Rituals—loosely defined as symbolically meaningful action—pervaded medieval society, up and down the social strata. Royal courts were a constant arena of ritual movements. Who was positioned higher than whom, who sat where, who exchanged what with whom, whose hand turned, a gift rendered and a counter gift returned, all these are suggestive of the language of gestures and indicative of the power and delicacy of rituals.

The Eternal Dastur Craft is a study of the Rajlok, Khojas of the state and the political and religious dignitaries and protocol applied to them in the court of the Jaipur State from early eighteenth to late nineteenth century. While appearing in court, the protocol laid out for different social groups depended on the status of the individuals and their castes. Interestingly, in this limited sphere also, the state accommodated nearly all the sections, clans and castes in the court. Being attached to the court, political and religious groups became representative of the court and exercised political pressure.

Overtly, social transformation and mannerisms dictated court protocol, and this volume highlights the civilizing process and history of mannerisms in the State of Jaipur during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, concentrating on the influential personalities who participated in the Jaipur Darbar.