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THE BHAKTI AND SUFI MOVEMENTS

According to the ancient Hindu thought, salvation or freedom from the bondage of birth which is the ultimate end of human life can be attained by three means, nam (knowledge), karma (action) and bhakti (devotion). During the period of the Sultanate series of Hindu religious thinkers and reformers set on foot, a movement for religion emphasised the last, namely devotion, which became known as the bhakti movement. I will, thus, be seen that the movement was not altogether new and it did not owe its origin to Islam as has been erroneously supposed by some modern writers.

What really happened was that this movement received impetus from the presence of iconoclastic Muslim preachers who vehemently criticised the Hindu religion and thought. The earliest exponent of this school of religious thought was a great Vaishnava teacher, Ramanuja, who flourished in the early years of the twelfth century. He did his best to popularise the cult of devotion to a personal God and preached that salvation can be had by this means alone.

The next reformer was Ramananda, a follower of the Ramanuja school, who was born in a Kanyakubja family of Allahabad. A worshipper of Rama, he preached the doctrine of bhakti to people of all castes and to both the sexes. He had twelve principal disciples, one of whom was a barber (Senadas), another a cobbler (Raidas) and the third, a Muhammadan weaver (Kabir).

The third teacher of the school was Vallabhacharya who was a worshipper of Krishna and, therefore, an exponent of the Krishna cult. He preached monism of the pure type, known technically as shuddhadwaita or pure non-duality and became very popular with the common people. Another famous saint in south India was Madhvacharya who was the founder of the Dwaita school of philosophy which said that the world is not an illusion but a reality, full of distinctions God soul and Matter are all unique in nature, and hence they are irreducible to each other.

But the greatest saint of the bhakti movement was Chaitanya who was born in a learned Brahman family of Nadia in Bengal in 1485. At the age of twenty-four, he renounced the world, became a. sadhu and spent the rest of his life preaching his message of love and devotion. He travelled over most parts of the country and spent a considerable time at Vrindaban. Chaitanya opposed the domination of the priests and complex rituals. He preached to all different castes and creeds. His influence was so profound and lasting that he is considered as an incarnation of Vishnu. He died in 1533.

The bhakti saints in the north were divided into two schools of thought – Nirguna school led by Kabir and Nanak which said that God was without any form or attributes and the Saguna school led by Chaitanya, Surdas, Mirabai, Tulsidas and Shankaradeva who believed that God had many forms and attributes. Of the notable exponents of the bhakti cult, two, namely Kabir and Nanak, stood definitely for a Compromise between Hinduism and Islam.

Kabir is said to have been adopted by a Muslim weaver of Benares. He is said to have become a disciple of Ramananda. Kabir might have been only nominally a Muslim, for his poems are, beyond the shadow of a doubt, saturated with the Hindu religious and philosophical thought of a high order. He was also influenced by Sufi thought and practices. He preached the religion of love to all people irrespective of caste and creed and worked hard throughout his life to promote unity between Hinduism and Islam. Like other reformers of the bhakti cult, he was against caste and ritual and the external formalities of religion.

Check out History of India notes in detail. 

The Ilbari Turks (1206-90)

Qutubuddin Aibak (1206-10)

The slave and deputy of Muhammad in India, Aibak became the first independent Muslå ruler in India after the death of Muhammad. He founded the Slave dynasty (or Mamluk dynasty). Aibak could not consolidate the territorial gains made by him as his reign was too short. But he was a generous ruler and he was called Lakhbhakshya (giver of lakhs). He built the Qawattul Islam mosque at Delhi and the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra at Ajmer besides starting the construction of the Qutub Minar. He died while playing chaugan or polo and was succeeded by his son, Aram Baksh (1210-11). Iltutmish (1211-1236): Aram Baksh was an inefficient ruler and so the nobles requested Iltutmish, the governor of Badaun, besides being a prominent slave and son-in-law of Aibak, to take over. He defeated Aram Shah and became the Sultan. First, he secured his throne from his rivals like Nasiruddin Qabaicha (who was killed in 1228) and Tajiddin Yalduz (killed in the third battle of Tarain in 1226), who were also the slaves of Muhammad of Ghur. It was during his reign that the great Mongol invader Chengiz Khan reached the borders of India but turned back. Iltutmish also crushed several Rajput kingdoms thereby strengthening Muslim rule in India. He completed the Qutub Minar and used to associate himself closely with Sufi saints. He was also progressive as seen by the fact that he nominated his daughter Razia to the Delhi throne ignoring his sons. He was the first Sultan to introduce a purely Arabic coinage with the standard being the silver tanka (175 g) and below it, the copper jital. The absence of an accepted law of succession and the weakness of Iltutmish’s successors, with the exception of Razia, gave the ambitious groups of Amirs (or nobles) unlimited opportunity to the power of ‘king-makers, the empire was plunged into chaos and disorder which jeopardised its solidarity.

 

Iltụtmish, in his lifetime, had attempted to groom his successors by giving equal opportunities to his children, Rukn-ud-din Feroz Shah and Razia, to prove their mettle but Razia proved more capable and in 1231 AD., he issued a proclamation appointing her as his successor. The wisdom of a woman surpassing a grown-up son was questioned by a number of Amirs. However, Iltutmish was convinced of Razia’s superiority and ability to administer. However, contrary to Iltutmish’s wishes, Shah Turkan, the mother of Iltutmish’s eldest surviving son, had her son crowned as Rukn-ud-din. When another son of Iltutmish rebelled in Avadh, Rukn-ud-din marched out of the capital to suppress the rebellion. This gave Raziya the opportunity to seize the throne and put her brother to death. Raziya (1237-1240): After ascending the throne, she promoted her supporters to high positions and did the same for her rivals, so as to appease them and avoid military confrontation. After consolidating her position, she made the mistake of promoting non-Turkish nobles to higher posts and her preference for an Abyssinian officer, Jamaluddin Yakut, who was appointed as Amir-Akhtar (master of stables) proved very costly. She also was determined to carve out an independent monarchy, free from the stranglehold of the nobility. She also discarded the female attire and the purdah, rode at the head of the armies and held open courts. All this was too much for the dominant Turkish nobility to digest. The provincial governors of Bhatinda and Lahore rebelled and though Razia’s diplomatic skills succeeded in winning over the former, she was defeated and executed by the latter. But it should be said that Razia was an efficient and popular ruler and an able diplomat. As the first-ever female ruler of a Muslim kingdom, she never allowed her sex to impair the efficiency of the state. What she lacked in military strength, she made up by being adept in the art of diplomacy. It has been said by a contemporary historian, Minhas-Us-Siraj that her sex was her greatest drawback which was not tolerated by the male-dominated nobility, otherwise she was capable of being a great ruler.

The brief reigns of Bahram (1240-42 AD) and Masud (1242-46 AD), one a brother and the other a nephew of Razia, witnessed the rise of the Chahalgani or the Famous Forty, (a group of forty nobles) to the highest peak of power. While the kingdom shrank in size, and corruption and lawlessness prevailed, the Turkish nobles enjoyed power which surpassed the But the period of chaos came to an end in 1246 AD when Nasiruddin Manmu Iltutmish, in connivance with a leading noble, Balban, came to the throne by king” made Balban his minister and never took an active part in state affairs. Balban carried the administration on the Sultan’s name and used his position to achieve his twin objectives 01 strengthening his position and consolidating the state. To achieve this, he eliminated his rivals, crushed the Hindu revolts and took measures to keep the Mongols away from the northwest frontiers.

Balban (1266-1287): He is said to have poisoned the Sultan and ascended the throne in 1266 AD. He knew that the real threat to the monarchy came from the Chahalgani’s intrigues and their scramble for power. He introduced rigorous court discipline and new customs, such as Sijada (prostration) and Paibos (kissing the Sultan’s feet) to prove his superiority over the nobles. He also introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz to impress the nobles and subjects with his wealth and power: A picked body of fearsome soldiers protected the throne. The court was an austere assembly where jest and laughter were seldom heard. He persistently brought home the message that the monarch was the vice-regent of God and next in sanctity only to the prophet. Instead of expanding the sultanate, Balban gave top priority to restoring peace in the region surrounding Delhi. Balban established a separate diwan-i-arz (military department and reorganised the army. His repeated attacks on the Mewati strongholds and villages stopped their frequent raids of Delhi. The roads became safe for travel, and trade and agriculture improved leading to further urbanisation.

Balban’s successors were extremely weak and as soon as Balban died, the affairs of the State fell into disorder. After his death, the Amirs, in a bid to regain their former glory and power appointed Balban’s son Kaigubad to the throne. Kaiqubad gave himself to luxury and pleasure, and left the government in the hands of one, Malik Nizam-ud-din. Soon, Nizam-ud-din earned the displeasure of the nobles who got him assassinated.

Jalal-Ud-Din Khilji, the Governor of Samana and the army commander murdered him and claimed the throne for himself by exercising the age-old right.

The Khaljis

The greatest consensus regarding the origin of the Khaljis is that they were origin who had settled in Afghanistan and assimilated the Afghan habits and manners to an each that they were treated apart from the Turks. 

Jalaluddin Khalji (1290-961)

Though a brave general in his youth, he proved to be an efficient sultan. This provoked rebellions and the Hindu rajas were on the verge of declaring independence. It was at this time that Ali Gurshasp, the nephew of the sultan brutally murdered him when the latter had gone to receive the former after his successful expedition to Devagiri. Ali Gurshasp, then the governor of Kara, ascended the throne as Alauddin Khalji. 

Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316)

He was one of the most powerful rulers in Indian history. Besides launching a series of expeditions to expand the sultanate, he also issued a series of administrative and economic regulations to make the state more secure. The early years of the sultan were turbulent due to rebellions by various nobles. An analysis by Alauddin to the causes of the rebellions convinced him that the general prosperity of his officials. inter-marriages between the families of the grandees, inefficiency in the espionage system and drinking liquor were the root causes of rebellion. Alauddin, therefore, passed four ordinances By the first he confiscated all grants of tax-free land and seized Muslim religious endowments Secondly, the intelligence system was reorganised, and all secret transactions in the houses of the nobility were immediately reported to the Sultan. Thirdly, the public sale of liquor and totally stopped. The fourth ordinance forbade social gatherings in noblemen’s senior officials was allowed to arrange marriages between members of their fam Sultan’s prior consent.

The above regulations were aimed at controlling the Muslim nobles, but the village headmen called khuts and muqaddams were also very rich. They often offered military help to the rebels. The Sultan’s revenue regulations reduced this class to poverty and reduced them down to the level of the ordinary peasants. The Sultan could not realise his imperialistic ambitions without a well-equipped and efficient standing army which seems to be around 4,75,000 cavalrymen. His military reforms included the introduction of Dagh (branding of horses) and Chehra (descriptive roll of soldiers), insistence on a regular muster of the army, abolition of the iqtas of the royal troopers and the payment of their salaries in cash. All these reforms eliminated the earlier existing malpractices in the army, besides making the army an effective fighting force. In order to keep his army satisfied with their salary, the Sultan introduced strict price-control measures. To enforce these measures, he established four separate markets in Delhi. The supply of grain was ensured by collecting tax in kind in the Doab and keeping it in the royal storehouses. The farmers were ordered to sell their grain for cash at fixed prices and were not allowed to sell grain elsewhere. The shahna (market controller), the barids (intelligence officers) and the munhias (secret agents) submitted their independent reports on these markets to the Sultan. Even a minor violation of the rules was not tolerated. Every merchant was registered with the commerce ministry and had to sign a bond guaranteeing a regular supply of the goods in which they traded. The prices fixed for the Delhi market were also applied in the provincial capitals and towns. His other financial reforms included an increase of land revenue to 50 per cent of the gross production and the elimination of all middlemen and the creation of a new department, the diwan-i-mustakhraj, to enquire into the revenue arrears, to collect them, etc. Alauddin’s army brought him success both against the Mongols and the Hindu kingdoms. The early part of his reign was marked by successive Mongol invasions. The first two invasions by the Mongol army were beaten back, but in 1297 the third invader, Qutlugh Khwaja, came up to Kili near Delhi. In 1303, the Mongols again reached Siri but were defeated.

Alauddin sent an army in 1299 under the command of his brothers Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan to conquer Gujarat. Alauddin’s army besieged Anhilwara, the capital of Raja Karan. While the Raja and his daughter (Deval Devi) escaped, his wife (Kamla Devi) was captured and sent to Delhi where the Sultan married her. The eunuch Kafur Hazardinari, later called Malik Kafur, was purchased here. Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan next attacked Hamir Deva of Ranthambhor. Nusrat Khan was killed, and only after the Sultan’s arrival, the siege was brought to a successful conclusion. In 1302-03, an army was sent against Prataparudra Deva of Warangal, who, however, succeeded in defeating the invaders. The Sultan’s armies also conquered Ujjain, Mandu, Dhar and Chanderi, and governors were appointed for these areas. In 1303, the Sultan himself marched against Chittor, a campaign motivated, according to a legend, to capture the beautiful queen, Padmini (the story is mentioned in Malik Mohammad Jayasi’s Padmavat). The Rajputs fought valiantly to the last man but were defeated. Alauddin also marched against Marwar, where the ruler ultimately submitted. Alauddin’s greatest achievement was the conquest of the Deccan and the far south, which were ruled by three important Hindu dynasties – the Kakatiyas of Warangal, the Hoyasalas of Dvarasamudra and the Pandyas of Madurai. Alauddin did not annex their countries but fleeced their treasuries and forced them to pay annual tributes. In 1306-07, he sent an army under Malik Kafur who defeated Raja Ramachandra of Devagiri for withholding tribute. In 1309, Malik Kafur defeated Prataparudra Deva II of Warangal and an enormous booty was collected. In 1311, Malik Kafur marched against the Hoyasala kingdom and the ruler Raja Vira Ballala III agreed to become the Sultan’s vassal by paying a huge tribute. In 1312, Kafur marched against the Pandya kingdom and its ruler Vira Pandya fled the capital, enabling Kafur to seize immense booty. Kafur was accorded a royal welcome by the Sultan on his arrival in Delhi and was made the malik naib with a pure Turkish lineage. For these reasons, he regulated his life according to the precepts of the Quran, discarded all non-Muslim practices and did his utmost to enforce the Shariat in public affairs and administration. Going by his policies, we can say that he was a religious bigot. Firstly, he restored the power and prestige of the Ulema (Muslim priestly class) and consulted them in all matters. Earlier, both Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq did not bother to seek the advice of the Ulema. Secondly, as a true champion of the Islamic faith, he considered it his duty to suppress Hinduism and put down idolatry. He broke the idols of the Jwalamukhi temple at Kangra and the Jagganath temple at Puri. Thirdly, he gave material incentives like jagirs to encourage Hindus to convert to Islam. Fourthly, he ordered that Haj pilgrims’ expenses be paid from the state’s treasury. And lastly, he enforced the payment of jizya strictly and even extended it to Brahmans who were earlier exempted from it.

Military Campaigns

Firuz led several feeble military expeditions to Bengal, Kangra and Sind but only to assert the tottering central authority. Between 1353 and 1358 he made pathetic efforts to recover Bengal but virtually failed though the ruler of Bengal, Sikandar agreed to accept his suzerainty. The Sultan however did better in Orissa, whose ruler was Raja Gajpati. Firuz seized Cuttack and destroyed the Jagannatha temple at Puri. He then attacked Nagarkot in the Kangra region. The Raja submitted and offered to pay tribute. The Sultan collected 1,300 Sanskrit manuscripts from the Jwalamukhi and other temples and got them translated to Persian. The last years of the Sultan’s reign were marked by a precipitous decline in central political control. Firuz abdicated in 1387, crowning Prince Muhammad king. Two months later, Firuz’s slaves. numbering about a lakh, rebelled, forcing Muhammad to flee. Firuz appointed his grandson. Tughlaq Shah II, his heir, and died one year later at the ripe age of 82.

After Firuz’s death, the sultanate disintegrated further. The Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur came into existence in 1394. Malwa and Gujarat also broke away. When Timur arrived upon the scene in 1398-99, the fate of the Tughlaq dynasty was sealed. He crossed the Indus, marched through Punjab and though Delhi submitted without much of a fight, Timur’s army sacked it for three days and indiscriminately massacred both Hindus and Muslims. His invasion, though was merely a plundering raid, delivered the death blow to the Tughlaq dynasty. 

The Sayyids (1414-51)

After the Tughlaqs, the representative of Timur in India called Khizr Khan captured power and started the Sayyid dynasty. But the sultanate had shrunk in size with many Rajput kingdoms and provinces declaring independence. The Sayyid rulers Mubarak Shah, Muhammad Shah and Alam Shah were in the grip of the nobility and were weak. In 1451, Bahlul Lodhi, a leading noble captured power from the Sayyids in 1489. 

The Lodis (1451-1526)

Bahlul Lodhi (1451-89) was an able ruler who extended the sultanate up to the borders of Bihar. He was succeeded by a more capable son Nizam Khan. Sikandar (1489-1517): The new Sultan, assuming the title of Sikandar, crushed Hussain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur and liquidated the Rajput uprisings in the neighbouring region. From 1506 to 1517, the Sultan tried to capture Gwalior (ruled by the Tomar ruler, Raja Man Singh), but could capture only Chanderi. Sikandar enhanced the prestige of the sultanate without alienating the Afghan nobility. He also took a keen interest in the development of agriculture and regularly examined the price schedules for the markets. He used to write under the pen name, Gulrukhi.

Ibrahim (1517-26)

The Afghan nobles made strong efforts to undermine the Sultan’s autocracy by forcing him to make his younger brother Jalal the independent ruler of the Jaunpur region Civil war broke out between the two brothers, which ended in the capture and execution of Jalal The civil war enabled Rana Sanga of Mewar to invade the Lodi territories and defeat the Sultan It also enabled some of the Lodi nobles to conspire against the Sultan and invite Babur to invade India. He died on the battlefield of Panipat in 1526 fighting against Babur.

Administration

The government established by the Turks was a compromise between the Islamic political ideas and institutions on the one hand and the existing Rajput system of government on the other. Consequently, many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, became a part and parcel of the Turkish administration in India.

The Pandyas And Hoyasalas In South India (800 – 1200 AD)

The Pandyas

The Pandyas ruled the area of modern south Tamil Nadu, mainly the districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli and a part of Travancore. They were one of the main kingdoms during the Sangam Age 1200 BC – 200 AD) and as per the literary sources, both native and foreign, the kingdom had a flourishing trade with the Roman empire. It is stated that a Pandyan king sent an embassy to Emperor Augustus in 20 BC. The story of the Tamil epic Silappadigaram’ is set in the Pandyan times. The Pandyan kings are said to have patronised the Sangam or a college of scholars who produced some brilliant pieces of Tamil literature like Tolkappiyam and Thirukural by Tiruvalluvar. The important Pandyan king then was Nedunjelian.

The Pandyas rose again after the Cholas declined in the 13th century and ruled independently till Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khalji invaded Madurai and were extinguished when Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq annexed Madurai to the Delhi Sultanate. They were also faced with incursions by the Hoysalas and were reduced to the level of feudatories to the changing rules of the region. Marco Polo visited the Pandyan kingdom in 1288 and 1293 and left a vivid description of the richness of the land and the prosperity of its trade.

HOYASALAS OF DWARASAMUDRA

The home of the Hoyasalas lay in the hilly tracts to the northwest of Gangavadi in Mysore. They became prominent during the prolonged struggle between the later Chalukyas and the Cholas. They initially became the feudatories of the Chalukyas, and after the decline of the latter, they declared independence and asserted their authority over the southern territory of the Chalukyas.

The founder of the dynasty was Sala, also known as Nripakama. His son and successor. Vinayaditya, was a feudatory of the Chalukya Vikramaditya VI. Vinayaditya was succeeded by his son Ereyanga, who in turn was succeeded by Ballala I. He ruled over a small principality with his capital at Belur, although Dvarasamudra (modern Halebid) was an alternative capital.

But the real maker of the Hoyasala kingdom was Vishnuvardhana who annexed the Chola province of Gangawadi and broke away entirely from the domination of the Chalukyas. Originally a Jain, he was converted to Vaishnavism by Ramanuja. The Hoyasalas were drawn into a protracted conflict with the Chalukyas, later Cholas and the Yadavas which weakened the kingdom and made penetration by the Muslims easier. Malik Kafur invaded the kingdom in 1311 and got the submission of Vir Ballala III. He was later defeated and killed by the Madurai Sultan. 

Hoysala Art and Architecture

In many cases, the Hoysala temples are not single but double; having all essential parts duplicated. One more noteworthy feature is that the temple itself appears to be the work of a sculptor and not of the builder. This is best illustrated in the Hoyasalesvara temple at Halebid. The Hoyasala temples have been aptly described as sculptors’ architecture. There are a number of temples in the Mysore territory that exhibit the amazing display of sculptural exuberance. The most typical and well-known examples are the temples of Kesava at Somnathpur, Chenna Kesava at Belur and Hoyasalesvara at Halebid.

 

South India (800 – 1200)

The Cholas period of Indian history in South India (800 1200 AD) is hallmarked by a new culture and flourishing art. The temples and literature from this era are still standing testimony to the ecstatic times of India’s past and what happened to Cholas dynasty.

The Cholas

The Chola kingdom was a very ancient one. There is a reference to the Cholas in the Mahabharata. They are also mentioned in the account of Megasthenes and the inscriptions of Asoka. The Sangam literature refers to many Chola princes who were models of justice. The Periplus gives us information about the ports and inland towns of the Chola territory.

After their decline around the 3rd century AD, they became the feudatories of the Pallavas and also the Pandyas. The decline of both these powers paved way for the resurgence of the Cholas when Vijayalaya captured Tanjore and established an independent kingdom, and sought to establish his status by claiming descent from the solar race.

In 907 AD, the first important ruler of the Chola dynasty, Parantaka I, came to power and ruled for almost half a century. He secured the southern frontier of the kingdom by defeating the Pandyas and capturing their capital, Madurai. The later part of Parantaka’s reign saw Chola defeat at the hands of the Rashtrakutas, with the latter occupying many northern districts of the Chola kingdom. Then followed a period of thirty years in which a succession of weak kings brought about a decline in the power of the Cholas. Soon the pendulum was to swing the other way, for the Rashtrakutas were being harassed by their one-time feudatories and future overlords, the Chalukyas. In the confusion, the Chola territory lost to the Rashtrakutas was gradually recovered and Chola power became solidly established with the accession of Rajaraja-I (985-1014) and of his son and successor Rajendra, which allowed fifty years of consolidation and stabilisation.

The reigns of both father and son were taken up with extensive campaigns in almost every direction. Rajaraja began by attacking the alliance between Kerala, Ceylon, and the Pandyas, in order to try to break the monopoly of western trade held by these kingdoms. The Arabs were by now well-established as traders on the west coast of India and had the support of the rulers of Kerala. The Cholas were aware of Arab competition in the south-east Asian trade and tried to strike at the root of this competition by bringing Malabar under their control. At a later date, Rajaraja conducted a naval attack on the Maldive Islands, which had assumed importance in the Arab trade. The Cholas caused havoc in Ceylon with a devastating campaign in which the existing capital, Anuradhapura, was destroyed. Campaigns against the rulers of the Deccan states continued apace. The ghost of the old Pallava-Chalukya conflict over the rich province of Vengi reappeared in wars between the Cholas and the Later Chalukyas over the same area.

Rajaraja-I constructed the magnificent Siva or Brihadesvara (also known as Rajarajesvara) temple at Tanjore.’ Rajaraja-I encouraged Sri Mara, the Sailendra .ruler of Sri Vijaya (South East Asia), to build a Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam. Rajaraja initiated the system of prefacing the stone inscriptions of the reign with an account of its chief events kept up to date by additions from time to time.

Rajendra-I raised the Chola empire to the position of greatness. He invaded and completed the conquest of Ceylon by defeating and imprisoning Mahindra-V. He annexed the territories of the Pandyas and Cheras, and made one of his sons the viceroy of both, with Madurai as capital. He defeated the Western Chalukyas who were trying to meddle in the succession dispute of Vengi, and installed Rajaraja, a nephew of his, on the Vengi throne.

Rajendra-I led a military expedition to the Ganga valley, which seems to have been a success, and constructed a new capital, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and a temple in celebration of the expedition. He also assumed the title “Gangaikonda”. His naval expedition to Southeast Asia was to teach a lesson to the rulers who obstructed Chola intercourse with China and it met with success. He sent two diplomatic missions to China for political as well as commercial purposes.

The successors of Rajendra were intensely involved in the conflict with the western Chalukyas for control over the kingdom of Vengi. Rajadhiraja defeated the western Chalukyas at Dhanyakataka and Pundur and later sacked Kalyani. But he was killed in the battle of Koppam righting against the Chalukyas though his son Rajendra-II won the battle for the Cholas.

The last important ruler was Kulottunga-l or Rajendra-II, the son of Rajaraja of Vengi and the Chola princess Ammangadevi, who took the step of uniting the Chola and Vengi thrones. Ceylon was taken away by its erstwhile ruler’s family but he maintained a strong grip over the mainland. but towards the end of his reign, he lost the Vengi and Mysore countries to Vikramaditya VI.

Kulottunga-I sent a large embassy of 72 merchants to China and also maintained cordial relations with Sri Vijaya, from whose ruler he received an embassy as well. He has been given the title of Sungam tavirtta’ (he who abolished the toll’s), for his attempts to encourage trade.

Kulottunga-I was succeeded by Vikrama Chola, Kulottunga-II, Rajaraja-II, Rajadhiraja-II, Kulottunga-III, etc., who were unable to check the growing independence of the feudatories and the Cholas were reduced to the status of local chieftains.

The Cholas Administration

The most striking feature of the administrative system of the Cholas was their autonomous village and town administration, there being no significant difference between the central and provincial administration of the Cholas and that of any other dynasty of early medieval India.

Central Administration

The Chola political system was the only one that maintained contact with the cultivator on a wide scale and retained characteristics of a centrally organised administration. The Chola kings assumed titles such as Chakravartigal (emperor, the equivalent of the northern Chakravartin). The cult of the god-king was encouraged through the worship of images of the deceased rulers in temples built for the purpose.

The political role of the purohita (priest) as known to northern Indian politics underwent a modification in the Chola system. The raja-guru (royal head priest) of the Cholas became a confidant and confessor in addition to being the adviser to the king in all matters, temporal and sacred. For further advice, there was an assembly of officers (Udankuttam) whom the king could consult, but there is no record of a regular ministerial council.

The administration was carried out by a well-integrated body of officials. The system of recruitment is not described, but presumably, it did not differ in essentials from the north Indian system, where the selection was based on a judicious balance of birth, caste, connections, and qualifications. Orders were issued by the king orally in the first instance and were later recorded, and in the case of a contract were attested to by a series of officers.

Provincial and Village Administration

The Chola kingdom was divided into provinces (mandalam), there being generally eight or nine of these. Each mandalam was divided into valanadus or districts. These in turn were subdivided into groups of villages, variously called kurram, nadu or kottam. Occasionally, a very large village was administered as a single unit, and this was called a taniyur.

The last administrative unit was the village and the degree of autonomy at the village level was something quite remarkable for the times. The basic assumption in the type of village autonomy emerging at this period was that each village should be administered by the villagers themselves. To this purpose, a village assembly was formed, and authority was vested in this assembly. A village could be divided into wards and each ward could call an assembly of members to allocate various duties to them.

The general assemblies included most of the local residents and were of three categories: the ur’ consisted of the tax-paying residents of an ordinary village; the ‘sabha’ was restricted to the brahmans of the village or was found in villages gifted to brahmans; and, finally, the nagaram was found more commonly in trade centres, as it represented mercantile interests.

The working of these assemblies differed according to the local conditions. The UR was open to all the male adults of the village but in effect the older members took a more prominent part, some of them forming a small executive body for routine matters. The Sabha had the same system and in addition, had the power to constitute smaller committees of any size from amongst its members for specialised work.

Election to the sabha appears to have been by lot from amongst the eligible, though amendments to the working of the sabha were made whenever was necessary. An inscription from the temple wall at Uttaramerur (a village of branmams) about how the local sabha functioned. It dates back to the tenth century.

The great assembly was summoned by the beat of a drum and generally met in the precincts of the temple. The village assembly was responsible for collecting the revenue of the entire village for the government. The activities of the assembly included the keeping of records, particularly those pertaining to charities and taxes, and the settling of agrarian disputes such as conflicts over tenures and irrigation rights. The larger assemblies kept a small staff of paid officers, but most of the work was done on a voluntary basis in the smaller villages.

Revenue Administration

A well-organised department of land revenue was in existence. All cultivable land was held in one of the three broad classes of tenure which may be distinguished as peasant proprietorship, service tenure, and tenure resulting from charitable gifts. The first type was the ordinary ryotwari village of modern times, having direct relations with the government and paying a land-tax liable to revision from time to time.

All land was carefully surveyed and classified into tax-paying and non-taxable lands. Taxable land was classified into different grades according to its natural fertility and the crops raised on it Besides land revenue, there were tolls on goods in transit, taxes on professions and houses dues levied on ceremonial occasions like marriages, and judicial fines.

There are two types of lands that were immune from taxation. The brahmadeya were given to the brahmans as they were the guardians of the intellectual traditions. The next category was the devadana grants which were given for the maintenance of temples. The next category was the devadana grants which were & these lands also were administered by Brahmans. But the recipients of these lands were secular landowners where any question of tenure was involved.

Military Administration

The soldiers of the Cholas generally consisted of two kaikkolar who were royal troops receiving regular payments from the treasury, and the hands were the soldiers employed only for local defence. The kaikkolar comprised infantry, Cavani elephant corps and navy. The Cholas paid special attention to their navy. Within the Kaikkola, the velaikkarars formed the elite troops in the royal service, ready to defend the king with life. Attention was paid to the training of the army and cantonments, called kadagams, existed.

The Cheras

The Cheras also formed an important kingdom during the Sangam Age with its capital at Vanji. The kingdom was prosperous because of its trade with the Roman empire and had famous ports like Muziris and Tyndis. The most important Chera king during the Sangam Age wąs Senguttuvan who is associated with the Pattini cult or the worship of Kannagi, the goddess of chastity.

The Cheras, during the medieval period, were the contemporaries of the Cholas. The Chera kingdom had little political ambition, except possibly during the reign of Ravivarman Kulashekhara at the end of the thirteenth century, who set out unsuccessfully to acquire a kingdom for himself from the ruins of the existing southern kingdoms. Nor was there any economic pressure to encourage territorial conquest, as the Malabar coast was naturally rich in produce and obtained an adequate income from western trade. In the tenth century, another group of people of Jews came to India. A charter of the king of the Cheras granted land to Joseph Rabban – the earliest evidence of a Jewish community settling in India, although tradition mentions an earlier settlement in Cochin in the first century A.D. The Travancore Jews, as the descendants of Joseph Rabban were called, split into two groups: one preserved its Jewish identity with great rigidity and the second mixed with the local population through continuing to call itself Jewish.

Yadavas Of Devagiri In South India (800 – 1200 AD)

The first member of the family was Dridhaprahara. It was, however, Seunachandra I, the son of Dridhaprahara, who first secured feudatory status for his family from the Rashtrakutas. During the reign of Bhillama II, the Rashtrakuta empire was overthrown by the Western Chalukyas. Hence, Bhillama transferred his allegiance to the Chalukyas.

When Bhillama V, ascended the throne, the Chalukyan power was already on the wane. The ‘Yadavas naturally took advantage of the situation and asserted their îndependence. Bhillama thus laid the foundation of the Yadava empire which endured for about a century.

Jaitugi, the next ruler, tried to strengthen his southern frontier by marching against the Kakatiyas of Warangal. The Kakatiya monarch Rudra was killed and his nephew, prince Ganapati was taken prisoner. Instead of annexing the Kakatiya kingdom, Jaitugi restored the captive prince Ganapati to the throne. He defeated the Malava, Lata and Gurjara kings. Jaitugi was not merely a soldier, but also a patron of learning. Lakshmidhara, son of Bhaskaracharya, the famous astronomer, was his chief court-poet. 

It was under Simhana that the Yadava power reached its zenith. He defeated the Hoysalas in the south and Paramaras in the north. Simhana was not merely a warrior but was also a patron of music and literature. Sangitaratnakara of Sarangadeva, an important work on music, was written in his court. Anantadeva and Changadeva were the two famous astronomers who lived at the court of Simhana Changadeva established an astronomy college at Patana in Khandesh in memory of his illustrious grandfather, Bhaskaracharya. Anantadeva wrote a commentary on Bhrahmagupta’s Brahmagupta Siddhanta and Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita.

The conflict with Hoysalas continued but the Yadava rule assumed importance during the reign of Ramachandra because of the Khalji incursion from the north. At the beginning of 1296, Ala-ud-din Khalji attacked Devagiri and compelled Ramachandra to sue for peace. Though Ramachandra retained his kingdom, he lost his independence. Ramachandra continued to send tribute to Alaud-din till 1303-04 when the latter’s forces were defeated by Prataparudra Kakatiya. This event emboldened the Yadavas, especially the crown prince Sankaradeva, to defy the Sultan’s power. In .. 1307, Ala-ud-din sent Malik Kafur to chastise the Yadavas. 

Sankaradeva was defeated by Kafur and Ramachandra was taken prisoner. He was afterwards allowed to rule his kingdom as a vassal of the Sultan. Sankaradeva could not reconcile himself to the alien rule. So, after his accession, he immediately repudiated the authority of Ala-ud-din, who once more sent Malik Kafur to bring the rebel to book. Malik easily defeated Sankaradeva, put him to death and annexed the Yadava kingdom.

The Yadava rulers were liberal patrons of all religions. Buddhism was extinct, though Jainism did enjoy royal patronage. The rise of the Virasaiva sect was a new phenomenon. And so was the Mahanubhavas, a sect associated with the worship of god Krishna, traditionally founded by god Dattatreya but actually founded by Chakradhara in 1273. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the bhakti movement associated with Sri Vitthala of Pandharpur gained popularity in the Deccan. A number of non-Brahmin saints like Namadeva (a tailor) and others made the bhakti cult the religion of the masses of Maharashtra.

Kakatiyas Of Warangal In South India (800 – 1200 AD)

Their earliest known chief was Beta I, a feudatory of the Western Chalukyas in the first half of the 11th century. He ruled over the Koravi country in A.P. and was succeeded by his son Prola I. The loyalty of Prola I to Chalukya Somesvara I earned for him Anumakonda-vishaya, as a permanent fief. Prola I thus became the founder of the Kakatiya principality. 

The reign of Prola II forms an important landmark in the history of the Kakatiyas. He threw off the overlordship of the Chalukyas and carved out for himself an independent kingdom that was destined to grow under his successors into a powerful kingdom embracing the whole of Andhra country.

Rudradeva defeated a number of neighbouring princes and extended his dominion right up to the banks of the Godavari. In the south, Rudradeva defeated four kings of the Telugu Choda origin. He also invaded Vengi, but his authority in this area was challenged by the chiefs of Velanadu. In the last year of his reign, he came into conflict with the Seunas (Yadavas) of Devagiri which resulted in his defeat and death.

Rudradeva was a patron of art and letters. He built magnificent temples in his dominions, dedicated to the god Siva. It is probable that he built the famous Thousand-Pillar temple at Anumakonda. He founded near his capital Anumakonda, a new town called Orugallu, modern Warangal, which became the chief city under his successors. 

The next important ruler was Ganapatideva. Ganapati captured Vijayawada and the island of Divi but the expansion of the Kakatiya power in the south was the direct outcome of its alliance with the Telugu Chodas of Nellore whom he helped by putting an end to dissensions in their family by installing Tikka on the throne. Ganapati was a good administrator and took measures for improving trade and agriculture. Motupalli, now in the Krishna district, was an important seaport in his kingdom, frequented by foreign merchants. Ganapati completed and beautified the city of Warangal. Ganapati had no sons, but two daughters, Rudramba and Ganapamba. Ganapati chose as the heir apparent Rudramba, who was married to Virabhadra, a prince of the Eastern Chalukyan lineage. 

Rudramadevi was one of the foremost women rulers in Indian history. She crushed the rebellious nobles and externally, she defeated the Yadava king Mahadeva and a fierce feudatory Ambadeva of Nellore, who was defeated by Rudramadevi’s grandson Prataparudra. She was an efficient administrator and her reign even won the praise of the celebrated Venetian traveller, Marco Polo.

Rudramadevi was succeeded by her grandson, Prataparudra whose reign was marked by invasion by the Muslims from the north. Alauddin Khalji’s forces were first defeated in 1303 but Prataparudra was defeated by the forces led by Malik Kafur in 1310. But Ghivasuddin Tughlag decided to annex the Kakatiya kingdom in 1323 and Prataparudra committed suicide. 

The Kakatiya rulers extended liberal patronage to Sanskrit. Several eminent Sanskrit writers and poets flourished under their patronage. A well-known scholar and poet, Sakalya Malla, lived at the court of Prataparudra and composed the Udattaraghavakavya.

Telugu literature also flourished in the Kakatiya kingdom. Several inscriptions were composed partly or wholly in Telugu verse. The new religious movements like Vaishnavism and Virasaivism gave a great impetus to Telugu literature. Several works on the two great national epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata – were produced during this period. The earliest and the most popular Telugu work on the Ramayana is Tikkana’s Nirvachanottara-Ramayanam. Next in point of time come the Bhaskara-Ramayanam (a composite work of five authors) and the RanganathaRamayanam (by Gona Buddha Reddi). The. Andhra Mahabharata, begun by Nannayabhatta in the eleventh century AD, was completed by Tikkana Somayaji, the minister and the poet laureate of the Telugu Choda king Manuma Siddhi II of Nellore in the middle of the thirteenth century AD under the patronage of Ganapati Deva.

Western And Eastern Chalukyas In South India (800 – 1200 AD)

Taila II began his career as a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta Krishna III, but soon overthrew the Rashtrakutas by killing Karka II. He became the master of the whole, of what had been the Rashtrakuta kingdom. Taila II waged bitter warfare against the Paramaras of Malwa by leading sex

As lo that kingdom, but was repulsed on all occasions by the Paramara king, Munja. When Munja attacked Chalukyan territory, Taila defeated and put him to death. Taila’s capital was Manyakheta and Kalyani began to assume importance only under Somesvara I.

Taila’s successors embroiled themselves into a severe conflict with the Cholas and during the reign of Jayasimha II, they fought over the control of the kingdom of Vengi, ruled by the Eastern Chalukyas. The Cholas always had an upper hand, even against Somesvara I who, despite killing the Chola king Rajadhiraja in the battle of Koppam would not recover the territories lost to the Cholas. But Somesvara had success in conquering north Konkan and invading Gujarat and Malwa where he received the submission of king Bhoja at his capital Dhara.

But the most important ruler was Vikramaditya VI who subdued the Hoysala feudatories besides gaining control of Vengi from the Cholas. His long reign of 50 years was also a period of the development of art and literature. Bilhana, the author of Vikramankacharita and Vijnanesvara, the author of Mitaksara, enjoyed his patronage. 

Vikramaditya VI was succeeded by his son Somesvara III whose reign witnessed the disintegration of the Chalukya empire. The Hoysala vassal Vishnuvardhana declared his independence and conquered some parts of Western Chalukya territories. Someswara’s interest lay more in religion and letters than in war and politics. He was the author of the encyclopedic work called the Abhilashitartha Chintamani or the Manasollasa, for which he was known as Sarvajna (omniscient).

The Chalukya period witnessed a phenomenal growth in literature, both in Sanskrit and Kannada. Among the Sanskrit writers of the period, the foremost is Bilhana, the court poet of Vikramaditya VI Vikramankacharita is a maha kavya. The great jurist Vijnanesvara, who lived at the court of Vikramaditya, wrote the famous Mitaksara, a commentary on the Yajnavalkya Smriti.

Under the Western Chalukyas. Kannada literature reached great perfection. The comedy gems – Pampa, Ponna and Ranna – contributed to the development of Kannada literature in 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 who authored Chandombudhi, the ocean of prosody, the earliest work on the subject in Kannada. He also wrote KarnatakaKandambari which is based on Bana’s celebrated romance in Sanskrit. The Virasaiva mystics, especially Basava, contributed to the development of the Kannada language and literature, particularly prose literature. They brought into existence the Vachana literature to convey the high philosophical ideas to the common man in simple language.

EASTERN CHALUKYAS OF VENGI

Pulakesin II of Badami subdued the king of Pishtapura (Pithapuram in the Godavari district) and the Vishnukundin king and appointed his younger brother Vishnuvardhana viceroy of the newly conquered territories. Very soon the Viceroyalty developed into an independent kingdom and Vishnuvardhana became the founder of a dynasty known as the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. It outlived the main dynasty for many generations. Very often the kingdom became a bone of contention between the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Cholas.

Vishnuvardhana ruled for 18 years but his successors were involved in a protracted com the Rashtrakutas and were forced to be their subordinates till the accession of Gunaga Wijaya who, with the help of a brilliant general, Panduranga, threw off the Rashtrakuta yoke by inflicting a crushing defeat on Krishna II. He also received the submissions of the kings of Kalinga and Kosala and proclaimed himself the lord of the entire Dakshinapatha. The conflict with Chalukyas of Kalyani began after the decline of the Rashtrakutas. In order to protect the kingdom against the western Chalukyas, the eastern Chalukyas had an alliance with the Cholas, beginning with Vimaladitya who sought Rajaraja Chola’s help and married his daughter Kundavai from whom he had a son called Rajaraja. 

Thus began the process of the Chola-Chalukya matrimonial alliance which ultimately ended in the merger of the two dynasties under Kulottunga. Vimaladitya had another queen Melama, and their son was Vijayaditya VII. Vijayaditya seized power with the help of Jayasimha II of Kalyani by superseding Rajaraja. But Rajendra Chola came to the rescue of his nephew Rajaraja and enthroned his nephew as the ruler of Vengi.

Rajaraja Narendra’s long reign was a period of continuous political unrest, accentuated by the unceasing efforts of his half-brother Vijayaditya to regain the throne. Rajaraja Narendra’s reign witnessed the glory of Telugu literature. The Telugu version of Mahabharata called Andhramahabharatamu (the first 2 1/2 parvas) was composed by Nannaya. After Rajaraja’s death, the throne was seized by his half-brother Vijayaditya VII who remained on the throne as long as the Chola king Virarajendra remained on the throne. 

But after the death of Virarajendra in 1070, a civil war engulfed the Chola country which ended with the accession of Rajendra Chola II alias Kulottunga I, nephew of Vijayaditya. After consolidating his position in the Chola country, Kulottunga I succeeded in capturing Vengi. whereupon Vijayaditya took shelter with Rajaraja Devendravarman, the king of Kalinga. With his death in 1075, the Eastern Chalukya dynasty came to an end.

Trade And Diplomacy In South India (800 – 1200 AD)

 Maritime Activities

A distinction was made between merchants operating locally (swadeshi) and internationally (nanadeshi). The merchants had their own settlements (nagara) with autonomous institutions of local government. The great ports (pattinam) also had their guilds and autonomous institutions, but they were much more under the control of royal officers. 

The great guilds operating in several countries (i.e., nanadeshi) had emerged as an important power factor in south Indian polity as early as the Pallava period. They not only financed local development projects and the construction of temples, but also lent money to the kings. Thus, the rulers did their best to accommodate the guilds because of the benefit which they derived from their trade. 

Among the most powerful guilds were the Ayyavole and the Manigramam. The name Ayyavole was derived from Aihole, and it dominated the trade of the Deccan, whereas the Manigramam was based in Tamil Nadu. The influence of the Ayyavole extended to West Asia, while the Manigramam concentrated on trade with South East Asia. 

The imperial Cholas tried to enhance their maritime strength by gaining control over all strategically important coastlines. They captured the southwest coast of India and almost the entire Indian east coast up to the mouth of the Ganges. They also seized the Maldives, Sri Lanka and the Andamans. In keeping with this line of policy, they finally took on Sri Vijaya.

All these military activities can be properly understood if we keep in mind the fact that there was increasing competition for trade and trade routes at that time. The Cholas and the South East Asian rulers in particular vied with each other for shares of the market. In 1025, Rajendra I sent his fleet on the famous expedition to Sumatra and Malaya where his army defeated the mighty Sri Vijaya empire and all its tributary princes. The exact reasons for this Chola expedition against Sri Vijaya seem to be more commercial than political. Through these campaigns, the Bay of Bengal virtually became a “Chola Lake”.

Diplomatic Achievements

The expanding maritime activities had a close relationship with the increased diplomatic activity at that time. The South-East Asian states were eager to have good relations with the Cholas as with the emperor of China. Around 1005 the Sailendra king of Sri Vuava endowed a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam for which Rajaraja-l provided woman grants. Cambodia also established diplomatic relations with the Cholas in 1012

 In 1015 and 1033 Rajendra-I had sent diplomatic missions to China and the Chinese emperor recognised the Chola kingdom as one of the great tributary states, which was a mark of distinction in Chinese eyes. In 1077 the Chola ruler, Kulottunga I, dispatched a mission of 72 merchants to China. In 1089, the ruler of Sri Vijaya sent two ambassadors to the Chola court and Kulottunga reciprocated by reconfirming the donations made to the monastery at Nagapattinam. Suryavarman II, the king of Angkor, and the builder of Angkor Vat, sent a precious jewel to Kulottunga who donated it to the temple of Chidambaram in 1114. All these pieces of information show that the Chola reign was a period of great diplomatic activity which must have enabled the great merchant guilds of south India to prosper in their trading pursuits,

Culture And Religion In South India (800 to 1200 AD)

Temple Architecture

Temple architecture, particularly the Dravida or south Indian style of architecture, reached the pinnacle of glory under the Cholas. The chief feature of a Chola temple is the vimana or the pyramidal tower, which was later eclipsed by the richly ornamented gopuram or gateway. Under the Cholas, temples became the centres of social life, particularly in the rural areas. The village assembly invariably held its meetings in the temple mandapa.

Most important among them is undoubtedly the Vijayalaya Cholesvara temple at Narthamalai. The best example is, however, the Siva (or the Brihadesvara or the Rajarajesvara) temple, built-in 1009 by Rajaraja-I, at Tanjore which marks the zenith of Chola architecture. Apart from being the tallest of all Indian temples of the medieval period, it is a masterpiece of South Indian architecture The temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram (also dedicated to Siva), the creation of Rajendra-I though excellent, was a poor imitation of the Brihadeswara temple.

Sculpture

The Chola period also witnessed great strides in the field of sculpture. The classes of Chola sculpture are portraits, icons and decorative sculpture.

The Siva temple at Tiruvalisvaram is a veritable museum of superb early Chola iconography. The walls of the Brihadesvara temples at Tanjore and Gangaikonda Cholapuram contain numerous icons of large size and fine execution. The Chola bronze sculptures, particularly the Nataraja (bronze statues of Nataraja or the dancing Siva) were the masterpieces of this medium of art. The best example is the Nataraja image in the Nagesvara temple at Kumbhakonam. These bronze statues were popular in south-east Asia and a large number were even exported to the region. 

Paintings

Chola wall paintings are to be found on the walls of the Vijayalaya Cholesvara and Rajarajesvara temples. On the walls of the Vijayalaya Cholesvara temple, large painted figures of Mahakala, Devi and Siva are still visible. In the Rajarajesvara temple scenes representing Siva in his abode of Kailasa as Nataraja and Tripurantaka are painted on the walls, which are similar to the classical Ajanta paintings..

 Literature and Education

 Education based on the epics and the Puranas was imparted during this time through discourses in temples. There were colleges and other institutions for higher education. The period was marked by the growth of Tamil classics such as Sibakasindamani, Kamban’s Ramayana, etc. Very few books were composed in Sanskrit.

 Religion

Cholas were mostly devotees of Siva, though a few worshipped Vishnu and the Buddha. Jainism witnessed a decline. A peculiarity of the Chola religion was that greater stress was laid on dana (gift) than on yajna (sacrifice). 

Social Divisions

The industrial population of the country was broadly divided into the valangai (Right-Hand) and idangai (Left-Hand) divisions. The quarrel between these two divisions often erupted in the Chola kingdom and caused law and order problems.

 

RELIGION IN SOUTH INDIA

This period (800 – 1200 AD) witnessed the transformation of the Brahmanical religion into Hinduism. It was marked by the emergence of many philosophical systems which made Hinduism a simple religion. On the other hand, the same period produced the great popular movements of the bhakti cults which often explicitly rejected Brahmin orthodoxy and monist philosophy and aimed at salvation by means of pure devotion to a personal god. 

There were six classical philosophical systems. But the most influential of these systems was undoubtedly Vedanta (end of the Vedas) which has often been regarded as the very essence of Indian philosophy. It was Sankaracharya (788-820) who renewed and systematised Vedanta philosophy by stressing its main principle of monism (Kevala Advaita or Absolute Non-dualism). Born in Kalady in modern Kerala, he composed his main work, the commentary on the Brahmasutras at Varanasi and travelled throughout India preaching his philosophy. It was during the course of these travels that he defeated various Buddhist scholars in arguments and this spelt doom for Buddhism in India. Besides, he is credited with establishing four maths in the four corners of India at Dwaraka, Badrinath, Puri and Sringeri. 

Sankara laid emphasis on jnana (knowledge) as the means for salvation and besides writing the commentaries on Brahmasutras, he wrote similar commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads to put forward his view. He also composed the famous hymn Bhaja Govindam. Another school of thought was one propounded by Ramanuja called Visishtadvaita or qualified monism and the means for salvation was bhakti or selfless devotion. He wrote Sribhashya and Gitabhasya, two commentaries on Vedanta. Similarly, Madhva Charya put forward the doctrine of Dvaitavada or dualism, and Nimbarkacharya, the doctrine of Dvaitadvaita or dualistic monism. All these widened the scope of Hinduism and strengthened its roots in India.

The political history between 200 BC to 300 AD

After the disappearance of the Mauryan Empire, the concept of a big centralized Empire came to an end. The period from the end of the Mauryan rule to the Rise of the Guptas is marked by the appearance of smaller kingdoms more regional in nature and spread. many important changes took place in the economic, social, and religious fields.

The Sungas:

The Sunga dynasty was the first Brahmin dynasty to rule India. The Sunga rule lasted from 185 BC – 73 BC and was founded by Pushyamitra sunga who was the commander in chief of the last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha. Pushyamitra was a very capable ruler and protected his Kingdom from great invaders. The reign of Pushyamitra saw the revival of Brahmanism. He said to have performed Asvamedha sacrifices and the second one was probably performed by Patanjali the author of Mahabhashya. 

Pushyamitra was succeeded by his able son Agnimitra.  His reign was short and the successors were weak. The last ruler too was murdered by his Minister Vasudeva Who usurped the Throne and founded the Kanva dynasty. The convert dynasty ruled only for 45 years from 73 BC to 28 BC and was probably overthrown by the Andhras or Satavahanas.

The Satavahanas:

The Satavahanas ruled the area around the Deccan and were one of the most powerful dynasties of the time. Their original home seems to be in modern Andhra.

The founder of the Satavahana dynasty was Simuka but the first great ruler was who bought most of Western India under his control.  the next important ruler was Hala 17th in the line.  he is known to be e a poet king and is said to be the author of the Prakrit work Saptasati.

The most outstanding ruler of the Satavahana royal house was Gautamiputra Satakarni.  His achievement was the defeat of the Saka king Nahapana from whom he ceded Malwa, Vidarbha, Katiyavar, and Konkan to The Empire. Gautamiputra was a Patron of the brahminical region and strive to preserve social purity.  he was succeeded by his able son Vasishtaputra Pulmayi who enlarge the Amaravati stupa.  but after him, Rudra Daman started the conflict with Satavahanas.  The last ruler was Pulmayi IV  during whose reign the Satavahana territory was broken up by various small dynasties.

The Satavahana administration was very simple.  The law as laid down by the dharmashastras was followed which also acted as a check on the king.  the king himself was the commander in chief.  The Princes were groomed early by being made yuvarajas and were also appointed as viceroys. The Empire was divided into Janapadas and they were in turn divided into Aharas and then the gramas. The janapadas had Viceroy and the ahara had amatyas and gramas had gramika.

The Indo Greeks:

From about 200 BC there were a series of military movements on the northwestern borders of India.  Among the first to cross the Hindu Kush were the Greeks who ruled bacteria.  south of the Oxus in Northern Afghanistan.  Before them, Alexander too had made his entry into the Indian region but Alexander’s invasion did not result in the intermingling of Greek and Indian culture.  The blending of the two cultures came about in the second century BC, when the Greek rulers of bacteria moved into northwestern India therefore in history they have been termed as indo-greeks.

One of the most famous Indo-Greek rulers was Menander or Milinda  (165 BC to 150 BC).  during the period of his rule, the indo-greek power extended from the Swat Valley to Punjab as far as the Ravi river.  he had his capital at Sakala in Punjab.  Menander is best remembered for his conversion to Buddhism by Nagasena, a Buddhist monk and philosopher. Menander asked Nagasena the main questions related to Buddhism. these questions and answers were recorded in the form of a book known as Melinda Panha or the Questions of Milinda. 

The Sakas were the Scythians, Who were Nomadic tribes belonging to Central Asia. in 165 BC they were driven from their home by the Yeu-chi tribe the and they forced their way into India. there were four sucker ruling houses ruling from Taxila, Mathura. Maharashtra and Ujjain. Nothing much is known about the first two houses. the greatest ruler of the Maharashtra branch was Nahapana of the Bhumika dynasty. Nahapana territories were in the modern Gujarat and Rajasthan area. he was probably defeated by the Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni who turned him out from Maharashtra.

Rudradaman was probably the greatest ruler of the Ujjain line and is said to have composed the Junagarh rock inscription in classical Sanskrit and we get a lot of information from it. he is said to have repaired the dam built across lake Sudarshana in Saurashtra by Chandragupta Maurya. he maintained an efficient administration and gained proficiency in fine arts as well.

After Rudradaman his Successors were weak and there is not much information regarding them. but it is clear that the last Saka ruler Rudra Simhadri III was defeated and killed by the Gupta Monarch Chandragupta II.

The Kushans:

The Kushans belonged to Yeu-chi tribe of China and in search of fresh pasture grounds, they defeated the Indians and occupied bactria.  they then moved to India and settle down in northwest India. Kadphises- I was the first ruler. The greatest ruler was undoubtedly Kanishka who defeated the Sakas and started the Saka era in 78 AD. his empire consisted of entire North-Western India and he also conquered the three Chinese provinces of Kashgar, Khotan, and Yarkand, Thereby gaining access to the famous Silk Route. because of his occupation of the Chinese provinces, he is referred to as the first Indo Asiatic king. he founded a new capital called Purushapura or modern Peshawar.

Kanishka converted to Buddhism and he did yeoman service to the spread of Buddhism in China and Tibet.  he was called as second Ashoka the title does seem to be very deserving. he held the fourth Buddhist council in Kashmir where Buddhism witnessed a schism for the second time by splitting into Hinayana and Mahayana schools.  he extended patronage to the Mahayana cult and the Gandhara school of art which had emerged due to the rise of the Mahayana school. the first images of the Buddha were produced by the Gandhara school and this gave rise to the idea of Idol worship in Buddhism which was later adopted by the Vedic religion.

Kanishka also patronized Sanskrit which was the language adopted by the Mahayana school as all Mahayana texts were composed in Sanskrit. the greatest scholar in Kanishka’s court was Asvogosha, who wrote Buddhacharitra and Sutralankara in SanskritWhile Nagarjuna founded the Madhyamik school of Mahayana Buddhism. Pali was relegated to the background and Idol worship and the use of Sanskrit brought Mahayana Buddhism close to the Vedic religion. 

Sita: Are you listening? There are no cooking utensils at home. What should I do now?

Ramlal: God! I know, but what can I do?

Sita: If you don’t mind, I want to give you some advice

Ramlal: Yes, say it. Whatever you’re thinking of.

Sita: Let’s buy a cow with the little money we have saved, sell its milk, and make ghee.

Ramlal: Hey, this is excellent advice. We will go to the city tomorrow and buy a cow.