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Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early Medieval India

Part of the Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society series
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Scholars have long studied classical Sanskrit culture in almost total isolation from its courtly context.

This book focuses exclusively on the royal court as a social and cultural institution.

Using both literary and inscriptional sources, it begins with the rise and spread of royal households and political hierarchies from the Gupta period (c.350-750), and traces the emergence of a coherent courtly worldview which would remain stable for almost a millennium to 1200.

Later chapters examine key features of courtly life such as: manners, ethics, concepts of personal beauty, and theories of disposition.

The book ends with a sustained examination of the theory and practice of erotic love in the context of the wider social dynamics and anxieties which faced the people of the court.

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Product Details
Cambridge University Press
0521283353 / 9780521283359
Paperback / softback
954.02
22/09/2011
United Kingdom
English
317 p.
23 cm
Professional & Vocational Learn More