The sculpture of early medieval Rajasthan

by Cynthia Packert Atherton

During the early medieval period, from the seventh to the ninth centuries, the area of western India now known as Rajasthan was transformed from a politically and artistically minor region to one of relative importance. Rajasthan was the homeland of the Gurjara Pratiharas, one of the most powerful dynasties in northern India, and many important temples were produced during their brief tenure there. While these monuments provide rich sources of information about iconographic preferences and artistic styles, this book argues that they further provide, and overlooked, clues to Rajasthan's charged early political history. In analyzing sculptural style and iconographic programs within chronological and regional parameters, the book proposes that the Gurjara Pratihara presence in Rajasthan was energizing but disruptive, particularly to dominant religious and stylistic patterns in the region.