The book explores the reinterpretation of classical Hindu texts, highlighting Hariram Vyas's Ras-pancadhyayi as a significant example. This work represents the earliest known Braj Bhasa version of the five chapters from the Bhagavatapurana, focusing on the theme of Krishna's dance with the Gopis. It illustrates how traditional narratives are infused with new meaning and cultural relevance, showcasing the dynamic nature of Hindu literature and spirituality.
Gender and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Rajasthan
Focusing on the cultural richness of eighteenth-century Kishangarh, the author explores the artistic significance of Bani-thani, often hailed as "India's Mona Lisa." Through a blend of literary and art-historical analysis, the book sheds light on the evolution of Hindi literature, the role of palace women, and the social dynamics surrounding enslaved individuals. It offers fresh perspectives on devotion and social mobility within this vibrant artistic hub.
Poetry and Paintings from Kishangarh
This book studies the hybrid intellectual culture of eighteenth-century late-Mughal India, tracing the circulation of poetic and art styles between cosmopolitan Delhi and provincial centers. It presents a case study of the Rajput principality of Kishangarh, which is famous for its paintings, but was also an important literary center. Highlighted are the works of Savant Singh (1699–1764), alias Nagaridas, who was a prolific poet in Old Hindi and commissioned Kishangarhi paintings to illustrate his own devotional poetry to Krishna. Using newly discovered manuscript sources, this book highlights the interface between art and literature. Taking as its point of departure calligraphies of Nagaridas’ poetry in Rekhta, now known as early Urdu, this study provides a first chapter in the as yet unwritten history of the reception of early Urdu in non-Muslim provincial milieus. It demonstrates the exchange of both painting and poetry between cultural communities before the hardening into ‘Hindu-Hindi’ and ‘Muslim-Urdu’.
This volume is about exchange of religious ideas, focusing on channels of transmission and translation, both inter- and trans-culturally. It looks at the circulation of ideas in early modern India, with an eye to identify moments of change and its agents. The main questions under investigation are: How are religious traditions transmitted? At which point do innovations occur and are they explicitly marked as such or do they slip in unnoticed? Who are the agents involved in transmission and change, and what are the audiences and patrons of these processes? The volume also studies how this fl ow of ideas infl uences dynamics of identity formation. In particular, several papers look at the construction of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim identities in the modern period, and how this evolved from more fl uid, or differently constituted identities in the pre-modern period. The volume is organized around three themes: transcultural translation, pilgrimage and procession, and patronage and popularisation.