Description
Book SynopsisIn Praise of Kings is a ground breaking study of the long-neglected fifteenth century in South Asian history. Contrary to the conventional focus on the Delhi-centred empires which consider this period as an age of decline, this book illuminates the cultural and political dynamism of the era. It reconstructs the fascinating world of the royal courts of Gujarat, including those of the Rajput chieftains and the regional sultans, through close readings of rarely used literary works in Sanskrit and Gujarati. The book also complicates another popularly held perception: that of Gujarat as the land of traders and merchants. Instead, it shows how Gujarat's warrior past was also integral to this region's identity and history.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; A note on transliteration and usage; Introduction; 1. Setting the stage: contextualising fifteenth-century Gujarat; 2. Raṇmallachanda: a warrior imagined; 3. Gangadhara's oeuvre: cosmopolitan poetry for local kings; 4. Rājavinoda: the sultan as Indic king; 5. Rās Mālā: re-discovering a warrior past; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
