Culture of Encounters gives us insight into how and why the Mughals-one of the most powerful imperial powers-poured immense energy into drawing Sanskrit thinkers to their courts, adopted and adapted Sanskrit-based practices, translated dozens of Sanskrit texts into Persian and composed Persian accounts of Indian philosophy.

The first book to read these Sanskrit and Persian works in tandem, Culture of Encounters recasts the Mughal Empire as a multilingual state that collaborated with its Indian subjects to establish its role as an Indian empire. Revisiting a forgotten part of India's history, Audrey Truschke certifies the critical role of the sociology of empire in building the Mughal polity, which came to shape the literary and ruling cultures of early modern India forever.