Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early Medieval India

Representing the first full-length study of courtly culture in classical India this book explores the growth of royal households and the development of a courtly worldview in the Gupta period (c. 350-750) and its aftermath. Using both literary sources and inscriptions up to 1200 the book establishes the organization personnel and protocol of the royal household as the background for a sustained examination of courtly ethics notions of beauty and theories of erotic love.