EVOLUTION OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN NORTHERN INDIA DURING 15^^^ AND 16^" CENTURY ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE C^ BQCtor of $1^ toopfip IN HISTORY By PRIYANKA SRIVASTAVA Under the Supervision of Dr. (Mrs.) ROOHI ABIDA AHMAD CENTRE OF ADVANCE STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIIW UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2013 Abstract Bhakti implies the sense of a personal relation with God, there is a surge of love and intense devotionalism. It is reaction of heart versus rigid intellectualism of Vedas. It involved ethical and emotional content. Bhakti Movement of Medieval India was shaking the social structure and challenging the privileges and authority of the custodians of religion and was trying to establish direct relation between God and men. This movement was undoubtedly an expression of the emotional aspect of Hinduism. It took inspiration from the ancieiil* scriptures of the Hindus, but V • 'V.H. - '\' ';•' after its contact with Islam, particularIyin*'^orthern India, its character changed considerably. In the religious terminology Bhakti means the worship of a personal God and is a spirit of love and the attainment of liberation The earliest saints of Bhakti school belong to Tamil land, they were the follower of either Vishnu or Shiva and known as Alvara and Nannyars. These saints composed their devotional songs in vernacular. They address the people without any discrimination of castes. They made an appeal to the hearts of the masses and became very popular. Chapter one depicts the socio-political condition of Northern India during 15^'' and 16^'^ centuries. Before the Turkish conquest of India politics and society of India was dominated by the Rajput and Brahmins, Turkish conquests brought their supremacy to an end. The Turkish deprived the Brahmins of their temple wealth and state patronage, so the Brahmins suffered both materially and ideologically. Chapter two is devoted to the evolution and thought of Bhakti through the Religious Scriptures like The Bhagvada Gita, The Bhagavata Purana, The Bhakti Sutra ofNarada and Shandilya, Saints of Vaishnava and Shaiva school of Bhakti and thoughts of Vaishnava acharyas. The evolution and early development of Bhakti thought and ideology, both Vaishnava and Shaiva, took place in South India and it was brought to Northern India in the medieval period. Chapter three follows the transformation of Bhakti movement in Northern India. Here it spread out under the leadership of Ramananda, a Vaishnava saint and the reviver of Ramanandi sect, lays stress on the concept of equality. He removed the distinction of caste and accepted his disciples from the different strata of society. Chapter four deals with the attitude of Bhakti saints towards the Bhakti theory. Several eminent saints from various parts laid emphasis on the unity of God and surrender to His will in order to attain salvation which is goal of human life. These saints provoked people to bring changes in their life and thoughts. These saints have two different aspects of Bhakti i.e. Nirguna Bhakti and Saguna Bhakti Both Nirguna and Saguna Bhakti saints believed in the unity of God, importance of a Satguru in the life of human beings and unreality of maya (illusion). Chapter five focused on the short biography of the prominent Bhakti saints and Sufi saints of India who spread their valuable preaching in India and tried to remove the discrimination in society. Chapter six and the last chapter of the thesis deals with the interaction of thought, personal contact and common teachings of the Bhakti and Sufi saints of Northern India during 15'^ and 16'^ centuries. Both gave importance to the vernacular language and used as the medium of their preaching. Both Bhakti and Sufi saints were against the caste system and orthodoxy in society. Bhakti saints preached universal toleration and brought about a revolution in the structure of Indian society. The main purpose of the Bhakti Movement was to unite Hindus and Muslims as there was a wide distance between them. So the result of Bhakti Movement was that the two great cultures came into close contact with each other and a healthy synthesis came about. EVOLUTION OF BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN NORTHERN INDIA DURING 15^" AND 16^" CENTURY THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Boctor of ^iitloisiopl^;' IN HISTORY By PRIYANKA SRIVASTAVA Under the Supervision of Dr. (Mrs.) ROOHI ABIDA AHMAD CENTRE OF ADVANCE STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2013 7 .,A T8832 CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY Department of History Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh-202 002 Dated KOOIII ABIDA AllMEO /1 .s V. () (• i;i I e Pro Ic s s o r CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis, "Evolution of Bhakti Movement in Northern India during 15^^ and 16^'^ Century", by Ms. Priyanka Srivastava is her own original work. I consider it is suitable for submission to the examiners and for the award of the Ph.D. Degree. (Dr. Roohi Abida Ahmed) Supervisor dedicated UitAe£etud feet of Jaja^d-^in CUdi^ and fBeieued fPcmettb A 3)1 =^ CONTENTS Acknowledgement i-H Abbreviations iii-vii Introduction viii-xv Maps Chapter -1 1-28 Socio-Political Condition of India during 15"' and 16^*' Centuries Chapter - 2 29-52 Concept of fi/m/r// Chapter - 3 53-71 The Significance of Raniananda in the Evolution of Bhakti Movement Chapter-4 72-115 Theory of Bhakti by Prominent Saints of Northern India a. Nirguna Bakhti Saints: Kabir Nanak, Dadu, Dhanna, Pipa, Saina, Raidas, Rajah Das, Jambhoji b. Saguna Bhakti Saints: Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya, Surdas, Mirabai, Tulasidas. Chapter-5 116 143 A Brief Biography of Bhakti and Sufi Saints of Northern India during 15t h an 16"' Centuries Chapter-6 144-161 Interaction between Bhakti and Sufi Saints Conclusion 162-166 Bibliography 167-184 Glossary 185-191 Acknowledgement Due to the blessing of Almighty today I am going to submit my work. So first and foremost I want to offer my everlasting gratitude to Him. It is also my duty to say thank to all those who helped and cooperated with me in the completion of this research work as it would not have been possible without their help and guidance and support. I am veiy grateful to my supenusor Dr. (Mrs) Roohi Abida Ahmad,/or the keen interest she showed in my M'ork and for her constant guidance and co-operation. I am also grateful to Prof. Tariq Ahmad, chairman of the Department of Histoiy, CAS, for his valuable suggestion. I am also indebted to Mr. M.P. Singh, retired Professor of this department, who helped me a lot and showed me the right way for collecting material for my research work. 1 express my grateful thanks to Dr. Sumbul Haleem Khan for her kind and helpful support. 1 am also to thankful to Dr.Shivaji Pande for his helping nature.I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Late Dr. Iqbal Sabir, of Histoiy Department, who M'as always gave me his suggestion and guidance. I shall always remain greatly indebted to Fail Sir who has readily available at veiy short notice and developed the maps for my research work. I am also thankful to Late. Mr. S. Mazahar Husain and the whole staff of the Seminar Library of History Department like Mr Moin Akhtar Zaidi, Mr. Athar Rais, Mr, Salman Ahmad, Mr. Banshidhar Sharma, Mr Arshad AliChauhan, Mr. Nisar Ahmad, Mr, Zubair, and Mr. Babu Khan, Mukesh Raj, and Shabab Ahmad Bag for their extended co-operation to me during the collection of material and drafting of the text, I woidd also like to acknowledge help and support of the staff of Maul ana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University, specially Mr. Nadeem of Hindi Stack, Mr. Pir Muhammad of Hindi Sanskrit Stack. Mr. Akaram Pervez of thesis Stack and others. 1 am also thankful to the Staff of B.H.U Central Library, Varanasi, Staff of Nagari Pracharni Sabha, Varanasi, library libraiy staff of Teen Murti Bhawan, New Delhi, and the library staffofMalviya Pustkalaya Aligarh. I am also thankful to Mr. Anil Singh, the co~ordinator of Vedic Coaching Centre, Aligarh for his co-operation. I am, also thankful to UGC Non NET/JRF fellowship which enabled me to collect additional material and complete this M'ork. I would also like to thank Mr. Afzal Nabi Khan, accountant of History Department A.M. U. My special obligation is due to my beloved parents for their blessings, moral .support and encouragement. 1 am also thankful to my elder brother Mr. Gyan Prakash for his constant inspiration, support and blessings. My special regards to my Bhabi Mrs. Neelam Srivastava for her helping nature. They were the main source of my happiness and progress. I am also indebted to my friend Monika Sharma, who always remained ready to help to me. I am also thankful to my friends Reena Verma, Ruchi Verma, Puja Verma, Nuzhat Yaqoob, Rupali Yadav, Ambika Singh, Kanchan Lawania, Tahira Bi, Farhat jahan, Shahna Shaikh, Saba Samreen, Samreen Soheb, Seema Khan and Neema Ahmad, for their constant support and encouragement and all possible support. .V {VRlYmKX SRIVASTAVA) Abbreviations A. Adhyay A.G. Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib A.R.P.I Some Aspects of Religion and Politics in India during Thirteenth Century by K.A. Nizami Abdullaha Srhindi Yahiya Bin Ahmad Abdullah Sirhindi Akbar the Great Akbar the Great by A.L. Srivastava, Vol. Ill Akbarnama Akbarnama, Abul Fazl B.S Brahama Sutra Badathwal P.D. Badathwal Bh.G. Bhagavd Gita Bh.P. Bhagavat Purana Bhagavata Bhakti Cult The Bhagavata Bhakti Cult and Three Acharya by R.N Vyasa Bijak Bijak ofKabir Bishnoi Kishan Lai Bishnoi Bishoni Bishnoi Kishan Lai Carpenter J.E.