Mimathyma ambica is a fast flier who typically  flies near streams and often settles on damp rocks and sand with open wings.
   Their dorsal wing sides are brownish black with a broad white, inwardly oblique, discal band that is bordered broadly on both sides by brilliant iridescent blue.
   Three small spots and an obscure series of dots on the forewing, and a better defined, slightly curved, series of spots on the hindwing, all white, and on the latter wing a reddish yellow spot.           
   The ventral side wings are a pearly bluish white, the discal band and spots of the dorsal side showing through as a pinkish white, the discal spots and band on the forewing bordered interiorly with black, and some black marks in the cell.
   The antennae are brown and the head, thorax and abdomen are brown on top and white underneath.
   Females are similar to the males with similar markings, but the ground color above is a dusky brown and the markings yellowish white.
   The blue color of the Indian Purple Emperor, as with all blue butterflies, is not a result of blue pigmentation that the butterfly has in its body,

but rather because of what is called “structural pigmentation”, a situation where sunlight is refracted off the thousands of scales on the butterflies wings, causing them to take on a blue appearance.

    Males will go mud puddling, searching for salts, nitrogen and other essential minerals lacking from their diet.