This article explores a phase of cultural efflorescence characterised by temple construction, the cultivation of music, scholarship, the copying and embellishment of manuscripts in the kingdom of Bishnupur in south-western Bengal from the late sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The inspiration for these cultural accomplishments is traced to a combination of Mughal–Rajput and Vaishnava influences. The article traces the historical factors that made possible the complex inter-relations among these strands of culture and argues that the rulers of Bishnupur initiated this cultural programme with the aim of assimilating cosmopolitan, elite practices associated with Northern Indian courtly society. The discussion highlights the role of Mughal–Rajput courtly culture in creating a concept of cosmopolitanism in tandem with the devotional culture of Vaishnavism.
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