Ardhakathanak: a Commoner’S Discovery of the 2 Mughal Milieu 3 4 5 the Ardhakathanak by Banarasidas Is Often Considered the First Autobiography in 6 Hindi
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2020-3846-AJHIS 1 Ardhakathanak: A Commoner’s Discovery of the 2 Mughal Milieu 3 4 5 The Ardhakathanak by Banarasidas is often considered the first autobiography in 6 Hindi. Completed in the year 1641, the book provides us with a commoner’s 7 understanding of the Mughal world. Often subjected an imperial bias, the book is 8 a wildly neglected source of history. The study attempts to highlight various 9 societal norms and ethics as evidenced by the Ardhakathanak. It undertakes a 10 thematic division in understanding medieval Indian society, focusing on 11 merchant practices, societal norms and Jain religion. Various aspects of a middle 12 class man’s life are unraveled through the course of this study, including 13 education, business decisions, wealth, family, domesticity, religious assimilation, 14 rationality and self-discovery. The study also embarks on an analysis of the 15 Varanasiya sect of Jain religion briefly. Finally, emerging trends of individuality 16 are highlighted. The study culminates with a brief account of how underutilized 17 this primary source remains despite obvious merits to it. 18 19 Keywords: Banarasidas, Ardhkathanak, autobiography, merchant practices, 20 religious pursuits, cultural history. 21 22 23 Introduction 24 25 The development of the literary genre of autobiography is a fairly ancient 26 one, with St. Augustine’s autobiographical work ‘Confessions’ written in 399 27 CE. However, the understanding of the term autobiography to be a form of 28 ‘self life writing’ is a recent phenomenon. The Oxford English Dictionary 29 credits Robert Southy to be the progenitor of auto-biography in the year 1809. 30 However we find a reference to auto-biography or self-biography being used 31 by William Taylor in the Monthly Review of 1797.1 The motivations for 32 committing one’s life to writing are often religious in nature, to record stages 33 in an individual’s life by which they lose their own identity to celebrate God’s 34 divine power.2 35 Today, these works have become a prominent source of history and are 36 extensively researched to arrive at a deeper understanding of the period it was 37 written in. The earliest known biographical work that was produced in India is 38 the Harshacharita written by Banabhatta in the 7th century CE. However, truly 39 autobiographical accounts only appear in India with the advent of Mughals. 40 Among these, Baburnama was the earliest, and records Babur’s life between 1Kendall, Paul Murray. 1967. Encyclopedia Britannica: Volume II. p. 856 2Saikia, Arani. Society as Reflected in the Assamese Life Writings of Nineteenth Twentieth Centuries 1834-1938 (PhD diss., 2016, Tezpur University) p. 19 1 2020-3846-AJHIS 1 1483 to 1530.3 The autobiographies written during this period were meant to 2 preserve a person’s family history and good deeds for posterity. Thus, the 3 representation of the subject is in light of the reader’s judgement. Therefore, 4 we may conclude that these writings often lack a humanizing touch that can 5 relate the subject to the reader. 6 One such piece in the ocean of Mughal writings is Banarasidas’s 7 Ardhakathanak. It was first discovered by Nagarai Pracharini Sabha and 8 published by Dr. Mataprasad Gupta in 1943.4 Banarasidas was a Jain merchant 9 who lived during the Mughal Era in India. The title of his autobiography 10 translates to ‘half a tale’. The book was completed in the winter of 1641 in the 11 imperial capital of Agra, when Banarasi was 55 years of age. In Jain 12 philosophy, a full life is considered to be of one hundred and ten years. Thus, 13 the title of Banarasi’s book ‘Half a Tale.’ Although, the tale began to be the 14 story of half a life, Banarasi met his demise only two years after the completion 15 of his book, implying that the story covered his entire life. Written in the 16 language of the Indian heartland, Braj Bhasha. Ardhkathanak is considered to 17 be the first autobiography in Hindi.5 Much to the contrary to other Mughal 18 works, Banarasidas’s tone throughout the book is that of unabashed candor. 19 Over the course of the book, Banarasi establishes a rapport with the reader and 20 slowly but surely becomes a friend. By the time, we reach Banarasi’s close of 21 life, a feeling of a long and fruitful companionship lingers on with the reader. 22 We know Banarasi’s secrets, sorrows and soaring moments. Unlike other 23 autobiographical works of the contemporary period the emphasis is not on 24 making a perfect man devoid of any flaws, fit to govern the territory of India, 25 but to lay bare before the reader the heart and soul of subject, good or bad. 26 It is evident from the content of the book and style of writing that Banarasi 27 did not expect his autobiography to be read nearly 400 years later. In fact, there 28 was an understanding that it would only be read by limited audience of friends 29 and kinsmen.6 In Banarasi’s own words, the only reason he ventured into the 30 business of recording his life, is ‘let me tell you all my story’. 31 32 A Jain from the noble Shrimal family, 33 That prince among men, that man called Banarasi, 34 He thought to himself, let me tell my story to all 7 35 36 As is evident from the pretense set above, Banarasi’s account of his life 37 was a commoner’s perspective of the Mughal Era. He was unconcerned with 3 Zaman, Taymiya R. ‘Instructive Memory: An Analysis of Auto/Biographical Writing in Early Mughal India’. Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient ,Vol. 54, No. 5. (2011) p. 679 4 Banarasidas. ‘Ardha- Katha’. ed. Mataprasad Gupta (Allahabad 1943) 5 Gupta, Arun Das. ‘Situating the Individual in Medieval India: An Excursion into History Beyond the Mainstream’. The Calcutta History Journal, Vol. 16. (1994) p. 7 6 Vanina, Eugenia. ‘The Ardhakathanak by Banarasidas :A Socio-Cultural Study’. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 2. No. 5. (1995) p. 211 7 Banarasidas. Ardhakathanak. Trans. Rohini Chowdhury (Delhi, 2009) p. 3 2 2020-3846-AJHIS 1 the political happenings of the Empire and did not occupy himself with it. But 2 what was important to Banarasi, and thus what makes its way into his book are 3 matters of business, religious practices, customs and the changing ideas that 4 manifested into his own life. Although, Ardhakathanak can rival any other 5 source of Mughal history in terms of the information it provides us. It does not 6 supplement the information presented with quantifiable data, as is seen in 7 works like Akbarnama. All the same, works like Ardhakathnaka can be 8 monumental in filling the gaps between the ‘imperial-sanctioned’ view of 9 history that is prevalent towards more subaltern approaches that weigh the 10 subjects of the Empire directly into account. Furthermore, being an account 11 that is written not for a political patron but oneself, it can overcome one of the 12 major drawbacks associated with royal sanctioned works. Banarasidas 13 represents not what others would want to see, but he saw himself, without fear 14 of censure. It also becomes one of the few sources through which we can take 15 the bottom-up approach of reconstructing history instead of the common top 16 down approach. Ardhakathanak follows a chronological writing style 17 beginning from a brief history up to the 55th year of Banarasi’s life. Another 18 interesting aspect of this account is that all events in his life are described 19 along with the precise time of their occurrence helping us reconstruct a more 20 organized form of Mughal history from a middle class merchant’s eyes. 21 Over the course of this paper we shall look at three broad themes- 22 merchant life, societal norms, and religion. These themes have been chosen in 23 particular to provide a broad understanding of medieval society. Over the 24 course of this paper, we shall witness how Banarasidas grapples with ideas that 25 shaped Mughal society. We also come across hints of protest and resistance; 26 these eventually help Banarasi in a discovery of his own self. 27 28 29 Merchant Life in Northern India 30 31 Banarasidas’s Ardhkathanak is a major source for understanding mercantile 32 practices and ethics in Northern India during the medieval period. Banarasi, 33 right at the outset informs us that he is a Jain of the noble Shrimal family.8 34 Despite his Rajput lineage, the family took to a Bania life after conversion to 35 Jainism. It was his grandfather Muldas, who first started a business. 36 37 Muldas Biholia, pursuing a bania’s way of life 38 became steward to a Mughal officer, and went away to Malwa 9 39 40 Businesses were usually dominated by the Hindu and Jain communities. In 41 order to maintain this hegemony over the market, children were instilled with a 42 sense of business tactics and ethics from an early age. It would not be wrong to 43 assume that the kind of education being provided was tailored to meet future 8 Ardhakathanak (Penguin India, 2009) p. 3 9 Ardhakathanak (Penguin India, 2009) p. 5 3 2020-3846-AJHIS 1 work requirements depending on the community one belonged to. Education 2 began at the age of eight, and usually lasted for four years but could be 3 completed earlier as well. Banarasi mentions that after his father completed his 4 schooling, he could assess the quality of gold and silver, tell counterfeit coins 5 from real ones and he could balance account books along with a basic 6 understanding of Sanskrit language.