Interpreting Medieval India: Early medieval, Delhi Sultanate, and regions (circa 750-1550) [01] 0230637612, 9780230637610

Citation preview

■

INTERPRETING

s.:

DIEVAL INDIA Sags

■Il Sevcial treatises ol MedicvaHndta Iw e been wuttcn in recent times yet Ink »/ ■ Medieval India- Eail\ \kdiexai Delhi Sulfanatednd^.egipns(circa-^$lE155(h is a ?semihaj inlcr\enlion!si jtiempr al n.constructing the past This textbook lor students in (he result-ofthe author’s long engagement with research and classroom teaching. Salient Features: Si si

Based on updated and recent researches in Medieval Indian Histoiy Emphasis on elements of change and continuity throughout the Medieval period Focuses on historical processes, rather than Sultanate centered generalisations Adopts a thematic, rather than a chronological narrative An indispensable textbook for students ofHistory

VIPUL SINGH is Reader in History at Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi, where he has specialised in teaching Medieval Indian History and Environment. He holds a Ph.D in History from the University of Delhi. He has been a part of many national and international conferences and being the prolific writer that he is, has to his credit a number of books, research papers and book reviews. Besides his academic interest in history, Dr. Singh is also an active environmental activist who stresses on a more pragmatic approach to solving problems currently being faced worldwide. His views, in the matter, have been published in various national dailies.

" =365.00, ISBN 023-063-761

MACMILLAN:Bi

Macmillan 9

8 0 2 3 0

637610

stiers India .LfS *

INTERPRETING MEDIEVAL INDIA Volume I Early Medieval, Delhi Sultanate and Regions (circa 750-1550)

VIPUL SINGH

MACMILLAN

© Macmillan Publishers India Ltd., 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published, 2009

MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS INDIA LTD. Delhi Bangalore Chennai Kolkata Mumbai Ahmedabad Bhopal Chandigarh Coimbatore Cuttack Guwahati Hubli Hyderabad Jaipur Lucknow Madurai Nagpur Patna Pune Thiruvananthapuram Visakhapatnam Companies and representatives throughout the world

ISBN 10: 0230-63761-2 ISBN 13: 978-0230-63761-0 Published by Rajiv Beri for Macmillan Publishers India Ltd. 2/10, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 Lasertypeset by Digigrafics D-69 Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110 055

Cover Photographs Qutb Complex, Delhi Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu

Courtesy: Vipul Singh

This book is meant for educational and learning purposes. The autbor(s) of the book has/bave taken all reasonable care to ensure that the contents of the book do not violate any existing copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person in any manner whatsoever. In the event the authors) has/have been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.

Preface This first volume of the series, Interpreting Medieval India (circa 7501550), is a major departure from earlier textbooks of the kind, not only in terms of its emphasis on elements of change and continuity throughout the medieval period but also because it is the only book of its kind that deals with all three segments of Medieval Indian history including the early medieval period, the Delhi Sultanate and the regions of the time. The book, with its focus on historical processes, tries to, unlike other books which offer Sultanate-centered generalisations of the period, present a more holistic picture of medieval India. It acquaints students with possible alternative perspectives. I have tried to include debates and discussions on matters of historical interpretation on diverse topics. To that end, the book adopts a thematic, rather than chronological narrative. In the historiography of the period 750 to 1200, there is a major emphasis on regions. All these change in traditional writings with the coming of the Turks and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. One wonders why monographs and research on the Delhi Sultanate dominate the historiography on state formation between 1200 to 1550. Histories of the region certainly do find their way into the historiography of the period, but only after the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate as if no state, other than that of the Delhi Sultanate, was in existence in the period ranging between the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Recent research suggests that studies of state formation as well as religious and cultural transformations in regions have become vital and indispensable for a holistic understanding of medieval Indian history. The earlier historiography is also problematic on the count as it denies the processes of continuous state formation from the local roots at the regional levels with Delhi Sultanate providing a deep fissure. Thus, an alternative historiography on the study of regions, not only from 1200 onwards but from the eighth century itself, is now being contemplated. In this version of historiography, the existence of the powerful Delhi Sultanate has neither been contradicted nor questioned. Rather the Delhi Sultanate has been considered as representing an important interventionist moment. Thus, the focus of recent research in the area is now being directed towards the endogenous processes of social and intellectual development in the region. In tune with this latest trend of medieval historiography, the book, instead of presenting a narrative account of events in chronological order, is geared to specific issues and themes divided into three major units. Unit I includes Chapters 1 to 4 which deal with the early medieval period.

i

Preface ❖ Unit II deals with Chapters 5 to 9 that deal with the political, socio­ economic and cultural developments in the Delhi Sultanate. Unit III is comprised of Chapters 10 and 11 which deal with the histories of regions like Vijayanagar, Bahmani, Bengal, Mewar and Gujarat. The regions of the medieval period have, of late, attracted the attention of historians because they find the study of the changing modes of legitimation at different stages of state formation very significant. The process of legitimation ranges from the princely patronage of tribal deities to the construction of imperial temples by the rulers of the regional kingdoms. The Jagannath cult of Puri is one such case study. History is not just about great men or kings. It is much more about the lives and activities of common people. This book would also help students understand the use of primary sources. Undergraduate students should cultivate a spirit of inquiry and become involved with the various debates and controversies of historical interpretation. Effort has been made to generate healthy and sustained inquisitiveness among students so that they evolve into future historians. The experience of teaching the vibrant students of the University of Delhi has been a great source of inspiration for writing such a concise and syllabus-oriented textbook. The book is based on my long engagement with classroom teaching and is primarily aimed for the benefit of students and should also be of interest to the general readers. The teaching notes compiled over the years have been the foundation of this book. I have consulted a number of modem works, monographs and journals in the course of writing this book. To this end, a detailed bibliography has been provided at the end of the book chapterwise. I have borrowed ideas from diverse sources and can therefore say that this book is no way entirely original. Its originality lies in the treatment of the issues and the presentation of the debates therein. I am specially thankful to Dr. R.P. Bahuguna, my teacher, for his encouragement and thoughtful suggestions. I am indebted to • Prof. Ganveer A.M., Mumbai University • Dr. Snigdha Singh, Delhi University • Dr. Maya Shankar, Patna University • Dr. Bharti S. Kumar, Patna University • Mr. Anand Kumar, Delhi University for their invaluable suggestions and comments on the early drafts of my manuscript. I have benefitted deeply from the discussions on the various themes of the Delhi Sultanate with Pankaj Jha. I am especially thankful to Wanshai Shynret, Anubhuti Jain and Ashima Kanwar for their editorial assistance.

❖ Preface ♦♦♦

vii

I need to thank my teachers at Delhi University - Prof. R.L. Shukla, Prof. K.M. Shrimali, Prof. Bhairabi Prasad Sahu, Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri, Prof. S.Z.H. Jafri, Prof. Sunil Kumar Dr. M.L. Bhatia and Dr. R.P. Rana. In the course of my many years of teaching at Motilal Nehru College, I recall with much fondness, the interactive sessions with my students and the penetrating questions raised by them. I have benefited greatly from the course of these discussions. I am specially thankful to Richa Ranjan, who is perhaps my brightest student and whose inputs have enabled me to understand my students and their manner of thinking better. I am thankful to D.S. Sehmi for his assistance in cartography. I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge my appreciation to Macmillan India Ltd., and specially to Sanjay K. Singh, the Chief Publisher, for his sincere efforts in bringing out this book. Thanks are also due to Dr V.K. Jain, Sh. S.C. Chibber and Dr S.B. Bhardwaj for their constant inspiration and guidance. My colleagues at Motilal Nehru College - Netrapal Singh, Kalpana Malik, Padma Negi have provided me with the encouragement I needed in writing a textbook of this kind for students. I must not forget to thank, my once student and now colleague, Prem Kumar, for helping with the source material. My sincere thanks are due to the staff of National Archives of India, Indian Council of Historical Research, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Central Reference Library, Sahitya Academy and Motilal Nehru college library. I am also obliged to my wife, Neelam, whose useful suggestions on the maps proved to be of immense importance. My heart-felt thanks are due to her for her unfailing encouragement My daughter Vamika and son Yug Jyotirmay have innocently inspired me to complete the work. And finally, I wish to thank my parents, without whom this book would never have seen the light of day.

New Delhi

VIPUL SINGH

List of Illustrations LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Chapter 4

Photograph 1: Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu Photograph 2: Rajrajesvara or Brihadisvara Temple Built by the Cholas, Tamil Nadu Photograph 3: Gopuras at the Entrance of Rajrajesvara Temple, Tamil Nadu 116 Photograph 4: Mahadeva Temple at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

114

115

118

Chapter 9

Photograph Photograph Photograph Photograph

1: 2: 3: 4:

Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque at Qutb Complex Qutb Minar Engraving on Qutb Wall Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq

301 302 303 308

Chapter 10

Photograph 1: Kumbha Shyam Temple at Chittorgarh (Mewar), Rajasthan 343 Chapter 11

Photograph 1: Jagannath Temple, Puri, Orissa Photograph 2: Sun Temple, Konark, Orissa Photograph 3: Adina Mosque, Pandua, Built by Sikander Shah in 1364, West Bengal Photograph 4: Tomb of Makdum Shah, Sarkhej Built around 1451, Gujarat Photograph 5: Chand Minar at Daulatabad Fort, Built by Bahmani Sultan Alauddin Ahmad II in 1436-58, Maharashtra Photograph 6: Stone Chariot of Vithala Temple at Vijayanagar built by Krishnadeva Raya, Karnataka

360 364 379

380

381

383

LIST OF FIGURES Figure Figure Figure Figure

9.1: 9.2: 9.3: 9.4:

Qibla in a Mosque Corbelled Technique in Arch True Arch Technique Evolution of Dome during Delhi Sultanate

299 299 300 306

List of Maps Chapter 1

Map 1: History and Environment (Physical Map of India)

6

Chapter 3

Map 1: Major Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) Map 2: The Chola Kingdom Map 3: Medieval Trading and Urban Centres

55 66 96

Chapter 5

Map Map Map Map

1: 2: 3: 4:

Campaigns of Mahmud Ghaznawi and his Empire Campaigns of Mohammad Ghori Sultanate Cities of Delhi Delhi Sultanate in 1236

141 145 152 158

Chapter 6

Map 1: Area of Influence of Mongols in North-west Frontier Map 2: Campaigns of Alauddin Khalji Map 3: Mawas Area and Rigorous Revenue Collection Areas of Alauddin 188 Map 4: Empire of Muhammad bin Tughluq

180 184

203

Chapter 10

Map 1: Regional Kingdoms (circa 1200-1550)

337

Contents Preface List of Illustrations List of Maps

v ix x UNIT I EARLY MEDIEVAL PERIOD

1. Characterising Medieval India

Shared Characteristics of the Medieval Period Sources of Medieval Indian History 2. Interpreting Early Medieval India

J4orth India (750-1200): The Feudalism Debate South India (750-1200) 3. New Kings and Kingdoms {circa 750-1200)

Major Kingdoms {circa 750-1200) _>The Cholas ^jStfucture of Polities: The Rajputras and their Origin ^Fofins of Legitimation: Temples and Rituals ^Agrarian Structures and Social Change Trade and Urbanisation 4. Religion and Culture {circa 750-1200)

Religious Developments ^-Regional Literature Art and Architecture: Evolution of Regional Styles UNIT n DELHI SULTANATE 5. Foundation of Delhi Sultanate

Rise of Islam The Arabs in Sind The Ghaznavids: Nature of Turkish Campaign Ghorian Invasions What Led to the Success of the Turks? Issue of Indian and Foreign: The ‘Other’ in Sources Delhi Sultanate Under Bandagans Impact: Urban Centres, Technology and Rural Society 6. Consolidation and Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate

The Mongol Threat The Khaljis The Tughluqs Decline of Delhi Sultanate _ The Lodis: The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century

3-38

7 10 39-53

40 49 54-99

55 65 75 82 87 91 100-123

101 110 112

127-173

128 137 138 142 145 148 151 168 174-214

175 182 193 209 210

I

❖ Contents ❖

xii

7. Political Structure of the Sultanate

Nature of State Theories of Kingship (Governance) in Chronicles and Normative Literatures Administrative Structure: Blend of West Asian and Central Asian Traditions Apparatus of Administration Iqta 8. Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate

Sultanate Nobility: The Ruling Elite Ulema Revenue System Monetisation Technological Changes Growth of Trade and Commerce The Coming of the Portuguese Urbanisation 9. Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550)

215-232

216 220 222 224 228 233-260

234 236 237 242 245 251 255 256 261-312

Sufism: Doctrines, Silsilas and Practices Sufis and Local Societies - Conversion to Islam Bhakti Movements Art and Architecture in the Delhi Sultanate

262 276 280 297

UNIT III HISTORY OF REGIONS 10. The Regions (circa 1200-1550)

315-354

The Historiographical Issue: Formation of Supra-Regional and Regional States Supra-Regional Kingdoms Vijayanagar Bahmani The Process of Regional State Formation Gujarat Mewar Bengal 11. Religion, Society and Culture in Regions

Vaishnava Movement in Eastern India Religious Cults Women Bhaktas: Mahadevi Yakka, Lalded and Mira Growth of Regional Literatures Regional Art and Architecture

316 319 319 332 338 338 341 348 355-385

356 357 367 372 377

Glossary

387-394

Chronology of Events

395—402

Select Bibliography

403—412

Index

413^120

Unit I Early Medieval India

Characterising Medieval India *

SHARED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

*

SOURCES OF MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY

>

Archaeological: Epigraphy, Numismatics

>

Literary: Foreign Travellers’ Account and Persian Narratives

>

Bardic Narratives

4

Interpreting Medieval India

istory is governed by a strong sense of chronology, which is to say that time needs to be divided and each epoch or period of time is named and classified differently. For a historian time is not merely a count of hours and days, but is viewed with a view to understanding the myriad changes that have taken place in the social and economic life of the times. The focus is on the study of the transformation of culture, ideas and beliefs. Historians have been deeply interested in what has stood the test of time in the face of so much upheaval and change. The study of time is made somewhat easier by dividing past developments into the somewhat larger segments or periods of time that hold shared and somewhat similar characteristics. The study of history has long been carried out under three different time periods and each phase has a different titular heading to it and could be described as either Ancient, or Medieval or Modem, depending on the time-frame in which events happen to be located. However, in the Indian context such a tripartite division of history could only have come up after independence from British rule. In mid-nineteenth century British historians had subdivided Indian history into three parts called: ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’ and ‘British’. This division was based on the idea that the religion of the rulers determined the course of history. The British historians, who dominated the writing of historiography during the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, believed that there were no other significant developments taking place in the economy, society or culture beyond the centre of power. In fact, such an understanding of history was geared to deliberately ignite communal disharmony among the Indian masses and to ignore its great diversity. The period from the eighth to the eighteenth century of Indian history witnessed considerable change. During these thousand years or so the societies of the subcontinent stood witness to diverse changes and transformations and in several regions the economy reached a level of prosperity. In popular parlance the period could well be described as the ‘Medieval’ period of history, although describing the entire period as one historical epoch (Medieval) is not without its problems since certain marked changes were witnessed within the broad category. The very use of the term ‘medieval’ leads us to compare it with the ‘modem’ period. For many of us modernity means material progress and intellectual advancement, and therefore, this seems to suggest that the medieval period was lacking in advancement. This is not really true because the medieval period had its own levels of development and progress. For the sake of convenience and a better understanding of the changes in society, economy, politics, religion and culture during these centuries, the medieval period is further subdivided into the Early Medieval Period and the Late Medieval Period.

H

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

5

The Early Medieval Period broadly stretches from the eighth to the twelfth century, during which the Palas, the Pratiharas, the Rashtrakutas, the Cholas and the early Rajputs dominated the political, socio-economic and cultural patterns of life. The Late Medieval Period stretches from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. The Turks - who later established the Delhi Sultanate and the various regional and supra-regional kingdoms, and the Mughals - largely dominated the fate of history during this phase. Here, in this volume however, we shall largely confine ourselves to early medieval period’s new kingdoms, the Delhi Sultanate and the regions which prospered parallel to the Delhi Sultanate. Today we understand our country as ‘India’. However, such a modem concept of the nation-state was not there in the historical past and people identified themselves with the smaller regions to which they belonged. In the medieval period a ‘foreigner’ or ‘Pardesi was any stranger who had a somewhat different appearance from the local society or culture. Today, a foreigner means a person who resides in another country and is only a temporary visitor to our country. Therefore, historians have to be careful about how terms have been used in historical literature because the meaning of a certain word or term can come to mean something entirely contrary to expectation given the passage of time. The first Article of the Constitution of India states that ‘India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states.’ The word Bharat is derived from the name of Bharata, son of Dushyanta, a legendary ruler mentioned in the Mahabharata. The realm of Bharata is known as Bharatavara in the Mahabharata and later texts. The term vama means a division of the earth, or a continent. Similarly, the name ‘India’ has been in use since the seventeenth century. It is an English term derived from the Greek (via Latin) word Indica which stood for a region beyond the Indus river according to Herodotus (fifth century bc). The name is ultimately derived from Sindhu which is the Sanskrit name of the river. Thus, the Republic of India can very correctly and officially be referred to as either India or Bharat, while the term ‘Hindustan’ is considered antiquated and is mostly used in historical contexts (especially in British India). Today these three terms are interchangeably used to refer to the political and national entity that is identified as India. But the term Hindustan did not carry the same meaning during the medieval period. The rulers in the Sultanate and Mughal periods called their Indian dominion, centred around Delhi, Hindustan. For example, when the term was used in the thirteenth century by Minhajus Siraj Juzjani, a chronicler who wrote in Persian, he meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the land between the Ganga and the Yamuna. He used the term in a political sense for lands that were a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultanate. In the early sixteenth century Babur used Hindustan to describe the geography,

6

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent. Excerpts from the Baburnama read something like this - ‘Hindustan is ...a wonderful country. Compared with our countries, it is different world. Its mountains, rivers, jungles and deserts, its towns, its cultivated lands, its animals and plants, its people and their tongues, its rains and its winds, are all different...Once the water of Sind is crossed, everything is in the Hindustan way - land, water, tree, rock, people and horde, opinion and custom’ ‘Hindustan’ was in use synonymously with ‘India’ during the British Raj. In the nineteenth century, the term, as used in English, referred to the northern region of India between the Indus and Brahmaputra and between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas in particular, hence the term Hindustani

MAP 1: HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENT (PHYSICAL MAP OF INDIA)

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

7 HNS

for the Hindi-Urdu language. Thus, while the idea of a geographical and cultural entity like ‘India’ did exist during the medieval period, the term ‘Hindustan’ did not carry the political and national meanings which we perceive triday.

SHARED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD The period between [750 and 1550] saw the movement of a large number of people. The immense wealth and prosperity of the subcontinent attracted not only the traders but also people who wanted to plunder its wealth or carve out a kingdom for themselves. Among such political groups were the early Muslim invaders like Mahmud of Ghazna and Mohammad Ghori. They were followed by other Turks who founded the Delhi Sultanate. Five different dynasties, about whom you shall read in Chapters 5 and 6, ruled under Delhi Sultanate beginning with the Ilbari Turks. Delhi Sultanate was uprooted by a new group of people from Central Asia known as the Mughals who later went on to establish the Mughal empire. While these people, from beyond the frontiers of India, made this country their homeland, there were several groups of new rulers who emerged from within the borders of India. Such groups included the Rajputs , a name derived from ‘Rajputra’ (the son of a king), who were known for their courage and valour. The term Rajput was loosely applied to all the warrior classes who claimed the status of Kshatriyas, be it the rulers or the soldiers. The period saw great social and economic changes. Advancements in agriculture were marked by the gradual clearing of forests, which in turn, led to the migration of forest dwellers to other areas. More and more people started tilling the soil. These new peasant groups gradually came to be influenced by regional markets, chieftains, priests, monasteries and temples. They became part of large complex societies, and were required to pay taxes and offer goods and services to the local lords and chieftains. Some peasants were rich while a majority of them were extremely poverty stricken. There were some others who combined artisanal work with agricultural activity. The result was a socially and economically differentiated society. In a society of this kind, caste considerations came to play an important role and determined the rank and status of a person. The new people, who came to India, also brought with them new ideas which resulted in better technology. In the field of irrigation, the Persian wheel came to be used. The spinning wheel made weaving that much easier than ever before. In combat, fire arms came to be used. Paper

8

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

was introduced and was soon put to use for writing purposes. New foods and beverages arrived in the subcontinent including potatoes, com, chillies, tea and coffee. Region and Empire

The early medieval period saw the emergence of many smaller kingdoms, which were more often than not in conflict with one another. In this turbulent, strife-ridden period, the most popularly referred to conflict is the one that included warring parties like the Palas, the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas pitted against one another. In south India this period saw the emergence of the powerful Chola kings, who subjugated large areas of the peninsula and devised their own system of rule and implemented their own agricultural practices. They were powerful not only politically but financially as well. Wealth was primarily brought in by the merchants who traded with the countries of South-East Asia and China. It was largely because of the huge resources at the disposal of the Chola rulers that many beautiful temples were built by them during the early medieval period. In North India and the Deccan, large states, like those of the Delhi Sultans, Vijayanagar Kings and Bahmani Sultans were created which encompassed various regions. However, each Delhi Sultan’s rule differed in terms of success, strength and stability, and the dimension and control of the empire varied depending upon the reigning Sultan, the duration of his tenure and the policies he chose to adopt. Under powerful rulers, like Alauddin Khalji, the central control remained dynamic not only in the core regions surrounding Delhi, but also in the peripheral regions and remote areas. And therefore, whenever there were long and continuous periods of weakening central control, each beleaguered region, in a bid for greater freedom, started emerging with its own area of rule. It happened with the decline of the Delhi Sultanate in mid-fourteenth century. However, this is not to suggest that the regions emerged only on the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate. Many local, regional and supra-regional kingdoms also became prominent with their own cultural and socio­ economic characteristics even during the glory days of the Delhi Sultanate beyond its boundaries. The processes of centralisation and regionalisation were not mutually exclusive and each influenced the other. On the one hand, the empire, which comprised a characteristically divergent territory, had to take into account the diverse regional ruling elite, each with its own peculiar idiosyncrasies and style of governance, and on the other hand was also subjected to long years of imperial rule. The result was a varied and motley legacy, bequeathed to the people by their diverse rulers. This is

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

9

awss

visible in the fields of governance, economy, revenue generation machinery and structure, architecture, painting and language. The regions imbibed many of the features of the long existing Delhi Sultanate. On the theoretical platform of historiography, the regions in Indian history acquire a new significance in the 750-1200 period. It disappears from the historiography during the heydays of Delhi Sultanate only to reappear after 1400. This was to suggest that regions in Indian history appeared only after the disintegration of the Dellii Sultanate. However, over the recent years an alternative historiography is increasingly focusing upon the study of the regions in terms of continuity and change circa 750-1550. In this historiography the Delhi Sultanate represents an important interventionist moment, but at the same time historians tend to find out the endogenous processes of social and intellectual development in the region. Religious Traditions

Religion played a predominant role in medieval Indian society because people’s belief in God or the supernatural was deeply personal. However, the period witnessed major developments in religious traditions and important changes took place in Hinduism. By the twelfth century, Islam had also made an entry point in society with the establishment of Turkish rule. Apart from Islam another tradition, which came along from West Asian culture, was the Sufi tradition. Thus, the early medieval period saw the proliferation of diverse religious traditions in India and this was bound to have a profound impact on Indian society. One of the major repercussions was the worship of new deities, the construction of huge and magnificent temples by the kings and the growing importance of the Brahmanas (the priests) because of their knowledge of Sanskrit texts. Their dominant position was consolidated by the support of their rulers and patrons who were searching for legitimacy. Probably as a challenge to this Brahmana-King (Rajput) grouping, a major development took place and this was the emergence of the idea of Bhakti. It meant access to a personal deity without the intervention of priests or the religious clergy and certainly devoid of elaborate rituals. This was also the period when a new religion called Islam appeared in India. Merchants and migrants first brought the teachings of the holy Koran to India in the seventh century and later, with the rule of the Delhi Sultans, Islam became popular in India. The^greatest change, in the religious tradition during the period, was the emergence and popularity of the Bhakti and Sufi saints, who took up the cause of socio-religious reforms and preached the gospel of'equality and universal brotherhood. The Bhakti saints mostly belonged to the lower castes arid

16

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

used local dialects and regional languages, which could be easily understood by the common people, to spread their message of love and equality. The themes, mentioned above, also relate to continuity and the thesis of change in medieval Indian historiography. The early medieval period has largely been treated as a period of change in terms of society, economy and the political structure. Historians have also interpreted circa 1200 as a point of significant change. However, in recent years, researchers have come out with studies of small communities during the early medieval period and even beyond, which is called the integrationist paradigm in Indian history. The links of continuity are especially noticeable in the processes concerning urbanization, the emergence of the peasantry from the erstwhile tribal castes of India, caste changes and the emergence of local and regional trade. These themes have been highlighted more elaborately in Chapters 2, 3, 10 and 11.

SOURCES OF MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY Historians depend on a variety of sources to learn about the past. However, it is pertinent to know that while most of the sources of information remain what they were in an earlier period and which included inscriptions, buildings, coins, religious and non-religious literature, there is a marked difference between the period under discussion and the earlier periods of time. This could be evidenced from the fact that it was in the medieval period alone that the practice of the writing and recording of history as a distinct discipline took place. In this light we shall try to weigh the various sources of medieval Indian history. Archaeological: Epigraphy, Numismatics

Archaeological sources include inscriptions, coins, monuments, paintings, weapons and other antiquities. They' are of immense value in the reconstruction of the socio-cultural and political history of medieval India. The inscriptions have been mostly published in the Epigraphia IndoMoslemica, Epigraphia Indica and other antiquarian journals. The history of early medieval India, witnessed from inscriptional sources, is more realistic and holistic than the literary sources are. The society depicted in much of the brahminical and courtly literature from the first half of the second millennium, especially in texts composed in the Sanskrit language, have a class bias. For instance, the Dharmashastra law books do not advocate the same behaviour for the entire population, since different classes of people were held up to different standards. They do not take the customs, traditions and lifestyles of the common people

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

11

into account. The literature and historiography of the period concerns itself only with the privileged classes of society with very few references to the subaltern class. Despite the presence of divergent voices, the Dharmashastra tradition consistently propagated the pre-eminence of the Brahmanas. Evidence of this can also be found in royal Sanskrit biographies, which highlight the patron’s resemblance to the exemplary kings of the past. Cynthia Talbot1 explains as how historical processes can be tracked more objectively through the medium of inscriptions in a manner in which it could not possibly be done with medieval literary sources. Inscriptions offer a view of history which has far more diverse group of actors engaged in a larger range of activities and a broader spectrum of society. Inscriptions make available specific contexts of time and place that are lacking in many literary texts from the medieval period. It is largely unconcerned with the historical present or even with the notion of historical change. In other words, it is free from the contemporary styles, trends and approaches of writing history, and therefore, can well be considered more objective. Further, the literary texts might differ in opinion because they were composed at a different point in time and by different people. In contrast, inscriptions capture and preserve discrete moments in time as a record of specific events. They are almost customarily dated and are generally situated where they were originally placed. We find most of them usually on the walls or structural columns of a temple building or on a stone slab or pillar within the temple complex. Cynthia Talbot has relied heavily upon a particular kinds of historical source materials and medieval stone inscriptions, for writing the history of the medieval Andhra region. Since stone inscriptions from medieval South India, typically record religious donations, a history constructed from it, therefore gets greater importance to the documented activities of real individuals. Epigraphic texts describe the kinds of property given away and also provide other useful details like the date on which a gift was made, the donor’s name, his/her family background and personal accomplishments, and praise of the monarch. In other words, they tell us when, where, and which specific persons donated to the cause of Hindu temples. Talbot believes that groups represented in inscriptions are considerably more diverse than ‘elite literary compositions’ would provide. So, along with the kings and Bahamans, whose munificence has been taken ample note of, the inscriptions of the period also mention merchants, landed peasants, herders, and warrior chiefs, along with their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters. Thus, inscriptions enable us to trace individual actors in history. It gives us a diversified picture of society and are, therefore, a more reliable primary source of information about the people in this period of time.

12

ssss

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Kesavan Veluthat 2 also makes use of the inscriptions in this period for his study of the political structure of medieval south India. He has divided these inscriptions into two broad categories: (a) the copper plate grants with a Sanskrit prasasti in the beginning followed by a statement in Tamil, which in most cases is a record of the grant of a piece of land to Brahmans, temples or other religious institutions; and (b) the stone inscriptions, mostly in Tamil (or in old Malayalam in the case of the Cera kingdom) generally record land or property transactions made by temple committees and other local groups. The Tamil inscriptions record the details of the gift in question, with much attention paid to matters like land boundaries, terms and conditions and witnesses. These records are the title-deeds of property and are hence preserved in the lockers of the owners and are not meant for public viewing. On the other hand, the stone inscriptions record property transactions. This includes the assignment of land endorsed to temples, the management of cattle endowed for the maintenance of ‘perpetual’ temple lamps and other similar"matters. Obviously, these records deal with the more important sections of society such as land-owners - both Brahman and non-Brahman - merchants and other notables. Thus, they keep out certain other major aspects of social life, not covered by the scope of these records. Veluthat argues that it was always possible for the historian to be misled by statements which could well have been an exaggerated account of actuality, and the veracity of which was highly suspected. The speculation and generalization on the basis of inscriptional statement can well be replaced by systematic treatment of available data. For example, in the case of the Chola region, the fabulously rich data, contained in numerous inscriptions, has been, to the delight of the many historians engaged in a study of this period, subjected to computational analysis. Noboru Karashima3 says that the main sources, for the study of the Chola villages, are the contemporary inscriptions which usually record the various donations made to temples. These inscriptions are, however, mostly concerned only with the brahmadeya villages and very little information on non-brahmadeya villages can be gathered from them. In his study, Karashima has used one brahmadeya (Jsanamangalam) and one non-brahmadeya (Allur) village of the early Chola times in the ninth and tenth centuries. The purpose of his study is to contribute to a more general understanding of the two kinds of Chola village community. He focuses on two major points in his thesis - land tenure and the social stratification of the community. The source materials of his study are thirty stone inscriptions, which record land donations made to temples or tax remissions of the land. Twenty-one inscriptions, which concern Isanamangalam of the early Chola times, are from the Chandrasekhara temple of Tiruchchendurai in Tiruchirappalli Taluk, Tiruchirappalli

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

13

District, and nine inscriptions, which concern Allur, are from the Pasupatisvara temple of Allur of the same taluk. These two villages were in the same locality on the southern side of the Kaveri river. It is interesting to note that until the 1960s, inscriptions were mainly read in order to build a chronological framework for regional dynasties, and so it was only the tenure of kings and the important political events mentioned in them, that interested scholars. Over the recent few years, information relating to the functioning of temple institutions, the role of religious patronage, and the nature of political structures has also been extracted from epigraphic records and has been put to statistical analysis. The primary criterion, in a statistical analysis of this kind, is the number of endowments received by a temple, the identity of the donor, the location of the temple, and the nature of the gift object. Furthermore, in organizing information drawn from inscriptions, historians are trying to apply categories that are inherently more meaningful and relate better to the people under study. Inscriptions of Delhi Sultanate Period

The literary texts and chronicles of the Delhi Sultanate were not of the nature which could hardly have been composed with the purpose of communicating perceptions of communities. They had altogether different functions. However, there are many Sanskrit inscriptions which were inscribed by mercantile community during the reign of various Sultans of Delhi. Although these early medieval inscriptions differed substantially from the ancient counterparts, both in contents and in style, they were still not reflective of the people’s history and had its limitations. They had mainly one central concern and that was recording of gift and of patronage. ‘The context of the gift introduced the royal element whose presence and whose temporal qualities, like the spiritual qualities of a Brahmana, a preceptor or a priest, had to be located in the context of the gift’ .4 However, these inscriptions were slightly different from contemporary chronicles and did not deal with political aspects only. Even though the rulers were praised by highlighting their victories and personal attributes, these were thus not political inscriptions as such, ‘because political could not be separated from the broad social context in which grants were made’.5 B.D. Chattopadhyaya argues that the more proper perspective from which to analyse the inscriptions should be ‘legitimational’ rather than ‘overtly political’.6 There are a number of remarkable thirteenth century epigraphs in Delhi, which have largely been composed by the merchant families of the area. B.D. Chattopadhyaya refers to a well-known Palam Baoli inscription of ad 1276.7 Pushpa Prasad also provides a detailed discussion of the

14

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

content of such Sanskrit inscriptions of the Delhi Sultanate.8 Almost the whole of the Palam Baoli is in Sanskrit and was authored by Pandita Yogisvara. The inscription contains the genealogy of Thakkura Udadhara, a purapati in Sriyoginipura (Delhi). He has been credited with having constructed numerous dharmasalas and has also constructed a well, to the east of Palamba-grama (Palam) and west of Kumumbapura. The inscriptions also mention the contemporary rulers of Delhi, starting with Sahavadina (Sihabuddin) and coming up to Sri Hammira Gayasamdina (Ghiyasuddin Balban). These rulers are listed as a part of a genealogy of rulers. The rulers in Delhi are: Sahavadina (Sihabbuddin), Suduvadina (Qutbuddin Aibak), Samusadina (Shamsuddin Iltutmish), Pherujasahi (Ruknuddin Firoz), Jalaladlna (Jalaluddin Razia). Maujadina (Muizuddin Bahram), Alavadina (Alauddin Masud), Nasaradina (Nasiruddin Mahmud), Sri Hammira Gayasadina (Ghiyasuddin Balban). A similar genealogy is present in the Sarban stone inscription of ad 1378, found in the Raisina area of Delhi.9 The purpose of this Sanskrit inscription composed by two merchant brothers, in the hope heaven would finally be attained by deceased ancestors - is also to record the construction of a well in the vicinity of the village Saravala (Sarban). The inscription mentions that the city of ‘Dhilli’ was built by the Tomaras. The Cahamanas, who looked after their subjects well, succeeded the Tomaras. We also find references to terms like ‘Mlechha’, ‘Turuska’10 in these inscriptions, which help us to analyse the Hindu-Muslim dichotomy of the Muslim ‘others’. We shall be dealing with the issue in greater detail in Chapter 5. Thus, inscriptions are literary texts of a particular kind. Although they record certain past activities and areas that are likely to be of interest to us, they do so in ways that were considered meaningful and useful to their contemporary audience. Inscriptions, just like medieval court literature, are forms of discourse containing representations of the self and the world. And therefore, the social and political aspirations they embody, cannot be ruled out along with the ideology they convey and carry by default. It is also important to understand that inscriptions cannot tell us everything we would like to know about medieval India. They provide us with direct access to only one sphere of human activity and that is religious patronage. Consequently, we may not be able to get evidence of every strata of medieval society in inscriptions, for the simple reason that only the relatively privileged could make a religious endowment or discharge one. Because of the necessarily fragmentary nature of the task on hand, the historian’s work becomes rather challenging. To attain the best results, inscriptional information should be supplemented with a study of other contemporary sources. Ideally one should use both

i I ❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

15 .

inscriptions and literary texts to explore the Indian medieval past, as they are the cultural products of a contemporary society. Numismatics

Edward Thomas was the first, among the modem historiographers of medieval India, to make extensive use of numismatics (the study of coins). Coins are not only a valuable source for reconstructing the dates of historical events, but they also give us an insight into the economic conditions of the period under study. Medieval states, with their many ruling dynasties and kings, issued their own coins. These coins, in their own time, normally carried the same value as that of the metal used in manufacturing the coins. Since these coins were controlled and monitored by the state, they provide us with an almost unparalleled series of historical documents. They make available before us the life and times of those who had issued them. They weave the texture of history into their being and are therefore interesting in the context of the changing times. There is hardly any scope of manipulating the information based on coins and so they furnish us with authentic, true information. In India, we do not possess much literature of the early medieval period and so coins become a very significant source of historical evidence in the modem sense of the word. Coins can shed light upon diverse facts about rulers, their names, dynasties, their thoughts and actions. These facts are well enough illustrated on our coins. So the study of coins is an integral part of history. Likewise, coins add to and supplement the information that can be obtained from other sources. This could well be said of the Chola period. Historians like R.S. Sharma argue that the numismatic picture, in the period ranging from the reign of the Guptas to the advent of the Muslims in India in the twelfth century ad, is extremely dismal. Gold coins are rare, silver coins are few in number and copper coins are even rarer. R.S. Sharma looks at these developments to indicate the collapse of the coinage system. But we cannot be sure of this. There is a possibility that most of the gold and silver coins might have disappeared as booty during the invasions of Mahmud Ghaznawi. What we have been able to get, through archaeological excavations, are the base metal coins of lower denominations alone. In other words, historians must be careful in treating and analysing historical changes on the basis of the coins available. RL. Gupta11 provides a very interesting fact gleaned from Turkish coins. Mahmud Ghaznawi and Muhammad Ghori, the early Muslim invaders of India, have been portrayed by historians as inconclasts, who were virulently anti-Hinduism. However, their coins tell an altogether

16

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

different story. Mahmud Ghazni had placed the true translation of the Kalima in Sanskrit and in Nagari characters - the language and script of the infidels and the Kafirs, that is, the Hindus. Mohammad Ghori had stamped the figure of Lakshmi on his gold coins and had his name inscribed in Nagari characters. The coins tell us that this early Turkish invader was, in all likelihood, little liberal in religious outlook than most other Muslim rulers who came to the throne of Delhi after him. Likewise, coins are also a very important source of information on economic history. The evidence of token currency, issued during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq, is a very apt example of it. Apart from history, coins have also an aesthetic and artistic value. The dies, from which coins were struck, were the work of the artists of the day. So they reflect the workmanship of the artists and also the aesthetic tastes of the people of those times. The portraits of the kings and other important political figures on the Chola coins reflect the art of inscribing and minting at its best. They present before us a very accurate portrayal of the monarchy. The Cholas issued some gold coins, but these vary considerably in terms of the quality and weight of the gold used, and are at times merely gold-washed. However, a large number of silver coins were issued in the South. A new era was ushered in South Indian numismatics with the foundation of the Vijayanagar kingdom in 1336. The Vijayanagar coins, like the earlier South Indian coins, are, for the most part, in gold. Silver coins are known only of Harihara (1336-1356) and Devaraya II (1422-1466). The Vijayanagar rulers used Nagari, Kannada and Telugu scripts on their coins. With the advent of the Muslims in India, Indian coinage assumed an entirely new pattern. The coins of earlier times had pictorial or heraldic devices at least on one side. During the Turkish rule, the Sultanate coins carried inscriptions on both sides either in Arabic or in the Persian script. In Islam, the inscribing of the ruler’s name on the coins was invested with special importance. This license, with the reading of his name in the khutba (public prayer) implied the definite assumption of legal power by him. It became the practice and prerogative of the Muslim rulers to issue coins on each occasion of victory over a country or kingdom or even a fort, or a town, and to record on them their names with all their titles and the date in the Hijri era, and the place of issue of the coins. The crusading zeal of the early Khalifas of Syria in the eighth century ad had introduced the Kalima or profession of faith - La ilah-il-illah Muhammad-ur-Rasool Allah (There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.12 Later this formed part of the Muslim coins. In India too, the Kalima was used on the coins. Mohammad Ghori, after defeating Prithviraj Chauhan and his allies in the second battle of Thanesvara or Tarain in 1192, struck gold coins in

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

17

imitation of the coins that were current in the country. Each coin had the name - Sri Mohammad bin Sam - inscribed in Nagari upon it and on the obverse, was placed an image of the seated Lakshmi. Qutbuddin Aibak was the first Sultan to set up his capital in Delhi; but no coin, bearing his name, has so far been found. Iltutmish (1211-1236) issued silver coins with various legends inscribed upon them. One of the most important is that which has the name of the Abbasid Khalifa-al-Mustansir on one side, with or without the Kalima on the other. This gives proof of the investiture that Iltutmish had received from the Khalifa in 1228. Balban issued coins with his name inscribed in Arabic upon them. The inscription of his name was circumferenced by the inscription of the Nagari legend, Sri Suritan Gadhasadin.'3 The other side had his usual Arabic legend stamped upon it. Copper coins of all the rulers have legends inscribed on either side of each coin. Alauddin Khalji, who had enhanced his treasury by his conquests in the Deccan and South India, issued plentiful coins. He changed the pattern of the inscriptions by making no mention of the Khalifa on the obverse of his gold and silver coins and substituting it with the self-laudatory title Sikandar-us-sani Yamin-ul- khilafat.14 The gold and silver coins - from the very beginning of their issue by the Sultans of Delhi, including Muhammad bin Sam - are identical in terms of content, which is to say, that the inscription, design, fabric and weight remain more or less the same. They wejgh 170 grains, which was then the weight of one tola of gold. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq followed the pattern of the Khalji coinage and issued coins in all the four metals - gold, silver, billon and copper. But his son, Muhammad bin Tughluq, was very revolutionary in his ideas. He surpassed his predecessors in the execution of coins, especially in the matter of calligraphy. His coinage is the expansion of the mint system. His coins are known to have been struck at Delhi, Darul-Islam (Ranthambhor), Dhar, Lakhnauti, Satgaon, Sultanpur, Mulk-i-Tilangana and Tughluqpur (Tirhut), Deogir. Thus, not less than nine mints were at work issuing coins during his time. The earliest and most curious coins of Muhammad bin Tughluq are those that he had struck bearing the name of his father, whom he had murdered in order to occupy the throne. They bear the inscription of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, accompanied by an additional title - al-sahid (martyr). Probably these coins were issued more as a calculated hypocritical step to clear his name from the crime and thereby to absolve himself of blame, than to honour his father’s memory. These coins were issjied during the first three years of his reign. Then he issued coins in his own name and reintroduced the Kalima, which had long been discarded from the coins after the reign of Iltutmish.

18

nw

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

It now became a permanent feature of the inscriptions of the Muslim coins in India for quite some time to come. Muhammad Tughluq will always be remembered for his experimentation with other aspects of coinage. He first experimented with how much a coin should ideally weigh. His earlier coins, in gold and silver, retained the standard weight of 170 grains. He subsequently issued gold dinaras of 201.5 grains and silver adlis of 144 grains.15 In ad 1329-30 Muhammad made a very brave venture of issuing token copper coins in place of the silver and billon tankahs. In order to ensure the success of his experiment, he had an appeal inscribed upon them. It runs - man ataya al-sultan faqada ataye al-rehman (he who obeys the Sultan obeys the Compassionate). He further added - Muhar shud tankah rayaj dar rajagar bandah ummidavara (I hope that this stamped tankah would be put in current use in transcations.16 But his hopes were to be doomed. These coins could easily be forged and reduplicated. According to a contemporary historian, every house turned into a mint with the promulgation of this edict. Ultimately Muhammad bin Tughluq had no choice but to withdraw the issued coins in 1331. Sher Shah ruled for a short period of time, but he issued a large number of coins in his name. His silver coins bear the Kalima and the names of the four Khalifas - Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali - on the obverse. His own name - Farid-ud-dunia wa din abu al-muzaffar Sher Shah Sultan - and the pious prayer - Khald Allah mulk (May Allah perpetuate his kingdom) - are also inscribed upon his coins.17 He issued these coins from Ujjain, Agra, Panduah, Chunar, Ranthambhor, Satgaon, Sharifabad, Shergarh Qila, Shergarh alias Qanauj, Shergarh alias Delhi, Shergarh alias Bhakkar, Fathabad, Kalpi, Gwalior and Malot. Besides these mints, there are some coins which bear the word jahanpanah in place of the mini name and suggest that they were issued from the court or from some camp mint. This practice of issuing coins from royal camps became very popular in the Mughal period. Sher Shah’s silver coins do not weigh 170 grains. They weigh nearly 1-80 grams and are known by the name of rupiya, a term which is still in usage. Thus, coins remain one of the key sources of studying the economic history of the early medieval kingdoms, the Delhi Sultanate and the regional kingdoms of the time. They could also be used as a corroborative source for the political and social history of medieval times. Literary Sources: Foreign Travellers’Account and Persian Narratives

The distinctive feature of the sources of the medieval period, especially after the establishment of Delhi Sultanate, is that the number and variety of literary or textual records increased noticeably during this period. One

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

19

of the possible reasons was that during this period paper gradually became cheaper and was easy enough to procure. Chroniclers used it to write about the tenure of rulers, the events and political intrigues, petitions made, judicial records, accounts and revenues. The teachings of saints and traders’ transactions were also duly recorded on reams of paper. As paper was extremely expensive, manuscripts could only be collected by the wealthy or could be kept in the possession of rulers, monasteries and temples or they could be stored in archives.18 These manuscripts and documents provide detailed information to historians. However, historians have to be very careful while using these old manuscripts. Since there was no printing press in those days, scribes had no option but to copy manuscripts by hand. In the process of copying, errors must have crept in unwittingly and inadvertently. In due course of time, most manuscripts became replete with errors and major, substantive changes were introduced in the text. Medieval chronicles were authored either by court historians or by freelancers. Some of them came as travellers and wrote about India (see Table 1.1). Such writings have their own advantages and disadvantages. These works could not possibly be an objective account of history, even though eye-witness accounts were included, because the writer’s subjective standpoint and prejudiced opinions would often colour the course of the narrative. TABLE 1.1 IMPORTANT FOREIGN TRAVELLERS/ENVOYS AI-Masudi (957): An-Arab traveller, he has given an extensive account of India. Al-beruni (1024-30): His real name was Abu Rehan Mahmud and he came to

India along with Mahmud of-Ghazni during one of his many Indian raids.. He travelled all over India and wrote a book called Tahqiq-i-Hind. The book dealt with the social, religious and political conditions in India. Ibn Batuta (1333-47): A Moorish traveller, he visited India during the reign.of. .Muhammad-bin-Tughluq. His book Rehla (the Travelogue) throws light on the-' reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq and the geographical, economic and social conditions in India. Nicolo Conti (1420-21): A Venetian traveller, he gives a comprehensive account

of the kingdom of Vijayanagar. Abdur Razzaq (1443-44): He was a Persian traveller who came to India and

stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. He has given a vivid account of the Vijayanagar empire, especially of the city. He describes the wealth and luxurious, life of the king and the nobles. Domingos Paes (1520-22): He was a Portuguese traveller who visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagar empire.

20

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Today historians doubt the veracity of these accounts and these versions of history are not seen as a truthful and authentic account of the life and times of this period. The availability of readymade histories have their own pitfalls. Such histories, with their aura of being ‘authentic’ and ‘contemporary’, often dull our critical senses. The advantage of having written accounts can soon become a major problem to reckon with if the nature of these works is not understood. An individual, who happened to be writing a few centuries ago, was obviously responding to events in his own highly personalized and subjective manner. It was he who decided what to include and what not to in official historiography. Thus, for us it is also important to know why and for whom he was engaged in the course of writing an ‘official’ version of history, before we put his work to any constructive use with a view to understand what ‘really’ happened then. The diversity and volume of source material suddenly increases for the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This was largely because of the fact that during this period of Delhi Sultanate there is large availability of Persian texts. We have read earlier that how historians working on the seventh through the twelfth centuries rely primarily on epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological sources. They use epigraphic and numismatics sources to produce political and social history of small communities. However, if one attempts to generalise and create a theoretical framework from such data and it may lead to contradictory conclusions such as ‘Indian feudalism’, ‘segmentary state’, ‘integrative polity’, etc. These debates have been discussed in Chapter 2 ahead. The Persian chronicles provide evidence and descriptions which are quite the contrary of what is available in epigraphic and archaeological sources. Sunil Kumar goes to the extent of arguing that ‘the expansive canvas of Persian chronicles has effectively relegated epigraphic, numismatic, architectural and archaeological evidence to secondary and corroborative role’. He says that in contrast with an earlier time period within which the historiographic world was more circumscribed, the tawarikh (history) of the Delhi Sultans have facilitated the production of narratives of state formation and institutions.19 Today we regard all such Persian sources of the Sultanate period as historical records, which have a chronological narrative style and provide us with an accurate description of statecraft, of the kings and his subordinates, and the politics and events of the period. However, it is to be noted that with the exception of Isami’s Futuh al Salatin all the medieval Persian texts of the period were written from the perspective of the Delhi .Sultanate. The Persian literature, produced in north India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, was influenced by Iranian Islamic traditions for its

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

21

formal stylistic convention. There were many genres of literary tradition prevalent at that time.20 The one literary genre which gained popularity under the Delhi Sultanate was the tawarikh. This interest in history as a distinct branch of intellectual tradition was something new for the sub­ continent. Kalhana’s Rajatarangni, a history of medieval Kashmir, was perhaps the only surviving work in Sanskrit dealing with history. The writing of history, on the other hand, had acquired the status of a distinct discipline for Muslim intellectuals. There are several reasons for this new trend. Many historians believe that the Koran is replete with historical references. The Arabs have always been interested in genealogy and this developed as a tradition in Islamic society. It led the early Muslims to take a keen interest in the events connected with the rise of Islam. But the real boost to historicity was given by Muslim intellectuals in compiling the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith). Another significant factor which contributed to this trend of narrative writing was the fact that the Arabians had now begun to forge intellectual ties with other civilizations, particularly the Byzantine and Sassanid civilizations. Further, the fact that the early Caliphate state enjoyed a measure of prosperity, resulted in greater literary activity. The introduction of paper, which began to be manufactured in Baghdad by the end of the eighth century, provided an added impetus. The new genre of history writing was brought to India by the Persianised Turks who conquered northern India. Most of our knowledge of medieval Indian history is based on the information derived from these sources. The availability of written narratives is of tremendous help for studying the history of Delhi Sultanate. However, it also presents serious problems. Peter Hardy has pointed out that the lack of documentary evidence in the Sultanate texts casts a shadow of doubt on what we understand to be the modern standards of objectivity.21 Most often modem historians have the tendency to paraphrase existing histories and to provide them with a semblance of modernity. As a result the social and political outlook of medieval historians is not really understood in the correct perspective. The prejudices of a medieval chronicler could well leak into modem works, resulting in a very erroneous view of history. And thus, the advantage of having written accounts could well become a disadvantage if not understood in a contemporary context. E.H. Carr22 has rightly said that it makes more sense to study the historian before you study his facts. Therefore, before depending so much on medieval chronicles it must be agreed to that the historian’s political, social and class affinities moulded his work. Why he was writing and for whom, these are essential questions to reckon with before we put a Persian chronicler’s work to any use. An individual, writing a few

22

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

centuries ago, was reacting in his own personal and subjective manner to events and situations. It was he who decided what was important and what was not, and what needed to be included in a written record. We need to try and find out what the historian’s idea of history was, and what he was essentially trying to say. We should also try to understand the sources from which the historian collected information, the veracity of these accounts, and the manner in which an event was rated in terms of its importance to history. Peter Hardy in fact criticizes scholars who expect to be supplied with readymade information.23 The important Persian historical sources of the Delhi Sultanate period are the works of Alberuni, the philosopher- scientist whose Kitab al Hind was the first and most important discussion on Indian sciences, religion and society. The works of luzjani, Barani and Afif cover the history of the Sultanate in its entirety from the time of its establishment to the end of Firuz Shah Tughluq’s reign (1388 ad). Amir Khusrau also used historical themes for his poems and his works shed a great deal of light on the social history of the period. The Malfuzat texts, in the form of the discourses of a Sufi master to his disciples are also a popular genre of literature in the thirteenth century. Alberuni

Abu’l Rayhan Alberuni authored the Kitab al Hind. Apart from history, he had much interest in other areas like astronomy, geography, logic, medicine, mathematics, philosophy, religion and theology. He was from Khwarazon. He had travelled widely and had served the last of the independent Khwarazm Shahs as a scholar and a diplomat till Mahmud of Ghaznah conquered the kingdom. After that he was attached to Mahmud’s court and accompanied him to India. Alberuni was a prolific writer. His first major work was a historical one, an extensive chronological study putting Muslim History into a wider perspective. At one place he estimates that he wrote as many as 113 treaties. Alberuni’s writings covered a wide spectrum of the contemporary world and encompassed the fields of astronomy, physics, mathematics, mineralogy and chemistry. He seems to have been familiar with Greek thought, evidenced by the fact that he was acquainted with the Arabic translations of the works of famous Greek thinkers. He mentions the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy among the works of many others. Kitab al Hind is his most remarkable work. It is a survey of Indian life based on Alberuni’s study and observations in the period between 1017-30, when he had accompanied Mahmud of Ghaznah on his various expeditions. He was well-versed in Sanskrit, read the available literature and conversed with learned men and scholars before he began to pen the

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

23

Kitab al Hind. It is the earliest work of its kind which can be termed as truly scientific in the historical sense of the word. Alberuni was in all probability motivated by his intellectual and scientific curiosity, and therefore, tried his best to understand why Indians thought the way they did. He explains what led him to study the philosophical, religions and scientific systems of Indians. He was extremely interested in comparative religion. He said that most of the material available on India was second-hand, unoriginal and uncritical. He, therefore, tried to acquire first-hand information by learning Sanskrit, by reading religious and scientific texts and by meeting the scholars who were more than willing to explain and discuss these texts and various other issues with him. His approach was scientific and religious prejudices do not mar the quality of his observations. He used many Sanskrit works. Amongst them the works of Brahmagupta, Belabhadra, and Varahmihtra are significant. He quotes from the Bhagvadgita, the Vishnu Purava and the Vayu Purava. He also takes stock of Kapila’s Sankhya and the works of Patanjali. He quotes extensively from these classical works. He takes pains to state the viewpoints of Indian scholars on diverse subjects. He often compares those with theories from Greece. He stresses that he was not trying to make the theories of Indians better understood. One of the most interesting aspects of Alberuni’s Kitab al Hind is that he explicitly states that he is unsure of his stock of knowledge. Kitab al Hind is also describes Indian customs and ways of life, festivals, ceremonies and rites. Alberuni’s other observations are, also of great interest. He takes note of the incongruity between the legal theories expounded in law books and the practical aspect of the legal system. Commenting on the caste system, he says that the castes are essentially vamas or colours. He made great efforts to understand the system of weights and measure and distances in India. He also provides interesting geographical data and takes into account the local astronomical and mathematical theories. Alberuni was perhaps the first Muslim to have undertaken the study of Indian thought and society on such a major scale. He classified Indians as ‘ignorant’ and said that their notions about history, geography and the sciences were absolutely ridiculous. Alberuni regretted that most Indians of his time had given up the scientific attitude of their ancestors who learnt freely from others and who were skeptical and critical about what they learnt. He said that Indians had begun to depend too excessively on tradition and authority, which was a hindrance to genuine intellectual pursuit. Thus, despite Alberuni’s own personal .prejudices and opinions about India, his Kitab al Hind is an important source for studying society during the early years of the Turkish invasion.

24

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Minhaj-us-Siraj Juzjani

Tabaqat i Nasiri of Minhaj-us-Siraj Juzjani is considered the first ever account of the initial Turkish conquest of northern India. Fakhr-iMudabbir has also dealt with this but his account concerns itself only with the activities of Qutbuddin Aibak. Juzjani’s work provided a chronological account of the Delhi Sultanate. Ziauddin Barani continued from where Juzjani left off and Shamsi Siraj Afif claimed that he had completed Barani’s work by taking the history of the Sultanante right up to the end of Firuz Shah Tughluq’s reign (1388). Of these three, Juzjani was the closest to the centre of power and maintained his relationship with the Sultans of Delhi for the longest period of time. During the early years of Turkish rule, many scholars were employed in the three areas - namely propaganda, education and administration of justice - where their learning could be of help to the state. Juzjani also contributed to all these three areas. Juzjani was most probably bom in 1193 ad. He came from a well-todo and learned family. He traced his genealogy back to the royal house of Ghaznah. His father had been in the employ of Sultan Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam. Juzjani was well educated and ambitious. Like many others in Central Asia, which had been destabilized by the Mangols, he also migrated towards India. He reached Uchch in 1227 ad and was appointed to teach at the Madrasa-i-Firuzi by Nasiruddin Qubachah, who had tremendous power in Sindh and Multan. But when Iltutmish challenged and defeated Oubachah, Juzjani joined Iltutmish and returned to Delhi with him. In 1231 Juzjani accompanied Iltutmish on his expedition against the Parihara ruler of Gwalior. The siege lasted for eleven months and Juzjani would often provide his troops with religious sermons as a morale boosting measure of sorts. He was appointed the Qadi and Iman of Gwalior. In the reign of Raziya Sultan, he was appointed as Qadi and later became the Chief Qadi of the capital. He lost royal favour in the reign of Ala ud Masud Shah and spent his time travelling to Lakhnawu and Jagnagar. He regained power in the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud. He was close to Balban and was once again appointed Qadi ul Qudat and was also given the tide of Sadr i Jahan. He most probably died in the reign of Balban. Juzani’s most ambitious project was the Tabaqat i Nasiri. In addition he also planned upon writing the history of the Maliks and the Sultans of Islam. He began with Adam and brought it down to the fourteenth year of the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud to whom he dedicated his work. His book is divided into twenty-three tabaqas (chapters). He included in the end the biographies of twenty-five nobles of his time. The early tabaqas offer a very cursory survey of the dynasties of the former Caliphate. The

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

25

tabaqas became much more detailed by the time he reaches nearer to his own times. He gives a list of the names of the sons, nobles, qadis, wazirs and other maliks of Sultan Iltutmish. In his mention of the nobility, no one is given as much importance as Balban is. Juzjani’s Tabaqat i Nasiri is different from other contemporary narratives because it is not structured within a simple chronological or dynastic framework. Instead, Juzjani organized his narrative around the groups of people who shared a common social affinity, according to Sunil Kumar.24 In fact to understand Juzjani as a historian we need to understand the motivation behind his endeavors. Monetary benefit would definitely have been one reason because he was rewarded liberally by both Sultan Nasiruddin and Ulugh Khan (Balban) to whom he gifted copies. But this was more in the form of reward from flattery than recognition as a historian. He did not earn his living by writing history. There could have been intellectual reasons for pursuing the course of writing history. History had tremendous efficacy. At a time when the political fortunes of Islam were facing highly troubled times at the hands of the Mongols, writing about the political and military glories of the Muslims was one way of restoring the social confidence of the Muslims. Juzjani’s political concerns also shaped his political convictions. He was committed to the preservation of the Turkish state. Political authority was the only cause that he understood and he believed that anyone who wielded power was essentially and intrinsically good. He felt no sense of shame in singing the praises of even those rulers who had come to the throne by violently displacing their predecessors. For them history was the history of the requisition and maintenance of political authority. Therefore, his work is nothing but a narrative of political events written from a highly partisan perspective. By doing thus, he was only following the trend of Islamic historiography towards universal histories. But at the same time he was also legitimizing the rulers of his own times. Juzjani has covered a large area and period in his history, and therefore, he naturally depended on many of the available written histories. He usually trusted what he found in these works though he is not always uncritical of his sources. For events closer to his time, he depends on hearsay. Juzjani constantly uses religious terminology in his work. Wars, involving Muslims, are described in terms of religious bigotry, which serve to indicate which side he favoured. Because he was the product of an education and conditioning that was structured almost entirely around religion, it is obvious that he knew no other terminology. His anti-Hindu stance is more than visible when in times of conflict he does not even notice, let alone condemn Hindus for not challenging the political and military authority of the Turks. However, Juzjani’s history has been often

26

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

been considered rather boring. But at the same time it is also important to understand that he is our only source of information on the activities of the early Sultans of Delhi. He has also been criticized for being involved only in affairs of kings and nobles and for not paying attention to the conditions of ordinary people. Certainly, Juzjani was only interested in the maintenance of political power and not much interested in recording other details, and therefore, we do not get any reflection of the condition of the people in general in his narrative. However, the Tabaqat i Nasiri remains an important source of information about the Sultans of Delhi. Ziauddin Barani

Ziauddin Barani takes up the historical narrative of the Delhi Sultanate from the reign of Ghiyasuddin Balban to the sixth year of the reign of Firuz Shah Tughluq. He begins the history of the Delhi Sultanate from the point where Juzjani ends his description. He is our main source for the crucial period of the history of Delhi Sultanate under Balban, the Khiljis and the Tughluqs. He is also the authority from whom later historians like Farishtah, Sirhindi, Abd:al Haqq Dihlawi, and Nizam-al Din Ahmed - draw their information regarding this period. His Tarikh i Firuz Shahi is an important account of the history of the Delhi Sultanate. His other major work, the Fatawa-i Jahandari, translated as the Principles of Government, is a work of tremendous historical significance. However, the two chronicles have also generated the immense controversy that plagues the modem historiography of the period. It is the socio-political attitudes of his works that have lent themselves to so much debate and critical speculation. His attitude towards society and politics is reflective of his social origin and background and his deep personal frustration. His training as an alim defined his religo-political outlook. This outlook can be taken as indicative of the deep resentment and disgruntlement that the ulema had begun to feel about the compromised position of Muslim governing classes in -a predominantly Hindu Society. Barani was bom in 1284 and came from a very well-connected family of Sayyids. His uncle Ala-ul Mulk was an adviser to Sultan Alauddin Khilji and was also the kotwal of the capital. His childhood was spent close to the royal seat of power. His pursuit of knowledge brought him under the tutelage of as many as forty-six scholars. He also seems to have held the coveted post of a nadim for seventeen years, whose job was to entertain and provide company to Muhammad bin Tughluq. He was also close to other nobles. Barani’s influence declined with the accession of Firuz Shah Tughluq. He also seems to have been imprisoned for a short period of time.

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

27

Whatever the reasons for this imprisonment, Barani seems to have suffered tremendously during the last years of his life. His property and wealth were confiscated and he died a pauper. It was during the last year of his life that Barani occupied himself with writing books on a variety of subjects including Sufism and Islamic history. He probably hoped that his efforts would please Firuz Shah Tughluq enough for the monarch to forgive him and offer him the monetary benefits which would put an end to misery, poverty and neglect. There were other reasons for this outpouring of literary activity. Barani states that his efforts were meant to help others. He thought that this was a virtuous act, an act to atone for past wrongdoing. He was particularly ashamed of the fact that he had failed to criticise Muhammad bin Tughluq to his face about his cruel and his irrational manner of functioning. Barani had immense regard for the discipline of history writing. According to him, history familiarized people with the words of God, and of the Prophet in addition to documenting the good and bad deeds of the rulers. It showed kings and Maliks how to learn from the mistakes and experiences of others. Also the hadith could not be understood or studied in a dehistoricised manner. Barani was very clear about the kind of audience he had in mind. He said that his history could only benefit the great and the high bom. They and they alone had the ability to understand history and use it optimally. Thus, Barani did not really concern himself with anyone other than the governing classes. Barani completed his Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi in 1357-8. His work shows a distinct level of maturity and evolution in medieval history. He is writing about Muslims in India alone. He does not concern himself with Muslims located in other parts of the world. He covers the first six years of the reign of Firuz Shah Tughluq and documents key events in the tenure of as many as six Sultans - Ghiyasuddin Balban, Kayqubad, Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji, Alauddin Khalji, Qutbuddin Mubarak Khalji, Ghiyasuddin Tughluq and Muhammad bin Tughluq. Unlike Juzjani, Barani dealt with political events in just one area. His chapters are based on the successive reigns of kings and sultans and therefore do not overlap, as in the case of Juzjani’s work. At the beginning of each chapter he gives a list of royal princes and important nobles. When he comes to Firuz Shah Tughluq he divides the chapter into eleven muqaddimahs or sections. These deal with the general characteristics of the reign. He had intended to write a hundred and eleven muqaddimahs but could not write after eleventh. Barani expressed his ideas through other historical personalities. His works have been structured in the form of a dialogue between various historical personages. That these were his ideas is confirmed by their reappearance in the Fatawa-i Jahandani. Here they appear as advisory

28

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

lectures delivered by Mahmud of Gaznah to his sons. The Fatawa-i Jahandari is not a work of history as such. It is more an expression of Barani’s views on various subjects. They are depicted in the form of a series of lectures on statecraft delivered by Mahmud of Gaznah. A piece of advice is accompanied by historical incidents to augment an argument. Most of the incidents related are rather dubious, historically speaking. The fact that only one copy of the Fatawa-i Jahandari is known to survive shows that it might not have been a very popular piece of writing. The book does not represent the actual political theory of the Sultanate but the manner in which Barani would have wanted it to take shape. Barani believed that kingship was an Islamic institution. Therefore, a king could find salvation only as a defender of the Islamic faith. It was his duty to enforce the Shariah and punish the kafirs. The state should also prohibit immorality of any kind. The government should be entrusted to the care of pious and religious men. Philosophers and rationalists had no place in the given scheme of things. Kingship, as an institution, Barani felt, could survive only through the power and charisma of majesty and the fear it could instill in people. The king, however, needed to be fair and just. He also stressed the need for a strong and efficient army which constantly needed to be kept on its toes. Barani realised that the state could not be governed by the principles of the Shariah alone. He, therefore, accepts the need for secular laws (Zawabit). Barani was very critical of Muhammad bin Tughluq for raising the ‘low-born’ to high offices. He blamed the philosophers and the rationalists with whom the Sultan seems to have spent a lot of time. Barani, therefore, advises future kings to take harsh, punitive measures against philosophers as he considered them to be anti-Muslim. Barani understood that the philosophers alone could not be blamed; there were other reasons for social mobility. He advises teachers not to initiate the ‘low-born’ into learning as it would equip them to get better jobs, which would only result in social upheaval and unrest. He also felt there should be a fixed place for each category of professionals. He endorsed feudalism, which thrived on the surplus extracted from land. He felt that the merchants were the worst of the- lot and did not ever want them to become rich and prosperous. Barani was closer to the modem idea of a historian. He saw himself as an interpreter, and not as a chronicler of history, who wanted to educate rather than inform. He believed that a king’s success depended entirely on the policies he adopted. While praising Balban for many things, Barani traced the roots of the problems faced by Balban’s successor to Balban’s faulty policies. Similarly, he felt that Alauddin’s economic policies were necessary for the security of the empire. He treated the entire reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq as a cause and effect sequence. Barani gives a very distorted picture of the reign of Muhammad

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

29

HM

bin Tughluq. Barani admits that he did not ever really understand either the Sultan or his policies. He only wanted to find out why the Sultan was facing so many problems. For him, Muhammad bin Tughluq’s policies were not an attempt to deal with problems, on the contrary, problems had arisen only on account of the Sultan’s misadventures. One of the many problems with the Tarikh-i Firuz Shahi is that of chronology. He seldom mentions dates and when he does, they are often wrong. Yet, Barani had a much wider historical perspective than Juzjani did. Juzjani had only connected events chronologically and did not ever try to draw a link in the series of events that took place between one period and another. Barani reviewed every reign at the end of each chapter and tried to trace the evolution of policies in the Sultanate. To Irfan Habib, Barani’s factual account is correct in all substantive matters and his analysis is sound and accurate.25 But one has to use Barani as a source very carefully because he does not care to either provide factual events chronologically or give a detailed description of military encounters. His view of history is highly partisan and subjective. This can create problems if used uncritically. Shams i Siraj Afif

Afif wrote a Persian narrative by the same name approximately half a century after Barani completed his Tarikh i Firuz Shahi. Though it is supposed to be continuation of Barani’s work, its nature is very different because of the conditions under which it was written. Juzjani had chronicled the establishment of Turkish power in northern India. Barani has described the consolidation, expansion and the beginning of the decline of this power. Afif provided an accurate description of the last few yeas of the Sultante before it was given a death blow by the armies of Timur. Afif was bom in 1356-7. He came from a family of minor officials who were connected with the Tughluqs even before they acquired royal power. Afif also held minor posts of sorts in the Diwan i Wizarat. He claims that he was inclined towards Sufism and that his outlook was deeply influenced by popular, devotional mysticism. Only a part of Afif’s work has survived. He mentions having written about Ghiyasuddin Tughluq and Muhammad bin Tughluq. He also seems to have written a separate work on the destruction of Delhi at the hands of Timur. The Tarikh i Firuz Shahi is composed of 90 muqaddimahs. He says he wanted to complete Barani’s one hundred and eleven muqaddimah about Firuz Shah Tughluq, though Barani never quite managed to complete his ambitious project. Thus, Afif’s purpose is not very clear because we do not have all his works. It is obvious that Afif

30

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

had no particular wish to eulogise or flatter the king as Firpz Shah Tughluq was already dead when Afif wrote his work. He was most probably nostalgic about a world which had been completely destroyed and devastated by Timur’s invasion. The image he paints of Firuz Shah Tughluq’s reign reflects his own troubled times. He is of the view that this was a peaceful era, devoid of conflicts or trouble. He provides an extremely positive appraisal of even the negative features of Firuz Shah Tughluq’s reign. This was no deliberate or willful distortion of facts. Firuz Shah Tughluq’s ineptitude as a military commander is portrayed as a bid for peace and the king’s tolerance of corruption is seen as his concern for the welfare of his subjects. The economic situation of the early fourteenth century might have been a cause for the constant references made to the prosperous economic conditions under Firuz Shah Tughluq. Afif’s work has no intellectual posturing like that of Barani’s. In fact, at times his concerns seem rather boring as he talks only of bearded women, three-legged shop or cows endowed with the hooves of a horse. Details of this kind, along with the popular-mystic overtones to his style, indicate that Afif was writing what can be called a popular history. His history is uncomplicated and is in the form of simple narrative. He tries to make it interesting. He was not a political theorist in any sense of the term. His aim was to provide his readers with an image of the past which was glorious, comfortable and peaceful, and a definite departure from his own times. His attitude towards non-Muslims also shows an evolution from the views of Juzjani and Barani. He praises Firuz Shah Tughluq for burning a Brahmin alive and for imposing the Jazia on Brahmins. This was more in keeping with his attitude of endorsing and approving of every deed of this king. Afif has said that the Sultanate was destroyed by other Muslims like Timur. The reason for Timur’s attack on Delhi was that the Sultan had moved away from Islam. Afif is of the view that both Hindus and Muslims suffered at the hands of Timur. He calls Timur the most destructive force of his time and has tremendous empathy for the suffering of others. It did not bother him that Hindus participated in religious festivals at the court. Nor did the various Hindu customs that had crept into Muslim social life bother him in any way. Afif has also given a description of the architectural achievements of Firuz Shah Tughluq, which included the building of canals, the planning of gardens, the working of the royal mint, providing details of army camps, regulating the prices of food, providing details of coinage, arranging the celebration of festivals and revenue arrangement among many other things. He throws more light on the social conditions of his period than Juzjani and Barani do. Through his work we get, for the first

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

31

time a glimpse of the life of people outside court circles, though very little. Isami

Another historian who dealt with the period of Muhammad bin Tughluq was Abdal Malik Isami. He was very hostile to the Sultan and his Futuh us Salatin is very critical of Muhammad bin Tughluq. It is written in verse and was composed under the patronage of Bahman Shah, the founder of the Bahmani kingdom who himself had successfully carved out his principality from Muhammad bin Tughluq. Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusaru was not a historian in the strict sense of the term since his works are not in the form of a narrative. But his masnavis provide an entry-point into the social and cultural life of the period. He was bom in 1253 and he came from a family which was very closely associated with the court. He himself had served as many as six Sultans. He had been employed at the court of Prince Muhammad, the son of Balban. Muhammad was killed while fighting the Mongols and Amir Khusrau was taken captive by them. He escaped from captivity and joined the court of Balban. He continued in royal service under Kanyqubad, Jalalud­ din Khilji, Alauddin Khilji, Mubarak Shah and Ghiyasuddin Tughluq. Amir Khusrau was enamoured of mysticism and was very close to Chishti Shaikh Nizamuddin. He contributed greatly to the popular culture of India through his poetry and music. History writing was not the main concern of Amir Khusrau. Therefore, we cannot judge him as we do the other historians. But he did offer a very poetic rendition of history. He could not have possibly been an impartial historian. Even the themes that he selected to compose his masnavis around were not of his choice. He was told what to write on. Yet, as a poet, he could introduce a subject or mention details of it that the regular historian could not. He gives us a rare insight into the social and cultural life of his times. The first masnavi that he wrote on a historical subject was the Qirn us Sadayn. It describes the meeting between Bughra Khan and his son Kaiqubad. It gives us interesting details about Delhi, its building, the imperial court and the social life of officials and nobles. He also used this book to express contempt for the Mongols. He wrote Miftah-ul Futh in 1291. In this he deals with the military campaigns of Jalaluddin Khilji, the rebellion and suppression of Malik Chajju, the Sultan’s advances into Ranathambhor and the conquest of Jhayan. His Khaza’in ul Futuh, which

..,32*

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

is also known as the Tarikh i Ala was a very flattering account of the first fifteen years of Alauddin’s reign. Though it is essentially a work of literature, it is very important because it is the only surviving contemporary account of Alauddin Khilji. He dealt with the Sultan’s conquest of Gujrat, Chittor, Malwa and Warrangal. It is an eye witness account of Malik Kafur’s Deccan expedition and is extremely rich in geographical and military details. He also describes Alauddin’s building and his administrative reforms. But he takes care to not mention anything that the Sultan would find embarrassing. This is not surprising because the real purpose of the work was to flatter the ruler and not to record history. Another work which includes a good description of Hindustan and its people is found in the Nuh Sipehr. It is a flattering account of Mubarak Shah Khilji’s reign. He talks of his buildings and his military victories as also the climate, vegetables, fruit, languages and philosophy, and life in general. His last historical masnavi was the Tughluq Namah. He gives an account of Ghiyasuddin’s accession and the defeat of Khrusau Shah. The story is replete with religions overtones. Ghiyasuddin, in this work, represents the power of good over evil, as represented by Khusrau Shah. Amir Khusrau’s work is historically very useful because he provides readers with a fairly accurate sense of chronology, which is that much more reliable than that of Ziauddin Barani. His works also talks about social conditions, an area which did not interest other historians in any major way. He has left, scattered in this poetry, details about weapons of war, military expeditions, cities, various professions, games and sports and music and dance. His work is important precisely because it is the work of a poet and not a historian. As a poet his concerns and methods of treatment of his subjects was different and therefore, adds to the material provided by the other historians. Thus, Amir Khusrau’s writings cannot be treated as pure history, but they give us a very useful insight into the life of the common people. Yahya bin Ahmed Sirhindi

Sirhindi’s Tarkih i Mubarak Shahi covers the period following the reign of Firuz Shah Tughluq. It is the only contemporary history of the period 1388-1434. It is a useful account of the Delhi Sultanate after the invasion of Timur. Tarkih i Mubarak Shahi is based on the works of Juzjani, Barani and Khusrau till 1351. After that he relies on the accounts of various witnesses, on hearsay and on his own observations. He describes all events chronologically and is only concerned with political and military history. For instance, he ignores the economic policies of Alauddin Khalji. He was close to the Sayyid rulers and dedicated his work to Mubarak Shah.

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

33 SHKSa

Malfuzat

The Malfuz texts, also known as the malfuzat, record the teachings of the mystic or Sufi saints and of the pirs and sheikhs. During the thirteenth century, the oral teachings of these saints took on a canonical textual form and gradually these works were recognised as the authoritative and normative genre both by the members of the Sufi order and for their lay followers. The authors of the malfuzat texts did not actually take down copious notes when the master was speaking. Instead they penned down and transcribed the master’s sayings from memory. Later on their work was improved upon by the Sufi saint himself. Carl Emst says that it is only in some cases that the author’s work was intervened upon by the master.26 The malfuzat texts, in the form of the records of Sufi discourses, were an extremely popular genre of literature during the thirteenth century in north India and are, therefore, of tremendous historical importance. One of the most admired of these malfuzat texts is the Fawa’id al-fuad, translated as the Morals of the Heart. The book was written by Amir Hasan Sijzi Dihlavi, a poet and disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. It is a beautifully written account of the Sufi teachings of Nizamuddin Auliya. Carl Emst says that the Fawaid al-fuad is valued more for its historic value as a corrective to the exclusively dynastic focus of the court historians than for its religious content.27 The social history of the period, not found in dynastic chronicles, can well be ascertained from the malfuzat texts. According to K.A. Nizami,28 we can get a glimpse of medieval society, and the popular customs, manners and problems of the people from recorded conversations of this kind. Later on, the malfuzat tradition was furthered by Hamid Qalandar, who compiled the teachings and speeches of Nizamuddin Auliya’s successor in Delhi, Nasiruddin Mahmud Chiragh-i Dehli. Hamid has provided us with an elaborate description of how the collection of works compiled in Khair al-Majalis (the best of assemblies) began in 1354 and were then forwarded to the master, who finally approved of it. Thus, the heroes of the malfuzat were very different from those of the Persian chroniclers. The malfuzat had great Sufi saints as their protagonists. These texts did not really care to concern themselves with either the Sultan or his entourage. If we use the Persian sources with caution it could be very productive for writing the history of Delhi Sultanate. They certainly provide us with a sense of chronology, context and social, political and economic relationships during the period. The task of modern historians is to ask a variety of questions. One should not simply follow the narratives or what Peter Hardy 29calls the ‘scissors and paste’ method. As opposed to

34

❖ Interpreting Medieval1 India ❖

TABLE 1.2 PERSIAN NARRATIVES

Authors

Persian Text

Alberuni

Kitab-al Hind

Fakhra-i Mudabir

Tarikh-i Qutubuddin Fakhra al-din Aibak Mubarak Shah Tabaqat:iNasiruddin-. Nasiri Mahmud

Minhaj-usSiraj Juzjani

Amir Khusrau 1. Miftah alFutuh 2. Khazain alFutuh 3. Huh Siphr

4. Tughluq Nama

Amir Hasan Sijzi

Fawaid alFuad

Ziauddin Barani

1. Tarikh-iFiruzshahi

Ruler, Dedicated to

Date of , Rulers Completion of . covered in Text Narrative

- a.d. 1030 :

Jalaluddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji Mubarak Khalji Ghiyasuddin Tughluq Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya Firuzshah Tughluq

a.d. 1208

A.D. 1260

A.D. 1292

A.D. 1312 A.D. 1318 A.D. 1320

Mahmud Ghaznawi • Qutubuddin Aifoak-

Qutubuddin, Iltutmish, Raziya; Bahram Shah, Masud Shah, Nasiruddin Mahmud. Jalaluddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji Mubarak Khalji Ghiyasuddin Tughluq

a.d. 1322

A.D. 1357-58

Balban, Jalaluddin Khalji, Alauddin Khalji

2. Fatwa-iJahandari

Ibn Batuta

Tughlaqnama Safarnama Rehala

Hamid Qalandar

Khair alMajalis

Khwaja Malik Futuh-usIsami Salatin

Muhammad bin Tughluq

Muhammad bin Tughluq

Shaikh Nasiruddin Chirag-i Dehli

1350

Muhammad bin Tughluq

Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah

1350

Muhammad bin Tughluq

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

35

Rankean positivism, to which a historian’s job is to merely to ascertain the facts and tell how it really was, the modem historian certainly has to make his own choices of facts and tell the story in his own way. To do so he reinterprets the same primary data. The beauty of this kind of research and history writing lies in the fact that the earlier narrative might be overturned by subsequent research. For instance, going beyond the statist discourse of the Persian chronicles is the latest trend of historical writing on Sultanate period. The researches of modem historians like Richard Bulliet, Bosworth, Simon Digby, Bruce Lawrence, Carl Emst, etc. are not just based on the tawarikh of the court. They use malfuzat record of the discourse of Sufi Shaikhs, the tazkirat biographies of poets, religious scholars and Sufis apart from the Persian narratives. Bardic Narratives

Since early times, knowledge of past events has customarily always been handed down from generation to generation. Many a times these oral narratives were transmitted in mythical forms and on occasions, history and mythology would become inextricably enmeshed. These bardic narratives are a form of the transmission of history. However, in many parts of the country, professional bards and genealogists were attached to communities of varying status, and the records of these bards became the repositories of a considerable volume of historical material. The bards of the more advanced communities, however, relied largely on written records. A systematic effort to collect and preserve the poetry of the bards, attached to the Rajputs, was begun in 1914, when the Asiatic Society of Bengal sponsored a ‘Bardic and Historical Survey of Rajputana’ by L.P. Tessitori. According of Tessitori, historical manuscripts were in the possession of bards called the Charans and the Bhats. There is no fundamental difference between the Bhats and the Charans, the two principal bards in Rajputana and Gujarat. The bards preserved the genealogical records of their Rajput patrons and maintained ledger books (vahi) containing their patrons’ family register. Traditionally in past ages the duties of the bards involved frequent attendance on their patrons, and many a bard would find himself accompanying his patron on various warrior campaigns and thus obtained first-hand information about the warriors’ heroic deeds.30 At the death of a bard his records would be passed on to his son, and the bards had thus become the permanent custodians of the family histories and genealogies of most ruling clans of Rajasthan. In return for his services, he would receive a fee. The fee amount depended on the patron’s status and his paying capacity. Bards were not located in and confined to Rajasthan and

36

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Gujarat alone. Hereditary bards can well be found in many parts of South India as well. According to C. Von Furer-Haimendorf 31 the repertory of the bards of Rajasthan consists of epic poems of two main categories: (1) Those relating to famous Rajput heroes of ancient times. Such epic poems are the general heritage of all the Bhat and Charan bards. (2) Then there are compositions relating to particular Rajput houses and hence not of general interest. Both types of bardic poems are composed in two archaic languages - Dingala and Pingala. According to Tessitori, these are two distinct languages, the former, a long dead old local vernacular dialect of Rajputana, has survived in bardic songs and narratives. Pingala, on the other hand, was the Braja bhasa, a polite language used by poets. However, bardic narratives have one major limitation. There is the great possibility of the false glorification of a ruler. A.K. Forbes also says that though bardic accounts are accurate in so far as they reflect social conditions, their construction of chronology is extremely erroneous and deeply flawed. Col. Tod’s 32 book was largely based on bardic literature, and did not undertake a critical analysis of the sources. Tod, basing his analysis largely on bardic narratives, developed a rather romantic concept of the identity of Rajasthan and the various Rajputana states. He based his reconstruction of history on long poems, which were essentially bardic compilations of ancient chronicles.33 Prose chronicles, known in Rajputana as khyats, are to a very large extent works of individual scholars of the time and are not the production of bards. They offer a better, more chronologically accurate history of Rajasthan The Khyat literatures were written with the aid of royal patronage and we may use the information provided in them to substantiate our understanding of archival written accounts.34 According to Tessitori the chronicle paper {Khyat) came into evidence towards the end of the sixteenth century ad and it seems that the impulse responsible for their composition emanated from the court of Akbar, who must have been a source of inspiration to Rajput princes. Tessitori emphasized that these historical records could only have been compiled by officials called Pancholis and Mahajnas, and who were officially known as the mutsaddis - employed by and in the service of the reigning monarch or prince. They alone could write correctly and view facts in an objective manner. They were trained in business transactions and knew how to work accurately and methodically. The bards, on the other hand, have never had a reputation for orthographical and intelligible writing. C. Von Furer-Haimendorf35 says that, to the princes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these more or less objective narratives of the sixteenth and seventeenth century chroniclers were no longer acceptable. They preferred the pompous eloquence of the Bhats and the Charans to the plain language of the historical records and commissioned their bards

ii'K.

❖ Characterising Medieval India ❖

37

to recast old chronicles in a more poetic form. According to Tessitori, Tod based his Annals on these historical poems and disregarded the real chronicles, which remained largely unknown to him. We may also use folklore as supportive evidence for writing the history of a community.36 However, it should not be used as an alternative source of information. Folklore cannot provide authentic data for the reconstruction of history. It is very difficult to frame the time period when these were invented and became part of popular culture. In the case of Rajasthan, oral narratives seeped into written records in a massive way and then, in due course of time, elements from written literature were again transmitted into the field of oral literature. Thus, folklore, to a large extent, complements archival sources, but is not considered an important and authentic source of history on account of the fact that it neither understands the context nor does it take people’s responses into account. Thus, past can now be constructed out of variety of sources and no one can be sure what tomorrow’s past will hold. Today with a question­ mark being put on the authenticity of Persian chronicles and official histories, a new kind of historian has emerged who is not entirely dependent on structured state-oriented narratives and chronicles and who relies more on archaeological sources, inscriptions, folklores, etc., in order to write people’s history. It is my firm belief that the writing of medieval Indian history in most of the cases, whether conciously or unconciously, has remained alluded to a political project. And, therefore, there is need to explicate the politics of available histories. This could be achieved only when we use the whole variety of sources available to us.

NOTES 1. Cynthia Talbot, Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2001 2. Kesavan Veluthat, The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India, Orient Longman, Delhi, 1993 3. Noboru Karashima, History and Society in South India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2001) 4. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, Representing the Other, p.26. 5. Ibid.,p.26. 6. Ibid., p.26. 7. Ibid., pp.48-49. 8. Pushpa Prasad, Sanskrit Inscription of Delhi Sultanate 1191-J526, Delhi, 1990, pp. 3-15. 9. Ibid., pp.27-31. 10. See Pushpa Prasad, ‘The Turuska Or Turks In Late Ancient Indian Documents’, Proceedings Of Indian History Congress, 55th Session, 1994, pp.171-175. Also see Romila Thapar, ‘ Imagined Religious Communities? Ancient History and the Modern Search for a Hindu Identity’, in Interpreting Early India, Delhi, 1992, pp.60-88.

38

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

26. 27. 28.

29. 30.

31.

32. 33.

34. 35. 36.

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖ B.D. Chattopadhyaya also examines the issue in his ‘Images of Raiders and Rulers’, Representing the Other? Sanskrit Sources and the Muslims, pp. 28-60. P.L. Gupta, Coins, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1969. Ibid, p.105. Ibid, p.110. Ibid, Ibid, p. 113. Ibid, p.ll4. Ibid, p.ll8. An archive is a place where old manuscripts and documents are stored. The National Archives of India, to take an example, maintains many old documents. Similarly, Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner has a huge collection of Rajasthani manuscripts and official documents of the rulers of Rajasthan. Sunil Kumar, The Emergence of Delhi Sultanate, Permanent Black, N. Delhi, 2007 Ibid, p. 366, p. 21. Peter Hardy, Historians of Medieval India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1997 E.H. Carr, in What is History? Penguine, England, 1965 Peter Hardy, Historians of Medieval India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1997 Sunil Kumar, The Emergence of Delhi Sultanate, p. 367 Irfan Habib, ‘Barani’s Theory of the History of the Delhi Sultanate’, Indian Historical Review, 7 (1981), pp.99-115. Carl Emst, Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2004, p. 63 Ibid, p. 67. K.A. Nizami, Some Aspects of Religion and Politics in India in the Thirteenth Century, Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delhi, Delhi, 1974, Delhi, 1978, p. 374; also see his ‘Historical Significance of the Malfuz literature of Medieval India’ in On History and Historians of Medieval India, Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1982, pp.16397 Peter Hardy, Historians of Medieval India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1997 (See Norman Ziegler, ‘Marvari Historical Chronicles: Sources for the Cultural History of Rajasthan’, Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol.13 (1976), pp.21950). C. Von Furer-Haimendorf, ‘The Historical Value of Indian Bardic Literature’ in Philips C.H., ed.. Historians of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, Oxford University Press, London pp. 87-93. James Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829-32). Vipul Singh, Unpublished Ph.D thesis, The Marathas in Rajasthan in the I8'h Century: A Study of Socio-economic Relationships, University of Delhi, Delhi, 2002, p.7 Ibid. p.7. C. Von Furer-Haimendorf, ‘The Historical Value of Indian Bardic Literature’ in C.H. Philips, ed., Historians of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, p. 92. Vipul Singh, Unpublished Ph.D thesis, The Marathas in Rajasthan in the 18,h Century: A Study of Socio-economic Relationships, University of Delhi, Delhi, 2002, p. 2). '

Interpreting Early Medieval India ♦

HISTORIOGRAPHY AND RECENT DEBATES

>

North India (750-1200): The Feudalism Debate

>

South India (750-1200)

40

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

he early medieval period in Indian history has been described by historians, as largely speaking, a rather dark phase of Indian history characterised by political disintegration and cultural decline. New studies have offered fresh perspectives and are not willing to accept such a bleak description of the period under scrutiny. The absence of political unity, that was once considered a negative attribute by earlier scholars, is now redefined as the key causal factor that led to the emergence of rich regional cultures and the kingdoms of the early medieval period. We shall try to delve into the whole range of debates both in the context of North India and South India.

T

NORTH INDIA (750-1200): THE FEUDALISM DEBATE The existing historiography of the early medieval period has been classified broadly into two sets of propositions termed as: ‘Changeless’ and ‘Change’ . The first proposition tries to explain that traditional polity is~essentially changeless. Historians, relying on this hypothesis, have described polity in early medieval India as ‘traditional’ or as ‘Oriental despotic’. Karl Marx characterised the Indian state in terms of,Asiatip Modeof Production having absolute power of' oriental despolic_rulers? Through his explanation of Asiatic Mode of Production Marx has excluded the pre-modem Asia including India from the orthodox mode of production of slaves and feudal societies. He thus postulated special mode of production in the context of India. Marx’s concept was. however, challenged by Indian Marxist historians like R.S. Sharma and Irfan Habib. Hermann Kulke1 also says that Marx’s model of ‘oriental despotism’ was an outcome of ‘occidental preijidice against an alleged .oriental despotism’. In other words, the 'changeless' model looked at the early medieval society and economy as static. But the recent reasearch shows that the period witnessed many dynamics of change. Most of the works on the ‘Change’ hypothesis came up in the post­ independence period. These writings envisage the possibility of change as agaihsUan~eariier version which staunchly believed in the essential changelessness of Indian polity. One of the first models to have ever come up with the assumption of change, is the ‘centralised state model’. Cfiange, according to historians supporting thisThddell~io^.£9a£eiMed and understood only in terms of territorial and dynastic changes in the empire. In other words, change is viewed as indicating instability as opposed to the idea of a centralised state. This approach does not give a holistic picture of the early Indian society, and is therefore, not very

,

❖ Interpreting Early Medieval India ❖

41 aagg®'

~

"" •- '■‘ -t"1*1*"'?r*1 miih'iwn i. .'i

~—

111 1

■

iHnirx'inwri-r'u ir

A W T ywtto

helpful in gaining an insight into the processes involved in state formation during the period under study. Another model, and of late the most dominant premise, is based upon the assumption of dynamism or change. It is also referred to as the ‘Indian FeudaJianL model The early medieval state and society in north India has been explained in the“cbht^TbfIndian feudalism by historians like JD.D. Kosambi. R.S. ShdnhaTlTN JEaTOf.S. Yadava and various, others. D.D. Kosambi was the first to provide a conceptual definition of Indian feudalism when he talked about what he described as ‘feudalism from above’ and ‘feudalism from below’. ‘Feudalism from_above’. according to him means a state wherein a king levied tribute from subordinates who still ruled" in their ownTaght as long as they paid to the king. They did what they liked in their own territory. By ‘feudalism from below’ Kosambi meant a stage where a class,of.land^ga^^ tAe state_jn£die peasantry within the village to ..wield armed power over the local population The secondTind,’according to him, began after the emergence ofTSelhi Sultanate. Kosambi explains that whereas in ‘feudalism_fix>m ~ above’ the taxes were collected directly by the royal officials, jn ‘feudalismTrom below’ taxes were colle^tedJbv.small intermediaries who passedAnFa-fractibh to the feudal hierarchy.2 Later, the most important theoretical construct, that contributed towards a better understanding of the early medieval period, was developed by R.S. Sharma.3 He argued that the period between 750- 1200 was a period when a number of changes took place in Indian society. R S. jj Sharma was of the view that tuTeverincreasing number of land grants ' V ' have been made, to Brahmins, religious institutions and much later on to W-" govemment officials in the post-Gupta period. He indicated the fact that grantees were being endowed widimoreImd more concessions and were how increasingly encroaching on ‘communal’ village land which led to the exploitation of the peasantry. The hereditary land holders gradually assumed’Wahy ofThe functioris of the government. They not only .got the power to collect revenue, but also had administrative powers like rights of awarding punishments and exacting fines. They also assumed the ‘ rights to sublet their lands... According to R.S. Sharma, this situation was further aggravated by a ] h cr decline in urbanism and tradeTparticularly in foreign trade. Another factor was the paucity of coins. Thus economically, this period, according to R.S. Sharma’s view of it, was one of decay and decline. He described the period, in pol tical terms, as one which stood witness to a continuous process of fragmentation and decentralisation, caused by the widespread practice of granting land holdings to feudatories and officials who. established their control over these territories and emerged as independent potentates, The crux of Shanna’s argument, therefore, is that feudal polity

Sil

42

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

C-QQVy

emerged from the gradual breakdown of a centralised bureaucratic state system, the best example of which was the Mauryan state. The system of assigning land gradually became widespread in the early medieval period and was tied up with the transfer of the rights of administration of the centralized state as well as its rights over sources of revenue. This process gradually eroded the authority of the state and resulted in a weakened sense of sovereignty. B.N.S. Yadava, another proponent of the Indian Feudalism model, found new evidence of an increasing practice of land-grants__made to militaiy officers during the post-Gupta period and which imposed added restrictions on the mobility of peasants. B.N.S.Yadava, who seems to be influenced by the writings of Marc Bloch and Max Weber, shifted emphasis towards the political aspects of feudalism. For him, the most important feature of Indian feudalism was the samanta or the independent neighbouiing-Xhief. who rose to prominence in about bOO orjso. In other words, his main intention was to reinstall feudatories and court dignitaries and to reclaim them from the oblivion that their erstwhile vanquished status had relegated them to. In the new conception of empire, the territorial aspect was no longer in^rtant ~Fr7trHacertKFexitension of the tribu^^sy^^^Soe^np^^UAccording to Yadava, such empires were at best tributary superstructures ahi! Therefore^ lacked solidarity, stabiTityand political unity. R.S. Sharma calls this type of agrarian set up 3 as essentiallyTeudal in nature, based as it was on the pan-Indian character. 'F- The salient features of ‘Indian feudalism’4 were as follows: o (4) R.S. Sharma says that the disintegration of polity was one of the first -S ^'characteristics of the period7^^is=prwess~was antithetical to the centralised polity of the Mauryan period. It got consolidated in the post­ Gupta period. The essential characteristics of the state included: vertical gradation, division of sovereignty, and the emergence of a separate category of semi-independent rulers also referred to as the samantas, or the mdhasamantas. The period saw the emergence of landed intermediaries, who soon rose to ascendancy in the social hierarchy. Vassals, officers of the state and other secular assignees, also called samantas, had diverse military obligations. Subinfeudation, by the recipients of land grants, to get their land cultivated by others, led to the growth of a different strata of intermediaries. It was a hierarchy of landed aristocrats, tenants, share-croppers and cultivators. This hierarchy was also reflected in the administrative structure, where a sort of lord-vassal relationship emerged. There was also a prevalence of land grants, bestowed mainly upon Brahmins or religious institutions, in the initial period dating from the early centuries of the Christian era to later times. In the post-Gupta phase, land grants were made to individuals for other somewhat more secular purposes. In other words, Indian feudalism ------------------------- ---------------- ----------------- - --------- ■—■>

..................... J (secular) as an important but not the sole criteria for understanding the ■o structure of polity. While subjecting the single line argument for the formation of polity to skeptical inquiry, Chattopadhyaya, basing his premise on the evidence of land grants, is of the view that no system can be totally centralised, indicating thereby that the problem should be A'- addressed from another stand point altogether. This leads us to studies on > the complex interrelationship between the socio-economic and political aspects that have shaped the formation of early medieval polities. Chattopadhyaya tries to give a fresh look at the formation of polity in o early medieval India and it is this that has led historians to reinterpret 'J developments from a macro to a micro-level. This new group of historians, led by him, has perceived political changes through the integration of and interrelationship between socio-economic and political processes. The process of change, according to these historians, has been a result of the emergence and gradual development of a ‘state society’ (formation of ruling lineages). Thus ‘pre-state polities’_gradually evolved into state polities and it was this that resulted in the assimilation of local polities into larger state structures. B.D. Chattopadhyaya explains that the establishment of large polities took place in nuclear areas. According to Herman Kulke9 this process of the expansion of state society, through the transformation of pre-state polities into state polities, was based on and progressed along with certain other crucial phenomena. fL One of these was, the emergence and spatial expansion of ruling lineages. ■ This was achieved through, what he calls a process of Kshatriyaisation or Rajputisation. B.D. Chattopadhyaya also highlights the formation of ruling lineages from the perspective of the process of social mobility in early medieval India. He explains that through Kshatriyaisation, any lineage or segment of a large ethnic group could make an attempt to assume political power and establish a large state structure by an effective mobilisation of force. Ruling lineages owed their origin to the expansion of agricultural settlements. This development was heightened by the improvement of agricultural techniques and the transformation of tribal groups into peasant groups, which helped in the colonisation of new areas and the emergence of a state structure. Although this period was marked by the emergence of many ruling lineages, which could not find permanent rootedness in a geographical region for any significant duration of time, and faded into X

C

£'

V' '■

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

❖ Interpreting Early Medieval India ❖

47 an

oblivion in due course of time. Several other lineages emerged as offshoots of the same clan. New political powers emerged through expansion into newer regions. The model, developed by Chattopadhyaya, is called ‘Integrative Polity’ which linked the process ofjhe formation oL&tate polities with •^gnoihic^nd social processes .,.He has successfully been able to link the expSsion~oFa^^^^cietv through th^peaga^^a^giy^J^gkggjips. Tl^m^^^re^S^dikelhe feudal polity, also sees political processes intfie~context of contemporary economic, social and religious developHSff^ncraM^T^^wtp^^^^^^rararagrarian^s^kments. the^Tonrontalspread of the dominant ideology of the social order based on the vama division, integration of local cults, rituals and sacred centres/ places into a larger structure. But, at the same time in the ‘feudalism’ and ‘segmentary state’ models that Burton Stein, whom we will discuss in greater detail later in the chapter, is talking about, land grants to Brahmins and temples are attributed a ‘divisive’ and hence negative role leading to a process of the fragmentation of political authority and the resultant strengthening of a segmentary structure of state. However, as B.D. Chattopadhyaya points—out in his model of Integrative Polity, )i g administrative measures like brahmadeyas and devadanas helped in providing legitimacy to the temporal power in the areas occupied by jhermTluring the process ofThe^preadof a lineage society, the several cults and practices of lineage groups were brought into a uniform framework and the precepts of Bhakti provided the basis for this integration. The temple served as the focal point of the Bhakti ideology. The religious cults and traditions, which were institutionalised and integrated through the temple and the principles of Bhakti, became an instrument for legitimising state power. B.D. Chattopadhyaya expresses his scepticism about the decentralised polity standpoint and while conceding the fact - that in the samanta scheme of things the relationship between the overlord and his subordinate was an admittedly hierarchical and unequal one - also felt that this inequitable world did not necessarily result in centrifugal and disruptive tendencies. In fact, contrary to expectation, it actually served as cohesive force and an instrument of integration. The expansion of ruling lineages horizontally was brought about due to many factors like a growth in agricultural settlements and the transformation of tribes into peasant groups Tc/T'ich B.D. Chattopadhyaya prefers to call the peasantisation of tribes)? This type of polity could sustain itself only through the hierarchical feudatory {samanta) system in which administrative powers and resources had to be parceled out. A local and regional ruling lineage could emerge as a supra local power only with the aid - military and otherwise - of other ruling lineages and this necessitated a hierarchical

48

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

system based on gradation. Thus, according to Chattopadhyaya. the feudatory system was integrative, rather.than de.centralised,...in.character. R.S. Shanna, after major criticisms from different quarters, defended his thesis of Indian feudalism in a paper called, ‘How Feudal was Indian Feudalism?10 Since Sharma had faced much criticism for looking at the rise of feudalism in India entirely as a consequence of state action in transferring land to intermediaries, he modified his earlier stance and expanded its scope to understand feudalism as an economic formation which evolved from an economic and social crises in society, thereby heralding the beginning of Kaliyuga. Sharma does not hold the view that feudalism is nothingbufaYonsequence of state action anymore. B.N.S. Yadava also supports R.S. Sharma with a detailed study of the notion of Kaliyuga in early medieval Indian literature and suggested that this notion had all the characteristics of a crisis - it provided the ideal cohteSTofTKeTran^fion of a society from one stage to another. All this considerably enriched the argument on behalf of Indian feudalism. R.S. Sharma11 was also able to trace several other instances of peasant resistance. He has also tried to draw attention to the ideological and cultural aspects of a feudal society in his latest book,12 which is, in fact, a collection of essays. He has revised several of his old arguments and included new themes like ‘The Feudal Mind’, where he explores the impact of a hierarchically structured feudal system on art and architecture. He also comes up~with the interesting viewpoint that seems to suggest ’that the much desired emotions of gratitude and loyalty were actually nothing but a feudal construct and an ideological subterfuge aimed to preserve and bolster an extremely unequal, feudal status quo. These forays into the cultural sphere have been undertaken by several other historians as well. In a collection of sixteen essays, the editor D.N. Jha13 has included papers exploring the cultural and ideological dimensions of what he calls the feudal order. One of the major dimensions so explored is that of religion, especially' popular religion or the Bhakti cult, both in north and south India and the growth of India’s regional cultures and languages. Most scholars would view the rise of the Bhakti cults as a popular protest against the domination of Brahminical orthodoxy; the proponents of feudalism, however, would view the Bhakti ideology - of total, selfless surrender and subjection and loyalty to a deity - as a tool to buttress BrahminicaTdominatiom"Tfiis deify - who demands^biind unauestioning faitlif loyalty and self-surrender - could well be nothing but a powerful feudal T6rd7“Hisfdnans have held diverse opinions on the Kaliyuga crisis. TfieyHaveTound an inconsistency between the locale of the evidence of the notion of Kaliyuga and the site of the ‘crisis’ which the kaliyuga hints at.

❖ Interpreting Early Medieval India ❖

49

B.P. Sahu14 has also questioned the, validity of the evidence of kaliyuga as indicative of a crisis. He has perceived it more as a redefinition of kingship and therefore a reassertion of Brahminical ideology rather, than a”cnsis within it. Sahu also believes that, although epigraphic evidence forTorcedTabour, (yisti which R.S. Sharma has at length talked about) comes from western, central and south India in the second half of the first millennium, the practice seems to have whned and fallen into disuse after about 1000 ad. To Sahu, land tenures and villages were by no means uniform and they varied from region to region.13 Thus, he also raises doubts about the uniform existence of a self-sufficient village system. R S Sharma, while arguing for his ‘Indian Feudalism’ model, had also placed much emphasis upon the absence of long distance external trade as the cause of the rise of feudalism in India. But trade had flourished in severaTregr6ns"oF"’lndia long before the feudalism proponents set a deadline for its revival around the year ad 1000. B.D. Chattopadhyaya has shown that trade flourished even before ad 900. More recently Ranabir Chakravarti in his two books of note16 has brought forward ample evidence of a flourishing trade in the concerned period. The patterns of trade has been discussed in Chapter 3 ahead. Thus, the stereotypical construct of Indian Feudalism has been subjected to a radical reappraisal. The integrative polity model has gained much popularity in recent years because it tries to accommodate the long­ term dynamics of change in Indian history.

SOUTH INDIA (750-1200) It is very difficult to define the period 750-1200 in South India as strictly ‘Medieval’, since there are no episodes of spectacular conquests or dynastic changes in the eighth century which were dramatic enough to proclaim the exit of ancient period and entry of the medieval period. To quote Kesavan Veluthat17 ‘digits of periodization in South Indian history have been cruder than those in relation to “Indian History”. He argues, ‘A tripartite division of the whole historical period in this part of the country is not acceptable for the simple reason that there would be certainly more than three parts there. In such a situation, “medieval’ becomes a meaningless term to describe the period which followed the earliest historical period.’18 However, in the overall perspective, we certainly find evidences of new state structures, social formations and cultural patterns being clearly established during and after eighth century in south India as well, though definitely distinct from north Indian situation. Till the 1960s the history of south India was highly dominated by the works of Nilakantha Sastri and his students. He represented the Chola

50

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

state as a highly centralised empire, presided over by a ‘Byzantineuxiyalty’ and comprising of a ‘numerous and powerful bureaucracy’, supported by the coercive power of an impressive army of ‘numerous regiments’ and an equally impressive navy of ‘numberless ships’ , which, in fact could be translated to mean an elaborate revenue mechanism, and vital local bodies with considerable power and autonomy.. Forffie^fifst time Burton Stein19 exposed the contradictions in this construction of a centralised state, showing that a strong centre and autonomous local groups do not necessarily go together. Using the impresHveTmdings of Y. 3idjl5arayi^ the political geography of the Chola country, Stein sought to explain evidence from medieval south India in terms of the model of a ‘segmentary state’ , which A. Southall had used to explain the situation iii tlie East African society of the Alur. Applying this concept to south India, Stein argues that south Indian society,'during the period of the Cholas and the dynasties that succeeded them had been integrated as a state only ritually. Politically, on the contrary, it consisted of a number of independent segments which were well defined in themselves and in ethnic territories called nadus in Chola inscriptions. The segmentary state of Stein is said to have had the following characteristics: (1) a dual sovereignty consisting of actual political sovereignty and what is called ‘ritual hegemony’; (2) multiplicity of ‘centres’, each of them exercising political control over a part, or segment, of the political system encompassed by the state but with one centre exercising primacy over others as a source of ritual hegemony; (3) ‘specialized administrative staff operating within the segments and not necessarily being a part of the primary centre alone; and-the distinct and unique relationship of the subordinate levels or ‘zones’ of the segmentary state with a pyramidal organization which, in contrast with other typical hierarchical forms of political organization, have a series of relationships between the centre and the periphery of any particular segment, which can well be understood to be a replica of the relationship between the primary centre and the periphery of that entire state. According tcStein,Lno state control was maintained oyer the lives of the people within those segments. Accordingly, he denies the existence of a bureaucracy and state administration in the Chola state, and criticises Nilakantha Sastri for talking about ‘the almost Byzantine royalty of Rajaraja.’ Accordingly, south India, in this period, was characterised by a plethora of centres, a political centre being identified in each of the 550 nadu divisions, a dual sovereignty of the actual political and ritual varieties, a specialised administrative staff in each of the centres and a pyramidal segmentation. This model is not quite acceptable to some historians. One of the major objections raised by historians like Veluthat is that it. was first constructed, to explain-a-tribaLLineage. society, in Africa

❖ Interpreting Early Medieval India ❖

51

and does not suit a highly stratified society like that of medieval south India with jts widespread literacy and monumental architecture. Further, in this peasant society, which is presented as being, cemented on kinship and marriage ties, Stein has identified numerous vertically divided segments. These segments are sought to have been sustained by a balance accniffif^ffbm the opposition of elements within the segment itself, an example of it can be seen in the presence of the left and right hand castes. Over the last two decades the ‘Feudal State’ model has attracted the attention of historians working on early medieval south India. Earlier the hypothesis of feudalism had not been systematically situated in the context of the historical situation of early medieval south India. However, there have been casual suggestions and a somewhat casual and ‘loose’ application of the feudal jargon in the context of this part of the country by Nilakantha Sastri and Mahalingam. They have, at length, talked about the ‘king’s barons’ and also of the ‘oath of fealty’. Likewise, M.S. Govindasamy and V. Balambal have written about the role of feudatories in the time of the Pallavas and the Cholas in south India. But in none of these works is there a rigorous reformulation of the concept of feudalism as observed in the writings of R.S. Sharma and D.N. Jha. Nor do they bring out the interplay of various forces, like the economy, society and polity in any noteworthy detail. It was Noboru Karashima’0 who used the concept of a feudal state with some force, and was able to deduce evidence from inscriptional records. He has suggested that, at least, the later years of the Chola rule could well be described as feudal although his ppmt-^JagwJirather tentanVBTT^ made a detailed exposition, especially in relation to the post-Chola period. Noboru Karashima21, and his associates, have taken up a quantitative analysis of the information contained in the epigraphical material of early medieval South India. However, unlike the ‘Indian Feudalism’ model, he feels that every village in the south did not necessarily have all the caste and occupational groups required to ensure self-sufficiency M.G.S. Narayanan and..Kesavan VeTuthat22 have argued that the Bhakti Movement in. SoutlTTndiawas intrinsican^Landessentially feudal in content. Veluthat has also argued that the entire polfficS“stnJcture,~ih early medieval South India, had a feudal character to it ““^mother model, that has been proposed recently as an explanation for the Chola state in medieval south India, is that of the ‘Early State’. This model was made use of by Y. Subbarayalu and later by James Heitzman23 the ‘early state’ is a highly centralised socio-political organization geared to regulate social relations in a complex stratified society divided into two emergent classes - that is, the rulers and the ruled - whose relationship was characterised by the

52

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

political dominance of the former and the tributary obligations required of the latter. This unequal relationship was provided legitimation by a common ideology of which reciprocity was the basic principle. But the Chola polity, according to Kesavan Veluthat24 was an ‘early state’ only in the sense that its agrarian base and the political power of its elite were in

Veluthat argues that sate in south India did not just mean the king and various nodes of power existed with in the confines of the state. They derived their power ‘either from a delegation or from other sources which, however, were integrated into the system by the superordinate authority of the state’.25 He describes these nodes as small territories within the kingdom controlled by political chiefs and officials of the state. Such political structure which emerged in the seventh century got clearly established by the ninth century in all the three major kingdoms of SouthPallava, Chera and Chola. Veluthat sites various examples from records which show the recognition of the ‘superordinate authority’ of the ruler by the political chiefs. These chiefs were required to pay tributes to the ruler. To conclude our discussion, the development of political institutions in north and south India must be viewed and understood somewhat differently. While in the North Indian regions, local rulers emerged as regional kings and were able to integrate local and tribal forces; the south Indian kingdoms emerged as typical early states. But these imperial kingdoms, both in the north and in the south, were not in a position to install a centralised administration beyond the confines of the extended core area. However, within this area, they sometimes achieved a high degree of direct central control as recent research on the Cholas in the eleventh century has shown.

NOTES 1. Hermann Kulke, The State in India, 1000-1700, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1995. 2. Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, Reprint 1985, pp. 295-96. 3. R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism, c.300-1200, 2nd edition Delhi, 1980. 4. Ibid. 5. D.C. Sircar, ‘Landlordism Confused with Feudalism’, Land System and Feudalism in Ancient India, Calcutta, 1966. 6. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1994. 7. Harbans Mukhia, ‘Was There Feudalism in Indian History?’, The Journal of Peasant Studies, vol. 8, no. 3, (1981), pp. 273-310 8. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India.

❖ Interpreting Early Medieval India ❖

53 a-SSS®

9. Hermann Kulke, The State in India, 1000-1700, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1995. 10. R.S. Sharma, ‘How Feudal was Indian Feudaism? in Hermann Kulke (ed.), The State in India, 1000-1700, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1995.. 11. R.S. Sharma, ‘Problems of Peasant Protest in Early Medieval India’, in Bhairabi Prasad Sahu (ed.), Land System and Rural Society in Early India, Manohar, Delhi, 1997, pp.343-60. 12. R S. Sharma, Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalisation, New Delhi, 2001 13. D.N. Jha, (ed.), The Feudal Order: State, Society and Ideology in Early Medieval India 2000. 14. B.P. Sahu, Land System and Rural Society in Early India, Manohar, Delhi, 1997 15. Ibid, pp. 31-2. 16. Ranbir Chakravarti, (ed.) Trade in Early India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2001 and Trade and Traders in Early Indian Society, 2002. 17. Kesavan Veluthat, ‘Into the “Medieval” - and Out of It: Early South India in Transition’, Sectional President’s Address, Medieval India, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 58th Session (Banglore), Aligarh, 1998, p.170 18. Ibid, p.196 19. Burton Stein, Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India, Oxford University Press 1980. 20. Noboru Karashima, History and Society in South India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2001) 21. Noboru Karashima, ‘The Village Community in Chola Times: Myth or Reality’, in Journal of the Epigraphical Society of India, vol. 8, 1981, pp. 85-96 22. M.G.S. Narayanan and Kesavan Veluthat,‘The Bhakti Movement in South India’ in S.C. Malik (ed.), Indian Movements: Some Aspects of Dissent, Protest and Reform, Simla, 1978 Indian Institute of Advance Study. 23. James Heitzman,‘State Formation in South India, 850-1280’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. XXIV, no.l, March 1987, pp.35-61. Also see his Gifts of Power, Delhi 24. Kesavan Veluthat, The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India, p. 129, Orient Longman, 1993. 25. Kesavan Veluthat, ‘Into the “Medieval” - and Out of It: Early South India in Transition’, Sectional President’s Address, Medieval India, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 58lh Session (Banglore), Aligarh, 1998, p.170.

New Kings and Kingdoms {circa 750-1200) *

MAJOR KINGDOMS >

The Rashtrakutas

>

The Palas

>

The Pratiharas

>

Conflict for Riches: Tripartite Struggle

*

THE CHOLAS

4.

STRUCTURE OF POLITIES: THE RAJPUTRAS AND THEIR ORIGIN

*

FORMS OF LEGITIMATION: TEMPLES AND RITUALS

*

AGRARIAN STRUCTURES AND SOCIAL CHANGE

♦

>

Peasantisation of Tribes

>

Proliferation of Castes

TRADE AND URBANISATION

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

MAJOR KINGDOMS (CIRCA 750-1200) he early medieval period has been perceived as a phase of political decentralisation by some historians. R.S. Sharma1 provides us with a detailed analysis of ‘feudal polity’ in various kingdoms. During the early medieval period a number of powerful regional kingdoms arose in north India, the Deccan and in south India. All these kingdoms essentially had one aim in mind - territorial expansion and the desire to build an empire. As a result, these kingdoms were perpetually at loggerheads with each other for greater control over neighbouring territories. The Palas came into dominance in eastern India, whereas the Gurjara-Pratiharas gained

T

MAP 1: MAJOR KINGDOMS (CIRCA 750-1200)

56

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

ascendancy in western India and in the upper Gangetic valley. The third major kingdom was that of the Rashtrakutas, who controlled the Deccan and also the territories in north and south India. The Pratiharas, the Palas and the Rashtrakutas were referred to by the Arabs ..omewhat differently. To the Arabs, the Pratiharas were known as Al-Jurz, the Palas were known as Rhumi and the Rashtrakutas were referred to as Ballahara. A number of Rajput kingdoms, such as those of the Chahamanas or Chauhans, also emerged during this period. The Cholas, on account of their sound administrative structure and policies of agrarian expansion, emerged as the most powerful kingdom in the South. Historians have tried to see the emergence of such regional kingdoms in the context of Indian Feudalism, the defining feature of which was the rise of landgrants. R.S. Sharma 2 has pointed out that, from the seventh century onwards, there was a marked increase in the number of landgrants made and the trend became widespread throughout the country. Land grants were given not only to the petty lords but also to Brahmins and religious establishments like temples and monasteries on a large scale by kings, chiefs, members of the royal family and their feudatories. These landgrants came to be known as the brahmadeyas and the agraharas. Villages, which were donated to and inhabited by the Brahmins alone, were known as the brahmadeyas. Agrahara villages, though occupied predominantly by the Brahmins, had non-Brahaman residents as well. In South India such villages were also known as the mangalams. As a consequence of these profusely made landgrants, the period saw the emergence of big landlords, who came to be referred to by extremely high-sounding titles like: samanta, mahasamanta, rana, rauta etc. In Western and Central India they were known by titles like mandalika, maharajadhiraja, mahamandalesvara, mahamandalikas, mahasamantas and samantas, etc. The most important of the Chaulukya landlords were the Paramaras of Abu and the Chahamanas of Jalor. The more powerful landlords would in turn sub-assign land to petty, smaller landlords. For instance, a considerable portion of the Chahamana state, epecially in Nadol and Jalor, was held by landed intermediaries variously known as thakkuras, ranakas, and bhoktas. Their job was to provide the overlord with a certain quota of soldiers whenever required. The feudatories also had diverse fiscal and military obligations vis a vis the overlord. The proponents of the Indian Feudalism model feel that the polity, in the early medieval period, had been structured in an essentially flawed manner that was replete with contradictions. The feudatory chiefs were always looking for an opportunity to free themselves from their rulers. An example of this is the emergence of the Rashtrakutas, who were, to begin with, under the rule of the Chalukyas of Karnataka, in the Deccan.

llil ❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

57

Dantidurga, the Rashtrakuta leader, overthrew the reigning Chaluykan king, Kirtivarman, and took over a large portion of the Deccan; He performed the hiranya-garbha ritual to seek legitimacy from the Brahamanas for the creation of a separate Kshatriya status. The ritual sought to give a separate caste identity to Dantidurga as a Kshatriya, even though he was not a Kshatriya by birth. Similarly, the Guijara-Pratiharas (also known as the Pratiharas) used their military skills and power to carve out a kingdom in Western India. Nagabhatta I, a Pratihara, defended western India, from Sindh to Rajasthan, from Arab incursions. He was thus able to carve out a powerful principality comprising Malwa and parts of Rajputana and Gujarat. To say that it was the breakdown of a centralised state structure that led to the crisis or the emergence of a feudal polity, is a perspective that has not found favour with scholars like B.D. Chattopadhyaya3. He feels that the emergence of regional states was entirely predicated upon the proliferation of local ruling clans and their later transformation into local state and regional structures. During the early medieval period agriculture expanded and more and more forest land was brought under cultivation. This resulted in the assimilation of many tribal communities into the social fold, which in turn, led to the peasantisation of these tribes. In the process many changes took place, which contrary to popular belief, did not affect the tribal communities alone, but, also had a deep and indelible impact upon everyone concerned. Mainstream culture has been deeply influenced by tribal customs and modes of life, which have found rapid assimilation in the social set-up. The worship of the Jagannath cult in Orissa, the origin of which can be located in early medieval tribal culture, is one such example.4 Local state formation brought about the convergence of local and regional customs and traditions in the Dharmshastric social and Puranic Hindu religious traditions. It contributed to the emergence of regional patterns in polity and culture. The rise of Bhakti and of regional cults was also an important feature of this period. B.D. Chattopdhyaya points out that temples became the major institutional loci of Bhakti in the early medieval period. Through the temple ‘the king could seek to approximate the sacred domain through a process of identification with the divinity enshrined in the temple’. It may mean that the king wished to present himself as god’s appointee on earth and thereby to seek legitimation for every political decision he took. For example, the Pallava and the Chola kings identified themselves with their temples and the life size images of the ruler and his queen were also placed in the temple. In some other regions the king used to surrender temporal power to the divinity and its cult was raised to the status of the

58

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

central cult. Hermann Kulke has shown as to how Jagannath cult in Orissa was a mechanism to legitimise the king’s power. The early medieval period also witnessed the origin of Rajputs as ruling authorities.The emergence of the Rajputs during this period can be attributed to the materialisation of various tribal groups. They belonged to different lineages like the Hunas, Chandelas, and the Chalukyas, etc. and managed to acquire greater power by the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They gradually replaced the erstwhile rulers, especially in agricultural areas, and came to be regarded as the ‘Rajputras or the sons of the King’5. Further, as the economy grew and the needs of society changed, people with newer skills were required. It has been suggested that, in the early medieval period, the Vaishyas suffered a major setback, on account of a rapidly diminishing trade and commerce. Earlier it was the Shudras who had served as slave labourers, but, in the early medieval period, the Shudra vama became a somewhat more amorphous, allencompassing term which rapidly drew aboriginal tribes and foreign ethnic identities to its fold. Likewise, tribal groups, which were into cultivation, metamorphosed into revenue-paying Shudra peasants. Smaller castes, or jatis as they are called, soon emerged in society. For example, new castes appeared amongst the Brahmins. On the other hand, many tribes and itinerant groups found assimilation in a caste-based society and were given the status of jatis. Specialised artisans - smiths, carpenters and masons - were also recognised as separate jatis. Similarly many traditional singers and story-tellers, like the bhants, were recognised as castes. B.D. Chattopadhyaya has also pointed out that the early medieval period was a phase marked by the formation of ruling lineages or families. He looks at the emergence of Rajput lineage groups like the Guhilas and the Chalukyas, which were spread out in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Central India and Uttar Pradesh. In the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries the medieval state of Mewar became prominent under the Guhila clan, belonging to the Nagda-Ahar branch. The Gurjaras, who have been referred to as agriculturists in the inscriptions and who were known as such to the many ruling families in Western India, were an offshoot of the Gurjaras. Similarly, in Orissa in the period between the fourth and the twelfth centuries, state formation was characterised by the proliferation of lineages. The most important amongst these were the Coda-Gangas who emerged as a powerful clan in the eleventh century. However, it is pertinent to note that the emergence of the ruling families took place in regions which provided the scope for resource mobilisation, evidence for which can be found in the landgrants of the period. The expansion of agrarian economies, development of irrigation

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

59

techniques and landgrants indicate a distinct growth in the number of agricultural settlements. B.D. Chattopadhyaya6 has shown that, in early medieval Rajasthan, betterment in the field of irrigation, to a certain extent generated greater economic and social power. Thus, the proponents of the ‘Integrative Polity’ model - who sought to link the formation of state polities with the expansion of agrarian societies, a phenomena which took place due to the peasantisation of tribal groups - have tried to analyse early medieval society not as a period of crisis but as a phase when historical changes led to the emergence of regions which had very distinctive political, social, economic and cultural attributes. Polities faced much political and social turbulence in the form of a series of battles that took place in this period, and which often resulted in the formation of new power blocks and networks in which the original identity of a lineage was completely obliterated and wiped out.7 We would briefly discuss the emergence of three major dynasties below. The Rashtrakutas

The Rashtrakutas were the officers-incharge of territorial divisions called ‘rashtras’. They originally belonged to Lattatura, better known as Latur in Maharashtra. They were feudatories under the Chalukyas of Badami. The founder of the Rashtrakuta kingdom was a chieftain called Dantivarman or Dantidurga (735-56) who, after defeating the Chalukya king Kirtivarman in the early part of the eighth century, wrested power and along with it the greater portion of the Deccan as well. The Rashtrakutas were the followers of Jainism. They overthrew the Chalukyas and ruled up to 973. Dantidurga was succeeded by his son Krishna I (756-74). Other kings of this dynasty were Govinda II (774—80), Dhruva (780-90), Govinda III (793-814) and Amoghavarsa Nrupatunga I (814—87). The later Rashtrakuta rulers included Krishna II (ad 880-914) ); Indra III (914—29); Amoghavarsha II (929-30); Govinda VI (930-35); Krishna III (939-67) and Khottiga (967-72) . However, the later Rashtrakutas could not withstand the might of the rising Chalukyas of Vatapi. The Chalukyas, under Tailapa II, overthrew the last Rashtrakuta king, Karka II, in 973 and laid the foundation for the Chalukyas of Kalyana. Dantivarman was succeeded, in ad 750, by his uncle Krishna I, who gave the final blow to the Chalukyas of Badami, attacked the Gangas of Mysore and left the Chalukyas of Vengi with no choice but to acknowledge his supremacy. Krishna I is credited with having built the Kailasa temple at Ellora. He is also said to have cast a shadow on the contemporary Chalukya rulers. His son, Govinda II, was dethroned by his yonger brother Dhruva in 779. Dhruva ruled from c. 77-to 793-94. Like

60

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

his predecessors, he defeated the Chalukyas of Vengi, the Gangas of Mysore and launched a pitched battle against the Pallavas, who, after being defeated, sued for peace. He was the first Rashtrakuta ruler to decisively intervene in the struggle for supremacy in North India arid defeated both the Pratihara king, Vatsaraja, and the Pala king, Dharmapala. These victories made the Rashtrakutas emerge as the greatest ruling power of the period in north as well as in South India. Dhruva was succeeded by Govinda III (793-814). It was he who, like his predecessor before him, made a seies of incursions into North India and fought successfully against the Pala king, Dharmapala and his protege, Chakrayudha, the ruler of Kanauj. He wrested Malwa from the Pratihara king, Nagabhata II and assigned its rule to his official, Uperdra of the Paramara dynasty. When Govinda III was away in north India, the Ganga, Chera, Pandya and Pallava rulers formed a confederacy to jointly fight against Govinda III. However, the confederacy’s efforts to resist the might of Govinda III met with dismal failure. Amoghvarsha I, or Sarva (814-78), who succeeded Govinda III, was one of the most outstanding Rashtrakuta rulers. The extent of the Amoghvarsa’s empire can be estimated from the accounts of the Arabian traveller, Sulaiman, who visited his court in 1851 and expressed the view that Amoghavarsa’s kingdom was among the four greatest empires of the world, the other three being - the Roman empire, the Chinese empire and the empire of the Khalifa of Baghdad. There were long drawn out battles with the Eastern Chalukyas and the Gangas. After Amoghvarsha’s victory against the Eastern Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta armies remained in occupation of Vengi for about twelve long years. Historians believe that Amoghvarsha, who had been deeply influenced by the teachings of Jainism, was deeply lacking in the martial spirit of his predecessors. He was a patron of literature and authored Kavirajamarga, which is the earliest Kannada work on poetics. Amoghvarsh was succeeded by Indra III (915-27) and Krishna III (939-65). The Arab traveller Al-Masudi, who visited India during this period, calls Indra III the greatest king of India. He defeated the Pratihara king, Mahipala I, plundered the capital city of Kanauj, and challenged the Eastern Chalukyas. Krishna III was also an important Rashtrakuta ruler. He invaded the Chola kingdom and his armies reached upto Rameswaram, where he built a pillar of victory and a temple. In about 963 he led an expedition to north India and brought Vengi under his control. But on account of his military belligerence and his frequent skirmishes with neigbouring kingdoms, he alienated almost everyone and created serious problems for his successors. The period after Krishna III'was an extremely turbulent and dissension-

gllgg

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

61

ridden period. The king’s successors had neither his strength nor his political vision. Taking advantage of this situation, the Paramaras of Malwa, who were the feudatories of the Rashtrakutas, declared their independence. Soon other feudatories of the Rashtrakutas also declared themselves independent. In 974—75, the Chalukya Taila overthrew the last Rashtrakuta ruler, Karka II, and founded the Chalukya kingdom of Kalyani. Thus by the end of tenth century ad the rule of the Rashtrakutas came to an end. The Rashtrakutas were very open-minded in terms of literature, art and religion. That they were liberal and progressive can be seen from the fact that they patronized Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhransa and Kannada literature. They also patronized art and architecture. In fact, the Indian rock-cut architecture reached its zenith under them. The Kailash temple, built by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I, is an outstanding and stunning piece of art. The rock-cut cave temples at Ellora, which include Brahman, Buddhist and Jain temples, are indicative of their spirit of religious tolerance. They were also supportive of Saivism, Vaishnavism and Jainism. Their secular spirit of religious tolerance was extended to relatively lesser known religions like Islam and Muslim merchants were permitted to settle, build their mosques and spread the message of the faith in the Rashtrakuta territory. This was perhaps what encouraged several West Asian travellers to visit the kingdom. The Palas

The Pala dynasty was the most important dynasty in eastern India. Sulaiman, an Arab merchant who visited India in the ninth century ad, has termed the Pala Empire as Rhumi. The Pala Empire was founded by Gopala in 750. He was not of a royal lineage and is said to have been elected by the people, according to one of the inscriptions of his son, Dharmapala. He was a devout Buddhist and is supposed to have built the monastery at Odantapuri (Bihar Sharif district of Bihar). Gopala was succeeded by his son, Dharmapala (790-821) who is credited with taking the Pala kingdom to glory. Soon after his accession Dharmapala was involved in a struggle for ascendancy with the two main antagonists - the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas. The Pala empire, under Dharmapala, was very large and it comprised the whole of Bengal and Bihar. Besides, the kingdom of Kanauj was a dependency ruled by Dharmapala’s own nominee. Beyond Kanauj, there were a large number of vassal states in Punjab, Rajputana, Malwa and Berar, the rulers of which acknowledged Dharmapala as their suzerain.

62

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

After a thirty-two year reign Dharmapala died, leaving the large legacy of his extensive dominions to his son Devapala. Devapala succeeded to the throne in 821 and ruled for the next forty years. He extended his control over Pragjyotishpur (Assam), parts of Orissa and parts of modem Nepal. He was a staunch Buddhist and founded the famous mahavihara of Vikramashila near Bhagalpur. He is also credited with the construction of a vihara at Somapura (Paharpur). He also patronized Haribhadra, a great Buddhist writer. Devapala is regarded as perhaps the most powerful Pala ruler. Epigraphic records credit him with extensive conquests ranging from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas and extending from the eastern to the western ocean. He is said to have defeated the Guijaras and the Hunas and having conquered Utkala and Kamarupa. Balaputradeva, king of the Buddhist Sailendras ruling Java, sent an ambassador to Devapala, asking for a grant of five villages in order to set up a monastery at Nalanda. Devapala granted the request. He appointed Viradeva, as the head of the Nalanda monastery. After the death of Devapala, the Pala Empire began to steadily disintegrate. The ebbing fortunes of the Palas were somewhat revived by Mahipala I, who ascended the throne in 980. The most important event in Mahipala’s reign was the invasion of Bengal by Rajendra Chola. Rajendra’s Tirumalai Inscription records the details of his conquests in the north. The Sena family ruled Bengal after the Palas. Samanasena, its founder, was described as ‘Brahmakshatriya’. The title ‘Brahmakshatriya’ indicates that Samantasena was a Brahmin, though his successors called themselves Kshatriyas. Samantasena’s son, Hemantasena, took advantage of the political instability in Bengal and carved out an independent principality. The coming of Lakshmanasena to the throne (1179) encouraged developments in literature, art and culture. He was a devout Vaishnava. Jayadeva, the famous Vaishnava poet of Bengal and author of the Gita Govinda, lived at his court. However, his reign was extremely dissension ridden and then there took place the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khalji. This dug the final nail in the. dynasty’s coffin. The Palas played a crucial role in the religious and cultural revival of eastern India. They supported Buddhism, which was in a major state of decline in other parts of India. Mahayana Buddhism, influenced by the cult of the mother goddess, attained its specific Tantric form in Bengal. The age-old Buddhist Nalanda University regained its reputation under Pala patronage. And thus it became the Mecca of Buddhist scholars of South-east Asia. Dharmapal even founded the Vikramshila University for Buddhist learning.

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

63

The Pratiharas

The Pratiharas are also called the Gurjar-Pratihars probably because they had their origins in Gurjaratra or south-west Rajasthan. It is believed that originally they were a branch of the Gurjaras, a nomadic Central Asian tribe that came to India along with the Hunas following the disintegration of the Gupta Empire. The strength of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty was based to a large extent on the integration of various Rajput tribes and clans into the imperial system. The Arab traveller, al-Masudi, who visited India in the year 915-16, also refers to the power and resources of the king of Kanauj whose kingdom extended up to Sind in the west and touched the Rashtrakuta kingdom in the south. The Pratiharas came into prominence in the middle of the eighth century ad under Nagabhatta I. He was able to leave to his successors a powerful principality comprising Malwa and parts of Rajputana and Gujarat. Later on Vatsaraja emerged as a capable ruler and established an empire in north India. He defeated Dharmapala, the king of Bengal, and laid the foundation of a powerful empire. He, however, was defeated by Dhruva, the Rashtrakuta king. Vatsaraja was succeeded by his son Nagabhatta II who tried to regain the lost glory of the Pratiharas. He overran Kanauj and made it the capital of the Pratihara kingdom. He then advanced into Monghyr and defeated Dharmapala again, the second time over. The Gwalior inscription also informs us of Nagabhatta H’s forays into and conquest of Anartta, in northern Kathiawar, Malwa or cental India, the Matsyas or eastern Rajputana, the Kiratas of the Himalaysa regions, Turushkas, who were the Arab settlers of western India and the Vatsas in the territory of Kausambi or Kosam. However, the Pratihara power declined owing to the aggressive policies of the Pala king, Devapala. The Pratiharas could regain their lost glory only after Mihirbhoja, popularly known as Bhoja, ascended the throne. Mihirbhoja had a long forty-six year reign and his eventful career drew the attention of the Arab traveller, Sulaiman. He re-established Pratihara supremacy in Bundelkhand and subjugated Jodhpur. Bhoja’s Daulatpura Copper Plate shows that the Pratihara king had succeeded in re-asserting his authority over central and eastern Rajputana. In the north, Bhoja extended political control up to the foot of the Himalayas. After the death of Devapala, Mihirbhoja defeated the weak Pala king and brought a considerable part of the Pala king’s western dominions under his sway. He also defeated Krishna II on the banks of the Narmada and occupied Malwa. Thus, the territory of the Pratiharas extended up to Sutlej in the north-west, the foot of the Himalayas in the north, Bengal in

64

BWSiS

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

the east, Bundelkhand and Vatsa territories in the south and south-east, and Narmada and Saurashtra on the south-west including a major portion of Rajputana on the west. Mihirbhoja was succeeded by his son, Mahendrapala I, who patronised the large number of scholars in his court. The most famous court illuminary was Rajasekhara, the author of Karpuramanjari, Bala Ramayana, and Kavyamimamsa. The process of decline of the Pratihara Empire began with Devapala and was further accelerated during the reign of Vijayapala. Conflict for Riches: Tripartite Struggle

Each ruling dynasty of the early medieval period had its own area of influence, but kept striving for greater territorial acquisition and more wealth. One such lucrative and much-coveted area was Kanauj in the Ganges valley, over which the ‘tripartite struggle’ was waged for centuries. The Palas, the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas were engaged in long, bitter and acrimonious disputes over political ascendancy. Historians have described this as the tripartite struggle or the struggle among three rival powers. It is said that the main cause of this struggle was the desire to possess the city of Kanauj, which was then a symbol of sovereignty. This warfare was also aimed at intermediate fertile regions. One of the prime reasons for conflict was the desire for more wealth, which extended beyond their own territories. This was possibly because the rulers needed greater resources to enhance their military prowess. They also tried to demonstrate their power and resources by building large temples. That is why temples became a primary target area. Looting the temples served two purposes - one, it laid siege to what was understood as a symbol of power and opulence; and secondly, it provided access to the immense resources and wealth of these temples. After going through this rather brief, sketchy and impressionistic account of political events in the early medieval period in North India, one may well find it quite baffling to make some sense of the plethora of dynastic accounts, battles, victories and defeats that took place in this period. After all, the study of history goes far beyond the mere listing of political events, and deals mainly with the analysis of political processes and social and economic formations. Of what use, then are these sketchy accounts of the dynastic histories of different regions to modern day historians. B.D. Chattopadhyaya rightly points out that ‘even the seemingly bewildering variety of details of the political in story of early medieval India - the absurdly long genealogies, the inflated records of achievements of microscopic kingdoms, the rapidity of the rise and fall of

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

centres of power - are ultimately manifestations of the way in which the polity evolved in the period and hence is worthy, not so much of cataloguing, but of serious analysis.’

THE CHOLAS The Chola dynasty is one of the most popular dynasties of South India, which ruled over Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka with Tanjore as its capital. Asoka’s Rock Edicts II and XII are the earliest historical documents in which the Cholas find mention. The Karikala Cholas, who ruled in the second century ad, were amongst the earliest Chola rulers. After them, the Chola dynasty remained in a state of political dormancy for centuries before re-emerging in its full splendour 850 under Vijayalaya. He captured Tanjore, exploiting the strife-ridden PandyaPallava relationship to the fullest. He built a temple at Tanjore to commemorate his accession. Rajaraja I (985-1014) ) was the founder of the newly-organised Chola kingdom. He snatched back the territories he had earlier lost to the Rashtrakutas to become the most powerful of the Chola rulers. Rajaraja I was known by a variety of titles, such as - Mummadi Choladeva, Jayandonda, Chola-martanda, etc. and under him began the most glorious epoch of the Cholas. With his ability, prowess, and military skills he soon re-built up the Chola Empire and raised himself to a position of supremacy in the South. One of the earliest exploits of Rajaraja I was the subjugation of the Cheras, whose fleet he destroyed in Kandalur. He. them captured Madura and defeated the Pandya king, Amarabhujanga. Taking advantage of the fact that Sri Lanka was in a state of complete political disarray,Jie invaded the island and annexed its northern part which became a Chola province and was henceforth known as Mummadi Chola-mandalam. Rajaraja I then overran the Eastern Chalukyan country of Vengi. Rajaraja I’s claim to fame rests also on the beautiful Siva temple which he is said to have constructed at Thanjavur. It is called Rajarajesvara after his name and is specially noted for its huge proportions, simple design, elegant sculputes, and find decorative motifs. On the walls of the temples is engraved an account of Rajaraja’s exploits. The king, aided by a. council of ministers, was the central head of the state. However, the administration was democratic. Land revenue and trade tax were the main sources of income. Society was divided into Brahmans and non-Brahmins. The temple was the hub of social and cultural affairs and it was here that art and literature flourished. The Brihadeswara (Siva) temple at Tanjore was built by Rajaraja I. The giant statue of Gomateswara at Shravanabelagola was built during this period.

Rajendra Chola, the son of Rajaraja I (1012-44) was another important ruler of this dynasty who carried on with his father’s aggressive, expansionist policies. He conquered Orissa, Bengal. Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar islands and the Chola dynasty reached its zenith during his reign. By his military valour and administrative acumen, he raised the Chola Empire to the pinnacle of glory. Within a few years of ascending the throne, he annexed the whole of Sri Lanka, its northern part having been previously conquered by Rajaraja I. The following year he reasserted Chola supremacy over the kings of Kerala and the Pandyan country. Rajendra I now turned his attention towards the North, and in no time at all, his armies marched triumphantly into and invaded the dominions of the Pala king, Mahipala. It was undoubtedly an audacious campaign and to commemorate it he adopted the title of gangaikonda. But the series of conquests did not yield any permanent results but for the fact that some minor Karnataka chieftains settled in Western Bengal, and

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

67 gsgSS®

that Rajendra I invited a number of Shaivas from Bengal into his kingdom. The Chola monarch’s achievements were not limited to land acquisitions alone. He possessed a powerful fleet which gained success across the Bay of Bengal. Rajendra I founded a new capital, called GangaiknodaCholapuram, now known as Gangakundapuram in the Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu. It has a magnificent palace and a temple^adomed with exquisite granite sculpture. Rajendralwas succeeded by his son, Rajadhiraja I, in 1044. When he came to the throne, Rajadhiraja I had to face many troubles, but all opposition was soon brought under control. He subdued the Pandyan and Kerala kings, who were in league with the rulers of Sri Lanka. Presumably, it was to celebrate his victories over these adversaries that Rajadhiraja I performed the Asvamedha sacrifice. The other important rulers of this dynasty were: Rajadhi Raja I (104452); Rajendra II (1052-64); Veera Rajendra (1064-69); Kulottunga I (1069-1120); Vikramachola (1118—35); Kullottunga II (1133-50); Raja raja II (1146-73); Rajadhiraja ll (1173-78); Kulottunga III (1178-1216) and Raja raja III (1216-46). The last ruler of the Chola dynasty was Rajendra III (1246-79). He was a weak ruler who surrendered to the Pandyas. Later, Malik Kafur invaded this Tamil state in 1310 and extinguished whatever was left of the Chola Empire’s claim to glory. Thus, bythe beginning of the fourteenth century the Chola power declined and their place was taken by the Hoy sal as of Dwarsamudra and the Pandyas of Madurai. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri8 believes that the reason for the resurgence of the Chola dynasty was the control over the Malacca and Sunda straits through which the Eastern trade had to pass. The Cholas also enhanced their maritime strength by gaining control over all the strategically located important coastlines. They captured the south west coast of India and almost the entire east coast upto the mouth of the Ganges. They also seized the Maldi ves, Sri Lanka and the Andamans. The Cholas undertook vast irrigational projects. Apart from sinking wells and excavating tanks, they threw mighty stone dams across the Kaveri and various other rivers , and created newer channels to distribtute water over large tracts of land. One of the most remarkable achievements of the time belongs to the reign of Rajendra I. He dug an artificial lake near his new capital - Gangaikonda Cholapuram - the water for which came from the Klerun and the Vellar rivers. Its embankments were sixteen miles in length and it was provided with stone sluices and channels. JThe Cholas also constructed grand trunk roads which served as the channels of coiiimerce and communication. Troops were stationed at regular intervals along important roads, and public ferries were provided across rivers.

/ Y’I'*■p// s ■

7 J-. '' /' V Ph r> 4

4,C« V'*5 4 ..?

Ca"' 4/V -' r^lbi

'> Simdarlye itinerant groups- such as those of artisans, craftsmen, traditional story-tellers and entertainers simply travelled from place to place practising their different occupations. Both groups would often visit the same places every year. Even today you would see many of these wandering groups from Rajasthan visiting cities like Delhi and other surrounding territories in search of greener pastures during the dry wiriter season.

Many tribes obtained their livelihood from agriculture. Others were hunter-gatherers or herders. More often than not they combined these activities to make full use of the natural resources of the area in which they lived. Nomadic pastoralists travelled long distances along with their animals. They exchanged wool, ghee, milk and so on and so forth with, settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products. One nomadic group was that of the Banjaras. They were the most important trader-nomads in the medieval period. Their caravan was called tanda. Sultan Alauddin Khalji’s market regulation system achieved success on

90

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

account of the fact that he relied heavily on Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets. Emperor Jahangir’s memoirs make mention of the fact that the Banjaras brought grain on their bullocks from different areas and sold it in towns. They transported food grains for the Mughal army during military campaigns. Our knowledge, of the origin and subsequent history of the numerous aboriginal tribes of India, is somewhat scant given the absence of sufficient archaeological data, yet a history of their past glory in the medieval and modem period can be reconstructed. The historic data does shed some light on their styles of life and we start picking up the threads of what would hopefully become a reliable and authentic narrative. The tribes have a very richly preserved repertory of rich customs and oral traditions. These were passed on from one generation to the next. Of late, historians have begun using such oral traditions to write tribal histories. Peasantisation of Tribes

During the early medieval period agriculture expanded and more and more forest land was brought under cultivation. This resulted in the assimilation of many tribal communities into the social fold and led to the peasantisation of tribes living in the forest area. This whole process not only influenced the tribal culture, but the tribal culture and customs also got assimilated and absorbed into the mainstream social set up. The worship of the Jagannath cult in Orissa is one such example, the origin of which could well be traced to the early medieval tribal culture. The origin of the Rajputs during the early medieval period can be attributed to the emergence of various tribal groups. They belonged to different lineages, such as those of the Hunas, the Chandelas and the Chalukyas who became immensely powerful towards the eleventh and the twelfth centuries. They gradually replaced the older rulers, especially in agricultural areas and came to be regarded as the Rajputras (sons of the King)Proliferation of Castes

As the economy grew and the needs of society changed, people with new skills were required. Smaller castes (or what we call jatis) emerged within the society. For example, new castes appeared amongst the Brahmanas. On the other hand, many tribes and itinerant groups were taken into the fold of a caste-based society and given the status of jatis. Specialised artisans like the smiths, the carpenters and the masons were also recognised as separate jatis. Similarly many traditional singers and story­ tellers like the bhants were recognised as caste groups.

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

91

Several irregular or mixed castes are represented in the Dharmasastras as coming into existence as a result of the anuloma and pratlioma connections, especially the latter. Some of the latter types of castes are branded as the antyaja or the lowest castes. The Brahmavaivarty Purana, a work of the early medieval period, raises the number of existent nuxed castes to over one hundred. However, the above theory explains the proliferation of castes (jatis) only partially. Instead it seems to be an afterthought to provide place for the numerous tribals in the four-fold. The Nisadas, the Ambasthas, and the Pulkasas, were originally tribal communities, but once they gained admittance into the Brahaminical fold, ingenious caste and group configurations within the vama system were suggested for them, and they came to acquire an extremely hybridised or vamasamkaraidentity. The vamasamkara theory was meant mainly to accommodate foreign and indigenous tribes in the caste hierarchy. Certain not-so approved of marriage liaisons, particularly thejzwra marriage which was the most widely prevalent form of marriage and in which the woman enjoyed some degree of power and freedom was recommended for the lower vamas. Dissolution of the marriage tie was generally permissible for women from the lower varnas, who could promptly re-marry in the face of a husband’s ‘desertion’. It was recommended that a wife did not need to wait for too long for her truant husband to re-appear. Thus, the shortest duration of waiting was recommended for the wives of the Sudras. Widow re-marriage was generally confined to the lower vamas throughout the ancient Indian period. Niyoga, which in the Vedic age was practised largely by the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas, came to be confined to the Shudras from the early centuries of the Christian era. Polygamy was quite popular among the higher varnas, while monogamy was prevalent mostly among the lower vamas. Instances of intercaste marriage mainly concerned men of higher and women of lower vamas, and were chiefly limited to a union between the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas.

TRADE AND URBANISATION We have already discussed the historical writings of the 1970s and 80s in an attempt to understand the major socio-economic changes taking place in the early medieval period16 R.S.Sharma explained these changes in terms of the gradual crystallisation of Indian Feudalism. He has traced its origin to the system of land grants. The economic implications of these changes were very grave and there was an increasing trend towards the ruralization of the economy. As a result, self-sufficient villages became the foci of production.17 The argument for a self-sufficient village economy carried with itself two major presumptions. One, since

92

*♦* Interpreting Medieval India ❖

everything - from production to consumption - was confined to the village trade suffered a decline; and two, there was a marked resultant decline in urban centres.18 Primary sources regarding land grants contain extremely valuable data on the economy in early medieval rural society. But these grants do not offer very substantive information about craftsmen and merchants in urban centres. This is in sharp contrast to the records of donations and administrative documents prior to ad 600, where merchants, craftsmen and various professional groups were mentioned as inhabitants of nonrural settlements. Many historians have argued that a change in the mode of documents and style of documentation is in fact an indicator of the changes taking place in the social and economic lives of the people. The huge number of land grants made implies a strong ruralisation of the economy from the late seventh century onwards. It has also been argued that during the period ad 600-1000 there was decline in India’s flourishing commerce with the Roman Empire and it had an extremely adverse impact upon India’s commercial economy. Scholars have tried to present the following arguments in support of their points of view. They say that the last known epigraphic reference to Tamralipta is found in an eighth century inscription from the Hazaribagh region in Bihar; the port of Barbaricum, in the delta of the river Indus, did not enjoy much economic prominence in the early medieval times; the port of Daibul, in the same region, began to come into the limelight as an international port after the tenth century onwards; and premier ports in Gujarat, Barygaza or Broach had lost their erstwhile glory. These evidence are taken to conclude a gradual decline in trade in the economic life of early medieval north India. Further evidence of this is indicated by the paucity of coins of precious metals. Thus, to the supporters of the feudalism thesis, money was intrinsically incomputable to the interests of a land grant economy. In many copper plate grants we find mention of kapardakas or cowries. References to kapardaka-purana also feature on copper plates. The term does not point to a particular type of coin, but refers to apurana or silver coins in terms of their equivalence to cowry-shells. The wide use of the expression kapardaka-purana in early medieval inscriptions, unknown before the eighth century, may well go to suggest that cowry­ shells were the principal medium of exchange. These seem to have replaced the metallic medium of exchange, which lost its relevance on account of its questionable intrinsic value. Excavations in eastern Bihar have yielded a large number of cowries providing material proof of their use as a medium of exchange. It has been pointed out that cowries could only have become popular as a poor and inadequate substitute for metallic

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

93

money. The wide spread prevalence of cow?7-shells as currency is, therefore, taken to indicate a further decline in long-distance trade. To many historians India’s long distance trade revived only after tenth century mainly because of an expanding trade with the Arab commercial network. V.K. Jain19 has shown that during eleventh-thirteenth centuries in Western India there was rapid growth of commercial and trading activities largely due to the development of foreign trade. At the same time he considers the growth of population as an important factor for the development of trade. The author argues that the growth of population led to an enhancement in the number of rural settlements and agricultural goods. Consequent to these new developments, after ad 1000, ‘waste and virgin land’ were brought- under cultivation and resultantly there was sharp increase in agricultural production of grains and commercial crops like sugarcane, cotton and indigo. This, in turn, ‘resulted in the growth of commercial contact between town and countryside’,20 However, in recent years historians like Ranabir Chakravarti21 and B.D. Chattopadhyaya22 have provided evidences to argue that trade had flourished in several regions of India long before the feudalism proponents set a deadline for its revival around the year ad 1000. Further, the thrust on the growth of trade and commercial activity after ad 1000 by the advocates of Indian Feudalism hypothesis and their case that this did not disturb the existing land-vassal nexus seems problematic.23 How is it possible that the same landgrant economy, which led to decline of trade during ninth and tenth centuries, could co­ exist with the developed state of trade and commerce during eleventh and twelfth centuries. The proponents of Indian feudalism model taking their hypothesis further argue that in the absence of trade and the paucity of a metallic medium of exchange, there arose an essentially self-sufficient and enclosed village economy. D.N. Jha24 says that the adverse impact of a languishing commerce and the paucity of coinage were not just limited to economics, but paved the way for a decentralised polity and ‘parcellised sovereignty’. They feel that a not-so-active commerce resulted in an acute dearth of metallic currency. This led to great difficulties regarding the payment of royal functionaries in cash. It was this that resulted in the practice of providing the more highly placed officers with service-grants in lieu of cash. In course of time these poweful functionaries not only amassed enormous wealth from the areas assigned to them, but also became very powerful. This undermined the authority of the ruler as the apex political authority. But this ‘monetary anaemia thesis’, fundamental to the formulation of Indian feudalism, has been questioned by John S. Deyell.25 Deyell has reservations on the assumption of the scarcity of

94

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

money during the early medieval period. He says that metals like gold, silver or copper were not the only forms of money in medieval societies and cowries functioned well as medium of exchange in the backdrop of an acute silver crisis in the Arab world. Harbans Mukhia, in support of this argument, has illustrated that in medieval Europe almost anything could function as a medium of exchange. He suggests that in India, procuring cowries actually involved long distance trade, for cowry shells were obtained from the far off Maldive and this serves to highlight its significance. Cowry shells were not locally available in Bengal, which is corroborated by Arab accounts of the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the Mahuan descriptions of the early sixteenth century which go to prove that cowry shells reached Bengal from the Maldives.These were brought in shiploads from the Maldives to Bengal in return for rice. Cowry shells were shipped as bulk items and functioned as units of small exchange and ballast in the Indian Ocean maritime economy. Recent studies have established that in the south-eastern parts of Bengal many silver coins were in a constant state of being issued, particularly in the period between the eighth to the thirteenth centuries. It is significant that there are several early medieval coin hoards in northern India, especially in the Ganga-Yamuna doab area, which was under the Gurjara-Pratihara hegemony. There was no dearth of currency in the Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom. Thus, recent researchers have challenged the ‘monetary anaemia’ and decline in trade theory with much evidence. GUILD 1 . .V ' * A guild was an organisation of traders formed by them in order to protect their interests. During the early medieval period merchant guilds were an important element of the economic life of the period. Various guild names included: the Nigama, the Shreni, the Samuha, the Sartha, .the Samgha and so on and so forth. Guilds were voluntary associations of merchants dealing in grains, textiles,? betel ? leaves, horses, perfumes, etc. They were formed by both the local as well as the itinerant merchants. Groupings, associations and guilds of local merchants, particularly those who had a permanent residential abode in towns, were that much more durable than the guilds of itinerant merchants which were formed as a make-shift arrangement to meet the exigencies of either a situational crises or for a specific journey and were terminated at the end of each venture. The'guilds set up their own rules and regulations regarding membership and the code of conduct. They fixed the prices of their goods and could even decide that a specific commodity would not be sold on a particular day by its members. They could even refuse to trade on a particular day or in a particular area or locality if they found the local authorities hostile or uncooperative. Guilds also acted as the

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms {circa 750-1200) ❖

95

custodians’of religions interests. Inscriptions refer to numerous instances when it was decided to collectively p’ay an additional tax on the sale and purchase of goods for the maintenance of temples or temple functions. These guilds functioned according to the rules framed by members. Members who violated guild rules could face pimitiye measures like expulsion. Guilds were required to deal directly with the king and settle the market tolls and taxes on behalf of fellow merchants. A,member of the guild worked under a strict code of discipline and to some extent was robbedofinitiative and freedom of action but also enjoyed numerous benefits. He received the full backing and support of the guild and was thus saved from the harassment of local officials. It also provided thp member a greater credulity in the market.

Urbanisation

The highly ruralised and self-sufficient village (‘feudal’) economy gave little scope for trade, and in turn it also hampered urban growth, according to R.S. Sharma.26 He has shown that most of the former urban centres have yielded evidence of a decaying material milieu, disorganised layout and usage of already used bricks. This can be taken to indicate a phase of deurbanisation during ad 600-1000. It has been argued that a decline in India’s commerce played a crucial role in urban decay. Urban areas, belonging to the non-agrarian sector of the economy, were linked up with trade centres, and many of these urban centres were themselves major centres of trade and commerce. It has also been argued that urban centres, as areas for exchange and crafts production, gradually faded away and were replaced by military and political headquarters. Early medieval north India witnessed the rise of many centres of pilgrimage (tirtha) which assumed urban proportions. Advocates of the Indian feudalism model argue that as urban centres lost their primary relevance as trading zones, they became centres of religious importance, which only served to undermine their role as centres of production and exchange even more than it was so before. B.D. Chattopadhyaya27 does not quite endorse this interpretation of a declining trade and urban centres in north India during the early medieval period. He has tried to prove by using various sources, including those of epigraphic material, that trade did not suffer an alarming state of decline and that no major deurbanisation really took place. He says that the almost complete absence of archaeological material on early medieval urban centres has resulted in a very imperfect understanding of the chronology and character of early medieval urbanism. He further elaborates that since early medieval archaeology is still an illusory construct, historians of early medieval settlements depend entirely on epigraphic data to define the recognisable characteristics of urban centres.

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

MAP 3: MEDIEVAL TRADING AND URBAN CENTRES

B.D. Chattopadhyaya says that important urban centres developed in the region between the upper Ganga basin and the Malwa plateau. Tattanandapura, identified with Ahar near Bulandshahar, was a fully developed township of the upper Ganga basin. Chattopadhyaya explains that the urban character of the settlement emerges from the use of the suffix pura. Other important urban centres of the early medieval period were Siyadoni in Jhansi and Gopagiri in Gwalior, where the sresthis and the sarthavahas lived. B.D. Chattopadhyaya describes this as the ‘third urbanisation’. Inscriptions and textual sources give evidence of the presence of various market places, some of them unknown prior to ad 600. The term

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms (circa 750-1200) ❖

97

hatta or hattika frequently occurs in the inscriptions of north India in the early middle ages. The terms generally signify a small rural centre of exchange. A more modernized version of the term in Bengal and Bihar is hat. Such rural market centres are periodic in nature in that transactions do not take place there on an everyday basis, but only once or twice a week on fixed days. In copper plates, which are strongly oriented to the rural surroundings, village level market places like the hatta and the hattika figure frequently. They find mention in copper plates as important landmarks in rural areas. Chattopadhyaya says that many such epigraphic descriptions of the hatta also speak of the availability of drinking-water and of resting places and feeding houses close to the hatta. In some Pala inscriptions, the term hattavara is encountered. It would probably denote a larger than usual hatta. A case in point is probably the Devapala devahatta, located close to the famous monastery and university of Nalanda. The hatta being named after Devapala (ad 810-850), a Pala ruler, was larger than a simple rural-level market place. B.D. Chattopadhyaya also cites example of a hatta in the eastern part (purvahatta) of the well known urban market centre at Tattanandapura (Ahar, Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh) on the basis of the inscriptions found there belonging to the second half of the ninth century.This hatta was not a rural-level market centre, but was situated within a large urban trading area.The mention of a hattamarga or street leading to a market place is found in another inscription from Tattanandapura. B.D. Chattopadhyaya argues that the term hatta could mean a centre of trade in an urban area, in addition to its more common connotation of a rural exchange centre. Inscriptional records also highlight the fact that diverse kinds of merchants were in existence in the period in question. While older terms like vanik, sarthavaha and sresthi continued, there appeared new types of merchants. A tenth century inscription from western India speaks of sresthi-sartha, who was possibly a money merchant as he was found to have minted silver coins. At the famous mandapika of Siyadoni we note the active presence of a salt-dealer, whose father was a salt-dealer as well. He was prosperous enough to have provided considerable patronage to a number of temples in Siyadqni. Though individual merchants do not find mention in large numbers in inscriptions of early medieval Bengal, a vrddhasartha appears in one record of the late tenth century. The term vrddhasartha may literally denote an old merchant; it may also stand for a senior trader. Inscriptions from Gujarat and Rajasthan frequently refer to donations made by rich merchants to religious and cultural centres. An insightful probe into early medieval inscriptions from Rajasthan highlights the growing importance of a number of local merchant lineages like Dhusara, Dharkata, Uesavala/Oisavala (later day Oswals), Srimali and

98

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Pragvata. Merchant-donors often made mention of their class, lineage and genealogical origins when they put in their donations. The aim was to let people know that they belonged to a status-group and were not upstarts. A certain genre of merchants began to figure in inscriptions from Gujarat after ad 1000. They are called the nauvittakas, and they do not find mention in previous records. The term indicates merchants who derived their wealth from ships. In other words, it denotes a ship-owning merchant. Ranabir Chakravarti argues that there was unprecedented agrarian expansion in India in the early medieval period. This resulted in an agrarian surplus, a major pre-requisite for the city’s formation in early India. Agrarian expansion also paved the way for a greater concentration of the population in some villages which consequently underwent a change in character leading to emergence of smaller towns. Thus, the revisionists feel that the old towns did show signs of decline, but there emerged many new urban centers instead.

NOTES 1. R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism. 2. R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism, Calcutta, 1965. Also see Y. Subbarayalu, ‘The Chola State’, Studies in History, vol. 4, (2), 1982, pp. 265-306. 3. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1994. 4. Hermann Kulke, Kings and Cult: State Formation and Legitimation in India and Southeast Asia, Manohar, Delhi, 1993 5. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, ‘Origin of the Rajputs: The Political, Economic and Social Processes in Early Medieval Rajasthan’, in The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1994. 6. B.D. Chattopadhyaya,‘Irrigation in Early Medieval Rajasthan’, in The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press., Delhi,1994, pp. 38-56. 7. Ibid, p. 208. 8. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, Oxford University Press Fourth edn., Delhi, 1998. 9. Burton Stein, Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India, Delhi, 1980. 10. James Heitzman, ‘State Formation in South India, 850-1280’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. XXIV, (1), March 1987, pp. 35-61. 11. Y. Subbarayalu,‘The Chola State’, Studies in History, Vol. IV,(2), 1982, pp. 265-306. 12. James Heitzman,‘State Formation in South India, 850-1280’, in Herman Kulke (ed.), The State in India 100-1700, Oxford University Press, 1995, p.191. 13. D.N. Jha, Early India: A Concise History, Manohar, Delhi, 2004. 14. Ibid., p.199. 15. R.S. Sharma, Social Changes in Early Medieval India (c. 500-1200), Delhi, 1969. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid., p.27. 18. R.S. Sharma, Urban Decay in India, c. 300-C.1000, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1987

❖ New Kings and Kingdoms {circa 750-1200) ❖ 19. V.K. Jain, Trade and Traders in Western India (1000-1300), Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1990. 20. Ibid., p. 252. '21. Ranabir Chakravarti, Trade and Traders in Early Indian Society. 22. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1994. 23. D.N. Jha, Presidential Address, Proceedings of Indian History Congress, 1979, p. 30. He argues that land economy continued to co-exist with the developed state of trade and commerce. 24. D.N. Jha, Early India: A Concise History, Manohar, Delhi, 2004, pp. 191-193. 25. John S. Deyell, Living Without Silver, Oxford University Press, Delhi 1990. 26. R.S. Sharma, Urban Decay in India, c. 300-C.1000, Delhi, 1987. 27. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, 1994, pp.130-182. Also see his ‘Urban Centres in Early Medieval India’, in S. Bhattacharyya and Romila Thapar (eds.), Situating Indian History, Oxford University Press, 1986.

Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) *

RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS

>

Bhakti

>

Tantrism

>

Sankaracharya

♦

REGIONAL LITERATURE

♦

ART AND ARCHITECTURE; EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL STYLES

❖ Religion and Culture (.circa 750-1200) ❖

101

he early medieval period not only witnessed the emergence of regional kingdoms, but also stood witness to major religious and cultural developments that shaped the course of Indian history. The period saw the transformation of Brahminism into a new kind of popular Hinduism called Monism, which took place under the tutelage of philosophers like Sankaracharya. Another popular movement that took root outside the confines of orthodoxy and in fact challenged the conventional order of things was the Bhakti movement. Simultaneously, regional literature and art found a context that was conducive to its growth and development. To begin with, let us discuss the Bhakti cult.

T

RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS Bhakti

The Bhakti cult espoused a virulent rejection of Brahmanical orthododxy and suggested that salvation was a personal matter, which did not require the intervention of priests and clerics. It could be attained by means of pure devotion to God. The movement took root in the sixth century in Tamil Nadu where it had distinctly heterodox origins. The Bhakti cult then spread to other parts of India and finally also to northern India, giving an entirely new perspective to Hinduism. The movement was led by sixty-three Saivite and twelve Vaishnavite saints called the Nayanars and the Alvars respectively. These Nayanar and Alvar saints of south India spread the doctrine of Bhakti to different sections of society, irrespective of caste and gender. Not too many Nayanar saints were Brahmins and most others were traders and peasants. Many came from the lower castes and took women into the fold. The saint-poets preached Bhakti and promoted religious egalitarianism. They dispensed with rituals in which the lower classes could not afford to participate. They also rejected the caste system. The Alvar and Nayanar saints used Tamil for communicating with people and composing devotional songs. All these features gave the movement a popular character and for the first time Bhakti acquired a popular base. M.G.S. Narayanan and Kesavan Veluthat’ say that the terms Nayanar and Alvar are a bit of a puzzle. The word Nayanar may well have been a Tamil rendition of the Sanskrit word nayaka, meaning 'a leader’, and thereby implying that the sixty-three nayanar leaders were the incarnations of Siva. The term Alvar has been derived from the root al which could imply the act of plunging or immersing oneself into deep devotion. The term al also means ‘to rule’ or ‘to preserve’. Further, Alvar is the literal translation of the Sanskrit word bhakta. In Tamil the root word al also means ‘to possess’ or ‘to enjoy’.

102

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

The south Indian Bhakti saints were critical of the Buddhist and Jain priests who enjoyed a privileged status at the courts of the south Indian kings of that time. Many adherents of Buddhism and Jainism, both of which by now had become rigid and formal religions, defected to the Bhakti fold. The Bhakti cult had serious limitations. It never consciously opposed Brahmanism or the vama and caste systems at a social level. It was integrated into the caste system and the ‘lower’ castes continued to remain a highly disadvantaged group. Brahmanical rituals like the worship of idols, recitation of Vedic mantras and pilgrimages to sacred places remained in vogue in spite of the fact that the Bhakti cult seemed to offer a simpler and less ritual-ridden mode of worshipping God. The Buddhists and Jains were the main targets, not the Brahmins. This perhaps was also why Brahmin-dominated temples came to play such an important role in the growth of the Bhakti movement in south India. Since the ideological and social foundations of the caste system were not subjected to a mode of rigorous questioning by the south Indian saint-poets, the Bhakti movement of the South, in the long run, ended up supporting the caste system instead of subverting it. Eventually, when the movement reached its climax in the tenth century, it was gradually assimilated into 'the conventional Brahminical religion. But despite these limitations, the south Indian Bhakti movement in its heyday succeeded in championing the cause of religious equality. Consequently, the brahmins had to accept lower-caste preachers, and had to grant the lower-castes access to Bhakti as a mode of worship and also eventually to the Vedic texts. Saiva and Vaishnava saints, and their followers, practised and propagated the cult of Bhakti in the countryside, and would often proceed upon pilgrimages, singing and dancing along the way. They received royal patronage, often entered into heated debates with the Jains and Buddhists, presumably healed the sick, and performed other miracles of note. Their hymns, addressed to several deities, constitute the bulk of Tamil literature. Therefore, many early scholars have treated Bhakti chiefly as a literary movement or an ideological phenomenon with religion as the primary source of inspiration. The Bhakti movement was based on this literary philosophical conception, because there is no clarity regarding either its chronological sequence or its social significance. Historical studies by scholars like S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, R.G. Bhandarkar, T.A. Gopinatha Rao and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri have been able to come up with a chronological framework of sorts, but that has only sparked off bitter and acrimonious scholarly disputes about the matter. These scholars did not highlight the socio-political background of the movement. Further, the Bhakti in south India was viewed as a pure Tamil movement and was never really understood in a larger context. Even today historical works have not yet been able to assess the Tamil Bhakti movement from an

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

103

all-India viewpoint. It was M.G.S. Narayanan and Keshvan Veluthat who tried to analyse the movement not only within the larger framework of the development of society and culture in India, but also in its socio-economic context with special reference to the elements of dissent, protest and reform. The Bhakti tradition did not approve of the vama system and accepted members from all castes within its fold. Most of the sixty-three Nayanars were non-brahmins. However, this does not mean that Bhakti completely rejected the caste system. A Puranic text in fact tells us that ‘a man who bows before a linga or a Vishnu idol that has been touched by a Shudra is doomed forever’.2 M.G.S. Narayanan and Veluthat argue that the idea of Bhakti had a deep impact upon popular consciousness in early medieval India. The philosopher and theologian Shankara, with all his emphasis on unqualified monism and the Upanishadic idea of salvation through knowledge, accommodated the Bhakti doctrine in his philosophy. He himself was a devotee of Shiva and is credited with the authorship of some fine devotional poems, including the Anandalahari written in praise of Parvati. Later, Ramanuja (1017-1137), a Vaishnava Tamil Brahmana, and an ardent exponent of qualified monism, laid much emphasis on Bhakti as a means to achieve salvation. The cult of devotion was thus the most popular ideology during the early medieval period. The Bhakti doctrine endorsed the theory of incarnation. Although the concept of incarnation was originally a feature of Vaishnavism, it now influenced other religions as well. Most of the twenty-eight avataras of Siva are said to have been Vishnu incarnations. However, it is only the last of these, Lakulisa, who became popular. In Jainism the worship of tirthankaras became popular. In Vaishnavism itself, the boar (varaha) form of Vishnu, seems to have become very common, though the ten avataras of Vishnu came to be standardized and are mentioned in a late seventh century inscription in Mahabalipuram. Rama, as an incarnation of Vishnu, was known as a cult deity, but could not achieve the stature of Krishna. Scenes and episodes from the life of Krishna were etched upon several temple walls and Jayadeva and Nimbarka popularized his worship in the twelfth century. M.G.S. Narayanan and Kesavan Veluthat3 opine that royal patronage seems to have intensified the tempo of the Bhakti movement. Mahendravarman is alleged to have destroyed a Jaina monastery and build a Hindu temple in its place. This seems to have been followed by a temple-building spree which spread from the Pallava-Chola territory to the Pala and the Chera territories. This was also where the Bhakti cult found acceptance in popular belief. Hundreds of inscriptions from the seventh to the tenth centuries refer to the construction of temples, which naturally could not have been possible without the active support of

104

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

kings. The kings and chieftains, who supported Brahminical groups, became more powerful than those who opposed them. The Brahmins succeeded in bringing in indigenous people as tenants and temple servants, hierarchising them into castes and subcastes and bringing in infinite variations of economic and ritual status. They were in a position to mobilize the manpower of the vast tenant class for royal military service. Thus, the kings and the Brahmins helped and supported each other. The more powerful a king became, the greater sense of support and protection a Brahamin had. M.G.S. Narayanan and Keshvan Veluthat argue that the ideology of Bhakti served as the cementing force which would bind kings, Brahmin priests and common people into a harmonious whole. They felt that the intoxication of Bhakti would help people to deal with circumstantial adversity, affliction and grief. It would also help the highly placed to find a sense of worth in a realm that transcended that of material possessions. However, this promise of egalitarianism proved illusory and misplaced because the stranglehold of feudal inequality could not be dismantled. In short, the Bhakti movement contained all the ingredients of popular Hinduism. The ancient classical Brahminical creed of the Vedas and the Sastras found favour with the non-Brahminical and non­ Aryan population of South India. Although the earliest saints did not come from the ranks of royalty, some kings and chieftains like Mahendravarman, along with some other unidentified Pallavas and Cholas, were among the patrons of the movement. It is possible that a number of kings made use of the hugely popular cult of Bhakti to enhance their own prestige and power. The destruction of the Jaina monastery and the alleged religious persecution of several thousand Jainas under the aegis of the Bhakti movement indicates that many Nayanars prompted rulers to use state power for the promotion of their creed even through the use of violence. Thus, the Bhakti movement may, in effect, have helped rulers to consolidate the power of monarchy as an institution. The starting point of the Bhakti cult was the system of offering material objects like land, cattle, utensils and lamps according to M.G.S. Narayanan and Keshvan Veluthat. In place of material objects, one could offer one’s own self in the spirit of true devotion and service. This meant that devotion was offered in return for immunity from death, poverty and disease. A step higher, in the full intoxication of Bhakti, the ideal devotee was not really looking for either wealth, or longevity, or power and security. He believed in and offered pure, unconditional love and devotion to a higher cause. Puja was the most common manifestation of Bhakti. It meant offering land and property and other services to the lord in return for land, fiscal rights, and protection. This gave encouragement to the

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

105

idea of construction of temples on a large scale by kings and landed magnates. The idea of the holy abode of god gripped the masses with a sense of religious fervour and the practice of making frequent trips to a tirthasthan gained unprecedented popularity. It is interesting to observe that the genesis of a large number of the nearly 2,000 tirthas in India was laid in the early medieval period. When the popularity of the Bhakti movement in south India was on a decline, a philosophical justification was provided for the doctrine of Bhakti. Nimbarka tried to establish a careful balance between orthodox Brahmanism and popular cult of Bhakti which was open to all. Though he did not support the idea of the lower castes having access to the Vedas, he advocated Bhakti as a mode of worship for all - including the Shudras and the outcastes. As a Bhakti propagandist, Nimbarka did not observe caste distinctions and even tried to eradicate untouchability. He is believed to have been a younger contemporary of Ramanuja. He spent most of his time in Vrindavan near Mathura in north India. He believed in total devotion to Krishna and Radha. Another south Indian Vaishhavite Bhakti philosopher was Madhava, who belonged to the thirteenth century. Like Ramanuja, he too did not dispute the orthodox Brahminical opinion that was staunchly opposed to the idea of allowing Shudras to read and study Vedic texts. He believed that Bhakti provided alternate avenues of worship to the Shudras. His philosophical system was based on the Bhagvat Purana. Later, during the Sultanate period in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, many popular socio-religious movements in North India, Bengal and Maharashtra, also arose. We shall read about these in Chapter 9 ahead. Tantrism

The practices of Bhakti, puja, and tirthayatra gained popularity in early medieval times. Being open to members of all vamas they achieved universal appeal and became an inextricable part of all medieval religions. Tantrism also emerged as a force to reckon with in early medieval society. R.S. Sharma 4 says that the Tantras served an important social purpose by prescribing numerous rituals and remedies not only for day-to-day common ailments and diseases but also for snake-bites, bites by poisonous insects and mice, and assaults by a ghost-turned-assailant. Remedial measures, to protect cereals and food grains from mice and vermin, find ample mention in the records of the period. Rites and occult practices were supposed to avert the adverse impact of poison, planetary movements and diseases. Medication was supposed to be administered along with religious chants and incantations. The medieval tantrika also acted as

106

*** Interpreting Medieval India ❖

physician and astrologer jyotishi.The. practice continues even now in Nepal and Mithila where the tantrika foretells the future and the dates of eclipses and festivals. Tantrism laid down numerous magical rituals to achieve liberation (mukti) and happiness (bhukti), and in fact to find fulfillment for all kinds of material desires. D.N. Jha says that Tantrism originated in backward tribal areas, where Brahmin settlements took place after they were donated land. The Brahmin beneficiaries interacted with the local people and, in the process, appropriated their deities, especially the female ones. To R.S. Sharma, Tantrism was the ultimate proof of the Brahminical colonisation of tribal areas through the process of land grants. Land grants gave rise not only to serfdom in the outer circle but also to the cults of Bhakti and Tantrism, all of which eventually penetrated Madhyadda.5 He argues that the problem of the origin of Tantrism can be looked at from diverse perspectives like: (i) the acculturation of peripheral areas through land grants made to monks and Brahmins; (ii) the aboriginal background of the Tantric mother goddesses; (iii) the antiquity and distribution of the pithas; (iv) the association of the Sabaras and the Matailgas with the different Tantras; (v) the dates and provenance of the Tantric texts; and finally the survival of Tantrism. All these considerations have led historians to believe that the cult of Tantrism originated in the outer, tribal circles and not in Madhyadda. Winternitz thinks that the Tantras and the curious religious excrescences described in them are not drawn from the popular traditions of either the aboriginal inhabitants or of the Aryan immigrants, but they are the pseudo-scientific impositions of theologians. While the efforts of the priests to invent gainful rituals cannot be discounted, the close connection of Tantrism with aboriginal areas, tribes, and goddesses cannot be ignored. The mystic diagrams (yantras), and the sacred chakras or circles invented by the Saktas, and the different rituals observed by the Tantric worshipers, possibly continued the tradition of the veneration of stone tools and weapons as cult symbols, which were often also associated with fertility rites. The confrontation between the Brahmins and the tribal people resulted in major social and economic problems which were partly resolved through Tantrism. On the one hand, the new religion allowed admittance to women, Shudras and aborigines; on the other hand, it implicitly endorsed the existing social and feudal hierarchy. Therefore, it was acceptable to all sections of people. It was a religious attempt at social reconciliation and integration rather than at the accentuation of the social conflict. Even Buddhism had closed its doors to slaves and debtors, but the Tantric chakra opened its doors to all sections of people, irrespective of vama, caste, gender and other considerations.

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 750-1200) ❖

107

Tantrism popularized puja and adopted the Bhakti doctrine of complete surrender to god and the guru by making various offerings to them. It found sanction with various temples which housed Siva, Vishnu, Sakti, and many new folk divinities; monastic organizations which gave paramount importance to the guru or the acharya; and finally a vast corpus of literature which embodied Tantric traditions and practices. It was, therefore, in effect, identical with Hinduism in medieval times. Its outlook was highly secular and materialistic, and no other sect was as close to the lives of various classes of people as it was. This was perhaps the reason for being in vogue in India for a long period of time, and in some ways survives even today. N.N. Bhattacharya, however, says that the popular belief that Tantra is the same as Saktism is evidently wrong.6 This misunderstanding is due to the fact that Tantra attaches supreme importance to the- doctrine of Sakti. But this doctrine is not the feature of Saktism alone. By the time Tantrism became a force in early medieval times, Jainism and Buddhism had ceased to offer any serious challenge to Brahminism. Some people assign psychosexual origins to Tantrism, and others explain its rise and growth in purely spiritual arid mystic terms. But a convincing explanation for the series of events that took place in medieval India has not really been provided. In Bengal, Manasa found her way into the Brahminical religious system during the early phase of the Pala rule. In Orissa, Maninageshvari was elevated to a place of importance in the fifth and sixth centuries through royal donations. The practice of making human sacrifices to placate her are still existent. In the same region, Stambheshvari, a goddess associated with the ancient Shaulika tribe, was absorbed into the Brahminical fold through the patronage of the Sulki rulers. In Tamil Nadu the fish-eyed goddess, Minaksi, was similarly brought into the Brahminical cult through the patronage of the Pandya rulers. At Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh, the goddess Padmavati, who has Tantric powers, had a temple built in her name in the eighth century. Almost all the temples of sixty-four yoginis (mother goddess in sixtyfour forms) were built in the tribal belt of eastern Madhya Pradesh and Orissa during early medieval times, according to N.N. Bhattacharya7. Several other tribal deities with strange-sounding names like - Ghasmari, Shavari, Chandali and Dombini were integrated into the Tantric Brahminical tradition through interaction with the tribal people. Several extant Tantric texts have unquestionable tribal leanings like in the Yoginitantra, the Matangaparameshvaratantra and the Vtljrayoginisadhana. Bhattacharya feels that the inclusion of tribal cults and deities not only consolidated Brahminical cultural hegemony outside mid-India but also led to a demographic explosion in the world of divinity, giving

108

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

rise to the later hyperbolic statement about India having 330 million gods. Although the cult of the mother goddess has always existed in earlier times, it became central to Tantrism. Unlike the traditional Brahminical religion, it did not ignore women. A Tantric text tells us that a woman is bom in the family (kula) of the Great Mother and so one should not so much as lay a finger upon her, not even with a flower. Tantrism not only allowed the initiation of women into the fold, but also permitted them to become preceptors or gurus. Women enjoyed a higher status in tribal belts, where the cult of the mother goddess was widely prevalent. Since, women have always been bracketed with Shudras, it was only proper that their ritual status be also raised, and this was done by initiating them into the Tantric fold. The cult of the mother goddess had prevailed in the country from a much earlier time, but it was only in the sixth century or so that it began to find mention in the literature of the Buddhist and Brahminical sects. The aboriginal mother goddesses came to be worshipped in the form of Sakti or Buddhist Tara. Saktism emerged as a religious factor in the sixth century and became a strong force from the ninth century onwards. The names of the mother goddess, in different areas, reveal their aboriginal origin. Popular Tantrism emphasized orgiastic rites involving addiction to the five features of: makaras-matsya (fish), mamsa (meat), madya (intoxicating drink), maithuna (sex), and mudra (physical gesture). It introduced a strong element of eroticism in the arts. Erotic depictions abound in the temples of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan (e.g. Bavka, Motap, Sunak, Galteshvara, Dabhoi, Eklingaji, Nagda, etc.), Orissa (Bhuvaneshvara), Karnataka (Halebid, Begali, and Belur) and Tamil Nadu (Madura and Kanchipuram). But these portrayals are most prominent in Konarak and Khajuraho. The widespread influence of Tantric cults and their erotic elements on the artistic idiom and motifs is thus unquestionable. It must be emphasized that patronage of high spiritualism symbolized by grand temple structures and of the extreme sensuality seen in the sculpture of the period came from the feudal landed aristocracy headed by the rulers themselves, whose ideology was a curious amalgam of the sacred and the profane. Devangana Desai8 argues that the patronage of Tantrism is reflective of feudal degeneration as it had only two focus areas - war and sex. But this seems to be a rather narrow and conservative explanation of the emergence of Tantrism. B.D. Chattopadhyaya9 however, says that the early medieval attitude towards the world of Tantrism was ambivalent. He explains that apart from its obscure, esoteric belief systems, another reason was the wide prevalence and clientele of Tantrism.

Illllllj

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

109*

Sankaracharya

Six classical philosophical schools have been in existence in India since ancient times. But it was the philosophy of the Vedanta which became the most popular' during the early medieval period. It was Sankaracharya (788-820) who systematized the philosophy of Vedanta by stressing upon the principle of monism (Kevala Advaita or Absolute Non-dualism). Sankaracharya gave an entirely new turn to the Hindu revival movement by providing it with a solid philosophical background through the reinterpretation of ancient Indian scriptures, particularly the Upanishads. Sankaracharya advocated the philosophy of Advaita, the monism of the Vedanta, by providing a brilliant exposition of the entire range of Vedic religions and spiritual thought. Sankaracharya was a Nambudiri Brahmin from the Malabar. He was originally a worshipper of Siva. Having lost his father in early childhood, Sankaracharya became a sanyasi while in his teens and embarked upon a solitary quest for true knowledge and wisdom. A genius and child prodigy, he received instructions in religious scriptures and philosophy at Kashi. He was bom at Kaladi in Malabar, and passed away at Kedar Nath at the age of thirty-two. Sankaracharya started a vigorous campaign for the revival of Hinduism based on the solid foundation of Vedic philosophy and ancient Indian cultural tradition. To stem the growing tide of Buddhist and Jain popularity, he re-organised the ascetic order of the sanyasis on the pattern of the Buddhist Sangha and launched a campaign for the popularization of Hinduism. He composed extensive commentaries on the Brahmasutras and the chief Upanishads and traveled throughout India* preaching his doctrines. He founded a number of mathas in different part of India to highlight the cultural unity of India. The mathas also became centers of Vedic advocacy. The mathas were located in Jaganathpuri in the East, Sringeri in the South, Dwarka in the West and Badrinath in the North. In order to harmonize the many paradoxes of Vedic tradition, Sankaracharya had to take recourse to a philosophy of the ‘double standard of truth’ (already known in Buddhism). It meant that on the every-day level of truth the world had been spun into existence by Brahma, and it went through an evolutionary process similar to that taught by the Sankhya school of philosophy. But at the highest level of truth, the entire universe including the existence of God was unreal. It was at best a maya, an illusion and a figment of one’s imagination. Sankarcharya was of the view that the only reality was that of Brahman, the impersonal world soul of the Upanishads with which the individual soul was identical. Sankaracharya also believed that God had no existence apart from the created world and any opinion held to the

110

*** Interpreting Medieval India ❖

contrary was only a matter of ignorance and misperception. According to him the road to salvation lay in the recognition that there was no difference between God and the beings he had created. At the deepest level of mediation, nirvikalpa samadhi , the complete identity between God and the individual is realised. It is the goal of everyone to know, realise, feel and display in action this identity. When this is accomplished all suffering comes to an end and one is freed from the cycle of birth and death. Sankaracharya calls this Sachidanand Brahaman. The philosophy of Sankaracharya had far reaching consequences for Indian society. The monastic institutions (mathas) which he established in all four comers of India served as an effective step towards the physical and spiritual unification of India. By reformulating Hinduism, he posed the most serious challenge to Buddhism and Jainism but his real strength lies in his brilliant dialectic. His tremendous hold over language enabled him to resolve ostensibly contradictory passages of the Upanishads and to evolve a consistent and coherent order of things that has prevailed till date. 1 Later, Ramanuja combined Sankara’s Advaitavada with the Vaishnava Pancharatra which claimed that Vishnu was the center of the universe. The impact of Ramanuja’s, writings and his long service as a priest at the famous Vishnu temple at Srinangam made his ideas widely known to Vaishnavites and he is justly regarded as the founder of Srivaishnavism. The Vedantic philosophy of Sankaracharya was revived by Vivekanand in the second half of the nineteenth century.

REGIONAL LITERATURE The regionalisation of Indian culture also began with the emergence of various regional kingdoms. Regional languages had rich repositories of literature which challenged the monopoly of Sanskrit literature. Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya attained their specific regional identity. The growth of various sects and religious movements made a great impact on this development of regional languages and literatures. Some of the founders of these sects did not know Sanskrit at all and therefore expressed themselves in their regional languages. However, even the Brahmins amongst them, who knew Sanskrit, were eager to communicate with people in regional languages. Moreover, many of the saintly poets who inspired these movements created great works of literature and thus enriched the regional languages. During the Chola period education, based on the epics and the Purarias, was imparted through temple discourses. There were colleges and other institutions for higher education. The period was marked by the

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 750-1200) ❖

111

growth of Tamil classics like the Sibakasindamam, Kamban’s Ramayana, and others. Not too many books were composed in Sanskrit. Rajaraja I was the subject of two works - Rajarajesvara Natakam, a play and Rajaraja Vijayam, a poem. The Chalukya period also witnessed a phenomenal growth in literature, both in Sanskrit and in Kannada. Bihana. the court poet of Vikramadiya VI, was amongst the most eminent Sanskrit writers of the period. Bilhana’s Vikramankacharita is a mahakavya. Bilhana authored a number of other works as well. The great jurist Vijramaditya, penned Mitaksqra, a commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smrifi, Somesvara III was the author of an encyclopadedic work entitled, Manasollasa or the Abhilashitarha-chintamani. Kannada literature reached its zenith under the Chalukyas. Pampa, Ponna and Ranna were the most noteworthy Kannada writers of the tenth century. Of the three, Ranna was the court poet of Satyasraya, while the other two belonged to earlier decades. Nagavarma I was another poet of fame. He authored the Chandombudhi, a prosodic work, and the earliest of its kind in Kannada. He also wrote the Karnataka-Kandambari which is based on Bana’s celebrated romance in Sanskrit Another writer of note was Dugasimha, a minister under Jayasimha II, and the author of^nchatantra. The Virasaiva mystics, especially Basava, contributed to the development 'of Kannada language and literature, particularly prose literature. They brought into existence the Vachana literature to make abstruse philosophical ideas comprehensible to the common man in simple language. The Senas gave a great impetus to the development of Sanskrit literature. Bhaskaracharya, the famous astronomer and mathematician, belonged to this period. Bhaskaratharya’s father, Mahesvara (also known as Kavisvara), wrote two works on astrology, Sekhara arid Laghutika^ Siddhanta Siromani, a treatise on algebra, composed in Sanskrit in 1150 and Karanakuthuhala are among Bhaskaracharyajs best known works. His son Lakshmidhara and his grandson Changadeva were the court astrologers of Jaitugi and Simhana respectively. Bhaskaracharya’s grand­ nephew Anantadeva, a protege of Simhana, was a master of the three branches of astronomy and wrote a commentary on Varahamihira’s Brihat Jataka on one chapter of Brahmagupta’s Brahmasphuta Siddhana. The Kakatiya rulers extended liberal patronage to Sanskrit. Several eminent Sanskrit writers and poets authored inscriptions, which could well be understood as kavya works. Of these writers, Achintendra was commissioned by Rudradeva to compose the Prasasti embodies in the Anumakonda inscription. Telugu literature also flourished in the Kakatiya kingdom. Several inscriptions were composed either partly or wholly in Telugu verse, like the inscriptions at Gudur (Beta II), Karimnagar (Gangadhara),

112

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Upparapalle (Kata) and Konnidena (Opilisiddhi). New religious movements like Vaishnavism and Virasaivism gave an added impetus to Telugu literature. Several works on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, were produced during this period. The earliest and the most popular Telugu work on the Ramayana is Tikkan’s Nirvachanoltatra-Ramayanam. The Andhra Mahabharata, begun by Nannayuabhatta in the eleventh century ad, was completed by Tikkana Somayaji, the minister and poet laureate of the Chola king in the thirteenth century.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE: EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL STYLES During the early medieval period art took its own regional form. The most notable development could be observed in the temples and cave paintings of the period. The temples were beautifully constructed because they were places of worship. They were also meant to symbolize the power, wealth and devotion of the patron. Historians tend to classify temples in India on the basis of geographical location and stylistic differences. They have been classified as belonging to the Dravida, the Nagara and the Vesara styles. Dravida temples are located primarily in south India. They have a polygonal and often octagonal sikhara and a pyramidal vimana or sanctuary. These temples are best known for their towering gopurams or gate towers. The Nagara temples, which are located in north India, have very characteristic horizontal tiers in the exterior and a circular plan of the sanctuary (vimana). The surmounting part is known as a sikhara, which is pointed. The essential plan includes an inner chamber also known as the garbhagriha, where the divine image is placed, a pavilion or mandapa for the assembly of devotees, an antarala or vestibule connecting the vimana and the mandapa, and the pradakshinapatha or the circumambulatory passage round the sanctum. However, the architecture of some north Indian temples bears a distinct influence of the south. For instance, the famous Vaital Deva temple at Bhuvanesvara has a gopuram type of sikhara. The Vesara temples are located in the Deccan and have an apsidal type of vimana. Devangana Desai points out that each regional school, though influenced to a certain extent by extraneous trends, exhibited a fixed architectural conception and structural design, and variations were possible only within a limited framework. The proponents of the ‘Indian feudalism’ model like R.S. Sharma, Devangana Desai and D.N. Jha, feel that the art of the period reflects the cultural impact of feudalism. D.N. Jha10 considers the evolution of the regional styles of architecture during the early medieval period as

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

113

‘a remarkable assertion of regionalism’. Devangana Desai11 says that the art of the period was supported mainly by the kings of different principalities, feudatories, military chiefs, etc., who alone could own and donate land to religious institutions. R.S. Sharma12 also feels that circumstances, both material and political, were conducive to the extensive construction of temples. Historians are of the view that obstructions in trade functioned as an impediment of sorts, because the wealth of feudatories and kings could not be used to enhance either craft production, or trade and commerce, and instead had to be re-directed into the construction of bigger and better temples, which proclaimed the glory and opulence of the reigning king. However, R. Champaklakshmi13 says that the temple architecture played an important role in the cultural integration of the region. The evolution of distinctive cultural regions coincided with the formation of regional states as in the case of Orissa under the Eastern Gangas and Tamil Nadu under the Cholas. The temples in fact gave ample scope for the king’s constant intervention in local affairs and the ties that may have existed between the local temples and the local elite were broken by the expanding economy of the temple. They functioned as a counterweight to the divisive forces prevailing in the regional kingdoms. Dravida Style: Pallava and Chola

The most distinguished temples in south India are those of the Pallavas and the Cholas. Each Pallava ruler had a distinct style of functioning. The famous five chariots (Katkas') at Mammalipuram seem to have been constructed in the earlier decades of the seventh century. The five rathas are all monoliths, cut from a series of granite stones. They are fashioned after the vihara or monastery, square or oblong at the base and pyramidal at the top. The largest of these, which is known as the Dharmaraja ratha has the main features of the Pallava temple-pillars in the portico with rampant lions, a pyramidal tower and a turreted roof. The Bhima, Ganesh and Sahadeva rathas are oblong in plan and are based on the architectural plan of the Chaitya hall. The Pallavas introduced the art of excavating temples from rocks. In fact, the Dravidian style of temple architecture began with the Pallava rule. It was a gradual evolution starting from cave temples to monolithic rathas and finally culminating in structural temples. Temple architecture developed in four stages. Probably it was Mahendravarman I who first introduced rock-cut temples. Pallava temples, structured in a particular style and manner, can well be located at places like Mandagappattu, Mahendravadi, Mamandur, Dalavanur, Truchirappalli, Vallam, Siyamangalam and Tirukalukkunram.

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

PHOTOGRAPH 1: SHORE TEMPLE AT MAMALLAPURAM, TAMIL NADU

The second stage of Pallava architecture is represented by the monolithic rathas and Mandapas found at Mamallapuram. Narasimhavarman I can well be accredited with the construction of these wonderful architectural monuments. The five rathas, popularly called the Panchapanadava rathas, signify the five different styles of temple architecture. The mandapas contain "beautiful wall sculptures. It was Rajasimha who is said to have introduced the structural temples. These temples were built by using soft sand rocks. The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi and the Shore temple at Mamallapuram (see photograph 1) remain the finest examples of the early structural temples of the Pallavas. The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi is an architectural masterpiece. The Vaikundaperumal, Muktheeswara and Matagenswara temples at Kanchipuram are located in the last phase of Pallava temple architecture. These temples are also stunning and outstanding in terms of grandeur and beauty. The Cholas continued and developed the art tradition of the Pallavas and the Pandyas, whom they succeeded. Under the Cholas, temples emerged as the centre of activity. They were not only places of worship but also the hub of economic, political and cultural activities. Village assembly meetings were invariably held in the temple mandapas. Temples also grew as centres of craft production. The making of bronze images

v Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

115

was the most distinctive feature of craft production. Many cultural activities like music and dance also prospered in temples. The best temples of the Chola Period (900-1150) are the Brihadesvara temple at Tanjore and the temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Henceforth, the lion motif of the Pallavas is abandoned and the pillars and capitals are moulded with greater refinement. The exterior is somewhat simpler in construction and the tower or vimana is about fifty feet high. Elsewhere, particularly in the tenure of Rajaraja the Great (985-1018), the tower reaches a height of 190 feet. The Tanjore temple is

PHOTOGRAPH 2: RAJRAJESVARA OR BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE BUILT BY THE CHOLAS, TAMIL NADU

116

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

noted for its vimana or tower. The famous Siva temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, thirty-eight miles to the north-east of Tanjore, has been' constructed in pretty much the same style, though it is larger in plan and is structurally more elaborate. Some Chola temples at Thanjavur and Kalahasti contain beautiful portrait images of royal personages, like those of Rajaraja I and his queen Lokamahadevi and of Rajendra I and his queen Cholamahadevi. These temples have certain architectural peculiarities, namely the very large abacus of the capital, the angular form of the bracket, the decorative plaster between the niches, the development of the old niche­ reliefs into full round statues and the development of the makara torana. The replacement of brick by stone structures also took place steadily under the cholas. In the four-century rule of the Cholas, the entire Tamil country was studded with temples and the Chola art traditions were adopted in Sri Lanka and in other parts of South India. The chief feature of a Chola temple is the vimana or the tower, which was later eclipsed by the richly ornamented gopuram or gateway. In the Brihadeswara or Rajarajesvara temple, dedicated to Lord Siva, the vimana or the tower is about fifty-seven metres high upon a square, comprising thirteen successive storeys. It is crowned by a single block of granite, which is seven and a half metres high and weighs about eighty tonnes or so. The Rajarajeshvara temple at Thanjavur had the tallest ever shikhara of the times. Constructing it was not easy because there were no cranes in those days and the stones, required for the upper-most part of the shikhara and which weighed as much as ninety tonnes, were just about too heavy

PHOTOGRAPH 3: GOPURAS AT THE ENTRANCE OF RAJRAJESVARA TEMPLE, TAMIL NADU

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

117

to lift manually. So the architects built an inclined path to the top of the temple, placed each boulder atop a roller and rolled it all the way up to the top. Probably, the path started more than four kilometres away so that it would not be too steep. Nagara Style: Orissa and Khajuraho

The temple-building activity started in Orissa roughly from the middle of the eighth century ad and reached its culmination point in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The temples here followed a common structural plan with two apartments. The deul, like the vimana of temples in the south, enshrine the image and are surmounted by a tower. The antara/a or front porch is known as the jagamohan. It is usually square-shaped and has a pyramidal roof. Sometimes one or two extra mandapas are added in alignment with the jagamohan. The Lingaraja temple at Bhuvanesvara (1000) is acclaimed as one of the finest temples in Orissa. A unique feature of this temple is that it has been constructed without mortar. The outer walls are lavishly carved and embellished with sculptures of human figures. The famous Jagannath temple consists of four structures in a single alignment, with the bhogmandir, the natamandir, the jagamohan and the deul or the inner sanctuary placed in a row from east to west. It is surmounted by a conical tower, which is nearly 192 feet high. The entrance to the shrine has engravings of legendary episodes in Krishna’s life; the sanctum has the holy images of Jagannath, his brother Balarama, and his sister Subhadra etched upon it. The Sun temple at Konarak, located about twenty miles to the north­ east of Puri, was constructed by the eastern Ganga king, Narasimha Deva (1238-64), at a time when the construction of temples in Orissa was at its peak. The structure as a whole is conceived of as a chariot or a ratha on twenty-four wheels with the Sun god riding upon it. Engravings on the outer walls of the temple at Konark, like the temples at Khajuraho, have an erotic import, depicting the maithuna ritual associated with Tantrism. The Khajuraho group of temples was built during the reign of the Chandellas between 950 and 1050. These temples, free-standing as they are, are not enclosed within a wall, but are located on a high terrace of solid masonry. An architectural feature of note is the number of pronounced vertical projections, with a range of open porches and overhanging caves running horizontally around the temple, devised to provide the temple with a better-lit appearance. They have graceful proportions and grand surface decorations. Temples were usually divided into three sections: the garbhagriha, or the sanctum proper; the mandapa, or the reception lounge; and the ardhamandapa or the entrance portico

PHOTOGRAPH 4: MAHADEVA TEMPLE AT KHAJURAHO, MADHYA PRADESH

arranged in a crucifix pattern. The exterior is decorated with parallel friezes in high relief. Like the temples of Orissa, those at Khajuraho too have erotic scenes carved in stone, again deeply influenced by the Tantric ritual of maithuna. The Khajuraho complex contained royal tempies where commoners were not allowed entry. The temples had elaborately carved sculptures. The ruined temples of Gujarat, set up under the Solankis, also show evidence of artwork. The Jain temples at Mount Abu are constructed entirely of marble. These domed shrines with pillared halls and beautiful ornamentation, are dated roughly between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The other early medieval Indian temples of central India include the famous Teli-ka-mandir or the oil-man’s temple in Gwalior and the Sasbahu Vaishnava temples in the same fort. The former is in a way unique because it is crowned by a barrel-vaulted-roof. The Sas-bahu temples have been constructed in the same style. The step-wells or the vavs are uniquely characteristic of temples in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Romila Thapar14 says that a large well of considerable depth was reached by a flight of stairs and was enclosed by basement galleries. These were decorated with icons and mythological scenes. The step-wells were multi-storeyed and were dug deep into the

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

119

earth. Wells provided better irrigation facilities, water and helped to combat the summer heat. Thus, while temples in north India had curvilinear sikharas, temples in the south had terraced pyramidal towers, the dome of which was called the sikhara. Temples in the Deccan welded both features and were known as vesaras. The Ladkhan temple at Aihole of 5th century is an example of an earlier vesara style. It is very low and flat and its walls consist of stone slabs set between heavy square pilasters and a bracket capital. On the pillars of the porch are figures of the river goddess. The walls have central projecting niches with reliefs. The windows are stone slabs, perforated in beautiful designs. The great Virupaksha temple, dedicated to Siva as Lokesvara by Vikramaditya H’s queen (740), is supposed to be the work of masons from Kanchipuram in the South. The main shrine with a pradakshinapassage is distinct from the mandapam which is pillared with solid walls and pierced stone windows. The square sikhara consists of clearly defined storeys, each of considerable elevation. The sculptures include representations of Siva, Nagas and Naginis and scenes from the Ramayana. The temple is built of very large, closely jointed blocks of stone, with no use made of mortar, similar to the Dravidian temples of the South. Vesara Style: Chalukya, Rashtrakuta and Hoysala

The Chalukyas were great patrons of art. They developed the vesara style in the building of structural temples. The structural temples of the Chalukyas are located in Aihole, Badami and PattadakaL Cave temple architecture achieved tremendous fame under the Chalukyas. Their cave temples are found in Ajanta, Ellora and Nasik. The best specimens of Chalukya paintings can be seen in the Badami cave temple and in the Ajanta caves. The reception given to a Persian embassy by Pulakesin II is depicted in a painting at Ajanta. The Chalukya temples may be divided into two stages. The first stage is represented by temples at Aihole and Badami. There are almost seventy temples at Aihole. Among the temples at Badami, the Muktheeswara temple and the Melagutti Sivalaya are best known for their architectural beauty. A group of four rock-cut temples at Badami are marked by high workmanship. The walls and pillared halls are adorned by beautiful images of gods and human beings. The second stage is represented by the temples at PattadakaL There are ten temples here, four in the style of temples in the north, and the remaining six in Dravidian style. The Papanatha temple is the best known

120

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

swrr

in terms of being modeled on the style of temples in the north. The Sangamesvara temple and the Virupaksha temple are constructed in Dravidian style. The Virupaksha temple is inspired by the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. It was built by one of the queens of Vikramaditya II. Sculptors were brought in from Kanchi for the construction of temples. The Rashtrakutas carried on with the Chalukya mission of building temples. They built the rock-cut shrines and temples of Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad. The Kailasa temple at Ellora was carved out in the time of the Rashtrakuta ruler, Krishna II. This famous rock-cut shrine is a model of a complete structural temple, simulating a free floating structure accomplished by doing away with superfluous rocks. It consists of a linga shrine with a Dravidian sikhara, a flat-roofed mandapam supported by as many as sixteen pillars and equipped with a separate porch for the sacred bull Nandi. The courtyard of the temple is entered through a low gopuram or gateway and has detached shrines on the edge of the perambulation terrace of the vimana proper. The Elephanta cave is also a Rashtrakuta contribution. Elephanta, an island near Bombay, was originally known as Sripuri. The Portuguese, on seeing the large figure of an elephant, decided to call it Elephanta. The sculptural art of the Rashtrakutas reached its zenith in this place. There is a close affinity between the sculptures at Ellora and those in Elephanta. They might have been carved by the same craftsmen. At the entrance to the sanctum there are huge figures of dwara-palakas. In the walls of the prakara around the sanctum there are niches containing the images of Siva in various forms - Nataraja, Gangadhara, Ardhanareesvara and Somaskanda. The most imposing figure of this temple is that of Trimurthi. The sculpture is six metres high. It is said to represent the three aspects of Shiva as the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. Elephanta cave is a complex of six rock-cut temples on the island of Elephanta, or Gharapuri, in Mumbai harbour. They were begun in the middle of the sixth century, by either the Traikutaka or the Kalachuri dynasties of Maharashtra, and more were added between the eighth and the tenth centuries by the Rashtrakuta dynasty. Rather than being constructed from separate parts, they are, like the temples at Ellora, sculpted from solid rock. The centrepiece of the group is a large temple to Shiva, some 40 m (130 ft) long, 37 m (123 ft) wide, and 5 m (18 ft) high. Its ceiling, supported by rows of pillars, was originally decorated with frescoes, and on its walls is a series of panels representing the many aspects of Shiva: as Nataraja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance; as Yageshvara, Lord of the Yogis; the slayer of the demon Andhaka; his marriage to Parvati; and restraining the waters of the Ganga. The focal point of the temple is the Maheshmurti or the Trimurti, a three-headed bust

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 750-1200) ❖

121

antt

representing Brahma as creator, Vishnu as preserver, and Shiva as destroyer. The Hoysalas, who succeeded the later Chalukyas and who ruled over the Mysore plateau in the twelth and thirteenth centuries ad evolved a new style of architecture. Their temples often had their principal entrance not at the front but at the sides and were elaborately carved. In general, the Hoysala temples comprise a central structure surrounded by walls containing a number of cells with a pillared verandha or cloister in front, In many cases, the Hoysala temples are not single but double, with their essential parts duplicated. Another notable feature was the star shape external walls of the main shrine, set on a high platform, which was much wider than the temple. The shape of the pillar and its capital was another remarkable feature of this style. The best known amongst these is the famous Hoysalesvara temple at Halebid. It is a double temple - two exactly alike structures built side by side and connected by their side transepts. The infinite wealth of sculptural wealth of this temple makes it one of the most remarkable monuments of the world. Paintings

The paintings of Ajanta, Ellora and Bagh are the most astonishing examples of regional art in the early medieval period. The subject matter of the Ajanta paintings is largely about the life of the Buddha, and his previous births as depicted in the Jatakas. It includes palace scenes, flying apsaras and objects inspired from nature etched on the entire area including the ceiling. The process involved rock chiselling, followed by a mud and dung plastering. The plaster was then levelled and polished with a trowel, followed by a coat of fine white lime-wash. The entire ground was then allowed to dry, and the outlines were drawn by a brush stroke, keeping the colour scheme in mind. The paintings in caves XVII, XXI, XXVII and especially I and II belong to the late sixth and early seventh centuries. The paintings of Caves I and II belong to an era of decadence in social life. The ceiling paintings in Cave I represent bacchanalian drinking scenes, evocative of the Gandhara and Mathura paintings. The figure of the great Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara, with a blue lotus in his hand, is most impressive. The pose described imparts a feeling of grace and movement. The Chola paintings also evolved through the wall paintings. The best examples are those of the Vijayala Cholesvara and Rajarajesvara temples. On the walls of the Vijalaya Cholesvara temple, large painted figures of Mahakala, Devi and Siva are still visible. In the Rajarajesvara temple scenes representing Siva in his abode at Kailasa as Nataraja and Tripurantaka are painted on the walls in large and forceful compostions.

gw® lllll

mH

122

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Sculpture

The early medieval period also witnessed great strides in the field of sculpture, especially under the Cholas. The Pallavas also contributed to the development of sculpture. Apart from the sculptures found in the temples, the ‘Open Art Gallery’ at Mamallapuram remains an important monument bearing the sculptural beauty of this period. The Descent of the Ganges or the Penance of Arjuna is also a fresco painting in stone. The minute details as well as the theme of these sculptures - which depict lice-picking monkeys, huge elephants, and the figure of the ‘ascetic cat’ standing erect - speak in volumes about the immense talent of the sculptor. The three main features of Chola sculpture are portraits, icons and decorative sculpture. There are three well-preserved and nearly life-size portraits on the walls of the Kuranganatha temple at Srinivasanallyur, and several others in the Nagesvara temple at Kumbhakonam. Image of Chola Bronze Sculpture

The Siva temple at Tiruvalisvarm is a veritable museum of early Chola iconography. The walls of the Brihadesvara temples at Tanjore and GangaikondaCholapuram contain numerous icons. The Chola sculptors started bronze-casting sometime around the middle of the ninth century. The Cholas are particularly well known for their Nataraja bronzes (bronze statues of Nataraja or the dancing Siva) which are master pieces of this medium of art. The best example is that of the Nataraja image in the Nagesvara temple at Kumbhakonam. The process of the manufacturing of the bronze images was very interesting. First, an image was made of wax. This was then covered with clay and allowed to diy. It was then heated, and a tiny perforation was made in the clay cover. Molten wax was drained out through this hole and was poured into the clay mould through the hole. Once the metal cooled and solidified, the clay cover was carefully removed, and the image was cleaned and polished. A group of three bronzes of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita with Hanuman at their feet from Tirukkadaiyur (Tanjor District) give evidence of how finessed the Chola art of bronze-making in the reign of Rajaraja I was.

NOTES 1. M.G.S. Narayanan and Kesavan Veluthat., ‘Bhakti Movement in South India’, in D.N. Jha (ed.), The Feudal Order, Manohar, Delhi, 2002 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid.

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 750-1200) ❖

123~

4. R.S. Shanna, ‘Material Milieu of Tantricism’ in D.N.Jha (ed.), The Feudal Order, Manohar, Delhi, 2002. 5. Ibid. 6. N.N. Bhattacharya, History of Tantric Religion, Manohar, Delhi, 1982. 7. Ibid. 8. Devangana Desai, ‘Art Under Feudalism in India’, in D.N.Jha (ed.), The Feudal Order, Manohar, Delhi, 2002, Map.489. Also see his Erotic Sculpture of India, New Delhi, 1975. 9. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, ‘Religion in Royal Household: A Study of Some Aspects of Karpuramanjari’, in The Making of Early Medieval India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1994, p.231. 10. D.N. Jha, Early India: A Concise History, pp.187-88, Manohar, Delhi, 2004 11. ' Devangana Desai, ‘Art under Feudalism in India’, in D.N.Jha (ed.), The Feudal Order, Manohar, Delhi, 2002, p.488. 12. R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism, p.59. 13. R. Champaklakshmi,‘State and Economy: South India, circa 400-1300’, in Romila Thapar (ed.), Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1995, p.299. 14. Romila Thapar, Early India: from the Origins to 1300, Peguin, Delhi, 2002, p.476.

Unit II Delhi Sultanate

Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ♦

RISE OF ISLAM >

Theories of the Rise of Islam

>

Islamic Law

*

THE ARABS IN SIND

*

THE GHAZNAVIDS: NATURE OF TURKISH CAMPAIGNS >

*

GHORIAN INVASIONS

> ♦

*

Mohammad Ghori (1175-1206)

CAUSES OF THE SUCCESS OF THE TURKS >

*

Mahmud of Ghazna (997-1030)

Issue of Indian and Foreign: The ‘Other’ in Sources

DELHI SULTANATE UNDER BANDAGANS >

Iltutmish (1210-36)

>

Raziya (1236-40)

>

Balban (1266-87)

IMPACT: URBAN CENTRES, TECHNOLOGY AND RURAL SOCIETY

128

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

he tenth and the eleventh centuries in North India were featured with emergence of small regional kingdoms. Beyond the north-west frontiers of India, in Central Asia, kingdoms and empires were rising to prominence under Islamic influence. In that process two kingdoms emerged prominent, centred around the two cities of Ghazna and Ghur. The situations in Central Asia brought the rulers of these two kingdoms to India leading to the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate. Before we go into the details of the process of formation of the Delhi Sultanate, it is worthwhile to look at the rise of Islam, under whose influence it was established in India.

T

RISE OF ISLAM Arabia emerged as the centre of a new religious movement called Islam in the beginning of the seventh century ad. It is a peninsula surrounded by the Red Sea in the west, the Arabian Sea in the south and the Persian Gulf in the east. Most of the peninsula is either desert or dry grassland. There are no perennial rivers in Arabia due to minimal rainfall, but there are a number of oases formed by springs. The central part of western Arabia is called Hijaz. The famous cities of Mecca and Madina, where the genesis of early Islam was laid, are situated in Hijaz. Traditionally the inhabitants of central, northern and western Arabia had led a pastoral, nomadic life of sorts, based on camel-rearing. The camel pastoralists, known as the beduins, moved from one oasis to another along with their animals and over a period of time understood how harsh the environment was. At that time there were no urban centres in Arabia proper and no state formation had taken place. The beduin tribes, and the people of the peninsula as a whole, referred to themselves as the Arabs. The possession of a common language contributed towards providing the dispersed Arab tribes with something that approximated a semblance of cultural unity, though they had neither a state structure nor political cohesiveness. By the beginning of the fifth century, a few urban centres had come up in Yemen. They were under the rule of independent chieftains. Yemen was brought under the consolidated rule of Abkarib Asad who managed to extract tributes from the beduin tribes. In the sixth century, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires fought with each other for the control of Syria and Palestine. In the course of their struggle for supremacy in west Asia, these empires had extended control to parts of the Arabian Peninsula, which was undergoing a slow and gradual change. Some of the Arabian tribes had taken to trade as their main occupation and gave up nomadic pastoralism. The dislocation of the international route, linking the Persian Gulf with Iraq, gave an added

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

129 iSSSSS

momentum to Arabian trade. The cause of this route disruption is usually attributed to the Sassanid-Byzantine conflict. Yemen now became an important transit point in international trade. As a result, the Hijaz route acquired tremendous significance. For the tribes or clans, which had adopted trade as a primary occupation, this was an excellent opportunity. They provided camels for carrying goods and organised caravans on their own account. It is in this historical situation that a settlement of traders in Hijaz, rose to prominence in the sixth century. The settlement was located at an oasis and had a well, known as the Zamzam, the water of which came to be regarded as holy. Mecca was strategically placed at the junction of two important trade routes. It was also an important pilgrimage. The main shrine at Mecca is a rectangular structure called the kaba (cube). The kaba contained idols and other objects considered sacrosanct by the various tribes and clans. Amongst these objects was a black stone built into the wall of the shrine. Pilgrims would visit the shrine at an ascertained time of the year, which took on the shape of a fair. Business transactions used to take place peacefully at the fair. Sometime towards the end of the fifth century, Mecca came under the control of a person named Qusayy, who belonged to the Quraysh tribe. This tribe consisted of numerous clans, which were primarily engaged in trade. The Quraysh soon became the leading tribe of the settlement. Thus, trade emerged as the primary occupation as there were hardly any possibilities for agriculture. The surplus, accruing from trade, had begun to seriously undermine tribal solidarity by the sixth century. Initially the Quraysh were split into two broad divisions, those who lived on the outskirts and those who lived near the Zamzam well. A few families and clans became prosperous through trade and this led to a process of social differentiation. Class distinctions began to appear among the Quraysh tribe as well. Tension and conflicts, generated by the breakdown of an essentially tribal society, gave rise to a group of people who wielded political authority. At the end of the sixth century and the beginning of the seventh century, there were intense factional conflicts. Their disputes were partly for gaining a larger share of the trade of Mecca. It was against this historical backdrop that Muhammad (570-632) began preaching the religious message of Islam in the early decades of the seventh century. One of the first accounts of his life was written more than a century after his death. The generally agreed-upon date of his birth is 570. He belonged to the Hashim clan of the Quryash tribe. Muhammad’s father, Abdullah, was a person of limited means. Muhammad got married to Khadija. In 610, Muhammad had an intense spiritual experience, which marked the beginning of prophethood for him. A series of revelations,

130

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

believed to be divinely inspired, were made to him. He said that he was the messenger or prophet of the Allah - the Supreme Being. Allah’s message was conveyed to the masses through Muhammad. These revelations form the essential component of the Koran. Khadija was amongst the first to believe in what Muhammad had to say. Within a few years, Muhammad had a small group of Meccan followers who accepted his religious ideas. They came to be known as the Muslims (plural muslimuri), i.e. those who had submitted to Allah. The religion itself was called Islam, a term implying submission. The overriding principle of Muhammad’s religion was an uncompromising monotheism. He was of the view that there was only one God, namely Allah. All other deities were rejected and the worship of idols was disallowed. Muhammad sought to replace the diverse religious practices of Arab tribes by a single belief system, making it the ideological basis of tribal unity. Muhammad’s faith differed sharply from the religious practices of the Meccans. He met with stiff opposition on account of having sought to subvert a traditional belief system. For a few years, he was able to voice his ideas at Mecca due to the protection he got from his influential uncle, Abu Talib. However, the death of Abu Talib, as well as of Khadija in 619 made things difficult for him in Mecca. Eventually Muhammad decided to shift from Mecca to Yathrib, a Hijaz settlement, which later acquired the name of Madina. Muhammad and his followers shifted their base to Madina in 622. This emigration from Mecca to Madina is referred to as hijrat in Arabic. The Islamic era is said to have begun in this year. Madina was a cluster of small villages inhabited by diverse tribes. This was more of a settlement area as the cultivation of fruit and cereals was very much possible here. Muhammad soon acquired some authority at Madina when he emerged as an arbiter in tribal disputes. This helped him to spread his message and he soon acquired a rapidly growing following. Converts to the faith, who had accompanied the Prophet to Madina, came to be known as the muhajirun or the emigrants, while supporters based in Madina were called ansar or helpers. These divisions led to major political disputes with the passage of time. Muhammad laid the foundations of a new political structure in Madina. He was no longer just a religious leader, but the head of an emerging state centred in Madina. He was looked upon as a lawgiver of sorts and began to lay down the rules governance. His followers constituted his armed forces. Raids were still an indispensable source of income for this state. A formula for the equitable distribution of booty was worked out. One fifth of the booty went to the Prophet’s treasury so that the state was provided with independent finances. Regular voluntary contributions were levied on the tribes, which accepted Muhammad’s leadership. This developed into a tax called zakat which all Muslims had

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

131 WW

to necessarily pay to the state. Zakat was intended to be redistributed among the less privileged sections of the Muslims. Muhammad was in a position to carry on an armed struggle against the Qurayshes of Mecca. Caravans going northwards from Mecca to Syria and Palestine had to pass through Madina. Quraysh trading caravans, traversing this route, were frequently attacked and this resulted in a lot of trade disruption. The successful raids against the Quraysh caravans eventually disrupted Meccan trade. The Qurayshes had to sue for peace and in 630, Muhammad was able to finally occupy Mecca and the people of Mecca adopted Islam in large numbers. Muhammad rapidly consolidated his authority in Arabia. Kaba, in Mecca, became the most sacred sanctuary of Islam. Tribal idols and other objects of worship were removed from Kaba. The Islamic symbol, located in Kaba, was the black stone traditionally associated with Abraham. Abraham was regarded as the common ancestor of all Arabs. Muslims were required to offer prayers in the direction of Kaba and the pilgrimage to Kaba, which was also known as the haj, came to acquire seminal importance as a religious ritual of the faith. Muhammad passed away in 632. Muhammad was the last in a long line of prophets sent by god to show the right path to humanity. This line included the prophets of Judaism and Christianity like Moses and Christ. It was held that there would be no prophets after Muhammad. His teachings, which were supposed to be the word of Allah, comprised the whole of the Koran and offered guidance in all aspects of life. Three groups claimed the right to successionamongst the first were the muhajirun or the emigrants, who were probably the earliest followers of Muhammad, and then came the ansar or the Madinese helpers. The second group, which comprised the legitimists, or the alids, argued that succession should take place only within the family of Muhammad and that Muhammad’s paternal cousin, Ali, should be the Prophet’s successor. An additional qualification of Ali was that he was a muhajirun. Abu Bakr, was the khalifa, or the chosen successor of Muhammad. For the next few centuries, khalifa became the main title for the religious leader of the Muslims and the head of the state founded by Muhammad. Caliph is the anglicised form of the word khalifa. Early Islamic literature used the titles of the khalifa and the imam synonymously. In a more restricted sense, the word imam came to denote anyone who led the community in prayers offered. The succession of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph was fairly smooth. Abu Bakri, who was the Prophet’s closest aide, was given the respect and acceptance that was his rightful due. He was also the father-in law of Muhammad. When Abu Bakr took over, the newly-formed state was in danger of disintegration as many of the Beduin tribes had broken away from Madina. For the nomadic people of Arabia,

132

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

the idea of stability, rootedness and permanence in the context of a state was a fairly novel idea. Abu Bakri died within two years of taking over as the Caliph in 634. Umar succeeded Abu Bakri. It was he who really built the Arab empire. The unification of Arabia was completed under him and large-scale territorial expansion outside Arabia was begun. The Arabs rapidly conquered Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Arab conquests in west Asia were made at the expense of the Sassanid and Byzantine empires. As long as Abu Bakr remained in power, the Islamic state remained confined to Arabia alone. It was Umar and Usman who built a vast empire extending from the Nile to the fringes of central Asia. They evolved an infrastructure for the governance of such a large political entity. Umar laid much emphasis on the military authority of the Caliph by taking on the title of amir al muminin. Umar was responsible for systematising Islamic rituals. The mosque, where the males of the community gathered for prayers, became the centre of the religious life for Muslims. Umar instituted a new Islamic era commencing from the year of the hijrat in about 622. This is a lunar calendar of twelve equal months and is eleven days shorter than the actual year of 365 days. There was a violent struggle over the question of succession after Usman and a virtual civil war broke out in the Arab empire. At Madina, the supporters of Ali joined hands with the rebels from Egypt and proclaimed Ali as the Caliph. This was by no means acceptable to the Umayyads. An armed encounter, between the armies of Ali and Muawiya, took place at Siffin in northern Mesopotamia in 657. The battle was inconclusive and both sides decided to come to an agreement of sorts. Muawiya became the de facto ruler of Syria. Ali took over the rest of the empire from his capital at Kufa as Madina was too inconveniently located to be a seat of government. One group, which held that Ali was divinely endowed with special qualities of leadership by virtue of belonging to the family of the Prophet and being his ‘true’ successor, were called the Shiaites. Shiah means a group or a party of people, and here implies the party of Ali. On the other hand, there was a breakaway group, which was of the view that the differences between Muawiya and Ali would never be resolved. For this group, Ali was no longer the leader of the Muslim community. Those who came to hold this extreme position acquired the label of the Kharijis or secessionists. The Shiaites announced their support for Ali’s younger son, Husayn, who mobilised a contingent of soldiers for armed resistance against the Umayyads. In 680, Husayn led a small band of followers against the Umayyads. The battle took place at Karbala. Husayn’s forces were defeated and Husayn himself was brutally massacred. Husayn’s

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

133

martyrdom became a powerful religious symbol for the Shiaites. This event is commemorated every year as a period of mourning during the Islamic month of Muharram, i.e. the month in which the battle of Karbala took place. Given that, Muslims could only be understood as belonging to one or another Arab tribe and as these tribes formed the basis of military and administrative organisation, a way had to be found for accommodating non-Arab Muslims, who often converted to Islam in small batches, within this structure. The problem was resolved by allowing non-Arabs to be part of some Arab tribe or the other. But, non-Arabs, who entered the Islamic fold, were a definite disadvantage as they were not placed at par with the Arabs. Non-Arabs had no choice but to accept the overlordship of the tribes to which they were attached. The non-Arab convert was classified as a maula (plural mawali) or dependent of the tribe. There was a marked increase in the number of non-Arab Muslims by the beginning of the eighth century. Patricia Crone has suggested that under the early Umayyads, the greater part of the converts who had been held captive came to acquire the status of slaves. She has pointed out that countless people were enslaved during the early Arab conquests. Manumitted slaves were accorded a rather lowly status in Muslim society when they converted. The non-Arab Muslims, who were no longer content with the status of maula, began to nurture aspirations of equality within the community. The dissatisfaction of the mawali, combined with the opposition of diverse Arab groups, led to a strong anti-Umayyad sentiment in the empire by the middle of the eighth century. After 740, an organised movement that aimed at the overthrow of the Umayyads came into existence. The movement was guided by the Abbasids, The main strength of the movement was located in Khurasan. Abu Muslim, a military commander and outstanding organiser, played the lead role in the ensuing turn of events. Abu Muslim collected a large army from among the Arab settlers of Khurasan. Abbas al-Saffah was declared the new Caliph. This marked the beginning of the 500-year-long reign of the Abbasids which lasted till 1258. With the rise of the Abbasids, the centre of political power shifted from Syria to south Iraq. The economy of south Iraq could provide the resources necessary for maintaining the Abbasid imperial government. Erstwhile Sassanid officials, who held the disadvantaged position of mawalis had a strong presence in this fertile tract of land. They had backed up the Abbasids in their struggle against the Umayyads and became very supportive of the Abbasid regime. Now that a section of the Persian mawalis had become part of the ruling class, the distinction

134

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

between the Arabs and the non-Arabs no longer held meaning. Social differentiation, among the Muslims, was primarily structured along class lines. The use of the term maula was gradually dispensed with and Arab expansion into the Iranian world proved to be a turning point in the development of Islam. Islamic consolidation in Abbasid-dominated Iran produced a rich synthesis of Arab and Iranian traditions. Many of the features of the Sassanid monarchical state were carried over to Islam. This transformation has been referred to as the Abbasid revolution by the historians. Under the rule of the Abbasids, the Caliph began functioning as an absolute monarch. Elaborate court ceremonies were introduced and the Caliph became almost unapproachable for the people, thereby implying that the gap between the ruler and the ruled simply could not be bridged. It was necessary to prostrate oneself before the Caliph and kiss the ground beneath his feet. Baghdad remained the residence of the Abbasid Caliphs till the end. The collection of land revenue was made uniform in the eighth and ninth centuries. The main tax, paid by the Muslims, was the zakat which was supposed to be set aside for charitable purposes. It came to approximately two and a half per cent of the payee’s possessions, not including land. Landowning Muslims had to pay a land tax called the ushr. Ushr came to be about onetenth of the produce. A general tax, called the jizya., was imposed on all non-Muslims, who were classified as non-believers (zimmis), i.e. those who were outside the Muslim community or umma. The jizya was not a tax on property or income; instead it was determined on the basis of the wealth a non-Muslim had. The tax on land, that was levied upon non­ Muslims, was a separate category altogether. It was called the kharaj and it seldom came to less than one-third of the produce. As long as there weren’t too many Muslim landholders, the distinction between the ushr and the kharaj did not create too much of a problem. Two factors changed the situation completely. Firstly, a large landowning class emerged among the Muslims by the beginning of the eighth century. Secondly, the preIslamic landed gentry adopted Islam wholeheartedly and became part of the class of Muslim landholders. Letting the dual structure of taxation remain in existence would have resulted in reduced state income because, instead of the kharaj, or the higher tax rates, the ushr, or lower tax rates, would now be imposed on landholdings. Al-Hajjai had decreed that any land that had once been assessed as kharaj land could not under any circumstances become ushr land, not even if the owner converted to Islam. In the long run, the difference between the two kinds of taxes disappeared. By the beginning of the ninth century, all land was kharaj land, irrespective of whether or not it was owned by a Muslim. This

♦♦♦ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

ensured that the state was not deprived of a fairly high level of revenue. By the eleventh century, the Abbasid empire was taken over by nomads from central Asia, also known as the Turks. The Abbasid rule formally came to an end with the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258. The Turks, by the tenth century or so, had become an indispensable part of the armies of west Asia, Egypt and the Maghrib. The acceptance of Islam by most of the Turkish tribes and the conversion of the mamluks provided the ideological framework for the formation of a Turkish state. Andre Wink ’says that the mamluks, who were skilled workers, were a small elite corps within the regular army of the Turks. The Turkish tribes penetrated and eventually conquered large parts of west Asia. C.E. Bosworth has noted that the prosperity of the early Abbasid Caliphate provided resources for buying and training Turkish slaves to be part of a professional standing army which was bound to the ruler by ties of loyalty. After 950, a few mamluk military commanders emerged as warlords in the Samanid state. Among these warlords was Alp-tegin. Alptegin was a Turk who had several mamluk contingents under him. With the help of a supportive army, he gained virtual independence in the Samanid territories in Afghanistan, Ghazna and the main stronghold of Alp-tegin. When Alp-tegin died in 977, he was succeeded by his leading slave commander Sebuk-tegin. Sebuk-tegin founded the Ghaznavid dynasty, which was able to create a huge empire, in the first half of the eleventh century, extending from eastern Iran to northwest India. Theories of the Rise of Islam

How did Islam manage to gain such wide acceptance among Arab tribes in such a short span of time. W.M. Watt has examined the nature of Arab society on the eve of this new religious movement. He sees the rise of Islam as a response to the transformation that was taking place due to trade and the adoption of a sedentary lifestyle by some tribes. The expansion of Meccan commerce eroded traditional ties and introduced tension and conflict in society. The wealth, which Mecca came to acquire, did not benefit everyone uniformly. The period can well be defined as an extremely turbulence ridden period. There were conflicts at various levels. Relatively simple tribal organisations of the Qurayshes did not have the coping skills to deal with these troubled times. To add to the confusion of an already stratified society, a number of tribes took up agriculture on a limited scale on the periphery of Arabia. Muhammad’s message of unity was an answer to this ferment and Islam provided these tribes with a scheme for state formation. Watt’s explanation has profoundly influenced writings on the subject from the late 1950s onward. Scholars like Marshall

136

saass

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Hodgson, in books entitled Mohammed and The Ventuure of Islam, has accepted Watt’s hypothesis. However, Patricia Crone is of the opinion that Watt’s hypothesis about trade in Mecca is unsatisfactory. Crone2 has put forward an alternative view in her book called Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. Crone is of the view that trade in Mecca did not become expansive enough to undermine traditional society. Trade concerned itself largely with commodities of small value and was therefore incapable of generating much wealth. The surplus, yielded by the mercantile economy, was not large enough to result in wide disparities in society. The traditional way of life was still functional. Furthermore, for the beduin tribes raids and plunder were a useful way of augmenting scanty resources. The new faith appealed to them as it provided the ethos of conquest with a legitimation of sorts. Tribes were provided with a programme of state formation through unification and conquest. Crone describes early Islam as a nativist movement, a movement bom out of a deep attachment to the Arabian way of life and rejects any possible impact that foreign influences like that of the Byzantine and the Persian to gain political ascendancy in Arabia might have had. Islamic Law

The Islamic states were governed on the basis of Islamic ideals. They were guided by injunctions laid down in the Koran, in theory at least. The Koran defined the fundamental principles of the Islamic state. Doubts that happened to creep in were resolved by speculating about how the Prophet would have acted in a similar situation. There were constant references to what was called the sunna or the sayings of Muhammad. The sunna became a supplementary source of tenets for the guidance of the muslim community. After the early Caliphs, these began to be formally recorded. These transcribed sunnas were called the hadis or the hadith. The hadis was based on oral traditions which had been handed down by the people who had actually listened to the sayings of the Prophet. Those who conformed to the sunna were generally called the Sunnis. Initially the term seems to have referred to all those who accepted the sunna or the traditions endorsed by the majority of people and which had been affirmed by the Abbasids. As the Shiaites had refused to accept the authority of the Abbasids in religious matters, they were considered to be outside the fold of the Sunnis. The Sunnis came to be distinguished from the Shiaites. Marshall Hodgson3, in The Venture of Islam, says that when the term Sunni is used to tell the Sunnis apart from the Shiaites, an element of inaccuracy creeps in because the assumption that the Shiaites did not

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

137

subscribe to the sunna belief system is a fallacy. It is only that they have a separate set of traditions, some of which are different from the sunna accepted by the majority of the Muslims. Four major schools of Islamic law developed in the early Abbasid period. These schools represent the four major Sunni shariat traditions down to the present day. The four schools of interpretation were those of Abu Hahifa (Hanafis), Malik (Malikis), al-Shafi (Shafiis), and Ibn Hanbal (Hanbalis). The Shiaites had their own schools of jurisprudence.

THE ARABS IN SIND

*

4

We have already studied that Islam, both as a political forcc and as a religious movemenL-had made its influence felt in the non-Arabian world. Gradually the whole of Central Asia was Islamised by the assimilation of the Turkish tribes. Andre Wink4 -i.s_a£Jhe_view_ that__itie_Jnrks entered Islam through the recruitment of military, slaxes. By the beginning of the eighth century, Islamic rulers had moved right into Sindh, the north­ western boundary of India. Sind, during the early years of the eighth century, was und^j?u^g£Dgnr.,Mohammed^inJ&Simjmjgabably 1116 — Siridrit is believed that Qasim was invited by the Jats and the Mets or the Buddhists to attack King Dahir of Sindh, who had usurped power from thepfeVfons BiiddKstrulerQasim seems to have been deeply attracted to the~wearor^Tn^7lfedefeated King Dahir in the Battle of Rawar inJZ.12. In the course of this battlK an arrow struck the eye of King Dahir’s elephant. The elephant, in a state of alarm, took flight. The Sindh army mistakenly assumed that their king had surrendered and fled the battlefield. Seizing the opportunity, the Arab forces began to brutally massacre Dahir’s forces. Later, King Dahir was also found and killed by the Arabs. His widow Rani Ray-ibaL._an

v Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

of the monsoons. This was done so that his troops would not be trapped by the flooded rivers of the Punjab. He was also known as But Shikan or the destroyer of idols. It was the wealth of India that brought Mahmud of Ghazna to the country. And therefore, most of his raids were concentrated around important temple cities like Thaneswar, Mathura, Kannauj and Somnath, all of which had immense reserves of wealth. He used this wealth tocreate a splendid city at Ghazna. In 1025, he attacked and raided one of the most celebrated Hindu temple"s~or''Sdmnath, near the coast in the extreme south of Kathiawar(Gujarat). Bhima I, the Chalukyan ruler of Anhilwara, could not put up much resistance and the temple was looted. " Contemporary Persian documents suggest that Mahmud claimed to have gone to lridia with twin objectives ofSpreading Islam in India^and enriching himself with the wealth of Indiaj'.pSources ~suggest~that his motive was primarily to spread the message oflslam to the masses and that is why he got the title of Ghaz^But recent research has proved that he~had~no purpokehehi^ to India apart from the fact that its wealth was immensely attractive to him. Religion was only a subterfuge, put to appropriate use in order to win over the Caliphate or the Khalifa at BaghdadCThe invaders’ effective use of the crossbow jwhile gallopingn^T-fl gave IheiiLa-distiiJCLads*^^ opponents, particularly the Rajputs. Mahmud’s conquest of Punjab foretold ominous consequences for the rest of India. Howeva^the Rajputs appear to have been both unprepared and unwilling to change their militarylactics, which ultimately collapsed in the face of the swift and punitive cavalry of the X Turks. There can be no doubt about the fact that Mahmud of Ghazna waged ruthless campaigns and terrorized everyone who came his way. The Arab geographer and scholar, Alberuni, who wrote an account of India and spent much time at Mahmud’s court, was of the view that ‘the Hindus atoms scattered all directions and like -- - -----became --like . .... .the ... ..... ... _ ...of dust---------- --in------— a tale of old in the mouths of people. Their scattered remains cherish of courseTgOh^ Nonetheless, a somewhat communal interpretation of Mahmud, initiated by British historians and then adopted by nationalist historians, is illogical and must be rejected. This point of view portrays Mahmud as someone who harbored deep hatred for Hindus, but no evidence can be found to endorse this. In point of fact there is nothing he did to Hindus that he did not also do to Muslims, especially the Muslims he considered to be heretical. The Muslim ruler of Multan, an Ismaili, along with his subjects, was dealt with just as ruthlessly. Mahmud was only doing what any other conqueror in his place would have done in terms of destroying Hindu temples and Hindu idols. A lot of what he did struck even later Muslim historians as indefensible, and hisstance can be understood only within the context of a ‘politics of conquest’.

140

an

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

With the aid of the booty from India, Mahmud turned his court at Ghazna into a heaven for scholars and artists. He transformed Ghazna into one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. Alberuni and Firdausi, both of whom were Persian poets of note, were enticed into making Ghazna their home. Alberuni, who wrote the Kitab al Hind, and Firdausi, who wrote the Shah Namah, were historians at the court of Mahmud of Ghazna and give a good account of the polity and society on the eve of Mahmud’s invasion. In political and military terms, the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazna precede the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1000, when the Jaypala, the Shahiya king, was routed, these incursions became an annual feature of Mahmud’s reign and came to an end only with his death in 1030. After the conquest of Multan, he occupied Punjab. Later, Mahmud also made incursions into the Ganga-Yamuna doab. The major interest of Mahmud in India was its fabulous wealth, vast quantities of which (in the form of cash, jewellery, and golden images) had been deposited in temples. From 1010-26 the thrust area of these invasions was focused upon the temple-towns of Thaneswar, Mathura, Kannauj and finally Somnath. A tepidly launched resistance on the part of the Indians was what paved the way for future Turkish conquests. The aftermath of these campaigns revealed the inability of Indian politics to offer a united defence against external threats. Mythology tells us that an idol was erected in the middle of the temple with nothing to either support it from below, or to suspend it from above. When Mahmud raided this particular temple, he directed his soldier to explore the basis upon which this idol had been constructed. But they found nothing there. But the historical reality is somewhat different. The temple at Somnath was an exceedingly rich temple. It had a large income base, which came froth the taxes paid^yjgilgnms. It also adjoined the commercially active port of Veraval. The most important item-of-trade here was the import of horses. Mahmud’s main reason for launching a concerted attack upon Somnath was to impede the import of horses from Arab traders. This would benefit the horse traders of Ghazni, who also happened to be involved in supplying horses into north-west India. Mahmud Ghaznawi’s raids were an almost annual feature from 1000 onwards. His ambition was to be proclaimed an iconoclast and champion of Islam. Alberuni, has given an account of Mahmud’s raids on the Somnath temple, which had the icon of a lingam. It was hugely venerated by a lot of people. However, a thirteenth century account of the AlKazwini, has given another version in which the temple and what the icon denotes, are explained very differently portray Mahmud as waging a religious war against the Hindus and the infidels.

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

MAP I: CAMPAIGNS OF MAHMUD GHAZNAWI AND HIS EMPIRE

142

SMI

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Romila Thapar5 tries to provide an explanation for the series of raids on temples like Somnath. Did the Muslims have nothing in mind beyond wanting to desecrate Hindu temples. How is the event represented in other sources^The Turko-Persian narratives, (Farrukhi Sistani, Barani, Isami, Ferishta) provide a stereotypical image of Mahmud as the defender of the faith. However, there are other sources as well which include archaeological excavations in Somnath in 1951, inscriptions in Sanskrit, Jaina biographies and chronicles (mercantile community) and oral traditions. Oral traditions, particularly those of the Kissa, the Hazi by Mangroti Shah and the narratives of Salar Masud or Ghazi Miyan, discuss the manner in which Mahmud was popularly perceived. These stories have generally been dismissed for lacking authentic historical evidence. But they do tell us about popular assumptions regarding Mahmud at the time when they were composed. Romila Thapar believes that the Somnath issue was hotly debated in the British Parliament in 1842. It was forcefully argued that the Hindus had been deeply traumatised by Mahmud’s raids on Somnath. The debate raised the issue of communal disharmony and resurrected memories of suffering and humiliation. As desired by the British Government, the issue became a bone of contention between the Hindus and the Muslims. The reconstruction of the temple at Somnath was demanded and it was finally rebuilt in 1951. Romila Thapar raises the larger historiographical issue of amnesia or loss of memory. She says that ‘memory’ is extremely selective. It makes a choice between what is to be remembered and what is to be forgotten. Shortly after Mahmud’s death, his empire met the fate of other empires. Newly emerging centres of power, formed around the growing clusters of Turkish soldier-adventurers, replaced the older ones. The Ghaznavid possessions in Khurasan and Transoxiana were thus annexed, first by the Seljuqs, and later by Khwarizm Shah. In Afghanistan, their own homeland, their hegemony was brought to an end by the principality of Ghur under the Shansabani dynasty. However, in the midst of these buffetings, the Ghaznavid rule survived in Punjab and Sind till about 1175. The Shansabani or Ghurid Sultans superseded the Ghaznavids very soon and succeeded in extending Islamic dominion beyond the Punjab. Andre Wink says that they were of an east Persian or Tajik origin and lived in the mountainous ranges of modem-day Afghanistan.

GHORIAN INVASIONS Mohammad Ghori (1175-1206)

Mohammad Ghori invaded India and paved the ground for Muslim domination in India. It is on account of this that he is considered to be the

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

143

founder of Muslim rule in India by some historians. He reached Peshawar in 1179 and captured it. At the time of his invasion, Punjab was under the rule of Khusrau Malik of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Khusrau was a powerful king and it was not easy for Mohammad Ghori to defeat him in war, so he treacherously killed him in 1192 and captured Punjab. He then posed a challenge to the united Rajput kingdoms under the leadership of Prithviraj Chauhan, but met with stiff resistance which impeded his expansionist desires. The Chahamanas were an important kingdom who, like so many others, nurtured the hope of territorial expansion. The Chahamanas were the vassals of the Pratiharas. They began with bringing Ajmer under thenrule and then went on to conquer Delhi from the Tomars under the leadership of Visaladeva. Visaladeva was also a gifted poet which is evident from the inscription on a stone slab on the walls of the Adhai-dinka-Jhonpra at Ajmer in the form of a play entitled Harakeli Nataka. Prithviraj Chauhan or Prithviraj III was the last and perhaps the greatest ruler of the Chahamana dynasty. Chand Bardai, Prithviraj’s court poet, has described the king’s great military achievements at length in a work called Pritviraj Raso. He soon brought Mahoba, Bundelkhand and Gujarat under his control. He valiantly resisted the attacks of Mohammad Ghori in the two battles of Tarain in 1191 and 1192. He is said to have been • killed in the second battle of Tarain. One of the stories which became part of popular tradition in Rajasthan in the nineteenth century circulates around the heroic personality of Prithviraj III. A defeated Prithviraj manacled in chains was brought before Mohammad Ghori. He haughtily looked Ghori right in the eye. An annoyed Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithviraj scornfully reminded him of how he had treated Ghori when the latter was a prisoner. He declared that the eyelids of a Rajput are lowered only in death. On hearing this, Ghori flew into a rage and ordered that Prithviraj’s eyes be gouged out with red hot iron rods. Prithviraj’s former courtier Chand Bardai, who later composed the Prithviraj Raso, came to Ghur to be as close to Prithviraj as he could. Chand Bardai came in disguise and secured a place for himself as a poet at Mohammad’s court. At the same time he urged Prithviraj to avenge Ghori’s betrayal and the insults he had been subjected to. The dethroned king, and his loyal courtier, found an opportune occasion in an archery competition announced by Ghori. Chand Bardai told Ghori that Prithviraj was so skilled an archer that he did not need to look at his target and could take aim based only on sound. Unable to believe this, Ghori asked Prithviraj to take aim and shoot at a given target. Chand. Bardai then provided Prithviraj with an aural indication of where Ghori was seated and, to aid Prithviraj’s efforts in the matter, composed and recited a couplet on the

SSH ggjgSBgHg 144

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

spot in Prithviraj’s hearing. The couplet, composed in a language which Prithviraj alone could understand, went thus: Char bans, chaubis gaj, angul ashta praman, Ete pai hai Sultan, (Taa Upar hai Sultan), ab mat chuko hey Chauhan. (Ten measures ahead of you and twenty four feet away, is seated the Sultan. Do not miss him now, Chauhan). Ghori then ordered Prithviraj to shoot. Prithviraj turned in the direction from where he heard Ghori speak, and sent an arrow racing to Ghori’s throat. Ghori died on the spot. Immediate action followed and Prithviraj was killed by Mahmud’s courtiers. But the brave Rajput had settled scores with Ghori. However, the historical and factual veracity of this anecdote has been treated with a lot of suspicion. On reconstructing the history of the period we can see that Mohammad Ghori suffered defeat at the hands of Prithviraj in the first battle of Tarain in 1191. But Ghori soon returned with a mightier army, comprising Turkish and Afghan soldiers and forced Prithviraj to confront him yet again in a pitched battle in the same battlefield. The second battle of Tarain (1192) thus followed. Prithviraj was defeated as he was not supported adequately by other Rajput rulers this time. It is believed that if Jayachandra had suported Prithviraj, this battle would never have been lost. Prithviraj was accused of being a conspirator and was executed. Mohammad then made Gola, the son of Prithviraj, a puppet king and deputed his trusted servant Qutabuddin Aibak to take care of the administration of the region. He went back to central Asia, but returned to India in 1204. However, further conquests were halted by his untimely death in 1206. Aibak then went on to capture Meerut, Aligarh and Delhi and shifted his seat of power to Delhi. The second battle of Tarain proved to be a watershed in the history of India. It paved the way for the ascendancy of the Turks. For some time to come, the Ghorians did not think it convenient to immediately takeover the administration of all the conquered territories. Ajmer, for instance, was allowed to be retained by Prithviraj’s son as a vassal ruler. This uneasy balance, however, was often disturbed by the recurrent and endless conflicts between the imperial designs of the Ghorians and the Rajput rulers. Under Aibak’s leadership, the Turks continued to make territorial advances in all directions. After having refortified Hansi towards the end of 1192, Aibak crossed the Yamuna to establish a military base in the upper Doab, Meerut and Baran or modem Bulandshar, capitulated in 1192. In 1193, Delhi was occupied. Its location and historical tradition made it most suitable as a capital for Turkish power in India. It was both close to the Ghorian stronghold in Punjab as well as conveniently placed for sending expeditions towards the east. Military success encouraged Muhammad Ghori to confront King Jayachandra of the Gahadavala dynasty in the vicinity of Chandwar in 1194. Jayachandra, eventually lost

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

MAP 2: CAMPAIGNS OF MOHAMMAD GHORI

after a long, protracted battle. After 1195 the campaigns of Mohammad Ghori were targeted towards eastern and central parts of India. Turkish military stations were placed at Banaras, Asni and other important towns. However, the capital city of Qanauj could not be occupied until 1198-99. Other important areas over which the Ghorians were able to extend their sway were Bayana, Gwalior and Anhilwara in 1195-6 , and Badaun in 1197-8. The beginning of the thirteenth century saw the power of the last surviving imperial Rajputs, the Chandellas of Bundelkhand, being undermined. Around 1202, Kalinjar, Mahoba and Khajuraho were also occupied. From 1203 onwards, the Turks made their forays into the eastern provinces of the Indian subcontinent with varying degrees of success. Magadha was conquered as a ‘Sultanate’ by Bakhtiyar Khalji and his tribesmen. Under his tutelage, the Turks penetrated as far as into Bengal. In general, during this phase, the Ghorians were able to extend their hegemony over a considerable part of northern India. However, areas once conquered would often slip out of control and the territories shown in Map 2 could not remain under Turkish rule for long.

WHAT LED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE TURKS? One of the debatable point on the issue of the success of the Turks is to why did India become such easy prey to Mahmud’s sword or for that

146

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

matter to Mohammad Ghori’s invasions? Is it possible that the Turks were militarily better equipped than their Indian counterparts? Various reasons have been assigned for the success of the Turkish conquests of north India. Most contemporary chroniclers do not go beyond the standard explanation of attributing this major event to the ‘will of god’. Some British historians, who initiated the study of Indian history in greater depth, felt that it was the belligerence of the Turks that led to their success. According to them, the Turkish armies were drawn from the warlike tribes inhabiting the difficult region lying between the Indus and the Oxus. They had immense military prowess and had acquired much expertise that came from fighting the Seljuq armies and other tribes of central Asia. On the other hand, the Indians were pacifists and were not used to warfare at all. Moreover, they were divided into small states which hampered expansionist ambitions. This presumption of the British historians seems to be rather imbalanced as it does not take into account the well-known facts of Indian history. The Rajputs, whom the Turks conquered, were not lacking in valour or in martial spirit. The period ranging from the eighth to the twelfth centuries is one long story of warfare, violence and struggle. It, therefore, makes no sense to attribute Turkish success to the peace-loving Indian disposition. Some historians have said that the peculiar social structure created by Islam proved conducive to the success of the Turks. Jadunath Sarkar, for instance, puts emphasis on the three unique characteristics of Islam. To begin with, the religion laid much emphasis on complete equality and social solidarity as regards legal and religious status. Unlike Indians, the Turks were not caste stratified in any way. Secondly, it advocated absolute faith in God and His will, which provided the devout with a sense of mission. Finally, Islam spoke at length about the demerits of drunkenness, which, according to Sarkar, was the ruin of the Rajputs, the Marathas, and various other Indian rulers. But the argument has not gained much support from other modem historians. Perhaps the most important reason is the fact that the period was marked by political turbulence and there were unending feuds between the northern and northwestern kingdoms. After the fall of the GurjaraPratihara empire, no single state could really take its place. Instead, there arose small independent powers like the Gahadavalas in Kannauj, the Parmaras in Malwa, the Chalukyas in Gujarat, the Chauhans in Ajmer, the Tomars in Delhi and the Chandellas in Bundelkhand. There were constant conflicts amongst these kingdoms and the period in question remained unacquainted with peace. Lack of centralised power was also an important factor in weakening the strength and efficiency of the armed forces.

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

147

Fakhr-i Mudabbir in his Adab-ul-Harb wa-al Shuja’t mentions that Indian forces consisted of ‘feudal levies’. Each military contingent was under the command of its immediate overlord and not that of the king. Thus, the army lacked ‘unity of command’. Mohammad Habib suggests that caste divisions in Hindu society also played their part in weakening the resistance of Hindu kings. And since not many castes and clans took to the military profession the bulk of the population was excluded from military training. The general population of the country never really understood that matters like the defence of the country were serious issues to reckon with and were thus entirely ill equipped to deal with the series of Turkish invasions that took place in the period. The concept of physical pollution or chhut also hampered military efficiency since it made the division of labour impossible; soldiers had to do all the work on their own, from fighting to the fetching of water. Thus, the professionalism and egalitarianism of Muslim armies, many of which allowed slaves to rise to the top, was nowhere to be seen amongst the Hindus. Another important reason for the success of the Turks was their superior military .technology and art of war. They used horses for warfare with greater skill. The Turks used iron stirrups and horse-shoes that reinforced their striking power and strengthened their cavalry. Horse­ shoes provided greater mobility to the horse and stirrups provided advantage to the soldiers which could not possibly be trivialised. On the other hand, Rajputs had training in the customary styles of fighting aided with slow-moving elephants as Simon Digby 5seems to believe in his book entitled War-Horse and Elephant in Delhi Sultanate. Andre Wink7 argues that the Turkish army had a light cavalry with superior archery abilities. They had the ability to stand up on their stirrups and use bows, ^rrows, spears, swords and the likes of these. Further they also possessed the power of quick penetration because of the swift movement of the cavalry. Andre Wink also highlights another distinct advantage that the Turks had over their Indian counterparts which was that the Turks largely relied on professional and slave soldiers on horseback, while the Indians normally made use of an untrained peasant infantry. Further, while the Indian rulers depended heavily on elephants, the Turks relied more upon horses which were faster, weighed less than elephants did and were that much more agile than elephants could ever be. Another interesting point raised by Andre Wink in his book is that the Turks were able to establish and dominate north India largely because of the fact that they had better access to good war-horses and some of the best breeding grounds for horses in the Oxus region which was under the Ghaznavids to begin with

&

148

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

and later came under the rule of the Ghurids. Even later, after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, it was the policy of the Delhi Sultans to deprive the ‘Hindu rulers’ of access to war-horses. Peter Jackson feels that it is very difficult to come up with a satisfactory explanation for the success of the Turks on the basis of the primary sources available. The Muslim writers, who took note of these events, are of the view that god granted victory to the Sultan and his forces. Therefore, any analysis of the causes of Turkish success rest on fragmentary evidence and any conclusion drawn can only be speculative. On the basis of observations made by Alberuni about the caste system, Mohammad Habib is of the view that the resistance of the Hindu rulers, when'confronted by the invading Ghurid armies, was undermined in two respects - first, the caste system seriously impaired the military effectiveness of the Hindu kingdoms. It restricted participation in war only to the warrior castes or the Kshatriyas. The rules of untouchability dictated that menial tasks could not be left to the lower castes. The second disadvantage of the caste system was that it eroded the idea of social cohesiveness. Islam preached equality and Mohammad Habib says that, the urban masses could not help but draw up a contrast between the liberating message of Islam and the social shackles that bound them. Can they really be blamed for wanting to throw in their lot with the newcomers? Thus, according to Habib, this was not really a conquest of sorts. This was in fact a turnover of public opinion which was long overdue. Peter Jackson says the arguments given by Mohammad Habib do not withstand closer scrutiny. As far as military effectiveness is concerned Simon Digby has mentioned that Hindu armies included members of other castes such as Vaishyas and Shudras8. He believes that Alberuni’s Brahman informants may have exaggerated the effectiveness of the caste regulations. Jackson believes that a recognition of one’s low social status and an urge to improve it do not necessarily go hand in hand in a society like India which by that time had remained untouched by the eighteenth century European enlightenment. Therefore, the question of turnover of public opinion seems irrelevant.

ISSUE OF INDIAN AND FOREIGN: THE ‘OTHER’ IN SOURCES Contemporary Persian sources, related to the early Turkish invaders, choose e-plundering and religiousJcoQQclasm in --- ■■■-. _ to understand ___ events _ — _lik ---------------------“■ . .... . synchronisation with the~characterof the Muslim protagonists. Most of what Mahmud Ghaznawi did was considered appropriate and mkeeping/ with the dictates of Islam. Later, modern-day historians, like Andre Wink? have substantiated* this hypothesis. Wink goes to the extent of saying Mumia.!

. 1^^111,1 iiAI i,-n

।

❖ Foundation of Delhi Sultanate ❖

149

that - ‘Apologists forjslam, as well as some Marxist scholars in India have sometimesattempted to reduce Islamic iconoclasm^Updia^to a gratuitous TusTTor plunder on the part of theJVluslims. unrelated in any direct way to the religion itself, while depicting Hindu temples as centres ToJiinUlM^ment ‘is too vague to be-cormjaemg’. B7Dr~€hatropadhyaya9~says that the ‘otherness’ of ‘medieval Muslim cdrtfffl^^^presenWas f^F^^^^Fas^Il^cufiuSjL^apse, giveff^^jKctTfiaFtK^^^limrTar^^^^jxUEdTa^CIiattopadhyaya -----

.

' ' -——

————— ~

jIW)_ ,. 1

I~u7t;7t.' ' ' r*—■—»»«Ba«raS!SSSmS®^»^!W’^S!!PimL.was allowed for the pay (mawajib) of the troops (hasham) placed under the

230

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Muqti or the Wali. The area of expected yield was apparently. seLapart by the Diwan. The remaining bit of land was treated as the Muqti’s own personal Iqta, i.e. it was used for his own salary and the expense of his personal establishment of officials. Any amount exceeding his own salary and that of his troops had to be put into the treasury. During Ghiyasuddin Tughluq’s time the estimated income of the iqta was not faised by the finance department, and the Muqtis and other officials were allowed to appropriate for themselves small sums over and above the sanctioned income. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1320-25) introduced some moderation. ‘The'eiAancemehE^^'theestimated revenue income~W^e~^nffalfinance ministry, were not to exceed one-tenth or one-eleventh of their salaries. The Muqtis were allowed to keep the amount ranging between one-tenth to one-twentieth in excess of their sanctioned salaries. The attempts to monitor the Iqta reached its climax during the time of Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-51). In severai cases, a HizA' was appointed in addition to an Amir in the same territory. The Wali, after he had deducted what was understood to be his salary, was to collect and then send the revenue to the royal treasury. The Amir, or the commander had nothing whatsoever to do with the revenue realisation_and received hlsown salary and that of his troops in cash, presumably from the local treasufy^uring Muhammad bin Tughluq’s reign, the salaries of the troops of the Iqta holders came from the treasury and were always paid in cash. This infuriated the commanders and created major political problems -JsF*Muhammad bin Tughluq.1 Irfan Habib21---points out---that all army —---------commanders - ranging from the Khans, who headed as many as, 10,000 cavalry troops, to the Sipah Salars who were placed over less than 100 troops - were assigned Iqtas in lieu of salaries. The estimated income of the Iqta, against which the salary was adjusted, was always less than the actual. The significant point is that the troops are said to have always been paid in cash while the Iqtas was given only in lieu of the commanders’ personal salaries. Due to this Muhammad bin Tughluq faced a lot of problems in Deogir when the Amiran-i-sada (centurians) became disaffected. Firuz Tughluq adopted the policy of assigning the wajh, or the revenue collected from villages, in lieu of a salary. In the cases where soldiers wefe hot assigned the wa/7r7casfi~salaries were paid from the treasury or through drafts on the Iqtas of nobles which were to be drawn through the surplus payment, which was due to the central treasury, from the Iqtas. These drafts could be sold at a price to speculators. Heredity was accorded primacy over the transfer principle. The successors of Firuz made no attempt whatsoever to restore central control. Under, the Lodis the term Iqta was stillinuise_foi^areas-held by wajhdars. Assignments of revenue of villages or land7grants to the

❖ Political Structure of the Sultanate ❖

s 231

religious intelligentsia were categorised as mz7£ (proprietary rights given by state), idrar (pension) and inam (gift). Grants made for the support of religious Institmions like madrasas and khanqahs were called waqf (endowments). These grants were made by the Sultan, both within” the Iqta as well as in the Khalisa, through afarman. Economically speaking, these grants did not have much implication. A system of sub-assignments came into vogue particularly under Sikand'arLodhi (1489-1517). The main assignees would sub-assign portions of their assignments to their subordinates-who, in turn, would make sub-assignments to their soldiers. man Habib) believes that the lata was conducive to the political centr^^nSnTSfTKj^^^^^^teTHe^^^^^^^^ta^aFy^jieal mode and institutlonF^irougirwhich the Sultanate collected revenue resources' fromthe peasantry and distributed them amongst military commanders in exchange for service. Sunil Kumar, however, does not agreewitlT TrfanHabibon the ground that had the Iqta been a measure of such tried and tested efficacy, it would have had a pattern of uniformity to it, which was clearly not the case as it altered its character from one regime to another. Kumar22 argues that Habib contradicts his own argument of centralisation when he suggests that the form of the Iqta varied because differed. The establishment of the Iqta could never work in the cause of centraITsatIon7'lnitialiy, the early Turks found the granting of such Iqtas to be an ea'sy method of catering to the greed of their high officers who had assisted them in conquering north India. At the same time, -this system _______ -- helped to establish a rudimentary' control over rural areas. But to the extentthat theTgta became hereditary, tfaerg of powerful subjects rebelling against the Sultan, Alauddin Khalji, therefore, cariceHed many Artas and paid his officers a fixed salary from his treasury. Muhammad biiTTughiuq was not too keen on continuing with this system because to do so he would first have to raise the revenue demand and then , convert it into cash. After all these ruinous experiments, Firuz Shah Tughluq reverted to the old system of granting military Iqtas. Thus, Iqta did remain as a major machinery for, reyenwe^exlraction, but it could hardlybeused uniformly as an apparatus for the centralised system of administration.

NOTES 1. Simon Digby, War-horse and Elephant in the Delhi Sultanate: A Problem of Military Supplies. 2. Romila Thapar, Early India: From the Origins to 1300. Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, Delhi, 2002 3. Hermann Kulke, The State in India 1000-1700, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1995, pp.32-33

232 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

13.

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22.

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Hermann Kulkle, A History of India, Routledge, Delhi, 1998, p.168 Muzaffar Alam, The Languages of Political Islam in India c.1200-1800, Permanent Black, Delhi, 2004, p.27 Ibid, p.28, Ibid, p.29. Ibid, p.31. Ibid, p.31 Ibid, p.41 Ibid, p.42 Muzaffar Alam, The Languages of Political Islam in India c.1200-1800, Permanent Black, Delhi, 2004, p.39. Irfan Habib, ‘Politics and Society during the Early Medieval Period’, in K.A. Nizami (ed.) Polities and Society during the Medieval Period. Collected Works of Muhammad Habib, Volume-II, p.312, People’s Publishing House, N. Delhi, 1980. Tapan Ray Choudhary and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982. Tripathi R.P., Some Aspects of Muslim Administration, Central Book Depot, Allahabad, 1966 p. 339. Tapan Raychoudhary and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 1. Ibid. Peter Jackson, The Delhi Sultanate, p. 95. Tapan Raychoudhary and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 1. Ibid, p.70. Ibid, p.72. Sunil Kumar, The Emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, p.27.

Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate *

SULTANATE NOBILITY: THE RULING ELITE

♦ ULEMA *

REVENUE SYSTEM

♦

MONETISATION

♦

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

*

GROWTH OF TRADE AND COMMERCE

♦

THE COMING OF THE PORTUGUESE

*

URBANISATION

...

234

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

SULTANATE NOBILITY: THE RULING ELITE utbuddin Aibak ascended the throne after Mohammad Ghori had nominated him the Governor of Delhi and its surrounding regions. The nobles, after a brief feud-ridden period, accepted and offered their loyalty to him in a newly conquered area. Irfan Habib suggests that there was a conflict for political ascendancy between the Ghorian nobles and the Turkish slaves of Mohammad Ghori.1 The Delhi Sultanate, since time immemorial, has stood witness to a very troubled, strife-ridden relationship between However, it must be conceded that the nobility played a very significant ro’e in the political discourse of the Delhi Sultanate. There was no clearly defined rule of succession among the Turks. Therefore, the nobles had a great say in selecting the Sultan and Delhi became the hub of political activity of Turkish rule. Andre Wink says that the Turks had this ‘concept of individuality’ ever since their stay in Central Asia. He argues this was a typical characteristic ‘of the nomadic societies of Central Asia as well as the post-nomadic polities which arose in the Islamic world that their leadership was highly concentrated and instable because they revolved largely around individuals and there was virtually nothing in the way of self-perpetuating political institutions or corporate structures through which leadership was normally dispersed in settled society [sic]’.2 Leadership qualities and a strong personality mattered that much more than legitimacy and heredity did. Irfan Habib has indicated a somewhat new development under Muhammad Ghori. He says that under Mohammad Ghori, Turkish slaves gradually replaced Ghorian commanders.3 Thus, it js possible that. Ghori might have been trying to establish a distinct royal authority not too evident in the Central Asian tradition, as Andre Wink has indicated, but it posed major problems for the later Sultans of Delhi. The Turks could only provide commandership and ‘the ranks and army had to be recruited from the people of Ghor and Khalj’,4And that is why after the death of Muhammad Ghori the hostility between the two groups spiraled into armed aggression. The ruling elite came into prominence on the political scene only after Iltutmish’s accession to the throne of Delhi. The nobles had the power to select their lead'ers through armed strength and their support base. Iltutmish was the one who finally established a sovereign Turkish state in India. The_ nobility,'""m his~'Time,~ccmslsted of efficient administrators who, inspite of being slaves to begin with, were imbued with merit and ability. Slaves provided personal allegiance to the rulcr, as Andre Wink has indicated. Iltutmish purchased his slaves from all the slave merchants and open markets in Central Asia where war captives and

Q

V

51

lllll

flB ❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

235

other slaves were sold.5 The matter of their political importance is shrouded in doubt. Irfan Habib believes that these Turkish slaves of Iltutmish did not occupy ‘a single of the highest central or court offices at r his death, however large the territories they held in Iqta fn'c]’.6 After Iltutmish, the principle of heredity resurfaced with the accession of Ruknuddin Firoz, Raziya and Bahram Shah. During this phase, the tussle between the Turkish and Tajik (Arab and Persians) nobles became intense. After the death of Iltutmish in 1235 and till the accession of Balban in 1269, it was the Chihalgani slaves, a group of nobles of which Balban was also a part, who decided the succession issue. Balban tried to restore the supremacy of the Crown by crushing the power of the Turkish nobility. Balban’s accession proved that the principle of heredity was\pentirely inconsequential. Earlierrulers like Qutbuddin Aibak and Iltutmish had considered the nobles at par with themselves. But Balban made a major departure from the earlier practice. He kept the nobles at bay and was a propagandist of the divine theory of kingship. He traced his ancestry to the mythical king Afrasiyab of Ajam (non-Arab lands). Balban did his best to squash the power of the Shamsi nobles. Andre Wink feels that the contribution of the Turkish slaves, to the ruling elite of the Delhi Sultanate, cannot possibly be ignored. Juzjani has in fact organized his Tabaqat- i Nasiri largely around the political careers qftius elite group of slaves. They also find mention in other chronicles of the time. The Turkish slaves, before they became amirs or troop commanders, had served in various departments in a very humble capacity. The idea was that each slave had to be in the personal service of the king before he became an amir, or commander of troops with a revenue assignment or Iqta of varying importance. No slave could ever become the king without first having been an amir, and then a khan or any official of superior rank. ‘Symbols of royal authority - such as the taj, takht, durbash, swotd of state, kaukaba, the large kettle drum, kus, the dais or sofa, and the black, red, green and vermilion umbrellas, elephants, and robes of honour - were widely shared among the Turkish mamluks.1 However, at the same time, it is to be noted that of all the slave kings of Delhi right upto 1290 or so, only Qutubuddin Aibak, Iltutmish and Balban were actually of slave origin. The others, who ruled between 1236 and 1266, were the descendants of Iltutmish. Andre Wink argues that later on ‘a large number of the great amirs of the state were not Turkish slaves at all, but Churis, Tajiks or Khalaj, or Arabs, Armenians, Damghanis, Dailamis, and so forth’.8 Irfan Habib says that the Ghorians and the Khalaj were very much part of the nobility and so it can well be said that the Khalji seizure of power in 1290 was ‘no upstart rebellion’ but ‘a Ghorian restoration’.9 ~

236

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

The accession of Jalaluddin Khalji to the throne in 1290 established that heredity was not always the basis of the sovereignty and kingship. Ability and force were also important factors in the succession to the throne. Under the Khaljis and the Tughluqs the doors of nobility were opened to people of diverse backgrounds and it wasjio more the preserve of the Turks only. M. Habib is of the view that ‘during the period of slave kings, membership of the higher bureaucracy was dangerous for an Indian Musalman and impossible for a Hindu. But the Khalji revolution seems to have brought about a change’ .10 Amir Khusrau, in his Khazain uLEutuh. teflrusFtliaf"Sultan Alauddin sent an army of thirty thousand horsemen under a Hindu officer, Malik Naik, the Akhur-bek-Maisarah, against the Mongols, Alibeg, Tartaqand Targhi. The position of low-born men (whether Hindus or Muslims) in the government of Mohammad bin Tughluq was the natural culmination of a process covering a century and a half. Barani in a scathing critique of Mohammad bin Tughluq says - ‘he assigned the Diwan-i-Wizarat (Ministry of Revenue) to Pera Mali (a gardner), the lowest of the lowborn and mean bom men of the Hind and Sind and placed him over the heads of maliks, amirs, walis and governors (maqtasy.''\n the tenure of the Lodis, not including the reigns.of Sikander and Ibrahim Lodi, the tribal concept of treating the Afghans at par with high-ranking officials, determined the official attitude towards the nobility.

ULEMA The ulema came to play a very significant role in the political affairs of the state. They were more or less omnipresent as they were part Of educational institutions, in addition to being present both at the court, and in the provinces. For instance, Minhaj us Siraj Juzjani, the author of the Tabaqat-i Nasiri, was appointed to head the Nasiriyya Madrasa in Delhi. The office of the Qazi was also held by the ulema. The ulema consisted of a group of persons who performed the role of the preachers and guardians of Islamic religion, and at least in the initial stages of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, most of them had come from outside the subcontinent. Traditionally, they were committed to upholding the Islamic religious order, and thus acted as socio-moral censors for the Muslim community at large. The ulema arose as a powerful political faction and, on account of the high judicial positions held by them, could sway the king and the nobility in their favour. They held important positions in the administrative system particularly in the judiciary. Mohammad Habib points out that ‘under these conditions wise kings adopted a policy of compromise and moderation. They paid lip homage to the Shariat and admitted their sinfulness if they were unable; to enforce

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

237

any of its provisions; they kept the state controlled mullahs disciplined and satisfied; over the whole field of administration concerning which the Shariat is silent or nearly silent, they made their own laws; if the traditional customs of the people were against the Shariat, they allowed them to override the Shariat under the designation, of Urf. Thus state laws called Zawabit grew under the protection of the monarchy. If these laws violated the Shariat the principle of necessity or of istihasan (the public good) could be quoted in their favour. And the back of the Shariat was broken for the primary reason that it had provided no means for its own development’.12 Through these formal and informal channels, the primary aim of the ulema was to spread the religious word, and uphold the Islamic religio-moral order as far as was possible. This often brought them into conflict with the Sultan. The ulema preached obedience to the Word of God and to the dictates of the Sultan. Thus, theoretically speaking, they were an important instrument of social control since the message of obedience that they imposed on the Muslim subject population worked towards formulating a political atmosphere favourable to the Sultan. However, later rulers, particularly after the consolidation of the Delhi Sultanate, favoured politics over religion, more so because the majority of the subject population was non-Muslim. This brought the interests of the ulema and the Sultan in direct clash on frequent occasions. The reign of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq is particularly significant in this regard. Muhammad bin Tughluq had appointed a number of non-Muslims in royal service because they were meritorious. Alims, like Ziauddin Barani, expressed strong disapproval of the Sultan’s stance of religious tolerance in their writings. It is also pertinent to take note of the fact that the Sultan did not depend solely on the abstractions of religion for administrative, control, but established his control over core areas through a number of offices. In this sense of the term, the nobility featured as part of the ruling elite, who came to play a lead role in the decision-making process of the time.

REVENUE SYSTEM Since the economy in medieval India was predominantly agrarian, the primary source of income for the state was land revenue. The medieval states would collect revenue from the farmers on their produce to sustain the larger state structures. Before the arrival of the Turks in north India the cultivators were required to pay a large number of cesses - like the bhaga (land revenue), the bhog (cesses), and the kar (extra cesses) - to the local landed elite. Peasants were required, according to the

238 SHS

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Dharamashastras, to pay one-sixth of the produce as land revenue. The early years of Turkish rule did not stand witness to too much change in the structure of rural society. But gradually the collection mechanism of land revenue became more systemized and institutionalised. Irfan Habib says that the polities in Islamic Central Asia ‘rested on the foundations of two elements of independent growth - the iqta and the kharaj’.'3 The Iqta was a transferable revenue assignment by which members of the ruling class obtained their income from a territory, though without any permanent attachment to it. By providing for a policy of rigorous centralization, which gave the Sultan’s government immense power over society, the Iqta was clearly an important instrument through which the state could demand a large share of the surplus. This share preeminently took the form of kharaj, which had by now come to signify the Sovereign’s claim to that part of the surplus which the peasant produced above what he needed for his basic subsistence. Only the possibility of the complete devastation of the peasantry could set a limit on its magnitude. The Iqta assignees (the Muqtis and the Walis) collected the kharaj and other taxes, maintained themselves and their troops, and sent the surplus to the Sultan’s treasury. In the remaining areas (khalisa), the Sultan’s officials directly collected the kharaj and other taxes. It was out of the revenues so obtained that the Islamic principalities maintained their armies and supported the existence of their large and numerous towns. With the Ghorian conquests, the Iqta system was immediately established in northern India and in spite of all the vicissitudes of royal power, the periodic transfer of Iqtas remained a marked feature of the Sultanate in the thirteenth century. But the imposition of the kharaj in its full-blown form took time. The Muqtis largely depended on the tribute extorted from local potentates and on plunder ‘from the mawas or unpacified areas’.14 It is to be assumed that the local potentates (the rais, ranas or ranakas, rautas and others) continued to collect taxes and perquisites inherited from the previous regime. The predominance of agriculture meant that the village remained the basic unit of administration in the Delhi sultanate. Irfan Habib, while drawing up a scenario of the agrarian condition in the Delhi Sultanate period, says that ‘there was little question of the peasants claiming 'property rights over any parcel of land. Land was abundant, and the peasant could normally put up with a denial of his right over the land he tilled. What he feared, on the contrary, was a claim of the superior classes over his crop, and more still over his person’.15 The state held large tracts of land (khalisa) which were tilled by farmers and from where all the revenue came to the central treasury through the agency of officials called

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

1 239

the Amits. But the largest part of the land was distributed as Iqta within the Sultanate. According to Barani, Balban advised Bughra Khan, his son, to tread a middle path in terms of the collection of revenue. Revenue amounts should not be extortionate enough to reduce peasants to a state of penury. Likewise minimalist revenue amounts would only make peasants rebellious. We have no idea of how this was implemented in practice. In general, it was designed not to interfere with the existing village set up. The taxation system followed by the Sultans of Delhi was to an extent based on the Hanafi School of Muslim Law. The revenue was broadly categorised into two by the Muslim Jurists: Fay and Zakat. Fay was further subdivided into Kharns, Jizya and Kharaj. Zakat comprised tax on flocks, herds, gold, silver, commercial capital, agricultural produce, etc. Khams represented one fifth of the booty acquired in war or, mine or treasure trove (found) to be handed over to the state. Jizya was imposed on non-Muslims ‘in return for which they received protection of life and property and exemption from military services’.16 Kharaj was the tax on land. Initially this tax was not levied on Muslims however due to the need of the state for revenue it was later not practical to give immunity to Muslims from the payment of this tax. Theoretically, the holders of Kharaj land were required to pay land tax whether or not the land was cultivated by them. The Muslim law and state followed a liberal policy towards the landholders and they could not be evicted easily. The state tried to encourage cultivation by giving them loans. The Muslim theory of taxation was adopted in India with modifications. We get proper information about the taxation system from the period of Alauddin Khalji. Barani, in his Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi, gives a description of Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian policy in North India - ‘The Sultan decreed that 3 taxes were to be levied on the peasants viz. the Kharaj (also called Kharaj- i-jizya) or tax on cultivation; charai, a tax on milch cattle; and ghari, a tax on houses. As for Kharaj, all who engaged in cultivation whether of lands of large or of small extent were to be subject to (the procedure of) measurement (masahat) and (the fixation of) the yield per biswa (wafa-ibiswa) and were without any exception to pay half’.17 Alauddin Khalji raised the land-revenue demand to half in the upper Doab region up to Aligarh, and in some ai:eas of Rajasthan and Malwa. This area was made khalisa, i.e. the land-revenue collected there went directly to the Imperial treasury. He also imposed a house and cattle tax (ghari and charai).The land-revenue demand was based how much land area was cultivated by each cultivator. Further, except in the area around Delhi, the cultivators were encouraged to pay land-revenue in cash. Alauddin tried to ensure that the cultivators sold their grains to the banjaras, without transporting

240'

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

them to their own stores so they could be sold later at more favourable prices. However, this had to be modified in practice because many of these cultivators themselves brought their grains for sale in the local mandi.. There is no doubt that Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian measures amounted to a massive intervention in the rural set up. His measures alienated the khots, muqaddams and chaudhuris and, to some extent, the rich peasants who had surplus food-grains to sell. The khots and muqaddams were suspected of passing on their burden of work on to the weaker sections, and not paying the ghari and charai taxes. Barani says that the khots and muqaddams became so poof that they, could not wear costly clothes and ride on Arabi and Iraqi horses any more, and their women were obliged to work in the homes of Muslims. Although Barani seems to have exaggerated the situation, it cannot be denied that Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian measures aimed to strike hard at these other sharers of the surplus. The attempt to replace the khots, the muqaddams or of the upper sections of the landed nobility with an army of amils, most of whom proved to be corrupt, was prone to breakdown. We are told that Alauddin’s revenue measures collapsed with his death. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq attempted to amend Alauddin Khalji’s system by ‘giving certain concessions to khots and muqaddams’ The restoration of privileges implies that the state was no longer trying to assess the land­ revenue on the basis of the holdings; instead revenue was now assessed as a lump sum amount, leaving much to the discretion of the khots and the muqaddams. Thus, the khots and muqaddams came to wield tremendous power in the countryside. Ghiyasuddin also replaced the system of measurement of Alauddin Khalji by introducing the concept of sharing in the khalisa areas. This was considered a step towards providing relief to the cultivators who bore the entire onus of blame for anything that went wrong. Under the new dispensation, profit and loss were shared in equal measure by both the cultivators and the state. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq also ensured that in the Iqta territories, i.e. the territories located outside the khalisa areas, the revenue demand was not be increased on the basis of guess or computation, but ‘by degrees and gradually because the weight of sudden enhancement would ruin the country and bar the way to prosperity’.19 Barani informs us that Ghiyasuddin made sure that the revenue demand in the Iqta areas was not raised by ‘one in ten or eleven’.20 Satish Chandra feels that the traditional demand in the areas outside the khalisa areas remained one-third as before.21 Under Muhammad bin Tughluq the whole of India - including Gujarat, Malwa, Deccan, South India and Bengal - was brought under a monolithic and uniform system of taxation. Barani points out that abwab (additional cesses) were also imposed on the peasants. The three taxes:

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

241

ghari, charai, and kharaj were strictly levied. There was thus increase in agrarian taxation. Kharaj was now calculated on standard yield and not actual yield of measured land for assessment in kind. Officially prescribed prices were applied for obtaining the assessment. Thus the demand rose. These measures resulted in agrarian distress. It is around this time only that famine struck Delhi and the Doab. Like Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian reforms, Muhammad bin Tughluq’s measures were also designed to curtail the privileges of the more affluent sections in village society, especially the khots and muqaddams. The pressure on peasants beyond a point of endurance -was bound to have serious repercussions. Under Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-51), a further increase in taxation led to a very serious and long-drawn-out agrarian uprising in the Doab. Most peasants, especially the khots and muqaddams, turned into rebels. The reason for this, it seems, was that in assessing the land-revenue artificially fixed standard yields were applied to the area under measurement. Further, when converting the produce into cash, not the actual prices but official standard prices were applied. There was also harshness in levying the tax on cattle and houses. Thus the actual incidence of land-revenue demand rose considerably to half or even more than half. The rebellion, the subsequent famine, Muhammad bin Tughluq’s wellknown harsh measures, followed by ‘a grand palliative project (including the first recorded instance of taccavi loans), were clearly the consequences of the implantation of an entirely new kind of agrarian taxation in India’.21 Muhammad bin Tughluq tried to shift gears again. In the Doab, which was a directly administered area (khalisa), he tried to improve cultivation by changing the cropping pattern, and by replacing inferior crops by superior crops. The main inducement for this was granting loans (sondhar) for digging wells, etc. This policy could only have succeeded with the co­ operation of the richer cultivators, but the khots and muqaddams, who had the largest land-holdings as well as the means, were interested only in enriching themselves and had no real knowledge of the local conditions. Firuz Shah Tughluq reversed Muhammad Tughluq’s policy and many agrarian levies (abwab, ghari and charai) were discontinued. Afif says that loans given to the peasantry as sondhar were ‘written off ’ by Firuz.23 Afif also informs that he ‘limited exactions above the kharaj to 4 per cent’.23 However, the Jizya was imposed as a separate tax. Careful examination tells us that the Jizya was closer to the ghari since it was a levy on the head of the house. Firuz Tughluq also imposed a water tax on the villages which made use of canals and it was one tenth of the produce. .Firuz met with greater success by providing water to the peasants of Haryana by his canal system, levying an extra charge of 10 per cent, and leaving it to the peasants to cultivate what they wanted.

242 gw

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

On the basis of the available information in the contemporary chronicles, Firuz Tughluq’s rule is generally considered a period of rural prosperity. Barani and Afif tell us that, as result of the Sultan’s orders, the provinces became cultivated, and tillage extended widely so that not a single village in the Doab remained uncultivated. The canal system extended tillage in Haryana. According to Afif, Tn the houses of the raiyat (peasantry) so much grain, wealth, horses and goods accumulated that one cannot speak of them’, He goes on to say how ‘none of the women folk of the peasantry remained without ornaments, and that in every peasant’s house there were clean bed-sheets, excellent bed-cots, many articles and much wealth’. Obviously these remarks applied largely to the richer sections among the peasants and other privileged sections like the khots, muqaddams, etc. During the period of the Lodis, land tax was collected in kind due to the declining price situation. Thus overall, the land-revenue under the Sultans, especially during the fourteenth century, remained heavy, hovering around fifty percent of the produce. However, at the same time every effort was made to reduce the power and privileges of the intermediaries, who took a major portion of the cultivator’s production. This was the first time in several decades that such a high amount of land-revenue was assessed and collected from a large and highly fertile area. The land revenue system enabled the ruling class of the Sultanate to appropriate a large part of the country’s surplus. In essence, it meant the entire or partial replacement of rural superior classes by an urban ruling class. The administrative methods of revenue collection and the centralisation of such large liquid resources in the hands of the ruling class had important consequences for urban manufacturers, trade and commerce and urbanisation. It also enabled the state to introduce an elaborate system of monetisation.

MONETISATION The Turkish rule in Delhi, apart from the many other changes that it introduced, also revitalised the economy by introducing major transformations and the standardization of coinage. Before this the coins of the Delhi region were known as dehliwal.15 Indian coinage assumed an entirely new pattern under the Turks. The coins of ancient India, both in the north and in the South, had pictorial or heraldic devices at least on one side. During the Turkish rule coins carried inscriptions on both the sides in Arabic or Persian script. In Islam, the inscribing of the ruler’s name on the coins was invested with special importance. This privilege, along with the reading of his name in the khutba (public prayer), implied his legitimacy to rule. The rulers of the Islamic world had this tradition of

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

243

asms

issuing coins on each occasion of conquering a new territory or even a fort or a town, and to record on them their names, titles, the date in the Hijri era and the place of issue of the coins. The crusading zeal of the early Khalifas of Syria in the eighth century ad had introduced the Kalima or profession of faith - La ilah-il-illah Muhammad-ur-Rasool Allah.16 Later this formed part of the Muslim coins. In India too, the Kalima was used on the coins. Muhammad Ghori struck gold coins in imitation of the coins that were current in the country. Each coin had his name - Sri Mahamad bin Sam - inscribed on it in Nagari. On the obverse was placed a seated Lakshmi. Simon Digby says that the earliest issues of gold and silver coins from Delhi had a ‘commemorative character which reflected the immediate coinage of hoards plundered or remitted in tribute’.27 Qutubuddin Aibak was the first Sultan to set up his capital at Delhi; but no coin bearing his name has so far been found. It was under Iltutmish that the coins of Delhi Sultanate were standardized for the first time and it was he who issued a new standard coin called the jital, which weighed 32 ratis. The ratio of silver and copper in the jital was 1: 80.28 He also issued the pure silver coins called tangas after his conquest of Laknawti.29 The normal tanga coins of Iltutmish were an amalgam of gold and silver and were inscribed with various legendary accounts of note. Each tanga had a consistent gold and silver ratio of LTD.30 Some of the coins of the Delhi Sultanate were of pure copper and were called dang. The value of each silver tanga was 48 jitals - 192 dangs = 480 dirams (smaller copper coins).31 Literary sources are silent about the establishment of a new gold and silver cuirency in the Delhi Sultanate. But it is pertinent to note that from very early times pure silver coinage was scarce in northern India. Simon Digby suggests that the tri-metallic coinage in northern India in the thirteenth century was heavily dependent on the remittance of gold and silver from Bengal.32 But the remittances from Bengal were quite erratic and much depended on the degree to which the local governor obeyed the orders of the Delhi Sultan. Simon Digby makes a very interesting observation on the whole mechanism of the minting of currency right from the release of treasure from hoards into monetary circulation. He says that the currency was basically derived from the plunder of local rulers or religious establishments. Gold, being the more precious metal, was hoarded that much more than silver was and thus when hoards were put into circulation ‘the ratio of exchange between gold and silver is likely [szc] to be under pressure’ 33 The frequent plunder of the Deccan kingdoms at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth centuries placed huge quantities

244 ®«8

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

of precious metals (more gold than silver) into the hands of the Sultans of Delhi. Farishta, a historian of note, says that the indemnity extracted by Alauddin Khalji from Ramadeva of Deogiri amounted to roughly 7.7 metric tonnes of gold and 12.8 metric tones of silver. Similarly Barani informs us that Malik Kafur, after his plundering expedition to the Pandya kingdom, is said to have brought back 96,000 man of gold, which would correspond to 241 metric tones.34 As a result of the booty, the coinage of the Delhi Sultanate acquired more finesse. A large number of gold and silver coins were issued by Alauddin Khalji and there is the ‘brighter appearance of the silver issues due to the absence of lead’ .35 When Timur plundered Delhi in 1398, his officers found stores of tangas coined in Alauddin’s name. Later on when the Sultanate was faced with a strained economy, the predominance of gold over silver coins in circulation added up to the pressure. The pressure became more apparent after the accession of Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1325. Shortly after that smaller denomination gold coins were issued by Muhammad Tughluq. He also issued a mixedmetal tanga which weighed 80 ratis weight; was one-sixth the weight of a silver coin; and had a silver content of about 45 grains, a little more than a quarter of. what was found in the earlier coins. Muhammad bin Tughluq, in the sixth year of his reign, tried a more desperate expedient, the issue of a token coinage of brass and copper to replace the silver coinage. Barani says that he was influenced by the Chinese token currency (chao) in the form of silk or paper notes of credit. Contemporary chroniclers like Barani have linked up Muhammad bin Tughluq’s issue of token currency with the recruitment of a large number of troops and the payments therein. But we also need to view this measure in the backdrop of ‘quickening pace of commerce and of pressure on gold-silver parity of 10:1 that underpinned the monetary system’.36 Simon Digby argues that the scale of Muhammad bin Tughuq’s subsequent military operations, the plentiful issue of gold coins in his reign and accounts of the donations he made to foreign visitors suggest that the accumulated treasure of the Delhi Sultanate was not exhausted; the problem was that of the relative scarcity of silver in a cash economy with urban inflation . This was soon accentuated by the loss of political control over Bengal. Literary evidence confirms the demand for silver from Eastern sources. Qadar Khan, a governor in the employ of Muhammad bin Tughluq, was especially assigned the responsibility of gathering revenue in the form of silver in Bengal. The Qarachil expedition and the attack on Nagarkot by Muhammad Tughluq were also motivated by his need for silver.37 The condition became more delicate in the reign of his successor Firuz Shah Tughluq and his quest for silver is indicated by the

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

245

realisation of arrears of revenue from Hindu chiefs in the region of Gorakhpur. The arrears were realised in silver tangasr® Thus, the monetary system of the Delhi Sultanate started to decay by the middle of the fourteenth century. Gradually the silver tanga was debased to 80 rati. The silver tanga, supported by denominations of cowries and not of copper, remained a coinage of commercial transactions in Bengal down to the revival of a coinage in precious metals throughout northern India in the middle of the sixteenth century. Now the use of gold and silver coinage merely remained ceremonial. It was not intended as a currency of trade but as a proclamation of sovereignty or was used for ceremonial distributions. Simon Digby says that the ‘gold issues of the later Tughluq Sultans of Delhi, some posthumous and dating from the early fifteenth century, and of the Sayyid Sultans of Delhi are rare’.39 The Lodis also did not issue gold or silver coins. The monetary system of the Delhi Sultanate was dominantly based on revenue extraction. Other sources of gain came from the large scale plunder and subsequent collection of booty. But plunder and territorial expansion was a finite and limited affair. The moment episodes of plunder and loot began to shrink, a crisis occurred in the monetary organism as well.

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES We have alreaoy touched upon some aspects of technology as part of the impact of Turkish invasion in Chapter 5. Irfan Habib has shown how the diffusion of new elements of technology in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries came from the ‘violent external factor’ of the Turks.40 The Turkish rulers, nobles and soldiers ‘all came with demand for goods and services they were used to in their homelands, and so caused an emigration of the arts and crafts of the Islamic world to India’.41 Agriculture and Irrigation were the two fields which underwent the greatest number of technological changes after the Turkish rule. There were many sources of water for the purpose of irrigating fields in early medieval times. Rain water was a natural source. Ponds and tanks received this water which was then used for irrigation. Water channels formed by inundation, too, served the same purpose. But the most important controlled source was the water of the wells, especially in North India. Almost all the irrigational devices were oriented towards drawing water from wells. The latter were more often than not masonry wells with raised walls and enclosures/ platforms. Kuchcha wells also existed, but these could not have been durable or strong enough for extensive water-lifting.

246

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Broadly, there were five devices or techniques to raise water from wells.42 The simplest technique was to hand draw water with a rope and bucket without any mechanical aid. Obviously, then, a bucket alone could not have served the purpose of providing water to large fields. But the rope-bucket technique could well have served the purpose of irrigating smaller fields that did not require much water. The second method was of appending pulleys (charkhi) to the rope­ bucket contraption. This device was also operated manually. Undoubtedly, the pulleys needed much less human energy and, therefore, comparatively larger bags or buckets could be attached to the ropes. It was also used for domestic purpose, especially by women. An improved method of the rope-pulley contraption was that of making use of a pair of oxen to replace human power. It soon became a specialised device for drawing water intended specifically for irrigational purposes. In some areas of North India it is still in operation and is known as charasa. It comprises a huge bag that gives an idea of the immense quantity of water raised from a well in one single haul up. Moreover, the bullock track was like a ramp or slopping path - the length of the path corresponding to the depth of the well. The water of the well (mounted with this device) could not have been used for drinking, cleaning utensils or for washing clothes. Of all the five methods, charasa alone failed to be a multi-purpose method. It was solely devised for irrigation - a fact which has not been realised till now. The fourth technique was what is considered to be semi-mechanical one as it worked on the lever principle. A long rope is landed to the fork of an upright beam or trunk of a tree (especially meant for this purpose) and then put in a swinging position. The bucket is fastened to a rope whose other end is tied to that of the swinging pole hovering over the wall. The pole’s other end carries a ‘counterweight’, which is a little heavier than the bucket when filled with water. Thus, the fulcrum forms at the centre of the pole, with weight and ‘counterweight’ (Effort) at its two ends. This contraption does not require much effort to operate. The device is known as shadufm Egypt. It is called tula (balance) in Sanskrit, but in Bihar and Bengal it’s known as Dhenkli or lat/latha. The fifth method of water-lifting is called saqiya or the ‘Persian wheel’. Irfan Habib argues that none of the four mechanisms described above required wheels as their basic component.43 This water-wheel could well claim to be called a water machine because of the the gear system that it had. The gear system heralded a very advanced stage in the technological sense: it has been surpassed only now by electric tube­ wells. Much controversy has cropped up about the origins of the saqiya did it exist in India prior to the advent of the Muslims, or was it a foreign

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

247

wss importation through the agency of the Turks? In India, their earliest form was that of one wheel with pitchers or pots of clay attached around the rim of the wheel. It was called the araghatta or arahatta in Sanskrit. This devise called noria in English - a corruption of the Arabic naurah - was worked by human power only.44 Its form was such that it could only be set up over shallow water or Open surfaces like streams, reservoirs or even rivers where water would level up to its banks. Thus, its use over wells was absolutely out of the question. The second stage was to exploit it over wells. This was done by substituting by the earthen pots fitted around the rim of the wheel with a chain or garland {mala} of pots which was long enough to reach the water level of the well. The mala or chain was made of double ropes with open ends between which the pots were secured with timber strips. In Sanskrit it was called ghatiyantra (pot-machine), although the words araghatta and arahatta continued to be used for both the types of noria. This, too, was operated by human power. At the third and the final stage, we find three new development - (i) the addition of two more wheels; (ii) a gear mechanism; and (iii) the use of animal power. The lantern-wheel, provided with vertical pegs at regular intervals, was set. up on an upright axle to be moved by animal power around in circles horizontally. The pin-wheel was arranged vertically with a shaft or axle connected to the third wheel over the well that carried the pot-garland. This was, then, the gear system that exploited animal power. Essentially, the point was to convert the original horizontal motion of the lantem-wheel into a vertical one for the wheel set up over the well. The confusion of some modem scholars in this controversy is to identify the first two first stages of the noria with the saqiya. But now you know that the latter was radically different not only in its conception but also in its components. A semantic blunder was committed when the same terms - araghatta and arahatta (modem rahat} - were used for the saqiya by the Muslims who brought it in the early medieval period. In fact, there is no evidence of the use of water, wheels were operated by animals in Ancient India. The Sultanate period belongs to the various new techniques introduced by the Turks in the field of textiles. Cotton cultivation is also part of agricultural technology. The collection of cotton balls was followed by three important stages before the cotton could be used for weaving. The stages included - (i) ginning or seed extraction; (ii) carding or fibre loosening; and (iii) spinning or making yam. Ginning was done in two ways - (i) the roller and board method; and (ii) the press or worm-roller {charkhi) method. The cotton, thus separated from seeds, was ‘beaten’ with sticks or carded with bow-strings to separate and loosen the fibres {naddafe in Persian; dhunna in Hindi). Spinning was traditionally done

248

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

with a spindle (duk in Persian; takla in Hindi) to which a whorl (phirki in Hindi) was attacked. The most important technological revolution in the textile sector was that of the introduction of the spinning-wheel in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (charkha) through the agency of the Muslims. The charkha did not exist in Ancient India. The first literary reference to the charkha comes from Isami’s Futuh-us Salatin (1350).45 The charkha combined within itself the element of power-transmission (through belt­ drive) and the principle of a flywheel resulting in differential speeds of rotation. There is a controversy about the date as to when a handle or crank-handle was attached to the device. But this controversy about exactly when a handle or crank-handle was attached to the device still remains. But a clearer picture emerges with the aid of pictorial evidence (c. 1530) in the Miftah-ul Fuzala where a spinning wheel has been shown being operated with a handle attached to the frame. According to one estimate, a spinning wheel could produce six times as much yam as a spindle could in the same unit of time. This must have resulted in a greater output of yam and, therefore, in more cloth. It must be pointed out that the yam from the spindle was of a very fine quality whereas the charkha produced somewhat coarser yam. Horizontal loom, of the throw-shuttle type, was used for simple or tabby weave. It is difficult to determine whether the pit-loom (trade loom) was in use in Ancient India, but we get our first glimpse of this loom in the Miftah-ul Fuzala (c. 1469). This loom allowed the weaver to employ his hitherto idle feet to lift and depress the sets of warp threads. This speeded up the pace of weaving. For patterned weaves (of different colours used simultaneously), one scholar suggests that a draw loom might have existed for this purpose in south India in around 1001. But this view has not found much favour as some historians believe that it was brought into India by the Muslims late in the seventeenth century. The writing materials in Ancient India were many, stones, copper, plates, silk and cotton cloths, and specially prepared palm-leaves (talpatra) and birch-bark (burjapatra). The last two were used in writing books. Paper was first manufactured in China around the first century ad. It was made from bamboo pulp. The Muslim Arabs learnt the art of making paper from the Chinese who had been taken captive in a battle in 751. Very soon the Arabs developed this craft by making paper from rags and old linen. The Indians perhaps knew about the use of paper in the seventh century, but they never used it as writing material. While the Chinese traveller I-Ching visited India, he could not find paper to copy the Sanskrit manuscript for being taken in China. Since he had exhausted his own stock, he sent a message to his friends in China to send paper to him.

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

249

During the Delhi Sultanate, paper was used for many purposes, especially for books, farmans and numerous commercial and administrative documents. Paper was available on a large scale so much so that even sweetmeats were delivered to buyers in paper packets called puryas - a practice still existent in India. But it seems that there was a scarcity of papermaking centres. Ma Huan, a fourteenth century Chinese navigator, that paper was first produced in Bengal. However, paper was imported in bulk from Islamic countries, especially Samarqand and Syria. The practice of writing books on paper was accompanied by the craft of bookbinding which was an innovation in India, because the technique was different from that followed earlier, which was largely that of putting sheets of writing material together (palm-leaves and birch-bark). Iron stirrup (rikab) was another major contribution of the Turks to India. It was unkown in India before the advent of the Turks. This stirrup was first used in China in around the sixth century, and was introduced to Persia and other Islamic countries later in the next century. The stirrups provide a huge advantage to the horserider in wars. It is on this basis that Simon Digby and many other historians have highlighted the superior military technology of the Turks. Horseriders had always enjoyed an edge over footmen in battle. Before the introduction of the stirrup, the rider’s seat was a precarious one. Bit and spur did help in controlling the mount; and the simple saddle provided stability to the seat, though the rider’s mobility and methods of fighting were restricted. He was primarily a rapidly mobile bowman and hurler of javelins. As for the spear, before the invention of the stirrup it was wielded at the end of the arm and the blow was delivered with the strength of shoulder and the biceps. The stirrup made possible - although it did not demand - a vastly more effective mode of attack. The rider now could lay his lance at rest between the upper arm and the body and then deliver the blow not with his muscles but with the combined weight of his charging stallion and himself. The stirrup, by giving lateral support in addition to the font and back support offered by the pommel and the cantie, effectively welded horse and rider into a single fighting unit capable of unprecedented force and strength. The fighter’s hand no longer delivered the blow; it merely guided it. The stirrup thus replaced human energy with animal power, and immensely increased the warrior’s ability to hurt his enemy. Immediately, without preparatory steps, it made possible mounted shock combat, a revolutionary new way of doing battle. While some scholars of Medieval India look at the stirrup as a contributory factor to the series of Military successes that the Turks achieved in India - at least in the initial stages of their invasions - the horseshoe (nal) has been treated as its poor cousin.

250

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Domestication of horses was not enough. Equipment - like the simple bridle, bitted bridle, saddle with pommel and cantie and, of course, the stirrup - was needed. Nailed horseshoes were introduced late in India. It is interesting to note that the horseshoe is the only accoutrement which does not have direct bearing on controlling the animal like other accessories do. If this is so, why were horseshoes needed? The answer lies in the hoof, the most vulnerable part of the equine anatomy. The horse’s hoof is a constantly growing homy structure prone to breaking, splitting and shelling. In their original natural habitat horses keep their feet worn down and, hence, trimming is unnecessary. But tamed and domesticated horses, when in use, require shoeing, specially in moist latitudes. Shoeing has two advantages -one, it gives a better grip on soft ground; and two, the hooves get protection on rough ground. It is now a well accepted fact that horseshoes were a foreign importation, brought by the Turks when they came to India. The Arabic/Persian word for the shoe is nal. Another major contribution of the Turks is that of gunpowder technology. Gunpowder consists of saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal, and it was first invented in China. Later, it spread to Islamic societies as well. The immigrant Turks brought gunpowder to India in perhaps the last part of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth centuries. But it must be pointed out that even in the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughluq its only use was for pyrotechnic or fireworks (atashbazi), not for fire-arms or for propelling cannon-balls. Fire-arms were used for the first time during the second half of the fifteenth century in some regions of India like Gujarat, Malwa and the Deccan. At any rate, the use of firearms on a regular basis was introduced by the Portuguese in Calicut in 1498, and by Babur in North India in the early sixteenth century. Tin coating was yet another technology introduced in India after the Turkish conquest. Domestic utensils of copper (and brass) are prone to acid poisoning if sour food is kept in them. A coating of tin is given to protect them from the chemical action of food. This craft came to India along with the Turks. There is no reference to this technique in Ancient India. This craft came to India along with the Turks. There is no reference to this technique in Ancient India. Apart from literary sources, archaeological evidence comes from an excavation site in the South (near Kolhapur) where a tin-coated copper container was discovered. Since, this vessel was found along with the coins of the Bahmani dynasty (13471538), it must have belonged to that period. The craftsman who does tin coating is called the qala’igar. Tin (ranga) is a highly malleable and ductile metal, and its coating protects vessels from corrosion and chemical poisoning. The craftsman first cleanses the

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

251

utensils to remove dirt, etc. After this, the vessels are mildly heated over a small furnace with charcoal. Small bellows are used to maintain a clean surface. Meanwhile the tin melts and, by a constant rubbing of pads, is evenly distributed over the whole vessel. Glass was first put to use during the first millennium bc. The presence of an object may reveal its possible use but does not necessarily imply a knowledge of technology. However, glass was not scarce in India. Perhaps long familiarity with imported glassware must have led to indigenous manufacture. But Indian glass objects ‘did not go beyond the manufacture of tit-bits like beads and bangles’, With the advent of the Muslims, pharmaceutical phials, jars and vessels came to India from Islamic countries. It is not possible to determine whether the above glassware was actually modelled on these importations. However, during the period of study, we draw blank when we look for the manufacture of articles of glass like a glass lens for spectacles or looking glasses. Mirrors were made of copper or bronze with highly polished surfaces. The entire frame of boats and ships was that of timber like anywhere else in the world. The planks were first joined by the rabbeting or the tongue-and-groove method. The planks were then sewn together with ropes made from coconut husk. Sometimes wooden nails were also used. But iron nails and clamps to join the planks were a later development and were inspired by the art of European shipbuilding after 1498 when Vasco da Gama first reached India. The Europeans also introduced iron anchors. During the Sultanate period the building industry also underwent a distinguished technological transformation. The crucial new elements included the use of cementing lime and vaulted roofing, and the true arch and dome. In totality, the new technique made the use of large brick-andrubble structures possible. Irfan Habib says that ‘looking at the ruins of Tughluqabad, as of later sites, one can perhaps say that it was the Sultanate that saw the partial conversion of middle-class housing from wood and thatch into brick structures’.46 The Sultans engaged themselves with largescale building. Alauddin Khalji alone is said to have employed 70,000 craftsmen for his buildings, and the structures left behind by Muhammad Tughluq and Firuz Tughluq speak for themselves. All this reflects the enormous architectural possibilities that existed in the Delhi Sultanate.

GROWTH OF TRADE AND COMMERCE The emergence of towns is another development of note. These naturally needed to be supplied with raw material for craft production. By the time Alauddin Khalji, there was growing practice of land revenue realisation in cash. This was conducive to the development of inland trade. In order

252

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

to pay the land revenue in cash, the peasantry was forced to sell its surplus produce while merchants had a market in newly emerged towns for agricultural products. This trade resulting from the compulsions of land revenue system is termed as ‘induced trade’.47 Inland Trade

The village-town trade was a natural consequence of the emergence of towns and realisation of land revenue in cash. Urban centres were dependent for the supply of food grains and raw material from the surrounding cultivable areas. The peculiar nature of this trade was the one-way flow of commodities. While towns received grains and raw material from the villages in the vicinity, they were in no way required to send their products in exchange of the land revenue demand imposed upon villages which were by and large self-sufficient. This one-way trade was owed its existence to the land revenue demand imposed upon villages which naturally led to a huge drain on the rural sector and made towns dependent on villages. The turnover of this trade was high in terms of volume but was low in terms of value. The commodities were food grains, that is wheat, rice, gram, sugarcane, etc. and raw material like cotton for urban manufacturers. The inter-town trade was mainly that of luxury articles and had a high value trade: The products of one town were often taken to another. Barani reports that Delhi received distilled wines from Koi (Aligarh) and Meerut; muslim from Devagiri and striped cloth from Lakhnauti (Bengal). Ibn Battuta believes that ordinary cloth came from Awadh and betel-leaf from Malwa. Candy sugar was supplied to Multan from Delhi and Lahore and ghi from Sirsa (in Haryana). The long distance inter-town trade also included goods coming from other countries. Multan was perhaps the great entry point for overland foreign trade and served as a centre of re-export, while Gujarat port towns such as Broach and Cambay were exchange centres for overseas trade. Foreign Trade

During the Sultanate period, both overland and overseas trade were in a flourishing state. The annexation of Gujarat by Alauddin Khalji puffedup trade relations between the Delhi Sultanate and the Persian gulf and the Red Sea. Gujarat was connected with the Persian gulf as well as the Red Sea. Hormuz and Basra were the chief ports for ships passing through the Persian Gulf, while the ports of Aden, Mocha and Jedda along the Red Sea were important for Gujarat. Through these ports, commodities

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

253 aw

moved on to Damascus, Aleppo and Alexandria. Aleppo and Alexandria opened into Mediterranean Sea with linkages to Europe. The merchandise of Gujarat was also carried towards the port of the Malacca straits and the Indonesian archipelago. The man export from Gujarat to Malacca was that of the coloured cloth manufactured in Cambay and other towns in Gujarat. This cloth was much in demand in these places. Cloth was bartered for spices. This pattern of ‘spices for coloured cloth’ continued even after the advent of the Portuguese in the Asian waters. Varthema, an Italian traveller who came to India during the first decade of the sixteenth century, says that about 300 ships belonging to different countries come and go from Cambay. He adds that about 400 ‘Turkish’ merchants resided at Diu. One of the contemporary sources mentions that 10,000 horses were annually exported to Ma’bar and Cambay from Persia. The Broach coin hoards - containing the coins of the Delhi Sultans along with the gold and silver coins of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Persia, Genoa, Armenia and Venice - further testifies to a larger scale overseas trade. Bengal too had some important trading ports and had trade relations with China, Malacca and the Far East. Textiles, sugar and silk fabrics were the most important commodities exported from Bengal. Bengal imported salt from Hormuz and seashells from the Maldive islands. The latter were used as coins in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. Sindh was yet another region from where seaborne trade was carried on. Its most well known port was Daibul. This region had developed close commercial ties with the Persian Gulf ports even more so than the Red Sea zone. Sindh exported special cloth and dairy products. Smoked-fish too, was its specialty. Coastal trade flourished right from Sindh to Bengal, touching Gujarat, Malabar and the Coromandel coasts in between. This provided an opportunity for exchange of regional products along the coastal line district from inland inter-regional trade. Multan was the major centre for overland trade. India was connected to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia through the Multan-Quetta route. But, this route was not preferred much by merchants on account of the reported Mongol turmoil in Central Asia and Persia. The two principal items of imports were: horses and precious metals. Horses were always in demand for the cavalry as horses of a superior kind were not bred in India and Indian climate was not well suited to Arabian and Central Asian horses. They were primarily imported from Zofar (Yemen), Kis, Hormuz, Aden and Persia. Precious metals like gold and silver, especially silver, that was not all mined in India, but for which there was a high demand not only in terms of metallic currency but also

254

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

for fashioning luxury items. Brocade and silk were imported from Alexandria, Iraq and China. Gujarat was the major centre from where luxury articles from Europe used to enter. The merchants in the Sultanate period also exported grain and textiles. Some of the Persian Gulf regions depended entirely on India for their supply of food. Slaves were exported to Central Asia and indigo to Persia along with numerous other commodities of use. Precious stones, agates in particular, were exported from Cambay. Two categories of merchants are mentioned in the sources of the Delhi Sultanate: the karwanis or nayaks and the Multanis. The merchants, who specialised in carrying grains, were designated by Barani as the karwanis (a Persian word meaning those who moved together in large numbers). The contemporary mystic, Nasiruddin (Chiragh Delhi) calls them nayaks and describes them as those ‘who bring food grains from different parts to the city (Delhi) - some with ten thousand laden bullocks, some with twenty thousand’. It can be said with a degree of certainty that these karwanis were essentially the banjaras of succeeding centuries. As is clear from the Mughal sources, these were organized in groups and their headman was called a nayak. The other important group of merchants mentioned in our sources is that of the Multanis. Barani says that their forte was long distance trade. They were engaged in usury and commerce. According to Barani, they were generally in need of cash. The Sahas and the Multanis were generally Hindu, but there is evidence of the presence of some Muslims. Hamiduddin Multani is a good example of what Barani chose to call a malik ut tujjar (the great merchant). Besides these well defined merchant groups, other motley groups also took to trade. Thus a Sufi mystic from Bihar chose to become a slave-merchant. A number of pious men from Central Asia came to Delhi and became merchants. Another important commercial class that emerged during the Sultanate period was that of the dallals or brokers. They worked as a link between the buyer and the seller and took a commission from both parties. Barani says that they were the ‘masters of market’ (hakiman bazaar) : they were instrumental in raising commodity prices in the market. Alauddin Khalji was much in the habit of consulting them about the cost of production of every article in the market. The reference to ‘Chief’ brokers (mihtran-idallalan) by Barani also suggests a somewhat well established guild of brokers, though the details are lacking. However, during Alauddin Khalji’s reign these ‘Chief’ brokers were dealt with rather severely. But by Feroz Tughluq’s reign, they seem to have regained their position. Feroz Tughluq had abolished dalat-i-bazara (a tax on the broker’s licence; a cess on brokers). Besides, even if a deal between the buyer and the seller failed

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

255

to materialize, the brokers were not required to return the commission. This also shows that during Tughluq’s reign ‘brokerage’ became a fairly well-established institution. Sarrafs were yet another mercantile group whose economic role was no less important than that of the brokers. As money changers, they were most eagerly sought after by the merchants, especially the foreign merchants who came to India with their native coins. The sarrafs tested the metallic purity of the coins (indigenous and foreign) and established the exchange-ratio. They also issued bills of exchange (hundi or in Persian it is known- as suffia) or letters of credit, therefore acting as ‘bankers’. The introduction of paper by the Turks into India accelerated the institution of bills of exchange. A commission was charged for all the trouble taken. Thus, both the brokers and the sarrafs occupied a pivotal position in the commercial world of their period; they were the custodians of several basic economic institutions. Indeed, no merchant could have dispensed with their services. The goods were transported both by pack animals and on bullock carts. Perhaps the share of the pack animals was more than that of the latter’s. Ibn Battuta mentions 30,000 mans of grain being transported on the backs of 3,000 bullocks from Amroha to Delhi. Bullock carts were also used, according to Afif, for carrying passengers in return for payment. The pack-oxen were, of course, a cheap mode of transport travelling slowly, grazing as they went and moving in large herds, thus reducing the cost of transport especially along the desert routes. Ibn Battuta describes that highways ran through the empire marked by minarets spaced at set distances. On the testimony of Shahabuddin al Umari, the author of the Masalik ul Absar, we may infer that every effort was made to create conditions conducive to trade. Inns were built at each stage and were called manzils. In Bengal, Iwaz Khalji built long embankments as a safeguard from floods. Boats were used to carry bulk goods, while large ships were used for sea borne trade. Thus, it can well be said that trade and commerce continued to flourish after the advent of the Turks. We see an increase in the number of coin hoards after 1200, and stand witness to the emergence of a large number of new towns.

THE COMING OF THE PORTUGUESE In spite of brisk trading activities, Indian merchants’ share in the overseas trade was negligible and the trade was dominated by the Arab merchants. Only a small section of Gujarati Banaias, the Chettis of the South and domiciled Indian Muslims were part of this large trading activity. Trade

256 sgg®

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

was mainly in the hands of the Arab Merchants. The Portugese, who came to Calicut in 1498, added a new dimension to the Indian sea-borne trade, that is, the ‘element of force’. On account of their better-armed cannon loaded ships, the Portuguese soon imposed their commercial hegemony over the trading world of Asia, including the Indian seas, especially in the Westem part. This curtailed the Arabs’ share of the Indian trade, though they survived in the Eastern part, especially at Malacca along with the Indian merchants. The Portuguese took Goa in 15H) which became their headquarters, Malacca fell in their hands in 1511; and Bassein and Diu in 1534 and 1537 respectively. Goa, under their patronage, soon developed as a major centre of trade. The Portuguese understood the strategic importance of Goa, which in their opinion, was essential to the maintenance of their position in India. But the Portuguese possession of Goa was unfavourable to other west Indian ports. Tome Pires rightly observed that the Muslim rulers of the Deccan and Gujarat had ‘a bad neighbour in Goa’. Many ports on the west coast fell into decay during the hundred years of Portuguese domination in the Indian waters. This happened as a result of the aggressive policies of the Portuguese. For one, they controlled the sea routes and the type and volume of cargo carried by other merchants; then they introduced the system of issuing cartaz which was a kind of permit to ply ships in the Asian waters without which ships were liable to be confiscated and the cargo plundered. A fee was charged for issuing a cartaz. All these policies adversely affected the sea-borne trade of the Indians as well as of the Arabs.

URBANISATION R.S. Sharma has postulated his theory of urban decay with the help of enormous archeological data about which we have already read in Chapter 3. He has elaborated upon his theory of the decay of towns by the evidence of sluggish trade. The near complete disappearance of gold and silver currencies and the almost total absence of foreign coins in the Indian coin-hoards of the period have also been shown as indicators that the foreign trade was at a very low scale. However, B.D. Chattopadhyaya has successfully shown that many other urban centres remained prosperous as centres of trade and economy. Muhammad Habib, corroborating R.S. Sharma’s argument, postulated a theory of ‘Orban Revolution’ meaning a changed scenario that resulted from the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. But, as discussed in Chapter 5, the phenomena of change in the urban set-up was neither uniform nor homogenous, and therefore, cannot be described in terms of an urban revolution.

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

257

Urbanisation did take place in the Delhi Sultanate period. A number of new towns and urban centres also came up in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These were largely settlements where the overwhelming majority of people were engaged in occupations other than agriculture. While not much can be found in the sense of supporting archaeological evidence, literary evidence testifies to the growth of urban centres. Ibn Battuta described Delhi in 1330, after Muhammad Tughluq had shifted much of its population to Daulatabad, as a city of enormous extent and population, holding it to be perhaps the largest city in the whole of the Islamic East. And yet he says that Daulatabad too was large enough to rival Delhi in size.48 The other significant cities of the time are Lahore, Multan, Anhilwara (Patan), Cambay and Lakhnauti. Lahore, However, decayed after the Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century, but flourished, again in the fourteenth century. There is evidence of the fact that at least some of these cities were fairly large, even by conservative contemporary standards, Some new towns established during the period were Jhain (chhain) in east Rajasthan that was later named ‘Shahr Nau’ during Alauddin Khalji’s reign. Iqtas, given to the Turks and other nobles during the Delhi Sultanate, also led to the emergence of new urban centres. The members of the ruling class preferred to stay at their Iqta headquarters along with their cavalry. These Iqta headquarters had a huge cavalry along with its Hangers-on. The retinue and households of the Muqti thus emerged as camp cities in the early phase. Most thirteenth century towns - including Hansi, JCara and Anhilwara - have been described as Iqta headquarters in our sources. These towns were Jo be fed and provided Jor. In the beginning, troops had to realise kharaj/mal by plundering the surrounding villages. Gradually, as Moreland points out, a cash nexus developed towards the fourteenth century. The revenue was realised in cash from the peasants who were thus forced to sell their produce at the side of the field. The merchants catered to the needs of towns which gave an impetus to trade, and it was this that in turn led to the phenomena of urbanisation. The ruling class, which came from different cultural milieus, had need of leisure and comforts of a different type. They wanted songs in Persian and dances of a different style, books, silk to wear and light architecture (not the stone edifices). The ruling elite naturally wanted to get the luxuries and comforts of their taste which encouraged immigration from Islamic culture area. These immigrants were not only soldiers, but craftsman^ artisans, singers, musicians, dancers, poets, physicians, astrologers and servicemen. The immigrant master - most probably a craftsman -introduced new techniques and articles of technology. In due course, Indian artisans learnt the new crafts ‘when the earnings from so doing were inviting enough’.49

258

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

We may argue that the production of urban crafts received a two-fold impetus with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. To begin with, the ruling class was, largely speaking, town-centred and spent the enormous resources it appropriated, in the form of land revenue, mainly on the urban craft sector through multiplier effect. The nobility, on the other hand, created a mass market for ordinary artisans’ producfgThe second factor that contributed to urban manufacturers was the introduction of a number of technological devices that reached India with the invaders. In the luxury sector, silk weaving expanded and carpet weaving was brought into India from PersiaTThe other notable urban manufacture was that of papermaking. Perhaps a major sector of urban employment was the building industry. Barani says that Alauddin Khalji employed 70,000 craftsmen for his buildings. Hamida Khatobn Naqvi has highlighted the importance of political stability in the growth of medieval Indian towns. She argues that, ‘ the highly centralised Indian states with base at Lahore, Delhi or Agra worked to foster viability and endurance in urban concentrations. The rise and fall of medieval Indian towns corresponded largely to the vigour or weakness of the central political power’.50 Lahore enjoyed an important place in the Ghaznavid period. It had a fort at which the Sultan conducted his durbar. However, Lahore suffered a visible decline in the reign of Firuz Tughluq. Hissar, Firuza, Samana, Ludhiana, Bahlolpur, Sultanpur and Srihind flourished in his tenure and were patronised by him. Satish Chandra argues that the theme of political integration, resulting in the unprecedented growth of towns, has actually been over-emphasised. He is of the view that had this really been the case, the disintegration of political power would also have resulted in the decline of towns, which is clearly not the case. Satish Chandra, instead, links the growth of towns to an idea of agricultural expansion. He argues that, taking the case of Firuz Shah Tughluq’s reign when the Sultanate shrank to half its size, the"~period is marked by the emergence of many new towns.51 As a result of Firuz Tughluq’s network of canals, his technological innovations and the expansion of horticulture led to the growth of the agrarian sector. Thus, the growth of crafts and architecture, along with the iqtas given to muqtis, led to considerable growth of urban population. Urbanisation in the Delhi Sultanate was sustained by ‘a more intensive exploitation of the agrarian classes’ .52 Generally speaking, medieval Indian cities emerged out of political, administrative, and cultural concerns and their commercial and industrial functions were much less significant than those of the ancient period and later on the Mughal period. Therefore, most of the cities of the Sultanate period have political connotation attached to it.

❖ Society and Economy Under the Delhi Sultanate ❖

259

NOTES 1. Irfan Habib, ‘Formation of the Sultanate Ruling Class of the Thirteenth Century’, in Irfan Habib (ed.), Medieval India 1, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992, p.8. 2. Andre Wink, Al-Hind, p. 182. 3. Irfan Habib, ‘Formation of the Sultanate Ruling Class of the Thirteenth Century’, in Habib Irfan (ed.), Medieval India 1, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992, pp. 6-7. 4. Ibid., p.7. 5. Cf. Ibid., p.10. 6. Ibid., p.12. 7. P. Hardy, ‘The Growth of Authority Over a Conquered Political Elite: The Early Delhi Sultanate as a Possible Case Study’, in: J.F. Richards (ed.), Kingship and Authority in South Asia , Madison, 1981, p. 207. 8. Andre Wink, Al-Hind, p. 193. 9. Irfan Habib, ‘Formation of the Sultanate Ruling Class of the Thirteenth Century’, in Irfan Habib (ed.), Medieval India 1, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992, p.21. 10. Mohammad Habib, Medieval India Quarterly, Aligarh, 1950 p. 230. 11. Ibid., p.229. 12. ‘Politics and Society during the Early Medieval Period’, Collected works of Mohammad Habib, Volume-II, p.312. 13. Irfan Habib, The Economic History of Medieval India: A Survey, Tulika, Delhi, 2001 p.9. 14. Ibid., p.10. 15. Irfan Habib, ‘Agrarian Economy’, in Tapan Raychaudhuri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Void, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p. 54. 16. R.P. Tripathi, Some Aspects of Muslim Administration, p. 339. 17. Ibid. Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals, Part One, Har-Anand, New Delhi, p.149. 18. C.f. Ibid., p.63. 19. Cf. Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals, Part One, HarAnand, New Delhi, p.149. 20. C.f. Ibid., p.149. 21. Ibid., p.149. 22. Irfan Habib, The Economic History of Medieval India: A Survey, p.12. 23. C.f. Irfan Habib, ‘Agrarian Economy’, in Tapan Raychaudhri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol I, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p. 66. 24. Ibid., p. 66. 25. Simon Digby, ‘The Currency System’, in Tapan Raychaudhri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol I, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p. 95. Also see John S. Deyell, Living Without Silver: The Monetary History of Early Medieval North India, Oxford and Delhi, 1990, pp. 179-80. 26. There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah. C.f. Gupta P.L, Coins. National Book Trust, Fourth edn. Reprint, 2004. p. 105. 27. Simon Digby,‘The Currency System’, in Tapan Raychaudhri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol I, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p.95. 28. Ibid., p.95.

260

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

29. Peter Jackson, The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, p.37. 30. Simon Digby, ‘The Currency System’, in Tapan Raychaudhri and Irfan Habib (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol I, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p.95. 31. Ibid., p.96. 32. Ibid., p.96. 33. Ibid., p.96. 34. Ibid., pp.96-97. 35. Ibid., p.98. 36. Peter Jackson, The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, p.261. 37. Ibid., p.261. 38. Simon Digby. ‘The Currency System’, in Tapan Raychaudhri and Irfan Habib (eds.) The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol I, Orient Longman, New Delhi, Reprint 1984, p.98. 39. Ibid., p.99. 40. Irfan Habib, ‘Changes in Technology in Medieval India’, Studies in History, Vol. II (1), 1980, p.17. 41. Ibid., p. 17. Also see his ‘Economic History of the Delhi Sultanate’, Indian Historical. Review, Vol. IV (3), pp.287-298. 42. Irfan Habib, ‘Technological Changes and Society 13th and 14th Centuries’, Presidential Address, Proceedings of Indian History Congress, 31st Session, Varanasi, 1969. 43. Irfan Habib, ‘Changes in Technology in Medieval India’, pp.18-19. Also see his ‘Technological Changes and Society 13th and 14th Centuries’, Presidential Address, Proceedings of Indian History Congress, 31st Session, Varanasi, 1969. 44. Irfan Habib, ‘Changes in Technology in Medieval India’, pp. 18-20. 45. Irfan Habib, ‘Technological Changes and Society 13th and 14th Centuries’, Presidential Address, Proceedings of Indian History Congress, 31st Session, Varanasi, 1969, pp.3-11. 46. Irfan Habib, The Economic History of Medieval India, p.5. 47. Irfan Habib, The Economic History of Medieval India, pp. 3-6. 48. C.f. Irfan Habib, The Economic History of Medieval India: A Survey, p.3. 49. Irfan Habib, ‘Changes in Technology in Medieval India’, p.17. 50. Hamida Khatoon Naqvi, Urban Centres and Industries in Upper India 1556-1803, Bombay, 1968. 51. Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals, Part One, HarAnand, New Delhi, pp. 122-3. 52. Ibid., p.27.

Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ♦

SUFISM >

Doctrines, Silsilas and Practices

>

Sufism and Political Authority

♦

SUFIS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES - CONVERSION TO ISLAM?

*

BHAKTI MOVEMENTS

*

>

Historiography of Bhakti Movement

>

Nathpanthi Background

>

Kabir and the Sant Tradition

>

Guru Nanak and the Evolution of Sikh Community

ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE DELHI SULTANATE

262

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

rith the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate came a rapid proliferation of Muslim settlements in north and north-western India. Punjab and Sind were the first areas in the subcontinent where Muslim communities moved in. Later, in the fourteenth century, the Muslims also settled in the Deccan. It is well established now that these settlements were not like those of the Turks and Iranians and the whole of Muslim population in India was of course not of the immigrants who moved with the Turkish rulers in phases. Rather, a large-scale conversion took place over a period of time and this leaves room for speculation and debate among scholars. It is in this context that Sufism and Bhakti have acquired a significance which goes beyond their own distinct characteristics.

W

SUFISM: DOCTRINES, SILSILAS AND PRACTICES Sufism is an English word that was coined in the nineteenth century. The word used for Sufism in Islamic texts is tasawwuf. Historians have understood this term in diverse ways. According to some scholars, it is derived from suf, meaning wool, referring to the coarse woollen clothes worn by sufis. Others derive it from safa, meaning purity. It may also have been derived from suffa, the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque, where a group of close followers assembled to learn more about the faith. Sufism seeks to establish direct communion between God and man through a personal experience of the mystery which lies within Islam. Sufism originated first in Iraq and then became established in northern Iran (Khurasan) as a movement in the tenth century.1 Sufism was a natural development within Islam based on the spirit of Koranic piety. The Sufis, while accepting the shariat, however, did not confine their religious practice to a formal adherence to its tenets. The growth of Sufism is divided into three broad phases. The early Sufis felt that the Koranic verses were essentially indecipherable. They laid much emphasis on things like repentance (tauba), abstinence, renunciation, poverty, trust in God (Gawakkul) etc. Mecca, Medina, Basra, and Kufa were the earliest centres of Sufism during this period. Sufism then spread to other regions of the Islamic world like Iran, Khurasan, Transoxiana, Egypt, Syria and Baghdad. Historians feel that when Sufism spread to Iranian regions, it tended to convey a greater sense of individualism, divergent tendencies, and we find the enunciation of heterodox doctrines and practices under Persian influence.2 The most famous of the early Sufis in the Iranian regions was Bayazid Bistami (d. 874) from Khurasan. He gave a new tum to Sufism by introducing in it the elements of ecstasy and mysticism and the belief that ‘all is in God’. In Baghdad, Junaid was one of the most well known of the early Sufis.

v Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550) ❖

263

These early itinerant Sufi groups traveled extensively in search of a master. In Arab regions, these wandering Sufis were attached to frontier­ posts dr hostels called ibats while in the Iranian regions they were allied to hospices or khanqahs. Sufis practiced many forms of religious exercises and meditations. They were also fond of listening to the recitation of mystical poetry, called the sama. With the Turkish rule in India there developed a number of Sufi orders or silsilahs in India as well. Sufism acquired distinct characteristics in the Indian environment and like the Islamic world the khanqah system emerged as an organized, endowed and permanent centre of Sufi activities. Khanqahs were no longer mere hostels for Sufi philosophers; they had now evolved into institutionalised centres of Sufi teaching. Each silsilah had its own khanqah with its own spiritual masters and its own coterie of disciples. By the eleventh century Sufism had evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Koranic studies and Sufi practices. Institutionally, each group of Sufi disciples - or murids - was enrolled under a teaching master known as the shaikh in Arabic, and the pir or murshid in Persian. It was the master who laid down the rules of interpersonal relationships both for inmates as well as for the uninitiated. When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine - or dargah - became the centre of devotion for his followers. This encouraged the practice of pilgrimage or ziyarat to his grave, particularly on his death anniversary or urs (or marriage, signifying the union of his soul with God). It was widely believed that death was the cementing ground between God and his disciples. People sought their blessings to attain material and spiritual benefits. The shaikh now evolved into a wali - or ally of God - who could make the impossible happen. No feat - karamat - was beyond the wali’s ability to accomplish. The founding fathers of these various silsilahs accepted the Islamic law and the ritual practices of Islam. The link between orthodox Islam and silsilah founders is also clear from the fact that the latter were professional jurists. However, they gave an esoteric orientation to orthodox Islamic rituals and introduced many innovative religious practices, which were not always in consonance with the orthodox outlook. Though the silsilah founders laid emphasis on a strict adherence to Islamic law, many silsilahs later allowed many heterodox beliefs and practices to take root.3 Some of the most significant silsilahs - which became popular in Iran, Cenral Asia and Baghdad - included the Suhrawardi silsilah founded by Shaikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (d. 1234); the Qadiri by Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (d. 1166); and the Khawajagan, which later came to be associated with the name of Bahauddin Naqshbandi (d. 1398). The Sufis,

264

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

who had received their training in these silsilahs, began to establish thenbranches in India. Gradually these branches became independent Sufi schools with their own characteristics and tendencies. Some mystics initiated movements based on a radical interpretation of Sufi ideals. Many scorned the khanqah and took to mendicancy and chose to remain celibate. They believed in an extreme kind of asceticism and were indifferent to rituals of any kind. They were known by different names - Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris, etc. Because of thendeliberate defiance of the sharia they were often referred to as be-sharia, in contrast to the ba-sharia Sufis who complied with it. Sufism in India

Al Hujiri was the earliest Sufi to have settled in India in 1088, whose tomb is in Lahore. He was the author of Kashf-ul-Mahjup, a famous Persian treatise on Sufism. However, various Sufi orders were introduced in India only after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the thirteenth century. India not only provided a new pasture ground for the propagation of Sufi ideas but also became refuge and shelter to the many Sufis. They had fled from those parts of the Islamic world which had been conquered by the Mongols in the thirteenth century. A number of khanqahs sprang up in various parts of India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Sufis introduced various orders from the Islamic world in India, built their own organisations and established themselves in their respective areas of influence. By the middle of the fourteenth century, the entire country - right from Multan to Bengal and form Punjab to Deogiri - had come under the sphere of their activity. According to an early fourteenth century traveller, there were as many as two thousand Sufi hospices and khanqahs in Delhi and its neighbouring areas. Sufism in India originally evolved from the Sufi thought and practices that developed in various parts of the Islamic world, especially in Iran and Central Asia. However, its subsequent development was influenced more by the Indian environment. Once the Sufi orders had reached the different parts of India, they followed their own phases of growth, stagnation and revival. Indigenous circumstances came to play a significant role. Various transcripts were produced in and around the Sufi khanqahs. These include -

1. Malfuzat: These are essentially the famous sayings and conversations of Sufi saints. An early malfuzat text is the Fawa’id-al-Fit’ad, a collection of the famous utterances of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, compiled by Amir Hasan Sijzi Dehlavi, a noted Persian poet. Likewise, there are

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

26fT mn

malfuzats on Chiragh-i Dehli called Khayr al-majalis, and on Burhan alDin Gharib texts like Nafa’is al-anfask These texts were highly moralistic in tone. They were compiled over several centuries. 2. The Kashf-ul-Mahjub: A manual dealing with Sufi thoughts and practices and authored by Ali bin Usman Hujwiri (died c. 1071) - is an example of this genre. It enables historians to see how traditions outside the subcontinent influenced Sufi thought in India.

3. Maktubat: These are largely comprised of the letters written by Sufi masters to their disciples and associates. While these tell us about the Shaikh’s understanding of religious truth, they also deal with the lives, circumstances and experiences of the recepients and are a response to their aspirations and difficulties. The Maktubat-i Imam Rabbani, a collection of letters of the noted seventeenth-century Naqshbandi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624) - whose ideology is often contrasted with the liberal and non-sectarian views of Akbar - are amongst those most frequently discussed by scholars. 4. Tazkiras are the hagiographies that were compiled after a saint’s death.5 Mir Khwurd Kirmani’s Siyar ul Auliya was the first Sufi tazkira written in India. It dealt principally with the Chishti saints. The most famous of these tazkiras is Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlavi’s Akhbar-ul-Akhyar (d. 1642). The authors of the tazkiras often served as propagandists of their own orders and expended much energy on eulogizing their spiritual genealogies. Many details are implausible, full of elements of the fantastic. Still they are of great value for historians and help them to gain a better understanding of their traditions. For instance, Carl Emst and Bruce Lawrence6 have used the word tazkira to describe the manner in which disciples have defined their experiences in relation to those of their Sufi masters. A number of Sufi silsilahs became popular in India during the Sultanate period. The Suhrawardi Silsilah

The Suhrawardi silsilah was a major order of the Sultanate period. Its founder was Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya (1182-1262). He was a Khurasami and a disciple of Shaikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi who had initiated the silsilah in Baghdad and was directed by the latter to proceed to India. He made Multan and Sind the centres of his activity. Thus, one of the oldest Khanqahs in India was established by him at Multan.

266

* Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Iltutmish was the Sultan of Delhi at that time, but Multan was under the control of his rival, Qubacha. Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya was critical of Qubacha’s administration and openly sided with Iltutmish in his conflict against the Multan rulers. Bahauddin Zakariya received from Iltutmish the title of Shaikh-ul-Islam (Leader of Islam). He accepted state patronage and forged ties with important members of the ruling class. Later, many independent Sufi lines stemmed from him and some of them came to be known as beshara (illegitimate orders). In addition to Shaikh Bahuddin-Zakariya, many other Khalifas were assigned the task of spreading the Suhrawardi faith in India. One Sufi saint of note was Shaikh Jalauddin Tabrizi. After his initial stay in Delhi, where he failed to“establish~his supremacy, he went to Bengal. He established his khanqah there and made many disciples. He attached a langer (centre for the distribution of free meals) to his khanqah. He is said to have played an important role in the Islamisation of Bengal. Punjab, Sind andJBengal were the three important. centres of Suhrawardi activity. Scholars are generally of the opinion that the Suhrawardi Sufis converted many Hindus to Islam and in this task they were helped by their connections. with the ruling class. In this connection, a sharp contrast is drawn between their attitude and that of the Chishti sufis whose aim was never that of proseletysation. At no point did they ever try to bring Hindus to the Islamic fold. The Chishti Silsilah

The Chishtis were amongst the most influential and most popular of the Sufis. The Chishti order was introduced in India by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (d. 1235) who was bom in Sijistan in 1441. He came to India at the time of the Ghori conquest. He finally settled in Ajmer in about 1206 and was much revered by both Muslims and non-Muslims. No authentic record of his activities is available. Many accounts have portrayed him as an ardent evangelist. However, he was not actively involved in making his converts to the fold and his attitude towards non-Muslims was that of tolerance. His tomb in Ajmer became a famous centre of pilgrimage in later centuries. The successors of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti in Delhi were Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (d. 1235) Shaikah Hamidduddin Nagauri (d. 1274). Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint of note, made Nagaur in Rajasthan the centre of his activity. Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri established a silsilah in Nagaur where he chose to live the life of an ordinary Rajasthani peasant and dissociated himself from those in authority. He was a strict vegetarian. He, and his successors, translated

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550) ❖

267

many Persian Sufi verses into the local language - Hindavi. These are perhaps the earliest translations of their kind. Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki was succeeded in Delhi by his Khalifa, Khwaja Fariduddin Masud (1175—1265) who was also known as Ganjshakar and more popularly as Baba Farid. Baba Farid left Delhi for Ajodhan in Punjab and lived in his khanqah there. He had no wish to ally himself with the ruling elite. Nathpanthi yogis also visited his khanqah and discussed issues of mysticism with him. His popularity in Punjab is evident from the fact that the verses ascribed to him were included in the Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, more than three hundred years after Baba Farid’s death in 1604. His tomb at Pakpatan soon became a place of pilgrimage. The most celebrated disciple of Baba Farid and the greatest Sufi saint of the fourteenth century was Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325). He made Delhi the most famous centre of the Chishti order. Ziauddin Barani and Amir Khusrau, who were Auliya’s contemporaries, are of the view that Nizammudin Auliya enjoyed a position of unrivalled importance in the social and religious life of North India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Later, his successors spread the Chishti faith in various parts of the country. His teachings and conversations {Malfuzat) have duly been recorded in Amir Hasan Sijzi’s Fawaid ul Fuwad. This work serves more as a guide to the practical aspects of Sufism than as a treatise on its metaphysical and theosophical aspects. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya saw the reigns of seven successive Sultans of Delhi. He adopted many yoga breathing exercises and was called a sidh (perfect) by the yogis. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) was a devoted disciple of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya had many spiritual successors or Khalifas. One of them was Shaikh Burhanuddin Gharib (d. 1340) who was forced by Sultan Muhammad Tughluq to migrate to the Deccan. Shaikh Burhanuddin Gharib made Daulatabad the centre of his activities and introduced people to the Chishti order there. However, the most famous of Shaikh Niamuddin Auliya’s Khalifas and his successor in Delhi was Shaikh Nasirudding Mahmud (d. 1356). It was he who came to be known as the Chiragh-i-Dehli (Lamp of Delhi). He, along with his select disciples, discontinued those Chishti practices that clashed with Islamic orthodoxy and in turn persuaded the ulema to be more tolerant towards the Chishti practice of sama. Some scholars hold the view that Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq was primarily responsible for the decline of Delhi as a centre of the Chishti order. However, it must be pointed out that the Sultan was not opposed to the Sufis per se. Some Sufis, including Shaikh Nasiruddin

268

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Chirag-i-Delhi, remained in Delhi though their khanqahs were restored to them only after the death of Muhammad bin Tughluq when his successor, Feroz Shah Tughluq, chose to reverse many of the erstwhile Sultan’s policies and showered gifts on them. However, Delhi was left with no commanding Chishti figure after the death of Shaikh Nasiruddin in 1356. He died without appointing a spiritual successor. Gesudaraz, one of his chief disciples, left Delhi for a safer place in the Deccan at the time of Timur’s invasion. As the Delhi Sultantate began to decline and disintegrate, the Sufis dispersed to the comparatively more stable provincial kingdoms and established their khanqahs there. This phenomenon of Chishti dissemination, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, was accompanied by significant changes in the attitudes and practices of the Chishti Sufis. The death of Shaikh Nasiruddin was followed by the decline of the Chishti silsilah. Though the Sufis had begun to arrive in the Deccan from the late thirteenth century or so, it was Shaikh Burhanuddin Gharib who introduced the Chishti order there during the reign of Muhamman tughluq. Later, several Chishti Sufis migrated to Gulbaraga, the capital of the Bahmani kingdom (1347-1538). In Gulbarga, these Sufis developed close relations with the court and accepted state patronage, thus, causing a chage in the attitude of the Chishti order towards the state. The Bahmani kings, on their part, purchased the political loyalty of these Sufis by making land grants to them. The most prominent of these Chishtis was Nuhammand Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz (c 1321-1422). He left for the Deccan and received four villages from the Bahmani Sultan, Feroz Shah Bahmani (1397-1422). He was an orthodox Sufi and declared the supremacy of Islamic law (Shanat). Gesudaraz discontinued the practices that were not in compliance or accordance with the orthodox tenets subscribed to by the ulema. Unlike the early Chishti masters, he was a voluminous writer on tasawwuf. After his death, the Bahmani Sultans continued to make land grants to his descendants. His tomb, or dargah, in Gulbarga later developed into a popular place of pilgrimage in the Deccan. But the transformation of his descendants into a landed elite and their indifference towards Chishti teachings led to the decline of the Chishti tradition in Gulbarga. The change of the Bahmani capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1422 was another contributing factor. It has been pointed out that the Bahmani Court at Bidar, owing to its pro-foreigner and antiDeccani bias, encouraged the immigration of foreign Sufis who were treated with that much more respect than the Chishtis, who were pejoratively enough, considered Indian. However, the Chishti tradition began to regain popularity in the Deccan from the end of the fifteenth century or so and it lasted well into the seventeenth century. Its new centre was a place popularly known as Shahpur Hillock. It was located

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

269

just outside the city of Bijapur and was also the capital of the Adil Shahi Sultans. The Chishti tradition of Shahpur Hillock was different from that of the Gulbarga Chishti in the sense that it kept the court functionaries and the ulema at bay and chose to draw its inspiration from local influences. The Chishti saints of Shahpur Hillock had much in common with the attitudes and belief system of the early Chishti Sufis of Delhi, though it must be pointed out that the Shahpur Hillock Chishti tradition developed independently of both the Delhi and the Gulbarga traditions. In North India, the revival of the Chishti order took place during the last part of the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth century. The Chisthi Sufis belonged to three different branches of the Chishti order (i) Nagauriya, named after Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri; (ii) Sabiriya, named after Shaikh Alauddin Kaliyari; and (iii) Nizamuya, named after Shaikh Nizammuddin Auliya. Another important Chishti centre in North India was Jaunpur, the capital of the Sharqi Sultans. A Chishti centre flourished in Rudauli near Lucknow in the early part of the fifteenth century. Later Bahraich (in modem Uttar Pradesh) emerged as another centre during the Lodi period. Gangoh, in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, became an important silsilah under the tutelage of Shaikh Abdul Quddus Gangohi (1456-1537). He wrote many books on Sufi thought and practice and also on metaphysics and mysticism. He also translated Chandayan, into Hindawi; the original in Persian was authored by Maulana Daud. In the second phase, Chishti centres also flourished in Malwa and in Bengal. Many Chishti saints of the second phase wrote commentaries on Arabic and Persian classics and also translated Sanskrit works on mysticism into Persian. Like the early Sufis of Delhi, the later Chishti Sufis drew people from all sections of society to the fold. Unlike their predecessors, the later Chishti Sufis chose to accept state patronage. Khanqahs occupied a place of seminal importance in society. Shaikh Nizamuddin’s hospice (c. fourteenth century), on the banks of the river Yamuna in Ghiyaspur, is perhaps the best known of these. It was comprised several small rooms and a big hall (jama ’at khanaj where the inmates and visitors lived and prayed. The inmates included family members of the Shaikh, his attendants and disciples. The Shaikh lived in a small room on the roof of the hall where he met visitors in the morning and in the evening. A veranda surrounded the courtyard, while the complex was circumscribed by a a boundary wall. On one occasion, fearing a Mongol invasion, people from the neighbouring areas flocked into the khanqah to seek refuge. There was an open kitchen (langar), run on futuh (unasked-for charity). From morning till late night people from all walks of life - soldiers, slaves, singers, merchants, poets, travellers, Hindu jogis (yogi) and qalandars - came seeking discipleship, amulets, and the intercession of the Shaikh in various matters. Other visitors

8

270

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

included poets such as Amir Hasan Sijzi and Amir Khusrau and the court historian Ziyauddin Barani, all of whom wrote about the Shaikh. Practices that were adopted -including bowing before the Shaikh, offering water to visitors, making it obligatory for the initiate to tonsure their heads, or laying emphasis upon yogic exercises - offer insight into the fact that a number of local traditions had wormed their way into the local culture. Shaikh Nizamuddin appointed several spiritual successors and deputed them to set up hospices in various parts of the subcontinent. As a result the teachings and practices of the Chishtis became more entrenched in society. The Chishti organisations and religious shrines drew a number of pilgrims to the fold. The concept of making holy pilgrimages - or ziyarats - to the tombs of Sufi saints is prevalent all over the Muslim world. This practice is an occasion for seeking the Sufi’s spiritual grace or barakat Carl Emst and Bruce Lawrence feel that ‘what distinguishes him [Nizamuddin] as a spiritual master was his ability to find, attract, and then train worthy successors. Indeed, the success of the Chishtiyya from the thirteenth century on lay precisely in the ability of the first cycle of masters to train worthy successors’.7 The thrust of their argument cannot but be evidenced from the fact that none of the initial five Chishti masters of north India was succeeded by a blood relative. Rather, a successor was chosen from amongst those who had chosen the path of abstinence, prayers, meditation and listening. People of various creeds, classes and social backgrounds flocked to the dargahs of the five great Chishti saints - a phenomenon that could be seen in the coming seven centuries or so. The most revered of these shrines is that of Khwaja Muinuddin, also popularly known as ‘Gharib Nawaz’ (comforter of the poor). The earliest textual references to Khwaja Muinuddin’s dargah date back to the fourteenth century. The shrine attained popularity on account of the austerity and piety of its Shaikh, the greatness of his spiritual successors, and the patronage of royal visitors. Muhammad bin Tughluq (1324-51) was the first Sultan to visit the shrine, but the earliest construction to the tomb was funded in the late fifteenth century by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Khalji of Malwa. Since the shrine was located on the trade route linking Delhi and Gujarat, it attracted a lot of travellers. By the sixteenth century the shrine had become very popular; in fact it was the spirited singing of the Ajmer-bound pilgrims that inspired Akbar to visit the tomb. He went there fourteen times, sometimes two or three times a year, in the hope that every victory would be his and that he would be provided with many sons. He maintained this tradition until 1580. Each of these visits was celebrated by the grant of generous gifts, which were recorded in imperial documents. For example, in 1568, he offered a huge cauldron (degh) in which food could be cooked

♦♦♦ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

271

for pilgrims. He also had a mosque constructed within the compound of the dargah. In Sufism a part of the ziyarat is the use of music and dance including mystical chants performed by trained musicians or qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy. The Sufis invoke the name of God either by reciting the zikr (the Divine Names) or through the sama (or performance of mystical music. Sama was integral to the Chishtis, and was an amalgam of various indigenous devotional traditions. The Chishtis did not adopt local languages in the sama alone. The Chishtis conversed in Hindavi, the language of the people. Other Sufis like Baba Farid composed verses in the local language, which were later incorporated into the Guru Granth Sahib. Yet others composed long poems or masnavis on the theme of divine love, using human love as an allegory. For example, the prem-akhyan (love story) Padmavat, a love story, by Malik Muhammad Jayasi spoke about the relationship between Padmini and Ratansen, the king of Chittor. Their trials and tribulations were symbolic of the soul’s journey to the divine. Such poetic compositions were often recited in hospices, usually during the sama. A different genre of Sufi poetry came to be composed in and around the town of Bijapur, Karnataka. These were short poems in Dakhani (a variant of Urdu) and have been attributed to the Chishti Sufis who lived in this region during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These poems were probably sung by women while being engaged in performing household chores like grinding grain and spinning. Other compositions were in the form of lurinamas or lullabies and shadinamas or wedding songs. It is likely that the Sufis of this region were inspired by the pre­ existing Bhakti tradition of the Lingayat vachanas of Karnataka and the Marathi abhangs of the saints of Pandharpur. It is through this medium that Islam gradually gained a place in the villages of the Deccan. The Chishtis laid much importance upon austerity, including maintaining a distance from worldly power. However, this was by no means a situation of absolute isolation from political power. The Sufis accepted unsolicited grants and donations from the political elite. The Sultans, in turn, set up several charitable trusts (auqaf) as endowments for hospices and granted tax-free land to them as inam. The Chishtis accepted donations in cash and kind. The Chishtis did not much care to accumulate donations. They preferred to use these on immediate requirements such as food, clothes, living quarters and ritual necessities (such as sama). All this enhanced the moral authority of the shaikhs, which in turn attracted people from all walks of life. Further, their piety and scholarship, and the popular belief that they had magical, healing powers made the Sufis popular among the masses as well as

272

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

among the ruling, political elite. The Turks did not subscribe to the ulema’s insistence upon imposing the sharia as state law because they felt that this measure would antagonize the non-Muslims. The Sultans then asked the Sufis to intervene in the matter. Besides, it was believed that the auliya could intercede with God to improve the material and spiritual conditions of ordinary human beings. This explains why kings often wanted their tombs to be in the vicinity of Sufi shrines and hospices. However, there were instances of conflict between the Sultans and the Sufis. The Sultan, for instance, wanted people to prostrate themselves before him and to kiss his feet. The Sufi shaikh, likewise wanted to be addressed by high-sounding titles. For example, the disciples of Nizamuddin Auliya addressed him as the Sultan-ul-Mashaikh or the Sultan of shaikhs). The practice of avoiding kings, but also obeying them, was sometimes followed. For instance, Carl Emst says that descendants of a leading Chishti master in South India accepted land grants that in effect made them rural gentry.8 It is significant to note here that the Suhrawardi Sufis under the Delhi Sultans and the Naqshbandi Sufis under the Mughals were also associated with the state. However, the modes of their association were not the same as those of the Chishtis. In some cases, Sufis accepted courtly offices. The following excerpt from a Sufi text describes the proceedings at Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s hospice in 1313. ‘I (the author, Amir Hasan Sijzi) had the good fortune of kissing his (Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s) feet ... ’ At this time a local ruler had sent him the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with the provisions and tools for their maintenance. The ruler had also made it clear that he was relinquishing all rights to both the gardens and land. The master ... had not accepted that gift. Instead, he had lamented: ‘What have I to do with gardens and fields and lands? ... None of ...our spiritual masters had engaged in such activity.’ Then he told an appropriate story: ‘... Sultan Ghiyasuddin, who at that time was still known as Ulugh Khan, came to visit Shaikh Fariduddin (and) offered some money and ownership deeds for four villages to the Shaikh, the money being for the benefit of the dervishes (sufis), and the land for his use. Smiling, Shaikh al Islam (Fariduddin) said: Give me the money. I will dispense it to the dervishes. But as for those land deeds, keep them. There are many who long for them. Give them away to such persons.’9 In addition to the Chishti and Suhrawardi orders, others such as the Firdausis, the Qadiris, the Shattaris and the Qalandaris gained popularity in India during this period. The Firdausi order was a branch of the Suhrawardi order which had established itself at Rajgir in Bihar towards the end of the fourteenth century. The most prominent Sufi belonging to

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

273

we

this silsilah in India was Sheikh Sharfudding Yahya Maneri (1380). The Qadiri order was particularly well established in the Central Islamic countries and was founded in Baghdad by Abdul Qadir Jilani (d. 11660). It came to India in the late fourteenth century and established itself in the Punjab and in the Deccan. The Qadiris had an orthodox orientation and their doctrinal positions were very similar to those of the orthodox ulema. The Qadiri Sufis had close ties with the ruling classes of the various provincial Sultanates, and thrived on their bounty. The order was urban­ based and attempted to reform the religious life of India Muslims of what it considered un-Islamic influences. The Shattari order, which was introduced in India in the fifteenth century by Shaikh Abdullah Shattari, was also an orthodox order. Shattari centres were established in Bengal, Jaunpur and the Deccan. The Shattari Sufis, like their Qadiri counterparts, had close ties with the court and accepted state patronage. The Qalandari order covered a wide range of wandering dervishes who deviated from the norm. These dervishes found no acceptance in society. Also, they had no recognised spiritual master and organisation. Many of these Qalandars frequently visited the Chishti khanqahs and became absorbed within the Chishti fold. The Qalandars had contacts with the Nathpanthi yogis and adopted many of their customs and practices such as those of ear-piercing. The Rishi order of Sufism flourished in Kashmir in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was an indigenous order established by Shaikh Nuruddin Wali (d. 1430). It prospered in the rural environment of Kashmir and had a deep impact on the religious life of the people. Some historians feel that the popularity of the Rishi order was due to its inspiration from the popular Shaivite Bhakti tradition of Kashmir. Sufism and Political Authority

The Sufis played an important role in society and in the polity. K.A. Nizami says that the Sufis, not including the early Chishti Sufis, were involved in the affairs of the state and accepted state endowments. There are instances of disagreement between the Chishti Sufis and the Sultans. The early Chishtis helped the state by creating an environment in which people belonging to different classes and religious communities could live in harmony. Mohammad Habib and Nizami tend to suggest that the Chishtis deliberately kept distanced themselves from politics because they felt that any kind of political involvement would only lead to materialism and worldliness, which they wished to avoid.10 But recent research inputs have shown that this was not really the case. We have references to the Chishti saints’ ‘proximity to political power even as they resisted becoming veritable courtiers’.11

274

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Carl Emst and Brace Lawrence believe that the Chishti saints had a rather ambivalent relationship with the political elite. They say that though the earliest Chishtis recommended the need to avoid formal ties with rulers through endowments, they did accept donations in cash or kind.12 The Sufis, including the great Chishti masters of the early period, never really felt the need to question the existing political system and the class structure. At the most, they advised state officials to show leniency in matters like collecting land revenue from peasants. On the other hand, they did not forbid their ordinary followers from seeking state favours and finding involvement in the affairs of the court. It was perhaps due to these limitations of the otherwise radical Sufi order that made the later acceptance of state patronage and involvement in court politics a smooth process.13 The ulema continued to show their disapproval of the Sufis despite the various attempts of the al-ghazzali to effect a reconciliation between the two. The attitude of mutual distrust continued during the Sultanate period, though orthodox Sufis like the Suhrawardis and the Qadiris went along with the ulema. The hostile ulema objected to the Chishti practice of sama and to the Chishti quest for religious synthesis. However, Chishti Sufis such as Shaikh Nasiraddin (Chiragh-i-Dehli) and Gesudaraz gave an orthodox orientation to the Chishti order to mitigate the hostility of the ulema towards Chishti practices. Historians believe that as the Chishtis began to involve themselves in court politics and accept state endowments, they also came to adopt doctrinal attitudes that were very similar to those of the ulema. Why Chishti Silsilah became more Popular?

Different Sufi orders of the Delhi Sultanate believed in achieving the basic Sufi goal of establishing direct communion with God under the supervision of a spiritual guide. But of all the orders of this period the Chishti order emerged as the most popular, and it drew people to the fold from the north-west down to the Deccan . One of the foremost reasons for this was that the Chishti masters adopted an attitude of religious tolerance towards the non-Muslim population of India and adjusted themselves to the needs of a predominantly non-Muslim environment. They made use of popular imagery and popular idiom to convey their ideas to their Indian followers and adopted many of their customs and rituals. Many of the Chishti saints used Hindawi as a language of instruction. Many practices of the early Chishtis bore a close resemblance to those of the non­ conformist Nathpanthi yogis. These practices included leading a life of austerity and asceticism, bowing before the master, tonsuring the head of a new entrant into the order and organising a spiritual musical recital. In

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550) ❖

275

TABLE: 9.1 SUFI ORDERS IN INDIA

8.

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (d.1235); Dargah at; . Ajmer ' Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri/Sultan.Tajpikin’,>iT Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (4.1135);,. Dargah at Delhi’ *" f 1 Khwaja Fariduddin Masud ‘Ganj-i-Sliakar’ (d.1265); Dargah at Ajodhan (Pakistan) Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya ‘Mehboob-i-ilahi’--. (d. 1325); Dargah at Delhi ' Amir Khusrau ‘Tiirkullah’ C Shaikh Nasiruddin Mahmud* 'Chirag-i-Dehlit j (d. 1356); Dargah at Delhi Muhammad Gesudaraz ‘Bahd'anawaj’ -

Suhrawardi Silsilah

1. 2.

Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya ‘Shaikh-ul-Islanf ' Shaikh Jalaiuddin Tabrizi ' * , ’TC

Firdausi Silsilah

1. 2.

Shaikh Badruddin Sarriarkandf Shaikh Sharfuddin Yaha Maneri

Shattari Silsilah

1. 2.

Shaikh Abdullah Shattari Muhammad Ghaush

Qadiri Silsilah

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Shaikh Nayamatullah Qadiri Shaikh Nizamatullah Sayyid Muhammad Gilani Abdul Quadir Gilani Shaikh Pir Muhammad ‘Mian Pir’

Qalandari Silsilah

1. 2.-

Abu Ali Qalandar Sayyid Murtaza

Naqsbandi Silsilah

1. 2. 3. 4.

Khwaja Bahauddin Naqsbandi Khwaja Baqi Billah ’ ’ Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi ‘Mujeddid Alif-i-Saanif Khwaja Mir Dard ‘Ilm-Ilahi Muhammad’

Raushaniya sect

I.

Bayazid Ansari

Mahadawi movement

1.

Muhammad Madhi of Jaunpur

Chishti Silsilah _£~

—

' 1.

r

=• X •*—

?

J,

4. 5.

6. 7:

'

*’ *

~ -

this sense, the Chishtis came to be regarded as part of an established tradition in India. The egalitarian atmosphere of the Chishti khanqahs attracted a large number of people from the lower sections of society to the fold. The Chishti attitude towards religion was characterised by sympathy towards the deprived sections of society. Caste distinctions of the brahmanical social order were meaningless in the Chishti khanqahs. Merchants,

276

9MH

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

artisans, peasants and even sweepers became part of of the Chishti order. They also did not categorise people into the noble-bom and low-born categories. Another reason for the popularity of the Chishti masters was their unwillingness to accept state patronage. A lot of the Chishti masters attained fame posthumously. This was largely due to the fact that the ‘cult of saints’ began to develop in the later centuries around their shrines (dargahs). The writers of hagiographic literature and narrators of legends sometimes attributed the popularity of the early Chishti Sufis to thenability to perform miracles.

SUFIS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES CONVERSION TO ISLAM? The Sufis of the Sultanate period have been generally considered as propagators of Islam in India. Several traditions and legends of the later medieval period also represented the Sufis as active missionaries. The later hagiographic accounts of the life of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti showed him as being actively involved in the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. Similarly, the first Sufis, who entered the Deccan in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century, have been portrayed as the ‘militant champions of Islam’ who waged a jihad (war against non­ Muslims). This is supposed to be one of the oldest theories of Islamisation in India, which Richard Eaton calls the ‘Religion of the Sword thesis.14 Both Eaton and Peter Hardy have found the idea - of the forceful conversion on the basis of a sword at one’s neck - a dubious one.15 Eaton in fact argues that in regions like West Punjab and Bengal, where the most dramatic Islamisation occurred, ‘the sword was the weakest’.16 It is from the British period onwards that the various theories purporting to explain conversion to Islam were actually formulated. The wide range of historical, geographical and administrative theories on the issue of conversion offered a large array of explanations ranging from forced conversions to the so-called ‘love and lust’ theory, according to which a woman marrying into the Muslim community would automatically be made to become a Muslim along with her offspring.17 Another theory called the ‘Religion of Patronage theory’ offers the view that people were drawn to the Islamic fold to secure favours like tax exemption and inclusion in the bureacracy. But Richard Eaton feels that this theory suffices only for the ‘low incidence of Islamisation’ it does not really explain ‘massive conversions’.18 ‘Religion of Social Liberation’ is also another major theory of conversion.19 This theory postulates the Hindu caste system as rigid and discriminatory. This was the backdrop against which Islam came to India with its message of social equity. It is this message of equality that drew so many lower caste people to the

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

277

Islamic fold. But Richard Eaton believes that the notion of social equality in Islam is very recent in origin, it came into being after the French Revolution.20 There is no denying the fact that the early Sufis had been gripped by a proseletysing zeal, but this was not their only concern. Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti was not an evangelist and nor was he involved only in making converts to the fold. His attitude, and that of his spiritual successors, towards non-Muslims was that of tolerance. Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia had on one occasion observed that many Hindus did consider Islam to be a true religion but did not really accept it. He was also of the view that each religion had its own path and its own way of worship. M. Mujeeb states in his seminal work, The Indian Muslims, that ‘the main agencies for conversion were the mystics’.21 A large number of non­ Muslims, especially from the lower castes, were attracted to the Sufis and later to their dargahs where they became part of a wider circle of devotees. It was here that the Islamisation took place. Later, the descendants of these Islamised groups claimed that their ancestors were converted to Islam by one or another medieval Sufi. Such a claim seems to have been motivated by their desire to establish their long-standing association with the dargah of the Sufi and with Islam. There are instances of prosperous khanqahs supported by state endowments, of Sufis forging links with the state and finally of the fact that most of these Sufis came to form the landed elite of the Delhi Sultanate. The Chishti khanqahs were open to all sections of society and to all communities. The qalandars and jogis made frequent visits to the khanqahs where they were provided accommodation. The khanqahs also contributed to the economic life of the Sultanate in various ways. Some of them undertook the cultivation of wastelands. Others were involved in the construction of buildings both of a religious character and of public utility. Thus, it can well be said that the khanqah played an important role in the process of urbanisation. The annual urs (the festival commemorating the death of a spiritual master) gave an added impetus to trade, commerce and to the production of local handicrafts. We rarely find direct reference to the conversion of Hindus to Islam in the Sufi literatures, and therefore, they do not provide a holistic picture of the theme of conversion. The early malfuzat of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries do contain references to a few instances of conversion, but they deal exclusively with the individual cases of those who were drawn to the Muslim saints.22 The impact of qawwalis on the devotional Indo-Muslim musical tradition of qawwali ceremonies within the confines of the Sufi shrine is also an important factor in the process of conversion. Qawwali music’s

278

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

impact on its Indian environment has many aspects. First, it is a byproduct of the north Indian musical tradition. The Sufis made a deliberate attempt to adopt some musical elements in their mystical practice as they very rightly understood the indigenous population’s penchant for music. Also of interest is the entire paraphernalia that included service professionals such as sweepers, water carriers and the Qawwali musicians themselves who belong to a hereditary group. Lastly, there took place the popularisation of Qawwali music and it became an integral part of Indo­ Muslim folklore. In this respect, the deciding factor was the increased use of Urdu, rather than Persian, as the preferred medium of the musicians. Historians, through few case studies, have tried to examine the social impact of the dargah. One such case study has been done by Richard Eaton on the dargah of Baba Farid on the configuration of political and religious authority in the Pakpattan area of the Punjab. According to him, it had a long- term hidden Islamising impact on groups of people, leading to their conversion to Islam. The institutionalisation of the shrine complex at the death of the pir and the increase in the shrine’s court patronage led non-Muslims gradually to the Islamic fold in due course of time.23 Richard Eaton makes a very interesting introspection. He pinpoints that Punjab, along with Bengal, has the largest concentration of Muslims in the subcontinent. This otherwise unlikely concentration of Muslims has been explained in terms of the peculiar demographic and geographical conditions of the two regions. Islam attracted the non-agrarian and pastoral people, who had no sustained contact with Brahminism and caste stratification. This process was similar to that which led to the incorporation of aboriginal Indian groups into the fold of Hinduism and its caste rituals.24 In the case of the Pakpattan shrine, Jat tribesmen migrated from Sind to the Punjab between the seventh and eleventh centuries, and settled there. Later, they slowly associated themselves with the hereditary descendants of the shaikh, as the former abandoned their nomadic way of life for a settled existence in agriculture. This transition was effected on account of the large endowments of land that the descendants of Baba Farid had received from devotees and dynasts alike.25 The gradual incorporation of Jat clans into Indo-Muslim culture took place on account of the fact that a number of these Jats were the murids of Baba Farid and his entourage of pirzadas and shrine residents. This ‘cultural’ integration involved the participation of these tribes in the pageantry of the pirzada-ied rituals and ceremonies which ‘managed’ the barakah of the shrine through the exchange of ‘goods’ between the pirs and their murids. The Islamisation of Jats can be evidenced from the fact that a number of Jats began to increasingly adopt Muslim names. In 1481, only 10.25 per cent of the total population had adopted Muslim names; in 1862 almost the entire population had done the same as Punjabi secular

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

279

names disappeared.26 Contrary to what is customarily believed, the saint himself was not party to the gradual acculturation of the Jat nomads. Rather, their incorporation in the sphere of the shrine was a result of the political, economic and kinship ties between them and the dargah. Bengal provides another important case study of large-scale conversion to Islam. The processes involved in Bengal were entirely different from those in the Punjab and in the Deccan. Here the conversion­ process was not shrine-based, instead, it involved the convergence of symbols of religious authority associated with Sufism with a distinctively economic enterprise^ which, in effect, was the opening-up of the forested eastern tracts of Bengal to human occupation. Secondly, Bengal was, along with the Punjab, one of the two Muslim-majority areas of British India which were partitioned following India and Pakistan’s accession to statehood in 1947. Thirdly, Bengali Muslims, both in the Indian state of West Bengal and in the sovereign state of Bangladesh, constitute the second largest Muslim ethnic population in the world.27 The incorporation of Bengal in Mughal India and the subsequent agricultural expansion which took place in its eastern half coincided with and were actually made possible by the remarkable environmental changes that were taking place at that time. The river systems of the Ganges and its delta had been experiencing a dramatic eastward movement which led to the appearance of large tracts of land enriched by generous deposits of silt.28 The rich nature of the soil acted as a magnet as it drew countless settlers who, along the with aboriginal inhabitants of these heavily forested areas, embarked on a massive deforestation endeavor, which made possible both agricultural pursuits and stable human settlements in an otherwise inhospitable frontier environment. This phenomenon, even though centuries old, intensified during the period of Timurid expansion in the sixteenth century. The result was a dramatic increase in the rice yield of the regions located in the eastern part of the province. According to Richard Eaton, this bonanza was accompanied by an increase in the textile production of Bengal as most sectors of the economy benefited from the growth of maritime and overland trade. The pivotal role of the Muslims in clearing the forest constituted a miraculous feat in the eyes of the native Bengalis who participated in the endeavor. Richard Eaton has also highlighted the phenomenon of mosque construction, which seems to have been an integral part of the colonisation process. The mosque as an institution, especially when built by a given Muslim pioneer who gave his name to a particular agricultural settlement, acted as a symbol of authority in areas which had not been exposed to any other form of organised religious authority. Brahminism never really managed to finally establish itself in the East amidst mostly aboriginal tribes. The authority of the mosque was buttressed by the nature of the

280

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Islamic religion which was based on the Revelation. It included activities such as recitations from the Koran, whether by the leaders themselves or by people whom they patronized. The patrons, particularly as they came to be understood by their followers, became representative of the authority of the written word as opposed to the ever-changing and localised authority of indigenous religious practices and rituals.29 Those who eventually became known as the pirs acted as a stabilising force and as a source of authority in a’ frontier environment characterised by anarchy and the ferocity of living conditions. There is a wide range of figures whose magical healing abilities earned them immense fame. Manik pir came to be known as the village protector. Haji pir had the ability to recover lost cattle; Manai pir, the Muslim counterpart of the Hindu god of fertility, Kartik, etc,30 Thus, this pir tradition of holy men, also played a role in the process of conversion. From the discussion above, it is clear that the Sufis did play a key role but there is no evidence to suggest that they were in any way directly involved in the process of conversion. If conversion is taken to mean a change in the religious allegiance of an individual or a group from one system of belief to another, then the Sufis did play a role in the process. They did foster an environment which made Islam more palatable to Indians, something which usually translated into increased Islamisation and then, eventually, into the emergence of a definite Muslim identity. Thus, we cannot talk of Sufism and Sufis as direct agents of conversion, i.e. as active proselytisers, though their indirect role cannot be ruled out.31

BHAKTI MOVEMENTS We have already discussed how, during the early medieval period in south India, expressions of devotion ranged from the routine worship of deities within temples to ecstatic adoration where devotees attained a trance-like state. The singing and chanting of devotional compositions was often a part of such modes of worship. This was particularly true of the Vaishnava and Shaiva sects. This was also the period when several Rajput states emerged in India. In most of these states it was the Brahmins who occupied positions of importance, and who were entrusted with the responsibility of performing a range of secular and ritual functions. There seems to have been little or no attempt to challenge their position directly. At the same time other religious leaders, who did not function within the orthodox Brahminical framework, were gaining ground. These included the Naths, the Jogis and the Siddhas. Most of these people were artisans and weavers who were becoming increasingly important with the development of organised craft production. Demand for such production grew with the emergence of new

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

281

urban centres and long-distance trade with Central Asia and West Asia. Many of these new religious leaders were sceptical about the authority of the Vedas, and expressed themselves in the languages spoken by ordinary people. However, in spite of the fact that these religious leaders managed to gain popularity with the masses they were not in a position to win the support of the ruling elite. However, a new development of the Turkish conquest undermined the power of the Rajput states and the Brahmanas who were associated with these kingdoms. Many popular socio-religious movements arose in North India, East India and Maharashtra in the Delhi Sultanate period. Emphasis on Bhakti and religious equality were the two common features of these movements. As has been pointed out, these were also the features of the south Indian Bhakti movement. Almost all the Bhakti movements of the Sultanate period have been related to one south Indian Vaishnava Acharya or the other. For these reasons, many scholars believe that the Bhakti movements of the period were nothing other than a resurgence of older Bhakti movements. They argue that there existed philosophical and ideological links between the two either due to contact or diffusion. Thus, Kabir and the other leaders of non-conformist monotheistic movements in north India are believed to have been the disciples of Ramananda who, in turn, is believed to have been connected with Ramanuja’s philosophical order. Likewise, it is also said that Chaitanya, the most significant figure of the Vaishnava movement, was connected with the Nimbarka school of thought on account of its emphasis on ‘Krishna’ bhakti. There are striking similarities between the older Bhakti traditions of south India and the various Bhakti movements that flourished in the Sultanate and Mughal periods. If we exclude the popular monotheistic movements of Kabir, Nanak and other ‘lower’ caste saints, the two sets of movements can be shown to have possessed many common features. For example, the Vaishnava Bhakti movements of North and Eastern India and Maharashtra, like the Bhakti movements in south India, though egalitarian in the religious sphere, never really denounced the caste system, the authority of the Brahminical scriptures and the Brahminical privileges as such. Consequently, most of the Vaishnava movements of the later period, like the south Indian Bhakti movements, were ultimately assimilated into the Brahminical religion, though in the process of interaction, the latter itself underwent many changes. However, the similarities end here. Bhakti was never a single movement except in the broad doctrinal sense of a movement which laid emphasis on Bhakti and religious equality. Each one of them had its own regional identity and socio-historical and cultural contexts. Thus, the non-conformist movements, based on popular monotheistic Bhakti, contained features that were essentially different

282

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

from those of the Vaishnava Bhakti movements. Kabir’s notion of Bhakti was not the same as that of the medieval Vaishnava saints like Chaitanya or Mirabai. Within the Vaishnava movement, the historical context of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra was entirely different from that of the Bengal Vaishnavism, or the north Indian Bhakti movement of Ramanand, Vallabha, Surdas and Tulsidas. During the later period, when the Vaishnava Bhakti movement crystallised into sects, the result was conflict, acrimony and even violence. Of all the Bhakti movements of the period, located between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, the popular monotheistic movements of Kabir, Nanak, Raidas and other ‘lower’ caste saints stand out as fundamentally different. Historiography of Bhakti Movement

One of the first historians to have worked on the Bhakti movement in India were R.G Bhandarkar and R.C. Zaehner, who tried to show that the movement was indigenous in character. R.G. Bhandarkar brought out literary and epigraphical evidence to show the antiquity of Krishna worship and Vaishnavism. Zaehner is of the view that the Bhakti movement was largely inspired by Islam. This argument is based on the egalitarian meassage of Bhakti and an attempt to equate the idea of worshipping a personal god with monotheism. Some other historians feel that the Bhakti movement actually offered the lower castes of Hindu society a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand were the new Islamic rulers who advocated a particularly harsh world-view and on the other were the high-caste Hindus who believed in a casteism that fostered economic and social inequity. It was in this context that Kabir and various others began talking about freedom from oppression. To Tarachand, the idea of equity and universal brotherhood which the Bhakti saints advocated had close parallels with Sufi thought. Yusuf Hussain feels that the Bhakti movement can well be divided into distinct periods. The first amongst these ranges from the time of the Bhagwata Gita to the thirteenth century, when Bhakti was at best an individual sentiment. The second period from the thirteenth to. the sixteenth centuries, when, Under the influence of Islam, it became transformed into a doctrine and a cult. He refers to this movement as a reformation of Hinduism, where the concept of a personalised God and simplicity of faith came to have special appeal. To many others, the Bhakti movement emerged as one of dissent, protest and reform. Peaceful co-existence and an individualism of sorts has always been the cry for generations. Reform movements have often gained ground depending upon the existing circumstances and have reflected the aspirations and desires of the common man. The Bhakti

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550) ❖

283

movement voiced resentment against the social order and gave vent to the feelings of the newly emergent classes and castes that were emerging by that time. M. S. Rao shows how the ideology of the Protest movement in pre-British India was largely characterised by a concern with religious beliefs and practices, as these constituted the chief areas of deprivation. Brahminical Hinduism was of the view that there was only one path to salvation and debarred the common man access to it. Taking Rao’s argument a step further, J. R. Kamble says that the main aim of this movement was to establish an egalitarian society. But it postulated and fostered equality only in the religious sphere. The message of equality was not applied to the secular aspect of life for the simple reason that the movement failed to foster an organisation which would lead people towards the ideals enshrined in the Bhakti preachings. The movement enabled a composite Indian culture, embracing different linguistic and religious communities, to emerge as a kind of national renaissance. The critiques, however, believe that the Bhakti movement was largely status quoist in nature. It did not achieve much beyond voicing discontent. K. Ishwaran looks upon Lingayatism as an illustration of how the Bhakti tradition contributes to modernisation. Ishwaran refers to models of modernisation in relation to Bhakti. He identifies two transitory phases of ethnocentrism and realism and hopes for the emergence of a third phase of more lasting models. He offers Lingayatism as one such model, because according to him it rests on universal values of freedom, equality and rationality. David Kinsley finds that in many devotional movements, the theoretical harmony between doing one’s duty {dharma) and loving the lord (bhakti) is called into question. There seems to be a tension of sorts between the two. This becomes particularly clear in the lives of several women saints who found it difficult to reconcile marriage with their inherent urge to love the lord. He gives examples of Mahadvei Akka from Karnataka, Lalleswari from Kashmir, Mirabai from Rajasthan and the whole of Krishna mythology with Radha as its central mode of devotion to show how in the lives of these women, devotion to God becomes an alternative to marriage. Crushed and confined to difficult domestic situations these women found an alternative possibility in their devotion. Renouncing marriage, these women began to look for a divine consort. Bhakti also opened the doors to women, who voiced discontent with patriarchy. However the male bhaktas while clamouring for change and protesting against the prevalent injustices in society, conveniently left the women out, leaving her to home and hearth. Max Weber points out that the influence of women only tended to intensify those aspects of religion that were emotional or hysterical. He feels that the lower Hindu classes clung on to their caste duties with even

284

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

greater tenacity than before in the hope of a better position in life after death. To him, the Bhakti movement only made the position of the Brahmins even stronger than it was before. He also links this to the rise of the Guru, which permitted this to grow to great heights. Irfan Habib speaks of the, ‘ties of caste and religious communities’, in the peasant uprising and speaks of Kabir, Dadu, Haridas, and Nanak as leaders of a movement that led to the ‘formation of new religious’ communities during the medieval period.32 Elaborating on this he states that the Turks in medieval India had created an economic organisation that was definitely superior to the previous one. By the beginning of the fourteenth century one can see a considerable growth in towns and expansion in craft production and commerce due to the improvement in technology. Therefore, he concludes that there was an expansion of the artisan class. An ever-increasing demand for certain goods for the ruling class had led to the the adoption of new professions by the indigenous population. The lower classes readily took to these, for this alone gave them a new sense of dignity in the caste hierarchy. Since this meant breaking caste rules, the anti-caste religious movements of Kabir and Nanak found greater following amongst artisans of north India. Irfan Habib views on the Bhakti movement have largely been influenced by Mohammad Habib’s work on the artisan class after the Muslim conquest. Mohammad Habib argued that the Ghorian conquest led to the liberation of the low-caste craftsmen.33 He had used the argument to explain the cause of the easy political success of the Muslim invaders in India. According to him their success was due to the appeal of the new egalitarian ideology of Islam and the growing class of artisans in urban areas who were keen to get their freedom from the shackles of the caste system. Taking forward Mohammad Habib’s argument Irfan Habib says, ‘It was, perhaps, this social environment, the visible breaches in the walls of the caste system, and the economic temptation to break its rules, that lay behind artisans’ fervour for monotheism’.34 Many historians feel that the widespread popularity of the monotheistic movement of Kabir, Nanak, Dhanna, Pipa etc. can be explained fully only in the context of certain significant socio-economic changes in the period following the Turkish conquest of Northern India. The Turkish ruling class, unlike the Rajputs, lived in towns. Agricultural surplus led to enormous concentration of resources in the hands of the ruling class. The growing classes of urban artisans were attracted towards the monotheistic movement because of its egalitarian ideas as they were now not satisfied with the low status accorded to them in traditional Brahminical hierarchy. It has been pointed out that some groups of traders like the Khatris in the Punjab - who had benefited directly from the growth of towns, the production of urban crafts and the expansion of

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

285

markets - were also drawn into the movement for the same reason. The popularity of the monotheistic movement was the result of the support it obtained from one or more of these different classes of the society. It is one or more of these sections which constituted the social base of the movement in different parts of northern India. In Punjab, the popularity of the movement did not remain confined to urban classes. Rather it acquired a broader base by the incorporation of the Jat peasants in its ranks. The support extended by the Jats of the Punjab to Guru Nanak’s movement ultimately contributed to the development of Sikhism as a mass religion. One modem viewpoint, tends to attribute the rise of the medieval Bhakti movement to the alleged persecution of the Hindus under ‘Muslim’ rule and to the challenge that Islam is supposed to have posed to Hinduism through its doctroines of ‘unity of god’, equality, and brotherhood. According to this theory, the Bhakti movements were a two-pronged defensive mechanism to save the Hinduism by purging it of the caste system and idolatry and at the same time defending its basis tenets - a project accomplished by Tulsidas in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Such a notion of the medieval bhakti movement is not borne out by much evidence. But we cannot treat the Bhakti movement as a monolithic one. The Bhakti movement covers a number of religious movements each with its own distinctive features and ethos. Some of these movements were even antithetical to one another, inspite of the fact that the common denominator was that of Bhakti. Further, a critique of the caste system does not necessarily dovetail into social egalitarianism. The notion of social equality is hardly relevant in pre-modern societies, in which inequalities of wealth, power and recognition were not only inbuilt but rarely questioned. The Bhakti movement, in fact, emerged due to a number of political, socio-economic and religious factors. It has been pointed out that the Bhakti movement could not take root in northern India before the Turkish conquest because the socio-religious milieu was dominated by a RajputBrahman alliance, which was hostile to any heterodox movement. The Turkish conquests brought the supremacy of this alliance to an end. The advent of Islam with the Turkish conquest also caused a setback to the power and prestige of the Brahmins. Thus, the way was paved for the growth of non-conformist, anti-caste and anti-brahminical movements. The Brahmins had always advocated idol worship. The Turks deprived the Brahmins of their temple wealth and state patronage. Thus, the Brahmins suffered both materially and ideologically. The non-conformist sect of the Nathpanthis was perhaps the first to gain from the declining power of the Rajput-Brahmin alliance. This sect seems to have reached its peak in the beginning of the Sultanate period. The loss of power and

286

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

influence by the Brahmins and the new political situation ultimately created conditions for the rise of the popular monotheistic movements and other Bhakti movements in northern India. It has been argued that the Bhakti movements of medieval India were anti-feudal in nature. Evidence for this can be found in the poetry of the Bhakti saints ranging from Kabir and Nanak to Chaitanya and Tulsidas. It is in this sense that sometimes the medieval Bhakti movements have been described as the Indian counterpart of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. However, the European Protestant Reformation had much greater revolutionary fervour than its Indian counterpart as it was linked to the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism. The monotheistic saints denounced the aspects of both orthodox Brahmins and orthodox Islam and their ritualistic practices. To assume that all monotheistic and Vaishnava Bhakti saints were only trying to counter the threat of Islam is not convincing because Kabir and other ‘lower caste’ saints did not have much in common with the Vaishnava Bhakti cults. Further, the poetry and teachings of the Vaishnava Bhakti saints are either not concerned with Islam or at best are indifferent to it. In fact, it has been pointed out that Ramanand, Kabir, Nanak, Chaitanya or Dadu Dayal had both Hindu and Muslim disciples. Nathpanthi Background

W.H. Mcleod says that the north Indian Nathpanthi tradition should not be confused with the Varkari sect of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, the exponents of which have commonly been referred to as sants/' During the twelfth century the ancient tradition of tantric yoga was much in vogue as evidenced by the numerous adherents of the Kanphat or Nath sect of yogis. The sect was divided into various sub-sects, all claiming allegiance to the semi-legendary Gorakhnath and all following essentially the same hatha-yoga technique. Charlotte Vaudenville says that the Nathpanthis were actually staunch Hathyogis, who followed extreme bodily practices.36 W.H. Mcleod says that Gorakhnath must be accepted as a historical figure of sorts, though practically all that concerns him must be regarded as essentially legendary in nature.37 He seems to have existed anywhere between the ninth and twelfth centuries. The tradition of Vaishnava Bhakti, which was in all probability contemporaneous with the tenure of Gorakhnath, had spread to parts of north India from the South, and which in the North was associated, with Ramanand. The essential tenet of Bhakti was love and in Vaishnava Bhakti this love was directed to one of the avatars of Vishnu. Thirdly, there were the members of the Sufi orders, numerically far less in number than the adherents of orthodox Islam, but

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

287

exercising a perceptible influence on the religious thought and practice of Hindus as well as Muslims. Within each of these religious groupings was a recognisable continuity, but not one amongst these was completely insulated. Each one of these groupings was to some extent influenced by the others and underwent corresponding modifications. In one significant case this sharing and reciprocity resulted not just in change and modification but also in the emergence of a recognisable synthesis, a new pattern which in its wholeness, resulted in an entirely new genre of sorts. This was the Sant tradition of north India. The new movement was by no means the dominant religious tradition during this period, but it was certainly pivotal to the Bhakti movement in North India. Its fecundity of ideas made it a beyond-compare tradition. The Sant tradition was essentially a synthesis of three principal dissenting movements, a compound of elements drawn mainly from Vaishnava Bhakti, the hatha-yoga of the Nath yogis and a marginal contribution from Sufism. For the Sants, as for the Vaishnava bhaktas, the necessary religious response was love, and for this reason the movement has frequently been regarded as an aspect of Vaishnava Bhakti. In several respects, however, the Sants disagreed with traditional Bhakti and some of these differences were fundamental. Their love was offered not to an avatar, but to God himself, and they felt that the only expression of love was meditation and devotion. More than anything else, it was a method which involved suffering, self-flagellation and sundry other difficulties. In spite of these differences Bhakti elements formed a major part of the Sant synthesis, particularly during the earlier stages of its development. Traces of the Nath influence are by no means absent during these earlier stages, but nor are they particularly prominent and in some cases they may represent subsequent additions. It can well be said that the Nath concepts assumed significance only in the time of Kabir. A lot of these concepts are integral to Kabir’s philosophy and much of this terminology was later used by Guru Nanak. We thus see a complete rejection of all exterior forms, ceremonies, caste distinctions, sacred languages, and scriptures, in a strong emphasis upon a mystical union with the Divine that would destroy all ‘duality’ of being. It is not without significance that the commonest term used by both Kabir and Guru Nanak is sahaj, a word which carries us back into and beyond the Nath tradition into the earlier world of tantric Buddhism. The Bhakti influence retains its primacy, but the Nath content of Kabir’s thought is also of fundamental importance. The Sants sn&cq monotheists, but the God whom they addressed and with whom they sought union was in no sense to be understood in anthropomorphic terms. Great importance was attached to the guru, who was a teacher who could well be understood as the voice of God. No

288

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

value was accorded to celibacy or asceticism. Hindu and Muslim sectarian notions were spumed because they were regarded as being radically wrong and ultimately futile. These beliefs were expressed not in traditional Sanskrit, but in a language which was closely related to that of the common people to whom they addressed their teachings. Most of the Sants were from low caste groups and were either poorly educated or completely illiterate. For this reason their compositions were usually oral utterances which came to be written down only after a period of circulation. Kabir and the Sant Tradition

With Kabir the Sant tradition moves into a more complicated phase. Not too much is known about Kabir’s life, although he has now acquired an almost legendary status. He is said to have been bom in 1398 and died in 1518. The year of his death is not certain, but a date in the vicinity of 1440 would appear to be reasonable.38 Charlotte Vaudenville says that Kabir probably died in 1448.39 Kabir’s name is a Muslim one, a Koranic title of Allah meaning great. But he neither embraced Islam nor did he embrace Hinduism. Kabir spent the better part of his life in Banaras and his death probably took place in the village of Magahar, twenty-seven miles south-east of Basti. His caste was that ofjulaha and it seems clear from his works that he followed-ztn however erratic a manner, his.caste’s hereditary occupation, of weavinghRecent research has established a Nath background as a strong probabili^It now seems clear that Kabir belonged to a family of non-celibate yogis Islamic convert^AThe traditional association with^amanSd^cahnof be rejected outright, but it is a most unlikely one. It involves chronological difficulties and the only references which Kabir makes to Ramanand can ,be found in works of doubtful authenticity. The numerous references which Kabir does make to a guru point unmistakably to the Sat guru within, the voice of God within the human soul, The compositions attributed to Kabir are seemingly numberless, but only two collections are regarded as genuinely his. These arethe^Kafrz'rgranthavali* and the'selection included in the Adi GranthdTo these the Bijak may well be added, but not without reservations in the matter. The Bijak is a later work than the other two collections and must be regarded as a Kabir-pawr/zz recasting rather than as the original work of Kabir.40 There can be no doubt that the works included in the two older collections, which were originally oral narratives, have to a large extent been transformed in written records, though to an appreciably lesser degree than those of the Bijak. The basis of Kabir’s belief was tantric yoga and not, as has been commonly supposed, Vaishnava Bhakti or Sufism. Kabir ’s

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

289

name is certainly a Muslim one, but it has always been clear that his knowledge of Islam' was relatively meagre. In contrast to this there is a wealth of hatha-yoga terminology and a thought-structure with obvious resemblances to that of the Naths. It is in the light of this contrast that the theory, of Kabir coming from a caste which had recently been converted from tantric yoga to Islam, comes.41 Kabir was, however, far from being a Nath yogi. To this background he brought elements from Vainava Bhakti and perhaps from Sufism also. His debt to the bhagats is evident in the primacy accorded to love, and his concept of love as being synonymous with suffering reflects his debt to the Sufis.42 Love necessarily involves long periods of anguish and separation. Not too many people have the courage to feel its intensity and fewer still have the persistence to follow it to the point of revelation. The moment of the revelation cannot be pre-empted. God reveals the Word (Sahad) and the man that is slain in gaining this epiphanic vision finds true life in and beyond death. This life is to be found in mystical union with the divine. There is much in Kabir’s mystical experiences that is opaque, obscure and ineffable. Some of his experiences are described in monistic language, but the usage is entirely unique to him. It cannot be denied that monism had a deep impact on Kabir, though he is more indebted to monotheism than he is to monism. Kabir was the earliest and undoubtedly the most powerful figure of the monotheistic movements that began in the fifteenth century. He is perhaps one of the best examples of a poet-saint who emerged within the context of new social situations, ideas and institutions. Historians have tried to reconstruct his life and times through a study of the compositions and later hagiographies attributed to him. Verses ascribed to Kabir have been compiled in three distinct but overlapping traditionsFThe Kabir Bijak is preserved by the Kabirpanth (the path or sect of Kabir) in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh; the Kabir Granthavali is associated with the Dadupanth in Rajasthan, ind many of his compositions are found in the Adi Granth Sahib. All these manuscript compilations were made long after the death of Kabir. By the nineteenth century, a number of verse anthologies attributed to him were circulated in print in regions as far apart as_Bengal, GujafafahcTMaHarashtra. Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects and some are composed in the santbhasha ofJhe. nirgunaqaoets. The that much more famous upside-down sayings, or ulatbansi, are written in a form in which everyday meanings are inverted. These hint at the elusiveness of what we would like to believe is the ‘Ultimate Reality’.43 He also described the ‘Ultimate Reality’ as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. He also used terms drawn from Vedantic traditions like the alakh (the unseen), nirakar (formless), Brahmin, Atman, etc. Other terms with

290

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

mystical connotations such as shabda (sound) or shunya_ (emptiness) were drawn from yogic traditions. The monotheistic saints who succeeded him either claimed to be his disciples or acknowledge their intellectual debt to him with great veneration. Raidas (or Ravidas) mostprobably belonged to the generation following that of Kabir’s. He was a tanner by caste. He also, like Kabir, lived in Banaras and was influenced by the latter’s ideas. Dhanna was a fifteenth century Jat peasant from Rajasthan. Other prominent saints of the same period were Sen (a barber) and Pipa.44 Diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas are expressed in these poems. Some poems draw on Islamic ideas and use monotheism and iconoclasm to attack Hindu polytheism and idol worship; others use the sufi concept of zikrand ishq (love) to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran (remembrance of God’s name). Were all these composed by Kabir? We may never be able to say as much with any degree of certainty, although scholars have tried to analyse the language, style and content to establish which verses could be Kabir’s alone. What this rich corpus of verses also signifies is that Kabir was and continues to be a source of inspiration for those who, in a quest for the Divine, have invested in a radical enquiry into religious and social institutions. Just as Kabir’s ideas probably crystallised through a dialogue with the Sufis and yogis of Awadh. A number of hagiographies that have been clearly inspired by Kabir were composed from the seventeenth century onwards, about 200 years, after Kabir’s death. Hagiographies within the Vaishnava tradition suggest that he was born a Hindu, but was raised by a poor Muslim family belonging to the community of weavers or julahas, who were relatively recent converts to Islam. They also suggested that he was initiated into Bhakti by a guru, perhaps Ramananda. However, the verses attributed to Kabir use the words guru and satgurut but do not mention the name of any specific preceptor. Historians have pointed out that it js very difficult to establish that Ramananda was Kabir’s contemporary because to do so would attribute to them a longevity that neither had.45 Another important Sant of north India was Raidas, an outcaste leather­ worker (chamar) of Banaras. Chronologically Raidas follows Kabir, but his work corresponds more with that of Namdev’s. It belongs to the earlier stage of the Sant movement, in which the links with Vaishnava Bhakti are so much more prominent than those from other sources. The Vaishnava concept of a divine avatar is rejected, and likewise any kind of ritualism is entirely_repudiaied. Devotion here is the adoration, ofgod by his bhagats. It is not just the deeply mystical experience of Kabir. The emphasis upon the immanence of God is much stronger here than it is in the works of Kabir. Kabir lays greater emphasis on the nature of revelation

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

291

within the human soul. Little is known about Raidas’s life and all that we can accept is contained in the occasional references which he makes in his works. In several verseshereferstohis.low..c.a ste status as a cham/ir and in one to his work as a cobbler. Elsewhere he describes how the members of his caste carry away the cattle carcases from Banaras. The belief that Raidas was Ramanand’s disciple is entirely erroneous because it is a chronolgical impossibility. Moreover, there is no hint of any such relationship in any of his works. Raidas makes the characteristic Sant emphasis, with an evident stress upon the irrelevance of caste in all that concerns a man’s salvation. Guru Nanak and Evolution of Sikh Community

Guru Nanak’s ideas were very similar to those of Kabir’s (1469-1539). However, his teachings led to the emergence of a new mass religion, that of Sikhism. The Sant tradition provided a backdrop, to Guru... Nanak’s sayings, though much of this intellectual legacy was reinterpreted by Kabir in the light of his own personality and experiences. This is not to imply that he should be regarded as a disciple of Kabifj)Charlotte Vaudeville suggests that Nanak should not be considered as the disciple of Kabir since he never mentions Kabir in his Granth^fthexe. is no evidence to support the view that Guru Nanak had ever met Kabifrimerc is little to suggest that Nanak was so much as acquainted with any of Kabir’s works. Nanak was most deeply indebted to the Sant tradition. W.M. Mcleod feels that Nanak’s works are replete with Nath terminology. This signifies a distinct Sant inheritance?’ Guru Nanak himself explicitly rejected Nath beliefs and his works bear clear witness to open controversy with Nath yogis. Nath concepts were communicated to him through the Sant channels which largely transformed their meaning. In his usage such elements are, for the most part, naturalized. They are recognisably of Nath derivation but they belong to the Sants, not to the Naths. The basic similarity of his teachings with those of Kabir’s makes him an integral part of the monotheistic, movement. He belonged to a caste of traders called the Khatris and was bom in a village in Punjabnow known as Nankana Sahib. In his later life he travelled widely to preach his ideas. Eventually he settled in a place now known as Dera Baba Nanak. There he attracted large number of disciples. The hymns composed by him were incorporated in the Adi Granth by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh GuruThe message ojf Guru Nanak is spelt out in his hymns and teachings. These suggest that Jie advocated a form of nirguna bhakti. He firmly repudiated ritualism of any kind. For Baba Guru Nanak, the Absolute or rab had no gender or form. He felt that the only way to connect with the

292

«■

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Almighty was through the recitation of hymns or shabads. Baba Guru Nanak would sing thesexompositions in various ragas while his attendant Mardana played the rabab. Guru Nanak organised his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving the collective recitation of verses. He appointed one of his disciples. Angadrto^ucceed him and the practice was followed for nearly 200 years. It appears that Guru Nanak did not wish toestablish a new religion. but after his death his followers consolidated their own practices and distinguished themselves from both Hindus and Muslims. The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled Baba Guru Nanak’s hymns - along with those of his four successors and other religious poets like ^Baba Farid. Ravidas (also known as Raidas) and Kabir - in the Adi Granth Sahib. These hymns, called gurbani are composed in various languages. In the late seventeenth century the tenth preceptor, Guru Gobind Singh,, included the compositions of the ninth,guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur, and thisscripture was called the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (Army of the Pure) and defined its five Ks - the kes (uncut hair), the karpan (dagger), the tocc/ia~(a pair of shorts), the tonga (the comb) and the kara (steel bangle). Under him the community got consolidated as a socio-religious and military force. The teachings of all the saints, who are associated with the monotheistic movement, have certain common features which give the movement its basic unity. Most of the monotheists belonged to the ‘lower’ castes and were aware that there existed a unity of ideas amongst themselves. Most of them were aware of each other’s belief systems. In their verses they acknowledge their debt to each other and to their predecessors in such a way as to suggest a harmonious ideological affinity among them. Thus, Kabir speaks of Raidas as ‘saint among saints’. Raidas, in turn, mentions the names of Kabir, Namdev, Trilochan, Dhanna, Sen and Pipa with great deference. Dhanna takes pride in speaking of the fame and popularity of Namdev, Kabir, Raidas and Sen and admits that he devoted himself to Bhakti after hearing of their fame. Kabir’s influence on Nanak is beyond dispute. It is, therefore, not surprising that later traditions link Kabir, Raidas, Dhanna, Pipa, Sen, as disciples of Ramananda.

Common Features of Bhakti Saints

All the monotheists were influenced in one way or another and in varying degrees by the Vaishnava concept of Bhakti, the Nathpanthi movement and Sufism. The monotheistic movement is a synthesis of all three. But more often than not they did not accept any of these traditions in their

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 120Q-1550) ❖

293

original form and made many innovations and adaptations that gave new meaning to old concepts. For the monotheists, there was only one way of establishing communion with God. It was the way of personally experienced Bhakti. This was also the way of the Vaishnava Bhakti saints, and therefore, they all have been called monotheists as they uncompromisingly believed in only one God. But there was one fundamental difference between Vaishnava Bhakti and monotheists. Monotheistic Bhakti was nirguna and not saguna Bhakti, which was the case with the Vaishnavites who believed in various human incarnations of God. The monotheists adopted the notion of Bhakti from the Vaishnava school of Bhakti but gave it a nirguna orientation. Quite often Kabir called God by the name of Ram. For this reason he has been called a Ram bhakta. But Kabir made it clear in his utterances that the Ram he was devoted to was neither the son of King Dashratha of Ayodhya nor was he the slayer of Ravana, rather he was a formless, non-incamate God. In addition to the oneness of god and the nirguna genre of Bhakti the monotheists also laid stress on the crucial importance of reciting the divine name. Other aspects of bhakti included reciting the name of the spiritual guru, community singing of devotional songs (kirtari) and the companionship of saints (satsang). The monotheists followed a path, which was independent of institutional religion - be it Hinduism or Islam. They were also against the caste system. The montheists composed their poems in the language of the common people. Some of them used a language which was an amalgam of the different dialogues spoken in the various parts of north India. The monotheistic saints preferred this common language to their own native dialects because they considered it fit for the propagation of their non-conformist ideas among the masses. The use of a common language is a striking feature of the movement considering that the saints belonged to different parts of north India and spoke different dialects. The monotheists also made use of popular symbols and images to propagate their teachings. Their utterances are expressed in short verses which could be easily remembered. Thus, for instance, Kabir’s poetry is unpolished and has a rustic, colloquial quality but it is essentially the poetry of the people. Most of the monotheistic saints were ascetics but they led a worldly life and were married. They lived and preached among the people. They frequently refer to the ascetic professions as family professions. The expression which has been used for them and by which they referred to each other is sant or bhakta. The Adi Granth lists Kabir, Raidas, Dhanna, Pipa and Mamdev as bhagats. The monotheistic saints travelled widely to propagate their beliefs. Namdev’s teachings became so popular that they were later absorbed into

294

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

iSEg*H

the Adi Granth. The popularity of the monotheists broke territorial barriers. This is clear from the high position accorded to Kabir in the Sikh tradition and in the Dadu panth tradition of Rajasthan. Their continuing popularity even almost two hundred years after their time is clear from the fact that Tukaram, a mid-seventeenth century Maharashtrian saint, views himself as an admirer and follower of Kabir, Raidas, Sen, Gora. Dabistan-i-Mazahib, a seventeenth century Persian work on comparative religion, testifies to the continuing popularity of Kabir among the people of north India. Despite the widespread popularity of the monotheists, each one of the major monotheists - including Kabir, Raidas and Nanak - gradually organised themselves into exclusive sectarian orders called panths such as the Kabir panth, the Raidasi panth, the Nanak panth, etc. Of all these panths, the Nanak panth alone eventually crystallised into a religion with a mass following while most of the others though still existent have a vastly reduced following and a much narrower sectarian base. The Vaishnava Bhakti Movement in North India

Ramananda was the most prominent scholar saint of Vaishnava bhakti in Northern India during this period. Some of his ideas have already been mentioned in Secton 29.3. He belonged to the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuiy. He lived in south India in the early part of his life but later settled in Banaras. He is considered to be the link between the south Indian bhakti tradition and north Indian Vaishnava Bhakti. However, he deviated from the ideology and practice of the earlier south Indian acharyas in three important respects. To begin with, he perceives Ram and not Vishnu as deserving of Bhakti. In this sense he came to be regarded as the founder of the Ram cult in north India within the framework of Vaishnava Bhakti tradition. He preached in the language of the common people, and not in Sanskrit. His most significant contribution to Vaishnava Bhakti was that he made Bhakti accessible to all irrespective of caste. Though he was a Brahmin by birth, he would often share a meal with his ‘lower’ caste Vaishnava followers. It is for this reason that some later Vaishnava traditions link Kabir and some other monotheists to him as his disciples. The innovations were probably due to the influence of Islamic ideas. It has also been suggested that Ramananda’s innovations were actually nothing but a bid to counter the growing popularity of the heterodox Nathpanthis. His followers are called the Ramanandis. A hymn attributed to him was incorportated in the Adi Granth. Another Vaishnava preacher of note in the Sultanate period was Vallabhacharya , a Telugu brahmin of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. He, too, was bom in Banaras. He was the founder of pushtimarga

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

295

(grace). It also came to be known as the Vallabha sect or sampradaya. He advocated Krishna Bhakti. The famous Krishna Bhakti saint-poet Surad (1483-1563) and seven other Krishna Bhakti poets belonging to the ashtachhap were also believed to have been the disciples of Vallabha. The sect later became popular in Gujarat. In north India, however, the Vaishnava Bhakti cult acquired a more popular base only in the Mughal period. Tulsidas (1532-1623) championed the cause of Rama Bhakti while Surdas (1483-1563), Mira Bai (1503-73) and many others popularised Krishna Bhakti. Eastern India

Vaishnava Bhakti in Bengal was different in more ways than one from its North Indian and the early medieval south Indian counterpart. The sources which influenced it can be traced to two different traditions - the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition of the Bhagavata Purana, with its glorification of the Krishnalila on the one hand; and the Sahajiya Buddhist and Nathpanthi traditions on the other. The Vaishnava influence was transmitted by various Bhakti poets beginning with Jayadeva in the twelfth century. Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda was composed in Sanskrit. He also wrote songs in Maithili which were later absorbed into the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition of Bengal. He highlighted the erotic-mystical dimension of the love of Krishna and Radha. Various non-Vaishnava cults such .as those of the Sahajiya Buddhists and the Nathpanthis, that survived in Bengal and Bihar, influenced the bhakti movement in Bengal. These cults preached an easy and natural path to religion while laying emphasis on the esoteric and the emotional. Vaishnava Bhakti poets such as Chandidas was the first Bengali bhakti poet. Similarly, Vidyapati, who wrote in Maithili, spoke at length about the Krishna-Radha relationship. These songs became part of the growing Vaishnava movement in Bengal. Chitanya himself did not come under the direct influence of the Sahajiya doctrine. It is, however, possible that elements of esoteric cults entered into .his movement through the influence of Chandidas and Vidyapati. But the most important source of inspiration was the Bhagavata Purana. He popularised Krishna-bhakti in many parts of East India. His popularity as a religious personality was so great that he was looked upon as an avatara (incarnation) of Krishna even in his life. The advent of Chaitanya marks a shift of focus in Bengal Vaishnava Bhakti. From being a movement that was largely centred around devotional literary compositions, Vaishnava Bhakti became a full-fledged reform movement with a broad social base. Chaitanya (1486-1533) was the most prominent Vaishnava saint of Bengal. He popularised Krishna-bhakti in many parts of eastern India.

296

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

His popularity as a religious personality was so great that he was looked upon as an avatara (incarnation) of Krishna even in his lifetime. Chaitanya disregarded all distinctions of caste, creed and sex to give a popular base to Krishna-bhakti. His followers belonged to all castes and communities. One of his most favourite disciples was Haridas who was a Muslim. He popularised the practice of sankirtan or group devotional singing accompanied by ecstatic dancing. However, Chaitanya did not give up traditional Brahaminical values altogether. He did not question the authority of the Brahmins and of the scriptures. He upheld the caste prejudices of his Brahmin disciples against their ‘lower’ caste counterparts. Six Brahmin Goswamins, who were equipped with the knowledge of Sanskrit, were sent by him to Vrindavan near Mathura. They, in turn, established a religious order which recognised caste restrictions in devotional practices and rituals. These Goswamins gradually distanced themselves from Chaitanya’s teachings and from the popular movement that had grown around him in Bengal. But Chaitanya’s movement had a great impact on Bengali society. His disregard for caste distinctions, in the sphere of devotional singing, promoted a sense of egalitarianism. In Bengal and in Puri in Orissa, his movement remained popular. In these places, his followers were not always scholarly Brahmins but also included common people. They wrote in Bengali, propagated his Bhakti and looked upon Chaitanya as the living Krishna or as Radha and Krishna united in one body. Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Bhakti tradition was also influenced by the Saiva Nathpanthis who were quite popular in the ‘lower’ sections of Maharashtrian society in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and who composed their verses in Marathi. Jnaneswar (1275-96) was the pioner Bhakti saint of Maharashtra.He wrote an extensive commentary on the Bhagavad Gita popularly called Jnanesvari. This was one of the earliest works of Marathi literature and served as the foundation of Bhakti ideology in Maharashtra. He was the author of many hymns called abhangs. He felt that God could be attained through Bhakti alone and in bhakti there was no place for caste distinctions. Namdev (1270-1350) lived in Maharashtra and is closely linked with the

Varkari sect of Pharpur. The Varkari sect was located well within the Bhakti tradition and its worship centred on the famous idol of Vitthal which was located in Pandharpur. Elements of traditional Vaishnava Bhakti are evident in Namdev’s work, but his primary emphasis is clearly

in accord with Sant concepts. His influence extended into north India as a result of his Hindi works and possibly as a result also of an extended visit to the Panjab. Doubt has been expressed about whether the author of the Hindi works is the same Namdev as the famous Marathi bhakta of Pandharpur, but recent comparisons of the Hindi and Marathi compositions have established it as at least a strong probability. The visit to Panjab is open to doubt. According to this view Namdev spent about twenty years in Ghuman, a village in the Barala tahsil of Gurdaspur District. In Ghuman itself the tradition is both strong and old, and there is certainly nothing improbable in a Sant wandering so far from home, but the complete absence of any such reference in the older Marathi accounts of Namdev’s life makes this point of view open to suspicion. Namdev belonged to the tailor caste. He is considered to be the link between the Maharashtrian Bhakti movement and the monotheistic movement of north India. He lived in Pandharpur but travelled to various parts of north India including the Punjab. His Bhakti songs have also been included in the Adi Granth. In Maharashtra, Namdev is considered to be part of the Varkari tradition (Vaishnava devotional tradition), but in the north Indian monotheistic tradition he is remembered as a nirguna saint. Other prominent Bhakti saints of Maharashtra were Eknath (1533-99) and Tukaram (1598-1650). Thus, the Bhakti saints were not exactly indifferent to the living conditions of the people. They used images of daily life and always tried to identify themselves in one way or another with the sufferings of the common people.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE DELHI SULTANATE Over the years, historians have begun to re-think the history of medieval Indian architecture, which till now has been understood as reflecting the cultural glorification of the centres of power. In most of the earlier works, like those of Fergusson and Percy Brown, the ideological commitment to colonial rule is more than evident. The legacy of Fergusson, which was systemised by Percy Brown in the colonial period, appended architectural styles to the character traits or predilections of either ‘Hindu’ or ‘Islamic’ personalities and communities. They were written probably with the intention of promoting less pride and more prejudice. Later, in the writings of the Aligarh school of historians like Irfan Habib, Athar Ali, Iqtidar Alam Khan, etc., the understanding of culture and architecture was presented as a peaceful synthesis of the traditions of Hinduism and Islam. Medieval architecture was then termed as ‘Indo-Islamic’in an attempt to

298

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

counter the more communal approaches to the study of Indian history. Such a representation sounds logical given the backdrop of fundamentalist communalism, but lacks an understanding of architectural forms and techniques. And therefore, it is important for us to understand the purpose or the context, forms and techniques of the medieval architecture. Architecture as Symbol of Power

The most important source for the study of architecture are the surviving remains of the buildings themselves, also referred to as monuments. These enable us to grasp architectural techniques and style peculiar to the period. Monuments provide an insight into construction technologies. Of these, mosques are the most representative forms of architecture, as they are primarily a fusion of the Indian and Seljuk traditions, often termed as ‘Indo-Islamic’. They are beautifully constructed since they are places of worship. At the same time they were also meant to demonstrate the power, wealth and devotion of the patron. Monica Juneja argues that the construction of the public mosque should be seen as part of a pattern of the conquest and ‘symbolic appropriation’ of an alien territory.48 She says that territorial victory was expressed through ‘immediate visual acts and forms’.49 Therefore, during the early years of Turkish invasion not only were the centres of power attacked but even the most sacred sites of the indigenous populace were completely destroyed. Many a times victory' was celebrated by constructing a mosque to the effect where the Sultan, along with his followers, could offer prayers to the Almighty. Early Sultans like Qutubuddin Aibak converted the existing temples into Quwwat ul-Islam mosques or masjid-i jamas in 1192. However, Oleg Graber suggests that in other regions, outside India, ‘the destruction of extant building in order to construct a mosque was generally avoided’.50 It is pertinent to note that contrary to Prophet Muhammad’s idea on architecture -‘The most unprofitable thing which eats up the wealth of a believer is building’51- Islamic architecture sprang up in various comers of the world. Probably the Prophet had not been able to foresee man’s inner urge to express himself through architecture. The early examples of mosque architecture had certain basic features. To take an example, the entrance gates stood on the north, west and eastern walls and the mosque ideally had a rectangular courtyard with a ‘hypostyle hall on the Qibla side’.52 Qibla is the direction in which Muslims offer their prayers i.e., Mecca (See Fig. 9.2). In the early thirteenth century a new genre of buildings arose which had larger rooms with an elaborate superstructure. This required sophisticated skills. Earlier, between the seventh and tenth centuries, architects had started adding more rooms, doors and windows to buildings.

FIGURE 9.1: QIBLA IN A MOSQUE

But the roofs, doors and windows were still made by placing a horizontal beam across two vertical columns, a style of architecture called ‘trabeate’ or ‘corbelled’ (See Fig. 9.2). Between the eighth and thirteenth centuries

I1GI RE 9.2: CORBELLED TECHNIQUE IN ARCH

300

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

the trabeate style was used in the construction of temples, mosques, tombs and in buildings attached to large stepped-wells or baolis. Two technological and stylistic developments can well be seen from the thirteenth century onwards. First, the weight of the superstructure above the doors and windows was sometimes carried by arches. This architectural form was called ‘arcuate’. Secondly, limestone cement was increasingly used in construction. This was very high-quality cement, which, when mixed with stone chips, hardened into concrete. This made the construction of large structures easier and faster. (See Figure 9.3 True Arch Technique used in Alai Darwaza at Quwwat ul-Islam mosque, Delhi.)

FIGURE 9.3: TRUE ARCH TECHNIQUE

Arches formed one of the most prominent features of medieval architectural buildings. The building of a true arch required stones or bricks, to be laid in the shape of a curve and bound together firmly by a good binding material. This binding material was lime-mortar. The Turks introduced new techniques in the construction of true arches. The result was that the pre-Turkish forms of lintel and beam and corbelling, were replaced by true arches and vaults and the spired roofs (shikhar) by domes. Arches are made in a variety of shapes, but in India the pointed form of the Islamic world was directly inherited. And sometimes in the second quarter of the fourteenth century, another variant of the pointed form, the four-centred arch, was introduced by the Tughluqs. It remained in vogue till the end of the Sultanate. The pointed arch was adopted in the Islamic world quite early due to its durability and the ease of construction. The usual method of raising a pointed arch was to erect a light centering and place one layer of bricks over it. This layer supported another thin layer of flat bricks over which

❖ Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550) ❖

301

the radiating voussoir of the arch was fixed in mortar. These two bottom layers of brick-work would, if needed, act as permanent shuttering for the arch. It may be noted here that the use of bricks instead of an all-wood centering was a feature typical of regions like west Asia and India that had scanty reserves of wood. The Persian and Central Asian influence on early medieval Indian architecture is more than self-evident. We find that the concept and design of the Qutb Minar (originally called the Mazana) was considerably influenced by the jaam and siah posh minarets in Afghanistan. The Qutb Minar forms a part of the larger Quwat ul-Islam masjid complex. Its construction was started by Qutubuddin Aibak, but was completed finally by Iltutmish in 1215. Qutubuddin is said to have constructed the first storey, while Iltutmish added three more storeys to the Minar. The present fourth and fifth storeys were constructed by Firuzshah Tughluq, who used white marble in place of the red sandstone used in the lower storeys. Lightning struck the Qutb Minar in 1368 and, therefore, Firuzshah, while repairing the fourth storey, added a fifth storey to the already stupendous building. It was originally called the mazana or the place from where the muezzin gave the call to prayer. It became known as Qutb Minar much later to honour Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, the patron Sufi saint of Iltutmish.

PHOTOGRAPH 1: QUWWAT IL-ISLAM MOSQUE AT QUTB COMPLEX, DELHI

302

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

The earliest evidence of the arch in India is found in the Quwwat ulIslam mosque and later in the tomb of Iltutmish. But the true Islamic aj£h made its first appearance in Balban’s tomb. In fact, the culmination of the architectural style of the early phase was the mausoleum of Balban built around 1287—88. It is now in ruins but still occupies an important place in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it is here that we notice the earliest true arch.

PHOTOGRAPH 2: QUTB MINAR, DELHI

The Khalji architecture, as revealed in Alai Darwaza (built 1305) at the Qutb complex and the Jamat Khana Masjid (1325) at Nizamuddin, underwent a marked change in style. This phase occupies a key position in Indo-Islamic architecture as it is deeply influenced by the Seljuq architectural traditions. The characteristic features of the Khalji phase include the employment of a true arch, the emergence of a true dome with recessed arches under the squinch and the emergence of new masonry consisting of a narrow course of headers alternating with a much wider course of stretchers. In addition, the decorative features characterised by calligraphy, geometry and arabesque now became much bolder and profuse.

Religion and Culture {circa 1200-1550)

303

PHOTOGRAPH 3: ENGRAVING ON QUTB WALL, DELHI

Percy Brown has noted that in the buildings of the Khalji period a new method of stone masonry was used.53 This consisted of laying stones in two different courses of the headers and the stretchers. This system was retained in subsequent buildings and became a characteristic feature of the late medieval period buildings. The material commonly used for plastering buildings was gypsum. Apparently lime-paste was reserved for places - like the roof, the indigo-vats and the canals and drains - that needed to be secured against the leakage of water. In the later period, i.e., around the fifteenth century or so when highly finished stucco work became common, gypsum mortar was preferred to plaster work on the walls and the ceiling. Decorative art in the Islamic buildings served the purpose of concealing the structure behind motifs rather than revealing it. Since the depiction of a living being was generally frowned upon, the elements of decoration were, in most cases, limited to calligraphy, geometry, and foliage. But characteristically enough no one type of decoration was reserved for a particular tupe of building; on the contrary, these panIslamic decorative principles were used for all kinds of buildings in the Delhi Sultanante. Calligraphy is an important element of decorative art in the buildings of this period. The Koranic sayings are inscribed on buildings in an

304

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

angular, sober and monumental script, known as Kufi. They may be found in any part of the building including - door frames, ceilings, wall panels, niches etc., and also in a variety of materials like - stone, stucco and painting. Geometric shapes were used in these buildings in a variety of combinations. The dominant form of decoration employed in Sultanate buildings is the arabesque form. It is characterised by a continuous stem which splits regularly, producing a series of leafy secondary stems which can in turn split again or can be re-integrated into the main stream. Blending of Indian and Seljuk Tradition

The Turkish conquerors of the twelfth century not only brought with them an infusion of new blood, but also innovations gained from other lands, fresh principles and practices which had stood the test of time. This innovation is attested more in the field of art and architecture. At the same time, because of the interaction between the indigenous and the Seljuk traditions, a ground common to both was gradually formed. Architecture was deeply influenced by the visual arts as well. The appearance of the arch may well be traced to the influence of the early Muslim invaders and the architectural developments of the post-Roman period. The Mohammedans soon realised that this new system was more scientific in approach and would lend their architecture greater durability. Therefore, they decided to adopt this version in their own buildings. However, it is also very significant to note that while adopting this new style, the Turks made some changes in it to suit their own requirements. Other equally important factors contributed to the growth of this new style. Stone is abundantly available in India and this geological factor has conditioned the growth and development of this art. With the increased use of stone, the transition towards the arcade principle was made possible. Another reason, which might have contributed to the growth of this art, was the expertise of the artisans. However, the transition to heavy dependence on arch was not very smooth in India as the existing construction materials could not have possibly allowed scope to this style. Therefore, the displacement of the beam by the arch was made possible only by the introduction of a new construction material hitherto little known to the indigenous builders. This new cementing agent was mortar. The Turkish brought into use certain scientific and mechanical formulae derived from either their own experiences or those of other civilizations. The most important consequence of it was that when put into practice, it could be used to counteract the effects of an oblique lateral thrust, and to resist the forces of stress and strain. The end result was that greater strength and stability was given to the building. Also, the

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

305

new material used was more cost-effective and it provided a wider range and flexibility to the builder’s art. The period saw some further innovations in this field like the use of dressed stone slabs. The fact that the Turks, the Khaljis and the Tughluqs put these techniques to use only provide us with further evidence of the blending of local elements with Islamic traditions. Islamic buildings in other countries, with some exceptions in the matter, were largely constructed of brick, plaster and rubble. The difference in the use of construction material is very significant. The use of less permanent materials was resorted to because of the fact that several Central Asian rulers were in too much of a hurry to realise their plans. In India, Turkish rulers were able to take advantage of the skills and expertise of the indigenous workers while the master craftmen were brought in from Central Asia. Another factor might have been the geological one. Most of the construction work was carried out in the area where stone was abundantly available. Pillars supported the lintels and beams then spanned the space below either by corbelling or by the use of the lantern method. Brackets and bracket-capitals gradually evolved. Hindu artisans made these features even more assertively decorative than they already were. Evolution of the True Dome

In due course of time the arch technique developed into that of a true dome. Various methods were adopted at different points of time, but the particular form employed in Iltutmish’s tomb was that of a ‘squinch’. The dome was as much a symbol of Islam as was the arch, and the gradual pressure of the patron, upon the architect to build a ceremonial dome, eventually found expression in the tomb of Iltutmish for the first time. But the construction of the dome demanded special techniques. The problem was to find a suitable method for converting the square part of the rectangular top of the room walls into a circular base in order that a spherical dome could be raised. The best way to overcome this problem was to convert the square plan into a polygon by the use of squinches across the comers. Domes began to be constructed as a ceremonical superstructure which not only covered the monument but also crowned it imposingly. The squinch has been built on the traditional horizontal method. The squnich system consists of projecting a small arch, or similar contrivances, across the upper part of the angle of the square hall. This has an effect of converting its square shape into an octagon, which, again if necessary, may be transformed in the same manner into a sixteen-sided figure. The

306

Interpreting Medieval India

Lintel-Beam Method (Traditional Indian Method)

Turkish Arch technique

Tughluq (Sloping Wall or Batter)

Lodi (Tomb on High Platform) FIGURE 9.4: EVOLUTION OF DOME DURING DELHI SULTANATE

end result was that it formed a convenient base on which the lower circular rim of the dome could rest without leaving any part unsupported. We find a similar kind of dome in another contemporary building also built by Iltutmish - Sultan Ghari or ‘Sultan of the Care’, so named

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

307

because the cenotaph is an underground chamber. Gradually the dome became more bulbous and elaborate and visible even from miles away. Proliferation of Construction: Tughluq Architecture

The Tughluq period saw an upsurge in the building activity. A new architectural style came into vogue in the Tughluq buildings. Judging from the remains of these buildings, it can be seen that only the first three rulers of this house appear to have been interested in the art of building. However, the architecture of this period can be divided into two main groups. The first group is comprised of the buildings of Ghiyasuddin and Muhammad bin Tughluq. The second group is that of Feroz Tughluq’s buildings. In the Tughluq Stone rubble is the principal building material in Tughluq architecture and the walls are, in most cases, plastered. The walls and bastions are invariably battered, the effect being most marked at the comers. A hesitant and possibly experimental use was that of a four-centred arch that neccisated the use of a supporting beam. This arch beam combination is the hallmark of the Tughluq style. The pointed horse-shoe arch of the preceding style was abandoned because of its narrow compass and its inability to span wider spaces. The emergence of a pointed dome with clearly visible neck stood contrasted with the rather stifled dome of the preceding style. The Tughluqs also introduced tiles as an element of decoration. In the tombs of this period we find the emergence of an octagonal plan which came to be copied and perfected by the Mughals in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. An additional feature was the element of reduced ornament, confined mostly to inscribe borders and medallions in spandrels executed in plaster or stucco. After the death of Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1388, the Sultanate became politically unstable, and in 1398 was sacked and plundered by Timur. However the two succeeding dynasties of the Saiyyids and Lodis managed to attain a semblance of power, though they ruled over a greatly shrunken Delhi Sultanate in 1414-1526. A large number of tombs were built in and around Delhi, so much so that over a period of time the area around Delhi looked like a sprawling qabristan. Yet some of these structures are important from the architectural point of view and can be considered as heralding a distinct style. The mausoleums, designed on an octagonal plane, are comprised of a main tomb-chamber surrounded by a one-storey high arched verandah with projecting eaves supported on brackets. The other types of mausoleums were built on a square plane. These were characterised by the absence of a verandah around the main tomb-chamber and the exterior comprised of two types of stones. There is an original treatment of coloured tile decorations in these buildings. It is set sparingly

308

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

PHOTOGRAPH 4: TOMB OF GHIYASUDDIN TUGHLUQ, DELHI

in friezes. In addition, there are the intricately incised plaster surfaces. The Delhi Sultanate came to an end in 1526 with the defeat of the last of the Lodi Sultans at the hands of Babur. This also signaled the end of the Sultanate style of architecture, which, in any case, had begun showing signs of stagnation in the fifteenth century. Painting

The history of painting in the Sultanate period is obscure compared with that of architecture. This is primarily due to the non-availability of any surviving specimens of at least the first hundred years of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. Equally surprising is the absence of illuminated books, an art that had reached the zenith of success in the Islamic world by 1200. However, researchers in the last twenty-five years or so have unearthed new evidence, forcing scholars to re-valuate their perception of history. We now know that not only book illuminatin but murals too were executed during the Sultanate period. The art of painting may thus be divided into the following three categories, each one of which will be discussed separately. The closest view that one has of the murals, as a flourishing art form during the rule of the Delhi Sultans, is through a large number of literary

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

309

references found in the chronicles of this period. These have been compiled and analysed by Simon Digby. The earliest reference to murals, in the Sultanate period, is in a qasida (Tabaqat-i Nasiri) in praise of lltutmish, on the occasion of a gift from the Caliph in 1228. The verses in this composition make it clear that human or animal figures were depicted upon the spandrels of the main arch raised to welcome the envoy of the Caliph. The most important single reference to painting in the Delhi Sultanate can be found in the un-islamic observances of earlier rulers inviting a ban by Firuz Tughluq (Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi by Afif). It indicates the existence of a continuous tradition of figural paintings on the walls of the Delhi palaces, which Firuz Tughluq sought to impose a ban upon. This tradition of painting is not confined to the murals alone. In a reference, relating to the entertainment parties thrown by Qutbuddin Mubarak Khalji (1316-20), mention is made of a profusely painted open­ sided tent. The decorations would therefore appear to be on painted cloth (Nuh Siphr by Amir Khusrau). Calligraphy was a revered art in the Islamic world and was used as a decorative feature both on stone and on paper. In the hierarchy of craftsmen, the calligrapher was placed that much higher than either the illuminator or the painter. However, the calligraphy of the Koran became one of the foremost forms of book art, where copies of the Koran were produced on a majestic and expansive scale. The earliest known copy of the Koran dates back to 1399. It was calligraphed at Gwalior, and has a variety of ornamental motifs, derived both from Iranian and Indian sources. Hamzanama (Berlin) dates back to about 1450 and depicts the legendry exploits of Amir Hamza, one of the companions of the prophet. Chandayan (Berlin) can be located anywhere between 1450-70 and illustrates the love story of Laur and Chanda. Maulana Daud of Dalmau composed it in the Awadhi dialect of Hindi in 1389. Music

The development of music as an art form in the Delhi Sultanate took a back seat when compared with architecture and painting. The fourteenth century is perhaps the most important period in the history of the Delhi Sultanate in terms of the developments made in music. That music in some form or the other was practiced in the courts of the early Sultans is, however, not improbable. Kaiqubad had built for himself a magnificent palace at Kilugarhi. The courtly revels included dancing and singing of Persian and Hindi songs by beautiful girls. But it was Amir Khusrau who has left an enduring mark on the music not only of the Sultanate but of India as a whole as well. Amir Khusrau was the disciple of the great Sufi saint Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi. He was also the court poet of

■ 310

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Alauddin Khalji who was excessively fond of music. The genius of Amir Khusrau in the sphere of music can well be seen in the innovations made in new compositions as well as in assimilating different forms of music prevalent in his time. He is credited with having introduced the qawwali mode of singing into the countryside for the first time. Several of our modem rags like - zilaph, sazgiri and sarpada - were produced by combining Persian and Indian tunes. The khayal form of singing was also introduced by abandoning the traditional dhrupad. The period also saw the introduction of a new musical instrument called the sitar - a combination of the vina and the tanpura.

NOTES 1. Carl W. Emst, Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2004, p.7. 2. Riazul Islam, Sufism in South Asia: Impact on Fourteenth Century Muslim Society, Karachi, 2002. 3. S.A.A. Rizvi, A History of Sufism in India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Vol. II, Reprint, 1992, New Delhi, 1997. 4. Carl Emst, Eternal Garden, p.241. 5. Raziuddin Aquil, ‘Chishti Sufi Order in Indian Subcontinent and Beyond’, Studies in History, vol. 21, (1), n.s., 2005, p.101. 6. Carl W. Emst and Bruce B. Lawrence, Sufi Martyrs of Love: Chishti Sufism in South Asia and Beyond, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2002. 7. Ibid. p. 12. 8. Ibid. p. 10. 9. Fawaid-al-Fuad is a collection of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s conversations. It has been compiled by Amir Hasan Sijzi Dehlavi. 10. K.A. Nizami (ed.), Politics and Society During the Early Medieval Period, Collected Works of Mohammad Habib, vol. I, Delhi, 1974. 11. Raziuddin Aquil, ‘Chishti Sufi Order in Indian Subcontinent and Beyond’, Studies in History, vol. 21, (1), n.s., 2005, p. 105. 12. Carl W. Emst and Bruce B. Lawrence, op.cit. p. 4. Also see Richard M. Eaton, Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1978. 13. Carl Emst, Eternal Garden, pp.243-244. 14. Richard M. Eaton, The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier 1204-1760, Oxford . University Press, Delhi, Third Impression 2002, p. 113. 15. Ibid, p. 114. 16. Ibid., p.115. 17. Ibid. pp. 113-119. 18. Ibid., p.116. 19. Ibid., pp.116-117. 20. Ibid., p. 117. 21. M. Mujeeb, The Indian Muslim, McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal, 1967, p.22. 22. Bruce Lawrence, ‘Early Indo-Muslim Saints and Conversion’, in Yohanan Friedmann (ed.), Islam in Asia, Vol. I, South Asia Westview Press, Boulder, 1984, p. 116.

❖ Religion and Culture (circa 1200-1550) ❖

311 MR

23. Richard Eaton, ‘The Political and Religious Authority of the Shrine of Baba Farid in Pakpattan, Punjab’, in Barbara Metcalf (ed.), Moral Conduct and Authority: the Place of Adah in South Asian Islam, Berkley University Press, Berkley, 1983. 24. op.cit. p. 117. 25. Richard Eaton, ‘The Political and Religious Authority'of the Shrine of Baba Farid in Pakpattan, Punjab’, in Barbara Metcalf (ed.), Moral Conduct and Authority: the Place of Adab in South Asian Islam, Berkley University Press, Berkley, 1983, pp. 339, 341-344. 26. Ibid, p.353. Also see Richard Eaton, Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Role of Sufis in Medieval India, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1978. 27. op.cit. p. xxa. 28. Asim Roy, The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition in Bengal, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1983, p. 44. Also see Richard M. Eaton, The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, p.194. 29. op.cit. p.292. 30. Asim Roy, The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition, pp. 50-57 and 207-248. 31. Even in Richard Eaton’s analysis of role of environment, agriculture and imperial Mughal policy in the unwitting encouragement of the gradual growth of Muslim population in Bengal, we find reference to indirect role of the Sufis. 32. Irfan Habib, ‘The Historical Background of the Popular Monotheistic Movements of the 15th-17th Centuries’, in Bisheshwar Prasad (ed.), Ideas in History, Bombay, 1969, pp.6-13. 33. Mohammad Habib, ‘ Introduction to Elliot and Dowson’, History of India as Told by Its Own Historians, Reprint, Aligarh, 1952, pp.54ff. 34. Irfan habib, ‘The Historical Background of the Popular Monotheistic Movements of the 15th-17th Centuries’, in Bisheshwar Prasad (ed.), Ideas in History, Bombay, 1969, p. 11. 35. W.H. Mcleod , Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986, pp. 151-8 36. Charlotte Vaudenville, A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses With a Detailed Biographical and Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1993, pp.95-97. 37. W.H. Mcleod, Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986, p,152fn. 38. W.H. Mcleod, Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986, pp. 153. 39. Charlotte Vaudenville, A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses With a Detailed Biographical and Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1993, p.55. 40. W.H. Mcleod , Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986, pp. 156. 41. Ibid., p.156. 42. Charlotte Vaudenville, A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses With a Detailed Biographical and Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1993, p.55. 43. W.H. Mcleod , Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986, pp. 156. 44. Charlotte Vaudenville, A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses With a Detailed Biographical and Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1993, pp 329-56.

312 45. 46; 47. 48. 49. 50.

51. 52.

53.

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Ibid., p.329. Charlotte Vaudenville, A Weaver Named Kabir, p.41. W.H. Mcleod , Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, pp.157-158. Monica Juneja (ed.), Architecture in Medieval: Forms, Contexts, Histories , Permanent Black, Delhi, 2001, p.76. Ibid., p.76. Oleg Graber, The Formation of Islamic Art, London, Revised edition, 1987, Chapter 3. Yale University Press. C.f. Surendra Sahai, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period 1192-1857, Prakash Books, 2004, p.10. Monica Juneja (ed.), Architecture in Medieval: Forms, Contexts, Histories , Permanent Black, New Delhi, 2001, p.77. Also see Surendra Sahai, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period 1192-1857, Prakash Books, 2004, p.8. Percy Brown, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period, D. B. Tarporevala & Sons Bombay, 1968.

Unit III History

of

Regions

The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ♦

THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ISSUE: FORMATION OF SUPRA-REGIONAL AND REGIONAL STATES

♦

SUPRA-REGIONAL KINGDOMS

♦

>

Vijayanagar

>

Bahmani

THE PROCESS OF REGIONAL STATE.FORMATION

>

Gujarat

>

Mewar

>

Bengal

316

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ISSUE: FORMATION OF SUPRA-REGIONAL AND REGIONAL STATES e have already read in Chapters 2 and 3 that there was a marked shift in historiography of period located between 750 and 1200 or so with greater emphasis being placed on the regional developments. Perhaps this development hinges upon the arrival of the Turks and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. It is quite intriguing to observe that monographs and research on the Delhi Sultanate dominate the historiography on state formation. Histories of the region do appear on the historiographical terrain, but only after the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate. It is almost as if no other state, apart from the Delhi Sultanate, existed in the period ranging from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Recent research over the last one decade or so has shown how the study of state formation as well as of religious and cultural transformation in various regions have become vital and indispensable to combat earlier points of view which put tremendous emphasis on the political fragmentation that followed the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate. Earlier accounts of historiography are also suspect because they do not take the processes of continuous state formation from the local roots at the regional levels into account. Thus, an alternative historiography is increasingly contemplating the study of regions not only from 1200 onwards, but from eighth century onwards. In this historiography the existence of the powerful Delhi Sultanate is not contradicted or questioned. Rather the Delhi Sultanate is indicative of an important interventionist moment. Research is now directed towards the endogenous processes of social and intellectual development in the region. B.D. Chattopadhyaya1 and Hermann Kulke2 have identified three key historical processes that gained momentum from the eighth century onwards - the vertical and horizontal expansion of state society, the assimilation and acculturation of the earlier tribal population, and the integration of local religious cults and practices. Hermann Kulke in his seminal work on Orissa entitled Kings and Cults, argues that the large tribal population and the many scattered centres of settlement in medieval Orissa provide an exceptionally vivid illustration of how the growth of regional polities dovetailed into the incorporation of indigenous deities and the ‘peasan tisation’ of tribal societies. On that basis, Kulke has formulated a scheme of the progressive stages of medieval state formation from chiefdom to early kingdoms to imperial kingdoms. Before we move on to discuss the different regions, it is pertinent to define and understand the term ‘region’. The term ‘region’ has been defined and explained in diverse ways. Deryck O. Lodrick has come up with a very interesting view of the matter. He says that each ‘human

W

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

317

collectivity’ has a sense of place, ‘a subjective connection’ to its natural and man-made environment, with its physical features, institutional and social patterns, historical traditions and cultural landscapes. According to him, while regions are grounded in objective realities, they are also subjective constructs, for both outsiders and insiders, and therefore, exploring a regional identity is ‘to explore an idea’.3 While exploring Rajasthan as a region Deryck O. Lodrick says that the desert, the manner in which people dress, and the Rajput clans have not only helped in creating an image of Rajasthan, they are also elements of a specific environmental setting, a cultural tradition and a social structure that have all played a significant role in shaping the character of modem Rajasthan.4 Jayashree Gokhale-Turner says that the regions of India are real and not merely geographic or administrative accidents. Turner argues that the histories of various regions seem to possess some inner logic and dynamic, and this inner coherence distinguishes one region and its history from another.5 Thus, conceptualisation of regions and the emergence of regional identities reflect processes involving complex historical, cultural and social forces working in a particular geographic setting over somewhat longer periods of time. In fact, the objective of regional studies is to present a clearer and more complete picture of India as a whole; and it is this that provides both the rationale and the justification for regional studies. Cynthia Talbot6 has shown how the notion of ‘a regional identity that merged linguistic and political affiliation’ was expressed during the era of the Kakatiyas (1175-1325) and the territorial boundaries of the state were largely harmonising with the Telugu-speaking area. They continued to persist even after the demise of the Kakatiyas in Medieval Andhra. Talbot says that the growth of regional societies was the most outstanding feature of the medieval period. According to her, the most noteworthy regional development during the medieval period was the ‘proliferation of polities’.7 Thus, the study of regions is very important to understand the various regions and communities of India in their diversity. However, in the historiography of the period, the heartlands and the great empires and kingdoms of the time have been well represented, while not too much importance is accorded to regions. Interestingly enough, late twentieth century research did not care to talk about the proliferation of many smaller states as this was considered a peripheral, historically insignificant matter. There is no disagreement among historians over the fact that the early medieval period saw the emergence and spread of a large number of smaller states, but the reasons for this development require more introspection. Earlier in Chapter 2 we have read that R.S. Sharma and

gaga

318

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

other advocates of the Indian feudalism model took this phenomenon as evidence of political disintegration. According to them, the system of land grants resulted in the alienation of large tracts of land from royal control. This only led to the fragmentation of political authority, and the lack of a strong central power. For them, medieval economy was soon becoming demonetised and deurbanised as levels of trade dropped steeply. Thus, according to this thesis, the explosion of states was both a symptom and a cause of regression in early medieval India. But it is important to note that the smaller states were situated in areas that had not produced states previously.8 The new political structure that emerged comprised not the dispersed fragments of a previous central government, but new formations arising out of the extension of agrarian settlements and the resulting growth of population. Outside the Gangetic plain, small pockets of settled agriculture had emerged amidst vast tracts of forested land. Along these agrarian tracts smaller political powers and a new political elite evolved. According to Cynthia Talbot, the swing toward regional idioms in inscriptions and literary texts indicates that ‘medieval elites [szc] were becoming more localised in character’.9 The study of regions also has another rationale. It is also a history of the marginalised and the dispossessed. Their history till now has remained unexposed largely on account of the easy availability of the structured source material related to the elite. Researchers are now putting a lot of emphasis on the use of bardic narratives and local literatures and legends to uncover subaltern history. The works of B.D. Chattopadhyaya, Herman Kulke and B.P. Sahu have made a major breakthrough in the study of local state formation in the early medieval period, which we have already discussed in Chapters 2 and 3. The idea of an ‘integrative polity’ not only subjected the very basis of political decentralisation to scrutiny, but also revealed that a very intensive process of state formation was taking place at the regional and local levels. It also focussed upon the cohesiveness of local elements of culture at the regional level. However, regional studies vanished into oblivion immediately after the early medieval period, when the Turks were finally able to establish a highly powerful Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi-centered historiography suddenly becomes important enough to make regional states non-entities. One possible reason for this lies in the relatively easy availability of primary sources in the form of Persian narratives. The abundance of literary sources on the Delhi Sultanate made the knowledge of a largely and predominantly north Indian empire known to us in various and all-embracing forms. But it is significant that some regional states continued to exist throughout this period of the Delhi Sultanate and some states independent of the Delhi Sultanate emerged in central and south India after Muhammad bin Tughluq abandoned Daulatabad and came back to Delhi.

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

319

A few works have come up highlighting the formation of regional sultanates in Malwa10 and Gujarat11, although they are largely dynastic histories. Recently, the works of Nandini Sinha Kapur12 on Mewar; Burton Stein13 on Vijayanagar; and Richard M. Eaton14 on Bengal have tried to fill the gap by highlighting the importance of regional states. The works of Richard M. Eaton and Nandini Sinha Kapur in particular highlight the continuity of the processes of regional state formation cutting across the conventional divide of the medieval period. Nandini Sinha points out that the political process of state formation continued along with accompanying economic, social and religious processes. Similarly a lot of research work has been done on . Orissa, the most significant of these being the work of Herman Kulke.15 He tells us that Orissa witnessed a continuous process of the territorial integration of nuclear areas from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries and saw the emergence of a great regional kingdom under the Gangas and the Suryavamsis during the period 11121568. Another important work on the region is the history of the Gonds by Surajit Sinha.16 He draws our attention to the fact that the Gonds were able to shape large kingdoms in central India, particularly in Madhya Pradesh, the capitals of which were located in Garha, Deogarh, Kherla and Chanda. Thus, over the recent few years many research works have been undertaken which prove that the socio-economic and cultural patterns in various regions shaped up as important historical phenomenon.

SUPRA-REGIONAL KINGDOMS Supra-regional kingdoms included the regional states which were above the category of ‘region’m the sfncTsense of the term since they extended beyond geographically defined boundaries and challenged the authority of the powerful Delhi Sultanate. The most important states of this kind comprised the Vijayanagar kingdom of South India and the Bahmani Sultanate of Central India.

VIJAYANAGAR Vijayanagar - unlike the other regional kingdoms, the historiography of which can be reconstructed only from inscriptions - is particularly well documented and we get an insight into the daily life, the administrative structure and the social organisation of the late medieval supra-regional kingdom. Apart from the inscriptions, chronicles written in regional languages life also a good source of information for the history of Vijayanagar. We also have access to extensive reports of European travellers who began visiting Vijayanagar soon after the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510.

320

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

TABLE 10.1 SOURCES OF STUDY OF VIJAYANAGAR KINGDOM

T. Archaeological: < r f " • Ruins of tile Vijayanagar Empire,- .which includes palaces" and''"temples, monuments and many secular buildings* such as elephant stables and'the' Lotus Mahal. • Inscriptions providing information about the political, social and.economic' history of the empire (in Tanai, Telgu and Kannada) „; • Coins (numismatics) issued by Vijayanagar rulers, subh ai the yaraiia'oiii&'gold coins, which have the names of the Vijayanagar rulers stamped djtone^ i side and the figures of Hindu deities or §ve$ qf animals on the uierse.

Literary: < - , • Amuktamalyada (in Telgu) of Krishna Deva Raya’ , J . • Janibavati Kalyanam (in Sanskrit) of Krishna Deya Raya • Manucharitam of Peddana ' ~ \• Gangadasa Pralapa-Vilasam of Gatiagadhar (siege of Vijayanagar by the Bahmanis) . • Maduravijayam of Gangadevi (conquest of Madurai by Bukka I) . > - ’’ ' • Saluvabhyudayam. of Rajanattha Dindima (history of the Saluva dynasty). Foreign Travellers’Account 1 • The Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battutah (Harihara I) also visited Muhammad 2.

bin Tughluq • Nicolo de Conti, Venetian or Italian Traveller (Deva Raya I)

♦ Abdur Razzak, Persian Traveller (Deva Raya II)’ • Domingo Paes, Portuguese Traveller (Krishna Deva Raya)

• Edwardo Barbosa, Portuguese Traveller (Krishna Deva Raya)

’’

-

’’ r “

;

• Nuniz, Portuguese Traveller (Achjuta Deva Raya)

The Vijayanagar kingdom was founded in 1346 as a direct response to the challenge posed by the Delhi Sultanate. However, it is said that Vijayanagar emerged as an expression of Hindu resistance to Islam. To them, the religion became symptomatic of the invasion of their country by the Delhi and the Bahmani Sultans. Richard M. Eaton has described it as ‘the Maginot Line’ of Deccan historiography.17 But neither the Vijayanagar nor the Bahmani kingdom arose out of opposition to each other. The two kingdoms emerged at about the same time for more or less the same reasons and it was this that was understood as resistance to the Sultanate of Delhi. Richard M. Eaton says that both states were established as ‘revolutionary regimes’ that evolved out of armed resistance to a common imperial power, the Delhi Sultanate.18 The Telugu chieftains desired only to throw off the northern rule.19

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

321 MB

The Vijayanagar kingdom was founded by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka. They were the sons of Sangama, the last Yadava king and had TeerTin the service of the Kakatiyas. of Warangal. Legend has it that the two brothers fled from Warangal in Andhra Pradesh after its capture by the Muslims; they then settled at Kampili, a small realm close to what was to become the city of Vijayanagar, where they were taken captive by the Sultan’s army in 1327. They were taken to Delhi and were made to convert to Islam, whereupon the Sultan put them in charge on his behalf. They then came under the influence of the Hindu monk Vidyaranya, who took them back into the fold of Hinduism. They founded a new monarchy with a capital at a strategic place south of the Tungabhadra River, where Harihara was crowned king in 1336. Harihara I was succeeded by his younger brother, Bukka I, in 1357. Bukka began the rapid expansion of the empire. He fought against Muhammad Shah Bahmani to gain control over the Raichur Doab, the land between the rivers Tungabhadra and Krishna. In a peace treaty of 1365, Doab was ceded to Bukka with the river Krishna intervening between the two kingdoms. Some revenue districts to the south of the Krishna had to be administered jointly. However, the Doab remained a contested site in the years to come. Richard Eaton also says that there was ‘fierce interstate competition over control of one of the wealthiest strips of land in the entire peninsula, the Raichur Doab, which lay directly between Vijayanagar and Bahmani domain’.20 By the time Bukka died in 1377, Vijayanagar became the largest regional kingdom of south India. Throughout the fifteenth century there were innumerable clashes between the rulers of Vijayanagar and Bahmani over the annexation of the Doab. Vijayanagar’s defeat exposed the weaknesses of its armed forces. Repeated defeats forced the Vijayanagar rulers to reorganise the army by recruiting Muslim archers and purchasing better and more ablebodied horses. Raichur Doab again became the bone of contention for a number of turbulent decades beginning in 1465 or so and extending into 1509. In the beginning, Vijayanagar had to surrender the western ports like Goa, Chaul and Dabhol to the Bahmanis. But, around 1490, when the Bahmani kingdom began to disintegrate and Bijapur was established under Yusuf Adil Khan, fortune eventually smiled upon Vijayanagar and it succeeded in capturing Tungabhadra region. The loss of western ports had completely dislocated the horse trade, on which the Vijayanagar army hugely depended for its cavalry. However, the occupation of Donavar, Bhatkal, Bakanur and Mangalore led to the revival of the horse trade, ensuring the regular supply of horses. The Gajapatis of Orissa were a vital force in the region located in the north east of the Vijayanagar. They had in their possession areas like Kondavidu, Udayagiri and Masulipatam. Vijayanagar waged several .wars

322

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

against Orissa and this struggle for supremacy continued for about a century. The Vijayanagar rulers succeeded in pushing the Gajapatis as far as the Godavari and soon occupied Kondavidu, Udayagiri and Masulipatam. But in 1481, Masulipatam was lost to the Bahmanis. As far as Orissa was concerned, the collapse of the Gajapati kingdom was precipitated by this internecine struggle. Whenever balance of power shifted, Vijayanagar’s control of the east coast was challenged. Krishnadeva Raya 1509-29

Krishnadeva Raya was the greatest ruler of Vijayanagar. Jie restored the lost glory of Vijayanagar and proved to be both a great warrior and an astute politician. In addition to being a great warrior and administrator, Krishnadeva is also remembered as a great patron of art and architecture. Almost all the big and noteworthy temples of South India, the Chidambaram being one among many, were built in Krishnadeva’s time. Ele was alsoTgreat patron of Telugu literature and composed poetry. He received much praise as the ‘Andhra Bhoja’ because he could rival the great eleventh-century Paramara king, Bhoja, who had been one of the greatest patrons of literature in Indian history. During Krishnadeva Raya’s reign, the power of the Bahmanis declined, leading to the emergence of five kingdoms on the ruins of the Bafimani empire - the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar; the Adil Shahis of Bijapur; the Imad Shahis of Berar, the Qutb Shahis of Golconda and the TJand~Shahis of Bidar. This helped Krishnadeva Raya greatly in capturing Kovilknda and Raichur from the Adil Shahis_o£Bijapur and Gulbarga in Bidar from the Bahmanis. Krishnadeva Raya also recovered Udayagiri. Kondavidu (south of river Krishna), Nalgonda (in Andhra Pradesh). Telingana and Warangal were taken from the Gajapatis. By 1510, the Portuguese had also emerged as a strong power to reckon with. The occupation of goa and the sack of Danda Rajourin and Dabhol provided them with monopoly over the horse trade. Since Goa had been the entreport of the Deccan states of horse trade Krishnadeva Raya maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese on Bhatkal. Similarly, the Portuguese soldiers played a reasonable role in Krishnadva Raya’s success against Ismail Adil Khan of Bijapur. After Krisnadeva’s death, Vijayanagar was plunged in civil war and this only attracted external invasions. Taking advantage of the conflict ridden situation that Vijayanagar found itself in, Ismail Adil Khan of Bijapur seized Raichur and Mudgal. Under weak successors, reaj power remained in the hands of Rama Raya, the son-in-law of Krishnadeva Raya. He followed the policy of recruiting Muslims into the army and

v The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

323

conferred important offices on them, a measure which greatly enhanced its efficiency. By 1512, the rulers of Vijayanagar had succeeded in bringing almost the whole southern peninsula under their control. By the end of 1564 the combined forces of the Sultans of the newly emergent five kingdoms, that had arisen on the ashes of the Bahmani kiHgabthTcamelogether near the Vijayanagar fortress of Talikotajon the banks of the fiver Krishna. Rama Raya, who was leading the Vijayanagar army, must have realised what was at stake. He mounted a determined attack with all the forces at his disposal. The battle seemed to be turning in favour of Vijayanagar - when two Muslim generals of the Vijayanagar army suddenly changed sides. Rama Raya was taken prisoner and was immediately beheaded. His brother Tirumala then fled with the whole army, including 1,500 elephants and the treasures of the realm, leaving the capital city in shambles. Thus, the two major realms of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries undermined each other’s resistance to the Delhi Sultanate. Nature of Vijayanagar State

Opinion among historians is divided when it comes to characterising the Vijayanagar state. Nilakanta Sastri’s 21 work has dominated the panorama of the history of Vijayanagar and of south India for almost two decades. Sastri and his supporters’ work methodology remained unchallenged until Burton Stein came forward with a strong critique of the existing model. Burton Stein 22 introduced the ‘segmentary state model’ which he q) borrowed from Southal who had used it to explain the Alur society of South Africa. He first applied it the study of the history and polity of the yj Cholas and then extended it to explain the Vijayanagar power structure.?''' In the New Cambridge History of India series Burton Stein presented the i J Vijayanagar history in this conceptual framework only. However, Stein’s segmentary state model and its applicability to the Indian context has been looked at with much distrust and scepticism by several scholars, especially Hermann Kulke who highlighted its limitations by pointing out that the actual sovereignty of the kings of Orissa can well be proved beyond scope of doubt against the backdrop and incontrovertible veracity of which the idea of ritual sovereignty, as propounded by the segmentary state model, seems facile and weak, to say the least. Recently, scholars like Karashima and Subbarayalu have attempted to , analyse the history of Vijayanagar. Their method of study is based on th^-"7 details mentioned in the Vijayanagar inscriptions in Tamil Nadu. These historians have rejected Stein’s segmentary state model in favour of the feudal model with significant variations. Karashima says that ‘the strength

324

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

of the state control over nayakas seems to have made Vijayanagar feudalism fatfieFsimilar to the Tokugawa feudalism of Japan’. T.V. Mahalingam has also described the Vijayanagar state as essentially feudal in structure and has compareci it to European feudalism. He has also highlighted the differences between the western and the Vijayanagar models of feudalism. Mahalingam’s opinion was mainly based on his study of the Nayankara system. In the Vijayanagar polity, land was conceived of as belonging to the king. Hence, he could distribute it to his dependants. Those who held land granted by the king were called Nayakas. These Nayakas had great autonomy over the territory that had thus been granted to them. In return the Nayakas had two key obligations (i) to remit an annual financial contribution to the imperial treasury; and (ii) to maintain and provide the kings with an army back-up. The Nayakas often leased out land to their tenants on terms similar to those on which they held their lands from the king. This can well be described as sub-infeudation, which was also a feature of European feudalism. However, there were essential differences between the two systems. In Europe, the process of fealty was very much in existence according to which the individual small land holder paid homage to the lord and received land from him as a fief in return for services rendered to him in return for protection offered. This feature is practically non­ existent in the Vijayanagar Nayak system. The Nayankara system was an administrative policy of the kings to assign territories to the Nayakas in return for military service and a fixed financial contribution. The element of subservience to a politically superior lord, predominant in European feudalism, was lacking in the Nayankara system according to Mahalingam. Nayakas held land as amaram tenure. Vijayanagar kings assigned heavy responsibilities and duties to Nayaks and withdrew protection if they failed to perform their duties. Nuniz has stated that punitive measures could well be taken against them and property could be confiscated if the king’s displeasure was incurred in any way. In European feudalism the society as a whole was chained together by the link of land tenure whereas the Nayankara system linked together only a section of the population. Likewise sub-infeudation was not practiced on as large a scale in Vijayanagar as in Europe. Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund have also described the Vijayanagar polity as a ‘military feudalism’.23 They see in the Amarnayaka system a close parallel to such a structure. However, Burton Stein is of the view that this system cannot be called a feudal one on account of the fact some of the more salient features of feudalism such as homage and vassalage are practically non-existent in the Vijayanagar system. Further, there is no evidence of the tributary relationship either. Stein says that the Portuguese writings on feudalism should be studied with caution in this

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

325

respect because their use of the term feudalism must be understood in the context of their own experience and their desire to explain Indian affairs to European readers in the terms which were familiar to them. Stein described the system as segmentary in which the king enjoyed a ritual sovereignty which is in contradiction with actual sovereignty. The segmentary model introduced by Stein was challenged by Herman Kulke and others showing that in many parts of India kings enjoyed actual sovereignty over their territory, giving examples of the Suryvanshi kings of Orissa. More recently Karashima, after studying the Tamil epigraphical sources of the Vijayanagar kingdom, has argued that ‘the strength of the State control over nayakas seems to have made ‘Vijayanagar feudalism’ rather similar to the Tokugawa feudalism of Japan’. He argues that if one does not accept the' feudal interpretation, we need to find some other logical explanation for the difference between the Chola and the Vijayanagar regimes. Anatomy of Administration

The king was the supreme authority. He had a council of ministers to assist him. The kings would also appoint royal princes to important official positions in order to train them in administration. The kingdom was divided into smaller administrative units called the rajyas or provinces, which were placed under the administrative control of the Pradhanis. To begin with, the Pradhanis were princes of the royal line but later, the post was occupied by military officers. The exact number of rajyas in the Vijayanagar kingdom is not known, but it is true that the rajyas were important administrative and revenue units. The headquarters of each rajya was called cavadi and a rajya could have a number of smaller units like the nadus, the parrus and so on and so forth. The rajyas ceased to serve the function of important administrative units when the Nayaka system was established by the time of Krishnadeva Raya. However, various rajyas figure in records though perhaps only as geographical names. There were other smaller divisions like the sthalas and the nadus used in addition to the rajyas.

Nayankara System The Nayankara system was an important characteristic of the Vijayanagar political organisation. The military chiefs or warriors held the title of Nayaka or Amaranayaka. It is difficult to classify these warriors on the basis of definite offices held, ethnic identities, set of duties or rights and privileges. The institution of the nayaks was studied in great detail by -

326

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Femao Nuniz and Domingo Paes - two Portugese men who visited India during the reigns of Krishnadeva Raya and Achyut Raya of the Tulvua dynasty during the sixteenth century. The Nayakas, from which the term Nayankara has been derived, were a category of officers appointed by the king with rights over land. The Nayakas enjoyed control over the land held by them and could parcel out a part of it to others in return for some remittance of revenue and other services rendered to a higher authority. Epigraphical sources mention different kinds of Nayakas such as Dannayakas (military official), Durgadannayakas (military official in charge of fort) and Amaranayakas. Durga-dannayakas were Brahman commanders in charge of strategic fortresses. The landholding allocated to the Nayakas was called Nayakattanam. Nuniz, a Portuguese traveller, says that there were as many as two hundred nayakas in the Vijayanagar kingdom. Karashima refers to more than three hundred Nayakas in the post 1485 period located in the northern part of the Tamil region. The Nayaka chiefs controlled and furthered production by encouraging settlers, cultivators, artisans and other service groups, who on their part enjoyed some tax concessions. These Nayakas were obliged to be present in the royal headquarters and looked after their territory through their agents or Karyakarta. In return for the territory received from the king the Nayaka’Th&Ax.o maintain troops; as compensation for services rendered, they would get a remittance of a portion of revenue. The king would assign a niece of land to a Nayaka who in turn would distribute it in three way^l JA sub-Nayaka who received land from the Nayaka was called Amaranayaka. He was responsible for maintaining troops. He had to remit a fixed amount to the Aaya^n^rhe Nayaka employed cultivators on the land. This land under his direCt possession was called Bhandaravada/!Xhe Nayaka would often gift a portion of land to some religious institution free of tax. Such grants were called manya. The amaram land, which was in possession of the AmaranayaNas^ was cultivated by employing a Kaniyalar who then engaged a kudi; primary cultivators as well as forced labour. The manya land, enjoyed by religious institutions, was cultivated by the kudis (occupant cultivators). Domingo Paes gives a clearer picture of the amamayaka system‘ Should anyone ask what revenues the king possesses, and what his treasure is that enables him to pay so many troops, since he has so many and such great lords in his kingdom, who, the greater part of them, have themselves revenues, I answer this: These captains whom he has over these troops of his are the nobles of his kingdom; they are lords and they hold the city, and the towns and villages of the kingdom;there are captains amongst them who have a revenue of a million and a half of pardaos, others a hundred thousand pardaos, others two hundred, three hundred or

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

327

five hundred thousand pardaos and as each one has a revenue so the king fixes for him the number of troops he must maintain, in foot, horse and elephants. These troops are always ready for duty whenever they may be called out and whenever they may have to go; and in this way he has this million of fighting men always ready. Each of these captains labours to turn out the best troops he can get because he pays them their salaries; and (in the review of troops by Krishnaraya)....there were the finest young men possible to be seen, for in all this array I did not see a man that would act the coward. Besides maintaining these troops each captain has to make his annual payments to the king, and the king has his own salaried troops to whom he gives pay [szc]’.24 Sometimes the Nayakas, who were pillars of support for the king, became so powerful that they rebelled against him. Burton Stein cites one such example and says ‘When his brother the great Krishnaraya died, Achyuta’s position was secured against the powerful Aliya Ramaraya, a brother in law of the late king, by two of Achyuta’s own brothers in law: Pedda and Chinna Salakaraju. The Salakaraju brothers continued to serve Achyuta as among his most successful and reliable generals as did another brother in law Cevappa Nayaka. The Brahman commander and minister Saluva Narasimha Nayaka or Sellappa who, with the Salakaraju brothers, assured the Vijayanagar throne to Achyuta in 1529 was rewarded with the control of Tanjore, the richest territory in the empire. Sellappa revolted against Achyuta in 1531 in alliance with the other Nayakas of the south. The reasons for this revolt appear to have been differences with Aliya Ramaraya; Sellappa had thwarted Ram Raya’s ambitions to the throne at the death of Krishnaraya and was now being made to pay for that by the still powerful Ram Raya’.25 Overall the Nayankara system functioned very well in the Vijayanagar kingdom throughout its existence. Noboru Karashima26 in his work points out that the nayaka system was 'established as a ruling system in the Vijayanagar kingdom during the last quarter of the fifteenth century and continued till the first quarter of the seventeenth century. He saysThat the nayaka system was well established and functioned satisfactorily during the first half of the sixteenth century. The defeat of Rakshasi-Tangadi in 1565 was followed by a long succession of weak, inept kings pitted against that much stronger and more powerful Nayakas; an unequally matched skirmish, which could result only in defeat. We have references to the bestowal of nayakkattanam on some Nayakas by Sriranga (157285) and Venkata (1586-1614). According to Burton Stein, "Nayaka authority in Tamil country certainly hastened or perhaps even completed the demise of those local institutions which together provided each locality segment of the Chola state with basic coherence: the local body of nattars acting corporately

328

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

through their territorial assembly, the nadu or, latterly, combined with other locality bodies in the greater nadu, the periyanadu, brahmadeyas acting as the ritual and ideological cores of each locality [sic]’.27 Nilkantha Sastri has also suggested that ‘crown lands, annual tributes from feudatories and provincial governors military fiefs studded the whole length and the breadth of the empire, each under a nayak or military leader authorised to collect revenue and administer a specified area provided he maintained an agreed number of elephants, horses, and troops ever ready to join the imperial forces in war’.28 Historians, who feel that the European concept of feudalism cannot be applied to the Indian context, have seen in the Nayakara system of Vijayanagar a close parallel to such a social structure. Krishnaswami points out, ‘... this Nayankara system of the feudal arrangements in the Tamil country seems to have been in existence from the time of the conquest of the region by Kumara Kampana’.29 In fact, N.K. Sastri says that the Nayakas of 1565 were entirely different from the nayakas located in the period after 1565. This is because the Nayakas, who were totally dependent upon royal will until 1565, acquired a status of semi­ independence after 1565.30 Venkataramanayya, however is of the opinion that, ‘The Nayankara system has no doubt strong affinities to feudalism but it has also many differences. ...and was held immediately or mediately of the emperor on condition of military service’.31 Thus, since the concept of homage did not exist it is characterised as a military system under a central power.

Ayagar System

The Ayagars were functionaries of the village and constituted of groups of families. There were headmen (gaudas or maniyams), accountants (kamams, senabhovas) and watchmen (talaiyaris). They were given a portion or plot of land in a village. Sometimes they had to pay a fixed rent, but generally these plots were tax-free manya lands as no regular customary tax was imposed on their agricultural income. In exceptional cases, direct payment in kind was made for services performed by village functionaries. Other village servants - like washermen and priests - who performed essential services for the village community, were assigned plots of land. Other village servants like potters, blacksmiths and carpenters who helped in providing essential services were also given income shares. These income shares, which were not taxed but which served as payment for other services performed, were called umbali, kodage and srotriya. Payments in kind were referred to as danyadaya and those in cash were called suvarndaya, kasu kadamai.

❖ The Regions (circa 1200-1550) ❖

329

T.V. Mahalingam 32 is of the opinion that the village administration was organised in the form of the ayagar system and every village was a separate" unit. Twelve functionaries, collectively known as ayagars. were~appointe

Jainul Abidin.Rana Kumbha. , Rao Jodha, Maldeva B Hamrnir-Eteva ~-

Ahmad Shah I, Mahmud 1. ’> (Mahmud Begarha) , .

B. Central and Eastern India (i) (ii)

(iii) (iv)

(v)

Malwa (Khalji dynasty) Jaunpur (Sharqui dynasty) Bengal Orissa (Gajapati dynasty). Kamrup and Assam (Ahom dynasty)

Jaunpur

Dilwar Khan Ghori Malik Sarwar

Gaud Jainagar

Liyas Shah Kapilendra

Mandu

Mahmud Khalji Ibrahim Shah Sharqi

Kapilendra

•,-BB" BB b-

Charaideo,. Later shifted to Bidar

Suapha (of Mao-Shan tribe)

Suhungmug. " BBbBBBBB'WBBB

C. Southern India and Deccan Hassan Gangu (1347) with the title of Bahman Shah.

Firuz Shah, Ahmad Shah

(a) Sangam dynasty (b) Suhiva dynasty

Harihara I Narasimha

(c) Tuluva dynasty

Via Narasimha Thirumala Thi rumala

Harihara 1 Narsimha Suluva Krishnadeva Raya Thirumla f

(i)

Bahmani

(ii) Vijayanagar

(d) Aiavidu dynasty (iii) Khandesh Farukki dynasty. (iv) Mahar

Gulbarg. later shifted to Bidar

Hastinavati (Hampi)

Shifted to Penugonfa Burthanpur Madurai

Mabk Raja Farukki Jalal-ud-din Ahshan

Malik Raja Faruki Jalal-ud-dinAhshan.

The Regions (circa 1200-1550)

MAP 1: REGIONAL KINGDOMS (circa 1200-1550)

337

338

ows®

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

of social structuring. Persian, Marathi, Dakhni (proto-Urdu), Kannada and Telugu were widely spoken in various parts of the kingdom. Broadly, two classes existed in the society. According to Nikitin, on the one hand was the affluent nobility and on the other was an extremely impoverished section of society. He says that the nobles were carried across the city on beds of silver. They were preceded by as many as twenty horses caparisoned in gold and followed by three hundred men on horseback and five hundred men on foot along with them came the torchbeararers. Nikitin also gives a graphic account of the grandeur of the bahmani wazir, Mahmud Gawan. He mentions that almost five hundred men would dine with him eveiyday. A hundred men formed part of his armed personnel. Contrasted with this pomp and ostentation, was the extreme poverty and suffering of the general population. Though Nikitin mentions only two classes, there was yet another class of merchants which has not been mentioned. The Sufis migrated to the Deccan as the religious auxiliaries of the Khaljis and the Tughluqs. The major Sufi, orders, who migrated to the Bahmani kingdom, were chiefly of the Chishti, Qadiria and Shattari orders and Bidar emerged as one of the most important centres of the Qadiri order. The Sufis were greatly respected by the Bahmani rulers. The Bahmani Sultans required the support of the Sufis for the popular legitimisation of their authority. Sheikh Sirajuddin Junaidi was the first Sufi thinker to receive royal favour. The Chishti saints enjoyed the greatest honour. Syed Muhammad Gesu Daraz, the famous Chishti saint of Delhi, migrated to Gulbaraga in 1402-3. Sultan Feroz granted a number of villages as inam for the upkeep of his khanqah. But during the later period of his reign dissensions between the two developed on account of the Sufi’s support for the Sultan’s brother as the next successor to the king. It finally led to the expulsion of Gesu Daraz from Gulbarga. The Shia Muslims also emerged as a significant social group under the Bahmanis. With the large influx of the afaqis in the Bahmani kingdom, the Shias found a niche of sorts under the protection offered by Fazlullah. Ahmad I’s act of sending 30,000 silver tankas for distribution among the Saiyyids of Karbala in Iran shows his leanings towards the Shias.

THE PROCESS OF REGIONAL STATE FORMATION GUJARAT Gujarat was one of the richest regions of the Indian sub-continent given the excellence of its handicrafts and its flourishing seaports, as well as the richness of its soil. Due to its prosperity and location the region has

❖ The Regions {circa 1200-1550) ❖

339

always attracted the invaders. We may recall that Mahmud of Ghazna plundered Gujarat and later Alauddin Khalji annexed it to the Delhi Sultanate. Since then Gujarat remained under the control of the Turkish governors. Historians are still working on the available sources on the basis of which the process of state formation in eleventh and twelvth century could be studied. In fact, there is huge scope for researchers to do a regional study on this period prior to the Muslim rule. When Timur invasion took place Zafar Khan was the governor of the province. Taking advantage of the political turmoil at Delhi Zafar Khan threw off his allegiance to the Delhi Sultanate. In 1407 he formally proclaimed himself the ruler, donning the title of Muzaffar Shah. The real founder of the kingdom of Gujarat was, however, Ahmad Shah I (1411— 13), the grandson of-Muzaffar Shah. During his long reign, he brought the nobility under his control, provided administrative stability and expanded and consolidated the kingdom. He shifted the capital from Patan to the new city of Ahmedabad, the foundation of which he laid in 1413. He was a great builder, and beautified the town with many magnificent places and bazars, mosques and madarsas. He drew on the rich architectural traditions of the Jains of Gujarat to devise a style of building which was markedly different from that of Delhi. Some of its features included slender turrets, exquisite stone-carvings, and highly ornate brackets. The Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad and the Tin Darwaza are fine examples of this style of architecture. Ahmad Shah tried to extend control over the Rajput states in the Saurashtra region, as well as those located on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. In Saurashtra, he defeated and captured the strong fort of Gimar, but restored it to the Raja on the assurance of a tribute. He then attacked Sidhpur, the famous Hindu pilgrim centre, and levelled many beautiful temples to the ground. He imposed the jizyah on the Hindus in Gujarat which had never been imposed on them earlier. All these measures have led many medieval historians to hail Ahmad Shah as the arch enemy of the infidels, while many modem historians have simply called him a bigot. The truth, however, appears to be more complex. That Ahmad Shah was a bigot cannot be denied; however he did not hesitate to induct Hindus into the government. Manik Chand and Motichand, who were bania traders and merchants, were ministers under him. He had a very sound sense of justice and had his own son-in-law executed in the market­ place for a murder he had committed. The author of Mirat-i Sikandari has rightly said that the impact of this exemplary punishment lasted till his reign. Although he fought the Hindu rulers, he also had an extremely unsettled relationship with the Muslim rulers of Malwa. He brought the powerful fort of Idar under his control and then brought the Rajput states of Jhalawar, Bundi, Dungarpur, etc., under his tutelage.

340

❖ Interpreting Medieval India ❖

Malwa was a bitter rival of Gujarat. Muzaffar Shah had defeated and imprisoned Hushang Shah, the ruler of Malwa. Finding it difficult to keep Malwa under his control, he released Hushang Shah from bondage and eventually reinstated him. Far from healing the breach, this move made the rulers of Malwa even more apprehensive of the power of Gujarat. They were always looking for an opportune moment to strike and would do so by offering help and encouragement to disaffected elements be they rebel nobles, or Hindu rajas at war with the Gujarat rulers. The rulers of Gujarat tried to counter this by installing their own nominee on the throne of Malwa. This bitter rivalry weakened both the kingdoms of Malwa and Gujarat. The successors of Ahmad Shah continued his policy of expansion and consolidation. On his death in 1441 his eldest son Muhammad Shah ascended the throne. He was known as Zar-Baksh. His nobles conspired against him and he was murdered in 1451. The most famous Sultan of Gujarat was Mahmud Begarha. He ruled over Gujarat for more than fifty odd years from about 1459 or so to about 1511. He was called Begarha because he captured powerful forts (garhs) of Gimar in Saurashtra (now called Junagarh) and Champaner in south Gujarat. The ruler of Girnar had always paid tribute regularly, but Mahmud Begarha decided to annex Iris kingdom as part of his policy of bringing Saurashtra under his complete control. Saurashtra was a rich and prosperous region and had many fertile tracts and flourishing ports. Unfortunately, the Saurashtra region was also infested with robbers and sea pirates who impinged upon trade and shipping. The powerful fort