Preface

Abstract

For two hundred years, from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, the Indian sub-continent witnessed a maturation and a flourishing in all areas of culture which was perhaps never to be equalled in the centuries that followed. This was the time of the great kingdoms: of Rājarāja Chola in the South (985–1014 A.D.), the Solaṅkis in the West (950–1300 A. D.) the Paramāras in Malwa (Bhoja 1010–1055 A.D.) and the Chandeilas at Mahoba (1000–1300 A.D.). It was a period of fervent religious devotion marked by tremendous activity in temple building. To Rājarāja Choḷa and his immediate successor belong the Bṛhadīśvara at Tanjore and the Śiva temple at Goṅgaikondachoḷapāra; the Solaṅkis have left us Sunak, Delmāl, the step-well at Pātan with its Mahāviṣṇu, and the remains at Siddhpur, their capital; the Paramāras, Un, Nemāwar and the magnificent structures to Śiva at Udayapur, M.P. The Chandeila legacy of Khajurāho needs no mention, and yet these are but a few of the artistic achievements of these years. Likewise, in Sanskrit literature even the major monuments are too numerous to name: Bhoja’s Rāmāyana Campū (11th Century), Dhanapāla’s Tilakamañjarī (11th Century), Somadeva’s Yaśastilaka Campū (959 A.D.) , the Kathāsaritsāgara (1029–1064 A.D.), Bilhana’s Caurapancāsikā (1063–1076 A.D.), Jayadeva’s Gitāgovinda (1150–1200 A.D.) , Padmagupta’s Navasāhasānkacarita (1000 A.D.), etc.