DIN-I-ILAHI

Akbar founded a new religion called ‘Din-i-Ilahi’. It was introduced in 1582. Akbar tried to establish a national religion common to all by bringing together the main principles and ideals of various religions.

From the beginning of his reign there were religious problems. There was religious intolerance during the Muslim rule. Hindus formed majority of the population. They were treated as non-believers or Kafirs. A number of taxes such as jaziya and pilgrim tax were imposed on them. Their right to worship was restricted. Many of their temples were destroyed and mosques were built over them. Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam.

Factors that influenced Akbars Religious Policy.

There were various factors that influenced Akbar:

1. His father Humayun was a Sunni and his mother Hamida Banu Begum was a Persian Shia.

2. He was born in the house of a Hindu chief, Rana of Amarkot.

3. His guardian and regent, Bairam Khan was a Shia.

4. His marriage to Rajput princesses brought him in contact with Hinduism.

5. His teacher Abdul Latif gave him liberal ideas and taught him the principle of ‘Sulk-i-Kul’ (universal brotherhood)

6. Influenced by Abul Fazal, Faizee and Sufi Saints.

 

Ibadat Khana

In 1575, Akbar constructed a new building at Fatehpur Sikri called ‘Ibadat Khana’ (house of worship). Religious discussions were held here every Friday evening. Akbar invited religious leaders of all religions to the Ibadat Khana. It became a parliament of religions were the Sufi, philosophers, orator, jurist, Sunni, Shia, Brahmin, atheist (Charvaka), Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, Zorastrian, and others met and debated in the presence of the Emperor.

Contact with other religious leaders

1. Brahmin representatives – Purushottam and Devi instructed Akbar about the secrets of Hinduism. Akbar was convinced of the belief of transmigration of the soul and rebirth.

2. Jain teachers like Hira Vijay Suri, Vijaya Sen Suri and Bhanuchandra Upadhaya influenced Akbar. Hira Vijaya Suri asked the Emperor to release prisoners, caged birds, and to prohibit slaughter of animals on certain days.

3. Due to the influence of Parsi Head – Dastur Meherjee Rana, Akbar adopted many practices of the Zorastrians such as sun worship, fire worship and introduced the Persian festival Navroz.

4. Akbar took interest in the doctrines of Christianity and invited Christian priest from Goa. He showed great reverence to the Bible and built a small chapel for the Jesuit priests in the palace and held discussions with them. Churches were build at Agra and Lahore.

5. Akbar regarded the ‘Adi Granth’, the religious book of the Sikhs as a volume ‘worthy of reverence’.

Thus Akbar tried to satisfy his religious curiosity by coming in contact with heads of different religions.

The Infallibility Decree

Akbar did not like the authority of the Ulema and their check on his political control over India. So after his consolidation of the kingdom he made himself the supreme authority over religion. On Friday 26^th June 1579, Akbar mounted (climbed) the pulpit of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri and recited the ‘Qutba’ composed by Faizee in his own name. In order to emphasize his position as supreme head of religious affairs, a doctrine was drawn up which came to be known as Infallibility Decree. By this Doctrine, the Ulema transferred their authority in spiritual matters ot Akbar. The Infallibility Decree made Akbar ‘Imam-i-Adil’, the supreme head in spiritual matters.

Din-i-Ilahi

Din-i-Ilahi was a combination of the fundamental principles of all religions. Akbar believed that all religions were different paths leading to the same goal. Din-i-Ilahi promoted social reforms such as alms giving, sparing animal life, permitted widow remarriage, prohibited child marriage and forced sati, encouraged monogamy, discouraged gambling and drinking.

Din-i-Ilahi had its own ceremonial customs. A new member was admitted through a special ceremony fixed on Sunday. Abul Fazal acted as the high priest and introduced the person who wanted to be a member. The new member with is turban in his hands placed his head at the feet of the Emperor (sijda) who raised him by the touch of his shoulders placed the turban back on his head and gave him the shast (his own name) and Akbar’s motto ‘Allah-o-Akbar’ (God is Great).

The members of Din-i-Ilahi had to follow certain practices.

1. They had to greet each other with the words Allahu Akbar and in response ‘Jalla Jallahu’.

2. Instead of giving traditional dinner that is given in remembrance of a person after his death, each member was to give a dinner during his life time.

3. Each member was to give a party on his birthday and also give alms.

4. The members were to try and abstain from eating meat, but they could offer non vegetarian food to others without touching it personally. However, in the month of their birth, they could not serve non veg meals or attend parties where such meals were served.

5. Members were not to have sex with pregnant, old and barren women nor with girls under the age of puberty.

6. Members who died were to be buried with their heads towards the East and feet to the West. Akbar even began to sleep in this direction.

7. Members had to converse with others in mild tones and do good. They had to forgive those who did them wrong and face anger with mildness.

8. members had to observe rules of health and hygiene.

9. There were some other fanatic rules. For e.g. No child was to be given the name ‘Muhammad’. The slaughter of cows was forbidden. Beards were to be shaved. Garlic, onions were prohibited. ‘Sijda’ or ‘prostration’ had to be done before the Emperor. Gold and sild clothes which were forbidden (not allowed) by Muslim rule were now made compulsory at public prayers. The fast of Ramzan and pilgrimage to Mecca were forbidden.

Assessment

According to some historians, Din-i-Ilahi was not a new faith but a reformation of Islam. Din-i-Ilahi as a religion did not survive after the death of Akbar. Akbar wanted to establish a religion just as he founded an empire. But he forgot that religions are never made or put together. Great founders of religions never tried to establish a religion but spread the message of love for mankind, knowledge and truth. It was their followers who formed a group and then a religion was born.

However, Akbars motive (idea) in establishing the new religion should be appreciated. He tried to unite the people of different religions and culture. By doing this he wanted to establish a national, secular, and welfare state.

The number of followers of Din-i-Ilahi was not large. Only 18 prominent members are mentioned by Abul Fazl and Badauni. Akbar did not use force to convert the people. According to some historians, Din-i-Ilahi is not a true religion as it had no sacred book, no priests, no religious ceremonies and no religious beliefs. It was a more socio-religious brotherhood than a religion.

Vincent Smith has characterized Din-i-Ilahi as a monument of Akbars folly. This is an extreme view. A more balanced view is that it is neither a monument of folly nor of great wisdom. Its aim was good – to provide a meeting ground for people of different religions. Din-i-Ilahi was not a success. It died a natural death with the death of Akbar.

On the whole, Akbar followed a very wise religious policy. He was among the first and perhaps the greatest experimenters of religious tolerance. His policy can be summed up as a policy of sulk-i-Kul or Universal Toleration. He gave justice to all subjects irrespective of religion and laid the foundation for successful and long term domination (rule) of an Islamic state in the midst of non Muslim majority.

 

  

GANDHARA SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE

Intimately connected with the Mahayan School Buddhism was a new school of Indian sculpture known as the Gandhara School. It flourished under the Kushans especially Kanishka during whose time a number o Buddhist monasteries, stupas and statues were constructed. They bear a distinct influence of the Old Greek School of Art. The province of Gandhara, the center of the new school of Buddhism, was so situated as to be the meeting ground of the Indian, Chinese, Iranian and the Greco- Roman cultures. It was therefore quite natural for the province to absorb foreign ideas and influences. Hence the art of the province could not but be a mixture of the West + the East. It owed its origin to the Greek rulers of Bachia + North West India. The Gandhara art is undoubtedly derived from Greek art or to be more precise the Hellenistic art of Asia minor + the Roman Empire. Accordingly, it is also known as Indo Greek or Greco Roman Art. As this art was adopted to Indian genius and applied to Buddhist subjects, it is also called the Greco- Buddhist School of art. But though the technique was borrowed from Greece, the art was essentially Indian in spirit and it was solely employed to give expression to the beliefs and practices of the Buddhists. With a few exceptions, no Greek story or legend and no Greek art motif has been detected among the numerous specimens of Gandhara sculpture. The Indian subjects were interpreted through the Greeco Roman technique. In fact the Gandhara artist had the hand of a Greek and the heart of an Indian. The sentiment is Buddhist but the technique is grafted on foreign soil. Outside India Gandhara Art became very important as it turned to be the parent of the Buddhist art of Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan.

The Gandhara sculptures have been found in the ruins of Taxila in various ancient sites in Afghanistan and the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. They consist mostly of images of Buddha and relief sculptures representing scenes from Buddhist texts. They were executed in stone, stucco, terracotta, and clay and appear to have been invariably embellished with gold leaf or paint. Specimens preserved in Peshawar, Lahore and other museums are executed in stone. But at Taxila, the archeologists have discovered in addition to stone images, a large number of stucco ones, a smaller number of terracotta and clay figures. The discoveries have greatly added to our knowledge of sculpture and the technical skill employed by the artistes of the Gandhara school.

There are some outstanding technical characteristics of the Gandhara School of Sculpture that easily distinguish it from other Indian sculptures. In the first place, Gandhara School has ‘a tendency to mould the human body in a realistic manner with great attention to accuracy of physical details, especially by the delineation of muscles and the addition of moustaches, etc. Secondly the representation of the thick drapery with large and bold fold lines form a distinct characteristic. Lastly, the Gandhara sculptures reveal rich carving, elaborate ornamentation and complex symbolism.

For a long time it was believed that the images of Buddha and Boddhisattvas executed by the Gandhara Art served as the model for those executed at Mathura and Gandhara. There appears a striking difference between the Buddha images of Gandhara and those of the Indian interior. The former laid stress on accuracy of anatomical details and physical beauty, while the latter strove towards imparting a sublime and spiritual expression to the figure. The one was realistic and the other idealistic – the vital difference between western and Indian art.

The main theme of the Gandhara School of Sculpture was the new form of Buddhism and its most important contribution was the evolution of an image of buddha. The Gandhara schools of art was a tremendous iconographic success, because from now onward the figures of the Buddha were much in vogue. Fine images of Buddha and Bodhisattvas and relief sculptures illustrating various episodes of Buddha’s present and past lives are remarkably executed in a kind of black stone. The life of Buddha forms the inspiring motive of this art. In fact, the Gandhara school of sculpture is a lively commentary on the life and deeds of Lord Buddha. However, it should be noted, as Sir John Marshall points out that the Gandhara School of Art never took real hold upon India, because the Indians and the Greeks were radically different and dissimilar.

Besides this school of sculpture, there were other schools of art particularly flourishing in Mathura and Amravati in the south. Simplicity and restraint were the marked features of these schools.

PHIROZESHAH MEHTA (1845-1915)

In the city of Bombay, in the second half of the 19^th century, the famous Triumvirate, namely Phirozeshah Mehta, K. T. Telang and Badruddin Tyabji, gave a fillip to liberal, secular, moderate nationalism.

Mehta was a Parsi western educated lawyer and prominent political leader of the city of Bombay. He was the secretary fo Bombay branch of the East India Association (EIA), member of the Bombay Association, the Western India Association and a powerful leader of the moderate faction of the Indian National Congress. During 1884-85 he was the chairman of Bombay Municipal Corporation. For Mehta, secretaryship of EIA was an important steppingstone to leadership and fame. By the close of the century he had emerged, along with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as an acknowledged political leader of the country. Mehta and K. T. Telang concentrated their activities from 1870s onwards in building up their power base, within the decade they made a successful bid to capture the leadership of the city.

P. M. was a liberal. He was in favor of reform, especially of municipal affairs of Bombay. Although, in 1874, he was a supporter of the (corrupt) Municipal Commissioner of Bombay, Arthur T. Crawford, he struggled for popularly elected body for the Bombay Municipality. P. M. supported the campaign for a complete reform of the electoral system. In his view, the continued appointment of the Justice of Peace for life by the government was bad. Hence, he demanded a popular and responsible corporation, elected by the ‘ratepayers’ themselves.

At a public meeting held in April 1883, Mehta, Tyabji, Telang, Mandlik and Dadabhai Naoroji affirmed that the educated intelligentsia should participate fully in the administration not only of their city but of India as well. They urged the English educated Indians to unite and present a united front to their rivals for prestige and power i.e., the Anglo-indians. They told them to be prepared for sacrifice and struggle until they had won a status of equality with the ruling race. But as P. H. Mody writes, Mehta, like Naoroji, had a sincere faith in the sense of justice and fair play of the British.

P. M. rendered unforgettable service to the systematic organization of the municipal corporation as a member and mayor. According to G. K. Gokhale, by pacing his outstanding abilities freely at the disposal of the city for nearly 50 years, Mehta attained a position ‘unrivaled predominance’ in the corporation and in the country’s affairs.

P.M. was liberal and moderate in politics. He always was fair and sought justice in the politics of the British in India. His grasp of things and vigour of his intellect and his fearless independence together dignity and judgment won him a prominent place in the public life of Bombay. In the legislative council of Bombay, he showed himself to be a match for the ablest of his Anglo-Indian opponents.

M. highlighted in the council debated the indifference of the civil servants to the grievances of the Indian people and public opinion. As president of the Indian National Congress, he urged the adoption of direct election and enlargement of the functions of Legislative Councils so that the people were not left at the mercy of an indifferent officialdom.

P.M. was a champion of the Free Press. Therefore, he severely criticized the vernacular press Act of 1878 which imposed severe limitations on the freedom of the press. He denounced this autocratic measure of Lord Lytton as a ‘narrow minded policy of autocratic imperialism’. He went to the extent of opposing the proposal of giving a public address and erecting a memorial to Sir Richard Temple, the retiring Governor of Bombay Presidency.

He had faith in the capacity of the Indians to manage representative institutions. He also believed that ‘the time was past when strong popular opinion on any subject could be successfully resisted by Government for any length of time’. As an active member of the Bombay Branch of the East Indian Association, Bombay Association, Western India Assciation and founder member of the Bombay Presidency Association, Mehta strove through resolutions, memorials and public meetings to focus the general feeling of the community on matters of common interest as well as to attract the governments attention towards grievances of the people.

P. M. was one of the founded members of the Indian National Congress and soon came to be recognized as one of its pillars. A moderate and constitutionalist, Mehta was elected President of the Congress in 1890. He put the case of the Congress in a nutshell when he said that it had survived the ridicule, abuse, misrepresentation and charges of sedition and disloyalty.

According to Mehta, ‘It is because the masses are still unable to articulate definite political demands that the functions and duty devolve upon their educated and enlightened compatriots to feel, to understand and to interpret their grievances and requirements and to suggest and indicate how these can best be redressed and met’.

By 1980, P. M.’s position in the political life of Maharashtra and at the All India level had become almost unassailable. He was President of the Congress in 1890, a member of the Bombay Legislative Council from 1887 to 1893, in 1893, he was elected to the viceroy’s Legislative Council. His position within the Bombay Presidency Association was equally strong. He had close personal contacts with J. N. Tata and D. M. Petit, the leading capitalists of Bombay. Thus, he came to dominate the city of Bombay and was hailed as the ‘Lion of Bombay’.

P. M. was a staunch nationalist. He believed that despite differences India was acquiring a general will as a political community which gave it the status of a nation, a consciousness of political unity. This spirit was evident, he believed, in the Congress. The members of the Congress ‘met together as men on the common basis of nationality influenced for weal of woes by the system of administration urged by like impulses to secure the rights and be relieved of like burdens…’ he said.

THE RISING OF THE RAMOSIS AT POONA (1826-29)

The Ramosis served in the Maratha police administration in the lower ranks. After the final defeat of the Marathas in 1818, the British administration of the Bombay province found it difficult to restore order in the region immediately. The new administration was unable to absorb the Ramosis in the police administration. Consequently, a vast body of unemployed but assured men, included Ramosis, were thrown open – the former territories of the Peshwa. They were prepared to train anyone who would provide them suitable employment and even to help in the attempt to overthrow the British power.

In 1825, the economic distress resulting from scarcity and reduction in the number of soldiers in the local Poona garrison, adversely affected the Ramosis. Hence under the leadership of Umaji Naik and Bapu Trimbabji Sawant, they rose in revolt and restored to outlawry. From 1826 to 1829, they committed many excessed in the hills around the fort of Torna. They proved to be so turbulent that the government was forced to pardon many of their crimes and placated them by granting lands as well as recruiting them as hill police. However, their risings were quelled by the British garrison.

Nevertheless, the Ramosis continued to cause trouble to the authorities by attacking their oppressors like money lenders.

UMAJI NAIK

Leader, courageous man and patriot

Ramoshis are a predatory tribe that migrated from Telangana and settled down in Maharashtra during the Maratha period. Maratha rulers utilized their services in an effective manner. Important duties like night patrolling were entrusted to them. In the new British Raj, they were not ready to reconcile.

Umaji Naik was their leader, he had set up small principalities, small Vatandars. He gave harsh treatment to British officials and to the people who were loyal to them. Bhar and Kolhapur rulers were also supporting him. Some influential brahmins gave him necessary guidance.

In 1828, he demanded Watan rights from the British officials, if not, he threatened them that ‘thousand rebellions will arise’. Special police force were raised in Ahmednagar to check Umaji Naik. In 1829, he got 129 Bighan land and thus a trust came into force.

In 1830, there were fresh troubles. Mackintosh led on behalf of British (10^th December 1830). Umaji naik was captured. The British took the help of his sisters who were promised four villages, employing such treacherous means he was captured and hanged. He gave up his life for the country.

He was not a decoit or a plunderer. He kept Shivaji as his ideal. Bombay Gazetteer described him as ‘Second Shivaji’. He is a hero of several anecdotes in Maharashtra and is a legendary figure. Several literary marks of films are made on his Robinhood style of life.

DADOBA PANDURANG TARKHADKAR (1814-1882)

Dadoba Pandurang was associated with Bal Shastri Jambhekar when they studied together and lived at Bapu Chhatre’s house. He outlived Bal Shastri by 36 years. He acted as a link between the reformers of the early forties and was also associated with the reformers of the eighties. He was very much influenced by Ram Mohan Roy and other leaders of the Bramho Samaj. The movement that he started had however an origin and growth of its own.

Dadoba Pandurang was an educator. His grammar book acquired great popularity in Mahar. He was principal of Gujarati school at Surat, then a part of Bombay Presidency. There he was joined by Dayaram Mancuram, one of the teachers of that school in promoting social reforms.

They founded the Association of Religion of Manking (Manava-Dharma sabha) in 1844. In his book ‘Dharma Vivechana’ published in 1843 he had expressed his ideas about God and religion. The Association which was founded in 1844 practically borrowed its contents and formulated them as the tenets of the Association of the Religion of Mankind. The Association represented a universalism in religion and social life. This new religion was given a broad base of rationalism. This association could hardly survive after the departure of Dadoba from Surat in 1846.

Jamshedkar had already attempted to remove some absurd features and superstitious beliefs under the name of religion. Dadoba went one step ahead and wanted a rethinking on this very sensitive and vital subject of common interest.

Dadoba’s rationalism makes a special contribution to the thought of the western educated gentry in Bombay and the cities in Maharashtra. His campaigns against sorcerers and enchanters suggested that he considered it a duty of the educated people to clear the cobwebs of superstitions from the minds of the mass of people. The foundation of the ‘Paramhansa Sabha’ showed the way for others to follow. It was nor religion that was the chief concern of the Sabha but the rational attitude that was provoked in the public mind against unscientific ideas, was its chief objective.

There were quite a number of educated people entertaining ideas to reform Hinduism and save the society by eradication fo all sorts of defilement. Among those who held identical views on religions and social matters were Dadoba's younger brother Dr. Atmaram Pandurang Tarbhadkar, Ram Balkrishna Jaykar, Moroba Vinoba, Tukaram Tatya, Balubhau Shintre, Sakharam Shastri, Laxmanshastri Halve, Bhikoba Laxman and Sakharam Laxman Chavan were prominent. They regarded these two features of Hinduism as highly objectionable.

 

EXAMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYAG ASSEMBLY OF HARSHAVARDHAN'S TIME

Prayag was an important town where Harsha used to hold his quinquennial assemblies. It was one of the great nerve centers of Hinduism. The assemblies at Prayag, where he distributed all his wealth among the Buddhists, the Brahmans and the poor people, after performing religious rites of Buddhism and Hinduism, stand unparalleled in the history of the world.

After the conclusion of the special assembly at Kanauj, Harsha invited Hiuen Tsang to attend his sixth quinquennial assembly of distribution of alms (Mahamokshaparishad) and religious festivities at Prayag at the sacred confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna in 643 A.D. Harsha had held five such assemblies earlier. On such occasions, he distributed among the poor and religious all the accumulated wealth. The assembly of 643 A.D. was attended by Dhruvasena II of Valabhi, Baskaravarman of Assam and several other subordinate kings and a huge crowd of 500,000, belonging to different religions. The assembly was opened with an impressive procession and the proceedings lasted for seventy-five days in the vast sandy plain between the rivers.

The proceedings at the Prayag assembly curiously manifested the eclectic blend of mind. On the first day the image of Buddha was set up in one of the temporary shrines built upon the sands and was worshipped with costly offerings and lavish distributions. On the second day the image of Adityadeva (Sun) was worshipped and on the third day the idol of Siva was adored. On the fourth day, generous gifts were distributed to ten thousand select Buddhist monks. Each received one hundred gold coins, a pearl, a cotton garment, besides food, drink, flowers and perfumes. During the next twenty days the Brahmins received royal gifts. Jains and members of other sects were similarly given gifts for the next ten days. They were followed by mendicants for equal number of days. It took a month to distribute alms to the poor, destitute and orphans. This generous and lavish distribution exhausted Harsha’s accumulated wealth for the last five years. Finally, Harsha even gave up his personal belongings. At the end of the assembly, Harsha offered worship to the Buddha of the ten regions. Shortly after the end of this spectacular Prayag assembly Hiuen Tsang took leave of Harsha and returned to China with 657 volumes of rare manuscripts.  

EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALEXANDERS INVASION

EFFECTS OF ALEXANDERS INVASION (REF: B. N. LUNIA)

Alexander’s invasion did not create any impression on the minds of the Indians as it was confined to the western part of India. His expedition at best remained a mere raid on frontier provinces. Though he annexed Gandhara and the Indus Valley to the Macedonian Empire, they soon became independent and all traces of the short-lived Greek rule disappeared from India within two years of Alexander’s death. There is, therefore, little wonder if Indians ignored Alexander’s expedition. He came like a hurricane, stayed in India for nineteen months and departed from India leaving the heart of the country untouched.

For Indians he was a mere invader who disturbed the peace of a part of the country for some time and went away, eclipsing Chengiz Khan and Timur in committing atrocities and shedding considerable blood. Viewed from the broader stand-point, Alexander’s invasion, therefore, could have no importance. It was a mere raid that did not attract even the attention of the Indian writers.

Then, judging his generalship from the events in India, Alexander does not appear to be an outstanding figure and distinguished military genius. All that he achieved in India was a hard fought victory over Porus – a king of a petty state in Punjab, and that too, with the help of an Indian king, Ambhi, a bitter enemy of Porus and one who had betrayed the nation by unhinging the doors of India to a foreigner. In fact, it was a victory of a great general over a petty chief in a distant corner of India. His defeat did not affect the rest of India, much less was it a triumph of the West over the East.

But it seems that if the Indians have underestimated the importance of Alexander’s expedition, the Greeks have equally exaggerated it. The Greek writers like Arrian Curtius, etc., have exaggerated the significance of the event by devoting page after page to its description. They have taken pains to describe his campaigns and conquests in minutest details. To them Alexander was one of the greatest conquerors of the world.

However, it is wrong for the Indians to ignore Alexander’s invasion completely. It had direct and immediate result on the course of Indian History.

1. By seriously crippling the number of small warring kingdoms and tribes that abounded in the Punjab and Sind, Alexander paved the way for Chandragupta to give to the north-west India a political unity and make it a strong integral portion of the empire of Magadha. Thus, if Mahapadmananda was the predecessor of Chandragupta Maurya in the east, Alexander was the fore-runner of that Empire in the West.

2. Though the Punjab and Sind began to enjoy the blessings of a unified rule as the direct and immediate result of Alexander’s invasion, the Indians ignored the superiority of the Greek art of warfare. The Indian rulers and their military captains seem to have paid no heed to the Greek mode of warfare. They stuck to their traditional methods of fighting and continued for centuries to place their chief reliance on their elephant brigades.

3. But there is one historical gain in the date of Alexander’s invasion i.e., 326 B. C. The clearly dated records of Alexander’s Indian campaign left by his companions helped to build Indian chronology for subsequent political events on a definite basis. The date of Alexander’s invasion, in fact, forms the sheet anchor of Indian chronology.

In addition to this, the invasion brought in India a number of Greeks of eminence, who wrote the accounts of that time, and they have become important source of early Indian history. The original works of these Greek writers are lost, but quotations taken from them by latter writers are available today and it is from these fragments that we get a detailed picture of the political, social and religious conditions of India at that time.

4. Some historians think that Alexander’s campaign resulted in the opening up of new lines of communication and new routes for trade and maritime enterprise, which brought India and the West into closer contact with each other, facilitating cultural exchange between them.

Strabo points out that the Oxus (Amu Daria) joined a link in an important chain along which the Indian goods were carried to the European countries by way of the Caspian and the Black Sea. Patroclus, an admiral in the service of Antiochus I, the successor of Seleucus Nikator, also remarked that the route was a popular one in the third century B.C. Evidence of a brisk trade with India is also furnished by the coins of Greek models minted in Babylon and found in large numbers in the frontier province of India.

5. in addition to the above effects, the following distinct cultural effects of Alexander’s campaign must also be noted. The Greek kingdoms in Syria, Bactria and other parts of Asia which had been established on the disruption of Alexander’s Empire, produced, in the course of time, close cultural contact between India and Europe. It was this contact with these Indo Greek or Indo Bactrian kings that was responsible for the improvement of the Indian coinage. The coins of the Indo Greek rulers which were discovered in Taxila replace the older Indian Punch marked and ill shaped ones and the subsequent coins of India were cast on well shaped Greek models.

Another result of the contact, it is said, is that the system of Indian astronomy is largely influenced by the Hellenic system.

Again, during the reign of the great emperor Kanishka, Bactria formed a part of his empire. He invited, it is said, many Greeco-Bactrian sculptors to Gandhara for making images of the Buddha and Boddhisattvas. They blended the Greek and the Indian Art in image making. This led to the growth of a new type of sculpture, known as the Gandhara School of Art. It is another distant and distinct effect of Alexander’s campaign.

As regards to the Greeks, they learned a good deal of sciences, arts, philosophy, mathematics and medicine from India during the period of this contact. Indian philosophy greatly influenced Greek thought and culture. A host of Indians went to Greece and Asia minor and there the ideas of the East might have percolated. It has been also suggested that after the formation of the Greek kingdom in the northwest of India, Indian philosophy affected even Christianity.

WHAT LED TO THE DOWNFALL OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE? WAS ASHOKA RESPONSIBLE FOR IT?

The causes for the downfall of the Mauryan Empire (Mauryan Empire broke up 50 years after the death of Ashoka 232 B.C.)

There is something almost dramatic in the way in which the Mauryan Empire declined and disappeared after the death of Ashoka. The decline was complete within half a century after the death of Ashoka. The reasons given by historians for such a rapid decline are as conflicting as they are confusing. Some of the very obvious and other controversial causes for the decline of the Mauryan empire are described as follows:

1. The partition of the Mauryan Empire – An immediate cause for the decline was the partition of the Mauryan Empire into two halves. ‘Had the partition not taken place, the Greek invasions of the north-west could have been held back for a while. The partition of the empire disrupted the various services as well’.

2. Weak later Mauryan rulers – The succession of weak Mauryan rulers after Ashoka completely disrupted the Mauryan Administration. The weakness of these rulers can be imagined from the fact that as many as six rulers could rule only 52 years over the Eastern part of the Empire and finally the last Mauryan King was assassinated by his own commander-in-chief Pusyamitra Sunga. These weak late Mauryan rulers could also not continue the traditional policies of the Mauryas.

3. Ashokas responsibility for the decline – Many scholars have accused Ashoka as being directly responsible for the decline of the Mauryan Empire. H. C. Raychaudhari maintains that Ashoka’s pacifist policies were responsible for undermining the strength of the empire. He says, ‘From the time of Bimbisara to Kalinga War the History of India the story of the expansion of Magadh form a tiny state in South Bihar to a gigantic empire extending from the foot of the Hindukush to the borders of the Tamil country. After the Kalinga war ensued a period of stagnation at the end of which the process is reversed. The Empire gradually dwindled down in extent till it sank to the position from which Bimbisara and his successors had raised it’. However, Raychaudhuri’s view does not seem to be tenable because Ashoka did not turn complete pacifist after the Kaling War in view of the fact that he neither demobilized the Mauryan army nor abolished capital punishment. Ashoka only gave up the imperialist policy and preached non violence after the Kalinga War. Such practical Pacifism could not have been responsible for the decline of the Mauryan Empire.

Harprasad Shastri holds the view that the decline of the Mauryan Empire was the result of the Brahmanical revolt on account of ban on animal sacrifices and undermining the prestige of the Brahmanas by ‘exposing them as false gods’. But Shastri’s views are merely hypothetical because first, Brahminism itself stresses nonviolence and secondly, Ashoka only banned the unnecessary slaughter of certain animals on certain auspicious days. Then again Ashoka’s frequent requests in his edicts for due respect to Brahmanas and Sramanas hardly points to his being anti Brahmanical in outlook.

4. Pressure on Mauryan Economy – D. D. Kosambi has expressed the opinion that there was considerable pressure on Mauryan economy under the later Mauryas. This view is based on the increase of taxes of taxes and debasement of later Mauryan punch marked coins. But contrary to the above, the foreign accounts and the material remains of the period give a picture of an expanding economy.

5. Highly centralized administration – Prof. Romila Thapar is of the view ‘The machinery of the Mauryan administrative system was so centralized the an able ruler could use it both to his own advantage and that of his people. To the same degree it could become harmful to both under a weak ruler who would lose its central control and allow forces of decay to disintegrate and wreck it. The weakening of the central control under the later Mauryas led automatically to a weakening of the administration. The division of the Mauryan empire after the death of Ashoka must have given further blow to the centralized Mauryan administration under the weak later-Mauryan rulers, leading to the decline and disintegration of the Mauryan Empire.

Other factors of importance contributing to the decline of the Mauryan empire have been described as Brahmanical revolt against the pro Buddhist policies of Ashoka and his successors, oppressive provincial governments and people’s revolt against Mauryan oppression, lack of representative institutions and national unity in Mauryan India. But except for the first two causes – Ashokas weak successors and division of the Mauryan Empire after Ashoka’s death – the other causes described above have weaknesses in their argument and therefore, cannot be called as positively responsible for the decline of the Mauryan Empire.

‘DECCAN PROVED THE ULCER FOR AURANGZEB’? DISCUSS

 

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE VIEW THAT ‘DECCAN PROVED THE ULCER FOR AURANGZEB’? DISCUSS

During the first half of Aurangzeb’s reign his attention was engrossed with affairs in the north, and the Deccan was left to the viceroys. The decadent southern Sultanates had not been able to recover fully from the blows that had been inflicted on them, and the Marathas rose at their expense. The rise of the Marathas, as a sort of challenge to the Mughal Empire, complicated the political situation in the Deccan, the full significance of which the Emperor could not realize at first. During the first 24 years of his reign his viceroys in the Deccan could achieve no definite success either against the Sultanates or against the Marathas.

The death of Shivaji in 1680 in no way improved the imperial position in the Deccan, not withstanding Aurangzeb’s determination to consolidate his supremacy. The flight of the rebellious Prince Akbar to the Maratha King Shambhuji, and the alliance between the disturber of India and the infernal father, as Aurangzeb called these two, brought a complete change in his policy towards the Deccan. Having now realized the necessity of marching there in person to check this menace to imperial interests he patched up a peace with Mewar in June 1681. Leaving Ajmer for the Deccan on 8^th September 1681, he arrived at Burhanpur on 23^rd November 1681 and at Ahmednagar on 1^st April 1682. His mind must have been full of high hopes and he could not foresee that destiny was dragging him to the south to dig the graves of himself and his empire. The first four years were spent in unsuccessful attempts to seize Prince Akbar and in rather disastrous campaigns against the Marathas.

The conquest of the decayed Sultanates next engaged the Emperor’s attention. Aurangzeb’s attitudes towards the Shiah Sultanates of the Deccan was influenced partly by imperial interests and partly by religious considerations. Bijapur, weakened by party factions and the rise of the Marathas, submitted to the invaders. The Emperor himself went on the last Mughal siege of the city.

According to writers like Elphinstone and Smith, the annihilation of the Southern Sultanates was an impolitic step of the part of Aurangzeb. They hold that it freed the Maratha chiefs from any fear of local rivalry, which the Mughal Emperor might have utilized to his advantage against he Marathas. But it is doubtful in any sincere alliance between the Sultanates and the aggressor, the Mughal Emperor was possible and also if they could check the rise of the Marathas. As Sir J. N. Sarkar observes, ‘since Akbar had crossed the Vindhyas, the Deccan Sultanates could never forget that the sleepless aim of the Mughal Emperors was the final extinction and annexation of all their territories’. He also points out that it would have been impossible for the decadent Sultanates to check the Marathas effectively as they had already organized themselves into a progressive national state.

Having achieved one of the two objects of his Deccan policy, i.e., the annexation of the decadent Sultanates of the Deccan, Aurangzeb turned towards the other, i.e., suppression of the renascent Maratha power. His attempts were at first crowned with success. Shambhuji was executed on the 11^th of March 1689, his capital Rajgarh was captured and though his brother Rajaram, escaped, the rest of his family, including his younger son Shahu were made prisoners. In the course of the next few years the Emperor extended his conquests further South and levied tribute on the Hindu states of Tanjore and Trichinopoly.

In fact by the year 1690 Aurangzeb had already reached the zenith of his power and was the lord paramount of almost the whole of India – from Kabul to Chittagong and from Kashmir to Kaveri. ‘All seemed to have been gained by Aurangzeb now; but in reality all was lost. It was the beginning of his end. The saddest and most hopeless chapter of his life was now opened. The Mughal empire had become too large to be governed by one man or from one center… His enemies rose on all sides; he could defeat but not crush them forever… Lawlessness was reigned in many places of Northern and Central India. The old emperor in the far off Deccan lost all control over his officers in Hindustan, and the administration grew slack and corrupt; chiefs and zamindars defied the local authorities and asserted themselves, filling the country with tumult. In the province of Agra in particular, there was chronic disorder. Art and learning decayed at the withdrawl of imperial patronage; not a single edifice, finely written manuscript, or exquisite picture, commemorates Aurangzeb’s reign. The endless war in the Deccan exhausted his treasury; the government turned bankrupt, the soldiers, starving from arrears of pay, mutinied; and during the closing years of his reign the revenue of Bengal, regularly sent by the able Diwan Murshid Quli Khan, was the sole support of the Emperor’s household or his army, and the arrival was eagerly looked forward to. Napoleon I used to say, ‘It was the Spanish ulcer which ruined me’. The Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb. The Emperor failed to subjugate the Marathas or conquer their land. They recovered by 1691 and carried on a war of national resistance against the Mughals, first under Rajaram and some other Maratha chiefs and then after Rajaram’s death in 1700, under his brave widow Tarabai.

 

 

CONCEPT OF ASHOKAS DHAMMA

ASHOKAS DHAMMA

After the Kalinga War, the greatest ideal and objective before Ashoka was the propagation of Dhamma for the fulfillment of which he worked relentlessly. The Dhamma as explained in Ashoka’s edicts is not a religion or religious system, but a ‘Moral Law’, ‘a common code of conduct’ or an ‘Ethical Order’, which is a common meeting ground of all religions.

Ashoka explaining what is dhamma, enumerates two basic attributes or constituents of Dhamma: less evils or sins (ap ansinave) and many good deeds (bahu Kayane). He enumerates the Asinavas or sin, such as rage or fury, cruelty, anger, pride and envy, which are to be avoided and many good deeds (bahu kayane) - kindness, liberality, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control, purity of heart, attachment to morality, inner and outer purity etc., - which are to be pursued vigourously. The two attributes constitute the ‘Doctrinal’ or negative and positive aspects of Ashokas dhamma.

The Code of Duties / Practical Dhamma

1. Obedience to mother and father, elders, teachers and other respectful persons.

2. Respect towards teachers

3. Proper treatment towards ascetics, both Brahmanas and Sramanas, relations, slaves, servants and dependents, the poor and miserable, friends, acquaintances and companions.

4. Liberality towards ascetics, friends, comrades, relatives and the aged.

5. Abstention from killing of living beings.

6. Non injury to all living creatures.

7. Moderation in spending and saving.

8. Mildness in case of all living creatures.

9. Truthfulness

10. Purity of heart.

The Dhamma of Edicts is not merely a guide to action. It is distinguished by several characteristic doctrines and philosophical positions, bringing out the originality of Ashoka’s ideas of moral reform. Toleration was insisted on as an absolute duty in a multi religious country like India. Ashoka tried to instill moral law (Dhamma) as the governing principle and force in every sphere of life and to spiritualize politics and all human activities. The Dhamma thus presented in these Edicts is but another name for the moral or virtuous life and takes its stand upon the common meeting ground of all religions. It is not sectarian in any sense, but is completely cosmopolitan, capable of universal application and acceptance as essence of all religions. Thus, he laid the basis of a universal religion and was probably the first to do so in history.

After the Kalinga War, Ashoka considered the Dhamma Vijaya, the victory based on piety and morality, as the real victory. In Pillar Edict I, he sums up his intentions by saying that he wants the maintenance, governance, happiness and protection of the people to be regulated by Dhamma. He further stressed the paternal concept of monarchy ‘All men are my children, and just as I desire for my children that they obtain welfare and happiness, both in this world and the next, so do I desire the same for all men’.

Ashoka’s dhamma was intended to strengthen social solidarity or social relationships, whether between parents and children, elders and young friends or various ideological sects. It was included as an ethical concept related to the individual in the context of his society.

Measures for the propagation of Dhamma

Ashoka took a number of measures for the propagation of Dhamma throughout his Empire. He adopted the doctrines of Dhamma as a governing principle of his personal life and public policies. Some of the significant measures were:

1. Issue of Dhamma lipis and Dhamma stambhas respectively in the form of Rock and Pillar Edicts describing the attributes of Dhamma

2. Appointment of Dhamma mahamatras.

3. Dhamma – Yatras, royal tours for the propagation of Dhamma.

4. Dhamma-mangala public welfare activities in accordance with the spirit of Dhamma.

5. Preaching of Dhamma by regulations and persuasions.

6. Administrative measures suited to the principles of Dhamma.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE PALLAVAS IN THE FIELD OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

 Discuss the contribution of the Pallavas in the field of art and architecture.

The history of architecture and sculpture in South India begins with the Pallava temples which introduce a new technique called the Dravidian style. In addition to the temples in Kanchi and other places, ‘some of the rock-cut temples known as the seven pagodas or rathas of Mamallapurama are built in this style which may justly be called the Pallava style of art’. In fact, Pallava contribution to Indian culture is unique. Undoubtedly their edifices are among the noblest monuments in South India. From an early date they created an architecture of their own which was to be the basis of all the styles of the South. The cave and structural temples and other architectural remains of the Pallavas form an important chapter in Hindu art. The Pallava architecture has two phases:

1. Rockcut architecture from 610-690; it includes mandapas or rathas (monolithic temples)

2. Structural from 690-900; it includes temples.

 

A mandapa is an open pavilion, a hall with cells in the back wall. It is excavated in a rock. A ratha is a monolithic shrine. Many of the architectural productions of the Pallavas have a figure of a lion on the prominent place. This heraldic beast was made to serve as a symbol of the Pallava Simhavishnu or lion (simha) ancestry.

The twon of Mahavallipuram or Mamallapuram, 32 miles south of Madras, founded by the great Pallava King Narasimhavarman (625-645) on the sea-beach, has many cave-temples or mandapas decorated with fine reliefs. The mandapas are 10 in number and are found on the hill. They are remarkable not for their size but for the exceptional character of their design and execution. The pillars, the façade and the sculpture combined with the architecture are the salient features of these mandapas. The pillar is made to rest on the sedent animal’s head and it has fluted and banded shaft, refined necking, the elegant curves, and lotus form with wide abacus. The relief work and architectural features are designed and executed in admirable way.

The monolithic temples called rathas, known as, ‘seven pagodas’ are another type of remarkable rock cut architecture at Mamallapuram. They are named after the five Pandava brothers and Draupadi, each carved out from a single massive granite stone upon the seashore. They are complete with all the details of an ordinary temple and stand today as undying testimony to the super quality of Pallava art. These rathas are of no great size, the largest measuring only 42 feet long, the widest 35 feet and the tallest 40 feet high. They number eight in all with the exception of Draupadi’s ratha which is the smallest, simplest and most finished, others are derived from the Buddhist structure of a Vihara or a monastery and Chaitya Hall or temple. The Dharmaraja ratha is the largest. The Bhima ratha with its three upper stories is the finest and most interesting of the group. The Ganesh ratha has architectural form known in later Dravidian architecture as Gopuram – the gateway. The significant point to note here is that ‘these rathas formed the originals from which all the vimanas in South India were copied and continued to be copied nearly unchanged to a very late period’ (Gokhale). These monolithic shrines or rathas were of Saivism as in their proximity are images carved in rock, of a lion, an elephant and a bull, symbolizing respectively Durga, Indra and Shiva. Probably each ratha was a shrine consecrated to one of the manifestations of Shiva.

These mandapas and rathas are adorned with marvellous figure sculpture. The Pallava sculpture here reveals a finer feeling for form, experience craftsmanship, a noteable sense of restraint and a refined simplicity. Among the sculptures, one large composition on rock has obtained great celebrity. It is cut down from one standing soldi rock 98 feet long and 43 feet wide. The scene represented is usually described as the penance of Arjun, but now it is held by art critics and scholars that it represents the Descent of the Ganges. Towards the end of the 7^th century the art of excavated ratha or mandapa was given up and the second phase of the Pallava art, the art of structural edifices, was taken up and it occupied the whole of the 8^th century. Splendid temples were constructed; their lofty towers were built tier upon tier, diminishing in size towards a summit, typifying all the wealth, munificence and grandeur of the Pallavas. The most wonderful example of the Pallava structural art is the famous Kailasa temple at Kanchi. There the shrine with its sikhara or pyramidal tower and flat roofed mandapam is surrounded by a series of cells, resembling rathas. The temple of Vaikuntha Perumal at Canjeevaram is another marvelous example of the art. Here the Pallava style of architecture is seen in its most mature form. It is larger and more spacious that the afore-stated Kailash temple. Here the principle parts, the cloisters, portico and sanctuary, instead of being separate buildings, are amalgamated into one architectural whole. This has produced a unity of conception and considerable architectural merit. To sum up, the Pallava art evolved splendid huge temples of stone. Sometimes the upper part was made of bricks. Above the main shrine pyramidal tower was constructed.

The style of Pallava architecture not only set the standard in the South but also largely influenced the architecture of the Indian colonies in the Far East. The Pallava art was transmitted beyond the seas to the countries of south east Asia like Indonesia ‘where its effulgence, reflected in the vast monuments of those civilizations, shone with even greater splendor than in the country of its origin’ (Percy Brown). The schools of sculpture which developed out of the Pallava art in Java and Cambodia displayed the high artistic character and the superb quality of the Pallava plastic art. The Khmer sculptures at Angkor Thom and Angkor Vat and the bas-reliefs on the stupa temple of Borobudur owe some of their characteristics to the rock cut monoliths of Mamallapuram. The characteristic Pallava or Dravidian type of shikara is met with the temples of Java, Cambodia and Annam. But there are important differences between them and the South Indian temples. The pillars that form an important adjunct to the latter are altogether absent in the former. Credit goes to the Pallavas for having kept burning brightly the torch, which kindled by the Buddhist in the early centuries of the Christian era at Amaravati, was bequeathed to these Simha Vishnu ‘lion’ kings, Pallvas. Later on its flame glowed with renewed brilliance in the hands of the Chola and subsequent rulers of Southern India.  

AMIR KHUSRAU'S CONTRIBUTION TO HINDI LITERATURE

 

Short Note on the contribution of Amir Khusrau towards Hindi Literature

Amir Khusrau (1253 - 1325) was the first great name among Indian historiographers during the sultanate period. He lived through the reign of six different Sultans. Kaiqubad, Bughra Khan, Jalaluddin Khilji, Alauddin Khilji, Qutbudin Mubarak Shah Khilji and Ghyasuddin Tughlaq. His close association with these sultans, and more so with the saint, Nizamuddin Auliya, gave him an opportunity of knowing the political events and the social conditions of the time. He is a very prolific writer who is supposed to have written about 92 works. But he is more a poet than a historian, his works lack unity of theme and chronology His strongest point is an embellished style. His works on history are 6 in number, the most important of which are Khazain - ul- Futuh, Khiran - us- Sadain, and Thugluqnamah. He is good in giving us an account of events but his philosophy of history is not rational but metaphysical in nature. For him human characteristics are created outside the world of time and events, that is by God, and events merely betray those characteristics.

In other words, man is a creature depending entirely on the Divine Will. The modern concept of History is that it is the story of developing changing human nature in action; but to Khusrau it was a spectacle o divine Ordination. If Ranke speaks in terms of God dwelling in history, Croce in terms of the spirit action, and Toynbee in terms of theodicy it is no wonder that Amir Khusrau was speaking almost in the same language. He advises Allaudin not to be harsh in government. The primary purpose of Amir Khusrau was to fulfill his aesthetic sense, to amuse his readers, to stimulate their emotions and the poetic medium suited his historical theme.

SOCIAL LIFE IN VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

Reference:  T.V.Mahalingam, Administration and Social Life under Vilavanagar, Part. Il.

1. The People: From the economic point of view the population of the Empire may be broadly divided into two distinct groups, the consumers and the producers. Among the consumers, can be included the king and the court, the nobles and high officers. The learned men, scholars, the ascetics and mendicants and the trading community and the entertainers also belong to this category. The people who constituted the producing classes may be grouped under two broad occupations, agriculture and industries.

A large majority of the population was engaged on land, either cultivating the land or rearing cattle or sheep. Among those who followed an industrial occupation were artisans such as black-smiths, gold-smiths, brass-smiths, carpenters and idol makers, the weavers and oil-pressers. The other important professionals were the potters, toddy drawers and leather workers. Craftsmanship was usually hereditary.

One of the most, respected communities in the Vijayanagar Society was that of the brahmins. They were found in almost every walk of life. A few of them were priests and were attached to temples, Others were owners of land, some were engaged in trade, and many were active administrators and even generals.

Regarding the status of women in the Empire, it would be convenient to study them under two groups, viz. family women and courtesans. Family women seldom took part in social gatherings. Little has been written about them by the foreign travellers, for they were very retiring by nature. The royal harem has attracted the attention of many foreign travellers. The Vijayanagara kings had large harems. But though it was large, only a few in it were the queens. Many served as hand-maidens, women guards, servants etc. The courtesans can be divided into two group one living independently in the capital city and other important centres and taking part in social functions, and the other the dancing girls who were attached to the temples.

The first category played an important role in court rituals such as the Mahanavami. Many of them were enormously wealthy. These women enjoyed special privileges. They were allowed to enter even in the presence of the wives of the king and they even chewed betel with them. They were allowed to chew betel even in the presence of the king. The temple dancers danced and sang before the deities daily at specified times. They were generally remuneratéd from temple funds.

There is evidence to believe that the institution of slavery was prevalent in the Empire.

2. Social institutions: Regarding marriage, although the kings and high dignitaries might were polygamous, the bulk of the Hindu population was generally monogamous. The dowry system was prevalent, but then appears to have been much resentment against it was prevalent, but there appears to have been much resentment against it.

Another important social practice in the Vijayanagar days was sati.  The performance of self-immolation, which has been described in detail by many of the foreign visitors to the Empire, was voluntary, though the practice was wide-spread and popular. The performance of sati was commemorated by the erection of satikals on which are seen the sculptured representations of the women who committed sati.

3. Religion: The Vijayanagara empire was a Hindu empire and religion played an important part in the life of the people and their rulers. Among the religious groups in the Empire the Smartas and the Saivas constituted a large majority. Among the Saivas there were the Kalamukhas, the Virasaivas and the Tamil Salvas. Among the Vaishnava sects, Sri-Vaishnavis gained in popularity, especially in the 16th century. The Vijayanagara rulers of the second, third and fourth dynasty were Vaishnavas, unlike the Sangamas who had been Saivas.

The Madhvas were also widely spread in the Empire. The great Madhva saint Vyasarya was the guru of Krishna-devaraya. From the 16th century onwards the Haridasa sect of Vaishnava poet-saints gained a large following, especially in Karntaka.

Among the non-Hindu religions within the Empire, Jainism was the most important. It received patronage and protection from the Vijayanagara rulers. For instance, when in 1368 there arose a quarrel between the Jains and Sri-Vaishnavas, Bukka I summoned the leaders of the two sects and brought about a reconciliation. However, from the 15th century onwards this religion suffered a decline.

Buddhism had suffered a decline before the foundation of the Empire, but it is possible that there were Some Buddhists still existant. Muslims began to be found in South India during this period. Both within the capital city and elsewhere there is evidence of Muslim presence at least from the early 15th century onwards. The Christians, too, began to make their appearance. But the activities of the Christian missionaries were more prominent during the Aravidu and the Nayaka periods.

The temple was an important socio-religious institution. It. was not merely a place of worship; it filled a large place in the cultural and socio-economic life of the people. For its construction and maintenance offered employment to numerous architects and craftsmen. The making of icons in metal and stone gave scope to the talents of the best sculptors. The daily routine, especially of the larger temples, gave constant employment to numbers of priests, singers, musicians, dancing-girls, florists, cooks, and many other classes of servants. The periodical festivals were occasions marked by fairs and every other form of popular entertainment. The large endowments in land and cash tended to make it landlord and a banker. The practice of decorating images with numerous jewels encouraged the jeweler’s art to a considerable extent.

Another important institution in the Vijayanagara Empire was the matha or monastery. They afforded shelter to resident as well as itinerant monks and played a significant part in the religious life of the times. They also functioned as centres of learning and education. Often they also served as charitable centres. Pilgrimages to holy places within the Empire were popular with both the rulers and the people. The following were the important pilgrimage centers Hampi, Chidambaram, Kanchi, Tirupati, Srirangam, Rameshwaram, etc.

4. Education and Learning: The government without interfering very much with the educational system that prevailed in the country, encouraged education by patronising scholars in different branches of knowledge. Each village of small group of villages had a school with a teacher, who taught the 3 Rs to the children. Eminent pandits and scholars conducted small schools of their om and trained students in the study of the Vedas and allied literature. Apart from such private initiative, public institutions like the matha and the temple devoted themselves to the popularisation of education. The mathas served as educational institutions, while the temples indirectly promoted learning by arranging for the recitation of the Vedas and the prabandhas. The State made endowments for the study of certain subjects by making liberal grants to scholars

5. Festivals: The temples celebrated an elaborate round of rituals and festivals. Besides the festivals in the temples, a number of festivals were celebrated by the people at large. Some of these have been noted in the accounts of the foreign visitors. Nicolo Conti, who visited the Empire in the early 15th century, describes four festivals, which have been identified by Robert Sewell, B. A. Saletore etc. as the New Year, Dipavali, Mahanavami and Holi. Mahanavami was definitely the most popular festival celebrated in the capital and the court. Although primarily a religious festival, the Mahanavani celebration at the court was a grand public ritual that had political as well as socio-economic and military overtones.

6. Amusements: One of the games largely participated in by the people high and low was wrestling. Hunting afforded another pastime for the rulers as well as to the ruled. Horse riding, too, was popular. Apart from these games, the theatre, dance and music provided great entertainment. Dance was greatly encouraged in the Vijayanagara court. Allied to dance was the kolattam or stick play. Music also received great encouragement, both vocal and instrumental.

7. Housing: The nobility of VIjayanagar lived in fully equipped and well provided houses. The middle classes appear to have Iived in smaller houses. But the poorer classes lived in small thatched and straw houses.

8. Food: The food crops grown in the Vijayanagara Empire were paddy, millets, and other grains including wheat, beans and pulses, of different kinds etc. Though meat seems to have been used by some people, it appears, that all did not use It. The brahmins, Jains and Lingayats were vegetarian. The betel leaf, taken along with it was used on all ceremonial functions to visitors.

9. Clothes: The kings and the wealthy men wore silk clothes of fine material. A cap or a turban were also worn. A type of shirt was also common. Wool was very little used. Cotton was used by the common people. Footwear was also used by the upper classes.

The women who belonged to the higher classes in the society wore rich clothes. Costly ornaments were worn by both men and women. Various types of perfumes, were also in use.

10. Painting: Important centers of painting were Hampi, Lepakshi, Anagundi and Kancheepmahth. Religious themes from Ramayana and Mahabharata and Vishnupurana.

11. Secular Buildings: Archaeological remains being fragmentary not much is known about secular buildings of Vijayanagara. Of these King’s Audience Hall seems to have been part of a massive building. It is elevated above other buildings in the citadel. The other important structure is the throne platform. Other structures include elephant stables, lotas mahal and watch towers of Zanana.

CAUSES OF MAHMUD’S INVASIONS

The chief motive of Mahmud’s invasion in India was the desire to secure its wealth. He had to suffer heavy losses in both men and money in the course of his victories. To satisfy his needs in wealth he decided to invade India. His main consideration in invading India was the money he needed for building a large central Asian Empire which could be easily available in India.

2.    Being a capable military leader, he also knew that it would be much easier to defeat his Central Asian enemies by a proper use of elephants. He thus wanted to invade India to secure a strong contingent of war elephants.

3.    Many Muslim traders and travelers had visited India before his time and some had left behind valuable topographical information in their diaries which would facilitate his work of conquest. Peshawar which commanded entry into India was already in his possession and there was less possibility of any strong opposition from the side of Jayapala, the master of the frontier region, because he had differed successive defeats at the hands of Turks. Thus the invasion of India was not only militarily and financially profitable, but it was also easy to secure victory by raising the cry of Jihad and by exploiting the military weakness and the political disunity of Indian rulers.

4.    Some historians believe that Mahmuds chief objective was to spread Islam in India and to break the idols of the nonbelievers. While other historians, do not agree with the former statement, they say that by plundering the innocent people Mahmud had rendered no service to his religion. Mahmud was a conqueror who plundered and destroyed temples only because of their untold wealth.  

5.    Political objective was also another reason for Mahmud’s invasions. This is why he annexed Punjab to his Empire. But if Mahmud had desired to establish his Indian Empire, he could do so very easily because he had conquered almost all the rulers of North India.

6.    It is stated that when the Khalifa appointed Mahmud as lieutenant, he asked him to lead every year an expedition against India, so Mahmud led expeditions against India.

7.    Also, on the eve of Mahmud’s invasion, India was politically weak and divided. There was no strong Central Government under whose banner the people could be. Wars of successions and quick dynastic changes contributed to political decline as well.

Consequences of Invasions: Mahmud’s invasions did not create significant results for it was never his aim to conquer India. His only aim was to plunder India’s immense wealth. He made no permanent conquests.

1.    He coveted only the wealth accumulated in the Indian cities and had a reputation of being an idol breaker. He used the wealth for the maintenance of a large army and employed it for the protection and extension of his Central Asian possessions. Without wealth, it would not have been possible for him to wage continuous warfare.

2.    He made use of the newly acquired wealth for the promotion of art and learning. He patronized many men of letters in his court. He built magnificent buildings in Ghazni.

3.    He secured from India fine war elephants and skilled drivers which he used in his Central Asian Wars.

4.    He carried from India also reputed craftsmen who by their artistic creation won for him high reputation in the contemporary Muslim world.

5.    He permanently occupied Multan and Punjab which not only furnished a rich annual tribute but also provided an asylum to his successors.

6.    Indians on the other hand suffered heavily. His invasions destroyed some Hindu dynasties, while others were so badly shaken that they could not survive the shock. Thousands of brave Indian soldiers were killed in these invasions which did irreparable damage to the Indian military power.

7.    As the Indians lost almost every battle in this series of invasions, the weakness of India’s military power became exposed to the outside world. Mahmud carried enormous wealth and raised to the ground countless temples. The famous Somnath Temple at Kathiawar was one such temple. In this way his invasions deprived India of her immense wealth and caused irreparable damage to her art and culture

8.    Mahmud converted several of the Hindus to Islam by force, which considerably swelled the number of the Muslims in India.

9.    But the success of the Turks had no effect on the political disunity of the system of government of Indian princes. The military + administrative weakness in the time of Mahmud of Ghazni continued to exist even at this time of Muhammad Ghoris invasions.

Sultan Mahmud appeared in India as a ruthless invader whose only interest was to rob the country of its wealth. Many flourishing cities of India were raised to the ground. So were the temples which were great works of art. Death + desolation marked the Hail of Mahmud and his army.

He is still remembered as a breaker of idols + a conqueror with an unbounded lust for wealth. Mahmud's expeditions to India were considered as Jihad by his court historian 'Utbi’. By virtue of his military genius he built up his empire which extended from Iraq + the Caspian sea to the Ganga.  Mahmud emulated the Khalifas of Baghdad in many ways, like them he became a patron of the arts + letters. However, Mahmud's expeditions to India were promoted both by his lust for plunder as well as his zeal to spread Islam.