Medieval India

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Medieval India
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Medieval Indian Dynasties

• Gupta Era 320-550 ce
• Huna Invasion 455-528 ce
• Kushan Era 5th -7th c. ce
• Hindu Dynasties 3rd-15th c. ce
• Rajputs Western India 7th -12th c. ce
• Muslim Invasions 7th-11th c. ce
• Delhi Sultanate Northern India 12th-16th c
• Mongols under Tamerlane sack Delhi 1398-99
• Vasco da Gama reaches India 1498
• Mughal Empire1526-1858

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HinduismSanatana DharmaThe Everlasting Way
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OMthat which hath no beginning or end
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Hinduismall-embracing structure of thought

• All creation linked in huge web of being
• Transmigration of souls through various life
  forms
• Proper behavior linked to purgation and renewal
• Dharma the duty of the believer

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Monotheism

• God is Infinite.
• The Infinite manifests in billions of ways.
• Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also
  in His Supreme Personality.
• This personality is manifested in different forms
  around us and within us perpetually. Therefore,
  the Infinite manifests in billions of ways to
  help mankind visualize the Divine Being.
• This belief of Hinduism is often confused with
  polytheism.
• That the Supreme can be worshipped in any form is
  a unique concept in Hinduism.
• Hinduism recognizes multiple forms of the one
  God.

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Hindu Concept of Time

• The transcendence of time is the aim of every
  Indian spiritual tradition.
• Time is often presented as an eternal wheel that
  binds the soul to a mortal existence of ignorance
  and suffering.
• "Release" from time's fateful wheel is termed
  moksha.
• Hindus believe that the universe is without a
  beginning or an end . 
• The universe is projected in cycles.
• Each cycle is divided into four yugas (ages of
  the world).

Shiva dancing
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BRAHMAN Universal PowerATMAN Individual
Manifestation of the Universal Spirit

• Brahman is the indescribable, inexhaustible,
  omniscient, omnipresent, original, first, eternal
  and absolute principle who is without a
  beginning, without an end , who is hidden in all
  and who is the cause, source, material and effect
  of all creation known, unknown and yet to happen
  in the entire universe.

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Major Hindu Manifestations

• BRAHMAN divine source of all being
• Brahma/Sarasvati, the creator
• Vishnu/Lakshmi, the preserver benevolence,
  forgiveness, love
• Shiva/Kali, the destroyer disease, death, the
  dance
• Ganesha, god of wisdom, writing, elephant-headed

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BrahmaThe Creator

• His 4 heads represent the four Yugas or cycles of
  time in Hinduism.
• At the end of these cycles of time the Universe
  is ripe for destruction and must be created
  again.
• The God Shiva will then destroy the universe so
  that it can be created again.
• The Lord has in his four hands a water-pot
  (kamandalu), a manuscript (Vedas), a sacrificial
  implement (sruva) and a rosary (mala).

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Vishnu the Preserver

• Protector of dharma (righteousness) and the
  guardian of humanity.
• His particular task is the conservation or
  preservation of the Divine Order in the world.
• Vishnu has 10 avatars or incarnations. He assumes
  these and comes down to earth in order to help
  humanity.

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Lord Vishnu lies on the universal waters with
Goddess Lakshmi massaging His feet. From His
navel sprouts a lotus flower on which Lord Brahma
is born.
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Rama and Sita

• Rama is the 7th avatar of Vishnu.
• Lord Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is one of
  the most adored gods
• He is always holding a bow and arrow indicating
  his readiness to destroy evils.
• More commonly he is pictured with his wife Sita,
  his brother Lakshmana and his devotee Hanumana

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Krishna

• Krishna is the 8th avatar of Vishnu.
• The mythology around Krishna is the most colorful
  and the richest in lyricism, adventure and in
  love in all its forms.
• Krishna is central to the Mahabharata, the
  Sanskrit epic that is eight times longer than the
  Iliad and the Odyssey put together.
• Krishna is a loyal ally of humans and always
  helps his friends. His worship is popular all
  over India and there are many sacred shines to
  him.
• In Hinduism there is a concept known as Bhakti.
  Bhakti is the emotional attachment and love of a
  devotee for his or her personal god. This is
  common in the worship of Krishna.        

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Krishna
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Shiva the Destroyer
Lord of the Dance He performs the dance of
destruction so that the world can be recreated.
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Shiva is the acknowledgment that everything that
comes to birth comes ultimately to death and from
death comes new life. He is cruel and yet
tender, wrathful and merciful, unpredictable and
yet ever the same.
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The Great Goddess

• Parvati and Uma are the benign aspects of the
  goddess the destroyer goddesses Kali and Durga
  are in turn all aspects of the Devi, or the Great
  Goddess.
• Kali is the negative aspect of the Goddess and
  symbolizes death. In this form she is sometimes
  considered the presiding deity of famine and
  disease.

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Kali
Durga
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Hindu Dynasties3rd-15th c.

• Confused political scene especially in South
• Warlike clans in Rajasthan Rajputs
• Pallave dynasty dominates the south warring with
  Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas
• Christianity and Zorastrianism introduced into
  India
• Turkish raids 1000-1206
• Decline and disappearance of Buddhism in India
  around 13th c.

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Rajputs
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Rajputs

• Princely members of the Kashitrya warrior caste
• Ruled northern and western India 7th-12th c. in
  local kingdoms, often at rivalry with each other
• Champions of dharma and devotees of Siva and
  Durga
• Predominantly Hindu, but tolerated all worship
  within their realms
• Prolific fort and palace-builders

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Kumbhalgarh fort built by Maharana Kumbha.
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Kumbhalgarh fort Perimeter wall is 20 miles
long. Six horses could ride abreast on the fort
ramparts.
Vijay Sthamb (Victory Tower) built byMaharana
Kumbha
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Udai Palace at Udaipur (city founded by Maharana
Udai Singh).
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Khajuraho

• The temples at Khajuraho were built during the
  Chandella dynasty, which reached its apogee
  between 950 and 1050.
• Only about 20 temples remain they fall into
  three distinct groups and belong to two different
  religions Hinduism and Jainism.
• They strike a perfect balance between
  architecture and sculpture.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Kandariya Mahdeo in Khajuraho
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Hindu Religious LiteratureThe Puranas

• 18 religious books preserving Hindu myths and
  legends contain 5 major subjects
• Sarga the creation of the universe.
• Pratisarga secondary creations, mostly
  recreations after dissolution.
• Vamsa genealogy of the gods and sages.
• Manvañtara the creation of the human race and
  the first human beings.
• Vamsanucaritam the histories of the patriarchs
  of the lunar and solar dynasties.

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Hindu Religious LiteratureEpic Poetry

• The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the
  12th-century poet, Jayadeva.
• It describes the relationship between Krishna and
  the gopis (female cow herders) particularly one
  gopi named Radha.
• Important the development of the bhakti traditions

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Gita Govinda manuscript c. 1550.
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Hindu Religious LiteratureBhakti Poetry

• Bhakti mystical devotion to god
• Lyric poetry spoken and sung by poet-saints
• Tamil hymns (6th-9th c) earliest bhakti poetry
  focused on Shiva and Vishnu
• Tradition of bhakti poetry spread throughout
  India and its 16 major languages
• Popular and populist poets came from all castes,
  including untouchables and women
• Belief that mysticism was the highest path to
  release from karma
• Highly personal and individual a form of
  spiritual autobiography

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Mahadeviyakka12th c

• Princess who left her royal husband
• Wandered naked through countryside total
  devotion to Siva meant giving up conventional
  coverings society required for females
• 350 poems express her passionate thoughts on God,
  love and the world

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Mahadeviyakka12th c

• You can confiscate
• money in hand
• can you confiscate
• the bodys glory?
• Or peel away every strip
• you wear,
• but can you peel
• the Nothing, the Nakedness
• that covers and veils?
• To the shameless girl
• wearing the White Jasmines Lords
• light of morning,
• you fool,
• wheres the need for cover and jewel?

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Muslim Incursions

• 711 -- Arabs take Sind
• 11th c. -- Invasions of Muslims from Central
  Asia led to political dominance of Muslims in N.
  India and introduction of Persian culture and
  Islam into South Asia
• Development of Sufism

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Delhi Sultanate

• 1192-1526 Turko-Afghan chieftains establish
  sultanate at Delhi and dominate N. India
• Multiple Muslim dynasties rule Northern India
  from the 13th-16th centuries.
• The Sultans based their laws on the Qur'an and
  the sharia and permitted non-Muslim subjects to
  practice their religion if they paid jizya or
  head tax.
• Temporarily successful in insulating the
  subcontinent from the potential devastation of
  the Mongol invasion  in the 13th century.
• "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in
  architecture, music, literature, and religion.

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Delhi Sultanate13th-16th c.
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TimurLang (Tamerlane) sacks Delhi
1398-99

• Mongol ruler who attempted to reclaim Genghis
  Khans empire
• Attacked India and conquered Delhi after
  slaughtering 100,000 captives

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Vasco da Gama reaches India 1498

• Opened the Indian or Cape Route for regular
  sailings between East and West
• Expansion and consolidation of Portugese empire
  and trade, dissemination of Portugese culture and
  Christianity
• Portugese settlements in Goa and Cochin
• 1524 Da Gama named Portugese viceroy in India by
  King John III.

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Moghul Empire(Islamic) 1526-1858

• Unification of N. India and parts of S. India
  under its rule
• Amalgam of Persian and Indian culture created in
  courts and territories
• Establishment of trading outposts in India by
  Europeans
• 1609 Dutch
• 1612 English
• 1674 French

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Moghul Dynasty I (1526-56)

• Founded by Babur
• 2nd Classical Age of North India
• Delhi flourishes as Imperial Capital
• Amalgamation of Turko-Iranian culture

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Moghul Dynasty II (1556-1627)

• Akbar consolidates and builds strong empire
• Akbar commissions illustrated Persian
  translations of Sanskrit epics, The Ramayana and
  Mahabharata
• Jahangir succeeds his father
• 1600 Elizabeth I of England gives charter for
  trade to East India Company

King Akbar
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The Red Fort
Agras magnificent monument, the Red Fort, was
begun by Akbar in the 16th c. and embellished by
Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th c.
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Taj Mahal, Agra, 1630-48. Mausoleum built by
Shah Jahan for hisWife, Mumtaz Mahal
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Sources

• Rajput http//hindurajput.blogspot.com/
• Khajuraho http//www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthI
  ndia/Khajuraho/Khajuraho.htm
• The Mughals http//www.wsu.edu8080/dee/MUGHAL
  /ORIGIN.HTM