Some royal figures are etched on inscriptions, e.g. IIRC, figures of some lichcHavI royals in Nepal along side the writings.
Some royals are depicted on temple murals, e.g. choLa-s.
Along side some mUrti-s of the deity, the royal donor or the installer is also depicted as minor figures in worship, often on pedestals, e.g. and especially in jaina iconography.
Some can be seen in miniature paintings on manuscripts.
Most clear depiction of the Hindu royals comes from numismatics. Coins depict so many of kings - kuShANa, gupta and so on.
In opinion of some, certain mUrti-s of deva-s can give some ideas of how the ruler might look like. E.g. rAhula sAMkR^ityAyana opines that some characters on the mUrti-s of North India might have been made to look similar to royal figures by the sculpturer in order to please the King. E.g. bhUdevI of a certain vArAha of mathurA, he says, looks like the queen of chandragupta II the gupta (jaya yaudheya). But that is only a speculation.
But in later days, figures of kings were of course prominently made. We have Rana Pratap's figure so also Shivaji's prominently sculpted/painted by their contemporaries/near-contemporaries. Many busts of rAjapUta chiefs can be seen too. A european mentions that even Akbar had a couple of these in front of Agra Fort.
Some royals are depicted on temple murals, e.g. choLa-s.
Along side some mUrti-s of the deity, the royal donor or the installer is also depicted as minor figures in worship, often on pedestals, e.g. and especially in jaina iconography.
Some can be seen in miniature paintings on manuscripts.
Most clear depiction of the Hindu royals comes from numismatics. Coins depict so many of kings - kuShANa, gupta and so on.
In opinion of some, certain mUrti-s of deva-s can give some ideas of how the ruler might look like. E.g. rAhula sAMkR^ityAyana opines that some characters on the mUrti-s of North India might have been made to look similar to royal figures by the sculpturer in order to please the King. E.g. bhUdevI of a certain vArAha of mathurA, he says, looks like the queen of chandragupta II the gupta (jaya yaudheya). But that is only a speculation.
But in later days, figures of kings were of course prominently made. We have Rana Pratap's figure so also Shivaji's prominently sculpted/painted by their contemporaries/near-contemporaries. Many busts of rAjapUta chiefs can be seen too. A european mentions that even Akbar had a couple of these in front of Agra Fort.