Unit-8Devotional Path to Devine(History)

Background/Outline chapter-legacy of various kinds of Bhakti and Sufi movements People perform rituals of worship, singing bhajans, kirtan and qawwali. They repeat the god in silence They evolved since the eight century How did the idea of supreme God get ground? • Before large kingdom emerged -different groups their • own gods and Goddess • People came together-growth of towns, trades &empires • People started believing the living beings pass through • countless cycles of birth • rebirth as per good and bad deeds • All human beings are not equal at birth • Social previliges came from birth Religious Reforms Many people were uneasy with teachings of Buddha &Jaina for some people it was impossible to break social differences some people believed God as Supreme power Two Religious trend-Bhakti movements amongst Hindus Sufi movement among the Muslims 8th century How did ideas of Bhakti become popular? Bhakti means devotion to God This idea advocated in the Bhagavadgita They believed in equality of human being Shiva, vishnu, Durga were worshipped as supreme deities In puranas(part of vedas)mentioned methods of worshipped local myths and legends become part of puranic stories Buddhist and jainas accepted ideas of bhakti movement New kind of bhakti- In south India-Nayanars and Alvars Nayanars-(devotees of Shiva) • 63 Nayanars, belonged to different caste background like potters, Untouchables, soldiers, brahanmans • They gave the message of love and simple living in the language • They went from place to place and singing devotional songs • ideals of love and heroism found in sangam literature • The best known were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar,and Manikkvasagar. • Two sets of compilations of songs-tenvaram and Tiruvacakam Alvars-saints devoted to Vishnu 12 Alvars-came from equally divergent background The best were periyalvar, his daughter Andal, Tondaradippodi Alvar Their songs were compiled. in the Divya prabandham link between Bhakti tradition and temple We have seen tenth and 12 centuries cholas and pandya built many temples Temples were visited by saint -poets poems were compiles Hagiographies irreligious biographies of the alvars and Nayanars were also composed. famous Indian philosopher-born in kerala known as Avtar of Lord shiva Considered the world around us to be an illusion or maya greatest teachers of vedas His teachings were based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, greatest teachers of vedas The only weapon he used was pure knowledge and spirituality Q-What changes took place in Varna based Society? • Society was already divided in Varna system • With growth of economy • Rich and poor differences increased • New castes or jatis emerged in Brahamans • Smaller caste of jatis emerged in varna system • Separate jatis for Specialised artisans,carpenters • Kshatriya-New clan of Rajputs become powerful • They replaced older rulers especially agriculture areas • Majority tribes community joined lower Jati system • Some dominant / not powerful rejected caste system • like punjab and sindh Gond Tribe -Tribal groups of Central India Traditionally they were agriculturists or other cattle Some Gonds practise Shifting Cultivation lived in Vast forested region called Gondawana The large Gond Tribe -Smaller clans Each clan had its own raja-called rai Delhi Sultanate-large gond kingdoms dominate small gonds The Akbar nama-Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga-70000 villages Administrative system of Gond Centralised Kingdom divided-garhs 014 particular Gond clan-controlled garh Further divided into units-84 villages called chaurasi Chaurasia divided into barhots-12 villages Ahoms The origin is from Myanmar 13th Century migrated from Myanmar to the Brahmaputra valley new system of landlords(bhuiyans) 16th century they annexed kingdoms of Koch Hajo(1581) defeated many tribes used fire arms and made a large state able to make high quality gunpowder and cannons Almost all adult males served in the army during war engaged in building dams, irrigation system introduced new method of rice cultivation Administrative system very sophisticated society divided into clans or khels peasants were given land by village community Even king could not take that In the beginning they worshipped own tribal God They influenced by brahmans Brahmans were granted land by king poet and scholars were given land grants Theatre was encouraged Hinduism became major religion Mongols best known pastoral and hunter gatherers 1206 Genghis khan had united Mongols and Turkish tribes He was ruler of extensive territories His successor created a vast empire well organised military and administrative system it included the parts of Russia . Eastern Europe and China.

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