Description

Mit Widmung des Autors f�r Moidele Bickel. - The Rajputs ("sons of the Kings") are thought to have entered the sub-continent through the northwest frontier in the sixth century A.D. They were soon converted to Hinduism and became Kshatriya, warriors, members of the second caste. With help from the Brahmans, the ruling, priestly caste, the Rajputs controlled a vast area of northwestern India, never unified but composed of states ruled by princes of their various clans. In the eleventh century, Muslim invasion of Rajput lands initiated a chaotic period of domination by Turks, Persians, and Afghans. During these centuries the Rajputs became identified as the guardians of Hindu culture. With the stable rule of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), a new flowering of Rajput art began in the subject courts. Rajput painting includes the works created in the Hindu courts of Rajasthan, Bun-delkhand, Malwa, Gujarat, and the hill states of Panjab and Uttar Pradesh.