Mara Tha History
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PATNA UNIVERSITY READERSHIP LECTURES, 1926. THE MAIN CURRENTS OF MARA THA HISTORY BY ~OVIND SAKHARAM SARDESA; "!;3. A.,. Author of Marathi Riyasat. PATNA UNIVERSITY 1926 Printer : S. C. MAJUMDAR, SRI GOURANGA PRESS, 71 (I, Mirzapur Street, Calcutta. 16250 fJ JUrJ 1966 Published by THE REGISTRAR, Patna University. 1075/26. 'LECTURE 1 MAHARASTRA DHARMA, THE IDEAL OF THE MARATHAS J. Muslim influence did not penetrate into the south. The one subject of great historical import anee on which many eminent scholars in Maharastra have concentrated their attention in their research, has reference to the prime. aim of the Marathas, I mean, the conception of their Swarajya, their object in striving for it, the principles for which they stood, the main unifying force which heartened them in - times of trouble and adversity, and enabled~ them to work for national uplift for some two hundred years. The subject is obviously vast and intricate, and ranges over a large exten.t of literature, tradition, and lime of succession of very many saints, teachers and leaders of the Maratha people. It would be very instructive to examine it from old writings and records, and from the mass of literature produced by many ~ecent scholars, who have thought and ··written on the subject. I cannot, therefore, do better than take it up for discussion, at the beginning of my task, by way of clearing the, ground of Maratha history in general, and present to you a few facts and views and some of the important results of study .and research 2 LECTV"RE 1 in Maharastra on this basic subject. It waH that great scholar and thinker M. G. Ranade who, in his brilliant work The Rise of the M aratha Power, first described the process of nation-building in the Deccan, and set down Maharastra Dharma, the duty of Maharastra, to be its guiding principle. The original and full meaning of this phrase requires a search ing examination, so as to furnish for us the clue, by which we can understand, why of all nationalities of India, the Marathas alone found it possible to establish an independent power for a pretty long time. India south of the N erbudda was never completely subjugated by the Muhammadans, in the sense in which northern India was. The Hindu princes in the north, from the time of Jaipal and Prithviraj, to that of Rana Sanga, had struggled hard but in vain to roll back the onrushing tide of Muslim conquest. The Raj put princes were entirely crushed; they became servants of the Emperors, contracted marriage alliances with them, and submitted to them in all matters of religion and disci pline. The sacred places of the Hindus were violated, their temples were pulled down, their religious practices were interfered with: in other places, wholesale populations were con verted to the Muslim faith. One has only to visit any important city in northern India, in order to realise the havoc caused to Hindu temples, images, palaces and to old Sanskrit inscriptions, as, for instances, at Dhar and MAHARASTRA DHARMA 3 Mandugad, in fact, ·all that every· nation <lherishes as sacred and inspiring. ·An old bakhar of Mahikavati (Mahim near Bombay), finished in 1578 by one Bhagawan Nanda Dutta, with man.y portions written ·centuries before that time, has been discovered and printed. It contains the following descrip tion of the terribly depressing condition of north Konkon, after it fell into the hands of the Muhammadans in 1348. Says the author : ~'All religion was destroyed; ties of friendship and relationship vanished; the Kshatriyas lost all sense of duty towards the country. They gave up· their arms and took up· the plough instead. Some took up the profession of mere clerks and the rest were reduced to the humi liating position of slaves and Shudras, while a host of others were wiped out of existence. Most of the people lost their self-respect and the Maharastra Dharma was totally de stroyed." But, while the Hindu mind in the north had helplessly submitted to violence and force, the onward march of Muslim conquest received a strong check in the south, where the invasions of Alauddin Khilji and Malik Kafur, had but made a transitory impression. The fierce hand of Muhammad Tughlak could. not win the Deccan for Delhi, and although the rebellious Husain Bahmani established an independent dynasty at Gulbarga, that king dom, for all practical purposes, was a Hindu TUle with on:Iy a nominal mixture of · the Muslim element. 4 LECTURE 1 For two hundred years preceding the birth of Shivaji, forces were at work in the Deccan, facilitating Hindu independence at different centres of more or less magnitude or influence. Shivaji only supplied the adhesive element, uniting the scattered units, and shrewdly worked upon the religious sentiment, which so strongly appealed to the popular imagination. Rajwade aptly differentiates this spirit of Maharastra from that of the other provinces of India, by calling the former jayishnu or "conquering", and the latter sahishnu or "passively suffering." This genius or spirit of Maharastra runs unmistakably through the ·utterances of her saints nnd preachers, and through the actions of her warriors and diplomats. The expression Maharastra Dharma is known to have been used for the first time by the author of a popular Marathi work Guru-charitra or 'the life of the great Guru Dattatreya,' com posed somewhere about the middle of the 15th century, although the Maratha saints had preached and spoken of Maharastra Dharma long before. The late Prof. Limaye, a great authority on history, says, "what the saints of Maharastra did was to create the moral force that would exalt and ennoble the political ideal of the Marathas. There were two main factors making up this national movement, the one representing the political power wielded by the more or less independent Jagirdars or Deshmukhs, (of whom I am MAHARASTRA DHARMA 5 going to speak in a later discourse,) . who opposed Shivaji in his early career, and the other represented the moral force, which the people derived from the preaching of Ramdas .and other great saints. Shivaji stands forth for the synthesis of the two. Himself the son of a great Maratha nobleman and as such possessed of power and influence, he was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the teachings of the saints. Inspired by their high ideals, he strove to realise them in his life and in doing so, he was prepared to risk both his power and position. That is the significance of Shivaji's life-work, and it is that which entitles him to rank by the side of the greatest of the world's heroes". 2. The two traditions of Devgiri and Vifayanagar blended in Shivafi. At the outset we must remember that Shivaji did not start his national work all of a sudden. His three predecessors in the family were all clever men, imbued with the national spirit common to all Marathas, in an increasing degree in succession. They all seem to have been clearly inspired by the traditions coming down to them in two dis tinct currents, the one starting from the Yadavs of Devgiri of the 13th century on the northern border of Maharastra, and the other from the Rays of Vijayanagar of the 16th century on the southern; the first coming from Shivaji's mother Jijabai, who was descended 6 LECTURE 1 directly from the Yadavs, and the other from his father Shahaji, whose life-work was cast in the historic regions of Vijayanagar. The grand titles assumed by the Yadav Kings such as Pratap-chakravarti, Samasta-bhuvanashraya, Samrat, Shri-Prithvi-vallabha, and their national banner bearing the golden image of an eagle,* were vivid emblems fresh in the Maratha memory, directly inspiring them with ancient glory, liberty and independence. Simi larly as regards the Rays of Vijayanagar, the famous Deva-Ray concentrated his attention on improving horsemanship as the principal arm of warfare, which later on Shivaji so cleverly developed and so successfully utilised in attaining his life's purpose. An old paper records a dialogue between Rama Raya, the victim of Talikot, and his mother, when, on the eve of the famous battle (January 1565), he went to ask her blessings for his success. Says Rama Raya,-"This our country has been a favourite resort of our Gods, Brahmans, reli gion, and charities. Five Muhammadan kings have combined and conspired to destroy it. In order to prevent such a catastrophe, let me, mother, go with all my forces and conquer them. Do you confer your blessings on me." This conversation describes the attitude of the Hindu mind and shows, how the spirit of reli gion had inspired it to rise against Muham madan oppression in the south long before ,'\1AHARASTRA DHARMA Shivaji, who simply took p.p the cue later with the same object, as the Bakhars and other records go to prove. The influence of the teachings of the saints and particularly of Ramdas, I will have occasion to explain later, and need not repeat it here. The famous verse adopted by Shivaji and ever since continued by his successors as the • legend on their State seal, is another strong evidence of the same spirit. It runs thus: ''Ever-growing like the crescent of the first moon, and commanding obedience from the world, this seal of Shivaji, the son of Shahaji, shines forth for the good of the world."* It is said that this verse was formerly used by the Moreys of Javli on their seal; Shivaji borrowed it from them with a few suitable modifications of his own. 3.