This volume is a collection of papers presented in a seminar that was held under the auspices of the indian institute of advanced study, shimla. It endeavours to offer an integral vision of indian arts in their autonomous and related domains and is designed to meet the requirement of having an authentic and popular sourcebook to enlighten average readers on different manifestations of indian arts down the ages. It underscores that despite the vicissitudes of history, indian art in its different forms embodies a remarkably distinctive spirit of creativity that has remained alive through ages and has often been reinvented in various ways in legitimizing the tradition and enriching its nuances and connectedness in practice