers and MusiciansFragment of Panel with Gandharvas, Dancers and MusiciansWikimedia Commons · SpeakingArch · CC BY-SA ↗An illustrated miniature of a courtly mehfil of musicians, from the ‘Guru Nānak Parkāsh’An illustrated miniature of a courtly mehfil of musicians, from the ‘Guru Nānak Parkāsh’British Library, London · photo Gurmukh Singh (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Arjuna and the celestials (maidens and accompanying musicians)Arjuna and the celestials (maidens and accompanying musicians)LACMA, Los Angeles · photo Kangra painting (Wikimedia Commons) ↗

Search the museums' full collections

V&A ↗ · British Museum ↗ · The Met ↗ · Cleveland ↗ · Wellcome Collection ↗ · Wikimedia Commons ↗ · Ashmolean ↗ · Royal Collection ↗ · Pitt Rivers ↗

Shown here are the objects whose pictures museums have released openly. Far more are in their collections, and in museums with no open search, such as the Lahore Museum. Searching for "Punjab music".

Pictures from the collections of Art Institute of Chicago, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum (via Europeana), Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba, 65 more, found automatically: public domain or openly licensed, except the V&A's, shown for non-commercial use with the museum's credit. Titles and dates are the museums' own; each card names its museum and any licence. Updated 2026-10-26.

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