• Rajput kings were lovers of art and literature.
• Hence, there was a great progress of art and literature in the Medieval Era.
• The kings patronized (a kind of sponsorship) scholars, academicians and literary figures.
• The great authors of this age composed many literary works in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, etc.

A. Works of Hemchandracharaya:

• The great Jain saint, Guru Hemchandracharaya, composed ‘Kumarpal Charita’ which is a long poetry-based work on the King of Gujarat, belonging to Solanki dynasty, called Raja Kumarpal.
• He also wrote a grammar book called ‘Siddhem Shabdanushashan’. The word ‘Siddh’ refers to the name of King Siddhraj Jaisinh, the ruling king and ‘hem’ refers to Hemchandracharya.
• This book was appreciated so much that it was kept on the elephant and its procession was carried out in Patan to honour it.

B. Important Poetry:

• The great poet of Medieval Era, Magha, composed an epic ‘Shishupalvadha’ in Sanskrit. This epic revolves around the story of the killing of Shishupal by Lord Krishna.
• Another poet, Shriharsh, also wrote an epic in the form of poetry called ‘Naishadacharita’. This epic revolves around the story of Nal and Damyanti.
• Apart from these two classics, poems were also composed describing the Krishna bhakti (devotion to Lord Krishna) done by Radha and Gopis.
• Many poems have also been written about the life and achievements of the kings. ‘Kumarapal Charita’ is one such poems.

C. Other important works:

• Along with poems, dramas were also written during this age.
• The great dramatist Bhavbhuti wrote ‘Uttaramcharita’ during this era.
• Pandit Narayana composed a collection of stories called ‘Hitopdesh’. These stories were based on the stories of Panchtantra.
• Apart from these, Vishakhadatta wrote ‘Mudrarakshash’, Kalhana wrote ‘Rajtarangini’, Bilhan wrote ‘Vikramakadev Charit’, Somdeva wrote ‘Kathasaritsagar’, Chandbardai wrote ‘Prithviraj Raso’ and Merutunga wrote ‘Prabodhchintamani’.
• Thus the Rajput Era was a golden era for art and literature.