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Book No. – 11 (History)
Book Name – India: The Ancient Past (Burjor Avari)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. The Religious Landscape
1.1. Decline of Buddhism: Some Explanations
1.2. Diversity within Hinduism
1.3. The resilience of the Jains
1.4. Non-Indic faiths
2. Art and Architecture
2.1. In the Deccan
2.2. In the far south
2.3. In the north
3. Literature and thought
3.1. Sanskrit literature.
3.2. Tamil literature
3.3. The beginnings of vernacular literature
3.4. Islamic literature
3.5. Philosophical Works
4. Cultural influences abroad
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LANGUAGE
Across North and South: Cultural Unity and Diversity
Chapter – 11
Table of Contents
Timeline/Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CE 630–45 | Hsuan Tsang’s travels in India |
| CE 760 | Krishna I, the Rashtrakuta king, orders the building of the gigantic Kailashanatha Temple at Ellora |
| c. CE 788–822 | The philosopher Shankaracharya |
| c. CE 800 | Harun al Rashid, the Abbasid ruler of Baghdad, orders the translation of the Indian medical corpus Susruta Samhita |
| CE 849 | Privileges granted to St Thomas Christians in Kerala |
| CE 936 | First Parsi/Zoroastrian settlement at Sanjan in Gujarat |
| CE 950–1050 | Khandariya Mahadeo Temple built at Khajuraho |
| CE 985–1012 | Brihadiswara Temple at Thanjavur (Tanjore) built in the reign of Chola Rajaraja I |
| CE 1030 | Al-Biruni in India |
| CE 1048 | Kalhana writes Rajatarangini |
| CE 1169 | Jayadeva writes Gita Govinda |
The Religious Landscape
- Between CE 600 and 1200, significant shifts occurred in the religious history of India.
- Buddhism, a dominant religious force for nearly a thousand years, began its long decline in India, almost disappearing.
- Hinduism, in both its Vedic form and through its various sects and schools, became increasingly dominant across the subcontinent.
- Jainism continued to exert influence but had relatively few adherents during this period.
- Judaism and Christianity had been established in south India for a long time.
- Zoroastrianism took refuge in Gujarat due to the Islamic conversion of Persia.
- Islam was mostly confined to Sind and smaller settlements on the western and Coromandel coasts during this period.
- The Muslim population in India started increasing significantly only after CE 1200.
Decline of Buddhism: Some Explanations
- In the centuries between CE 600 and 1200, a substantial number of Buddhists remained in the north-east and north-west of India, with large monasteries and monastic sites.
- Buddhism was in decline in the Gangetic heartland from the time of the Imperial Guptas.
- In the seventh century, King Harsha organized grand festivals to honor Buddhism.
- In the eighth and ninth centuries, the Pala rulers of Bengal supported Buddhism, with Dharamapala and Devapalaexpanding Buddhist institutions and endowments.
- Nalanda and Vikramshila became major centers of Buddhist learning under Pala patronage.
- Buddhism received its last significant support before Hinduism gained dominance.
- Hsuan Tsang observed Buddhism’s decline in many parts of India, with ruins of monasteries and stupas testifying to the decay.
- Historians have proposed four main reasons for Buddhism’s decline:
- Buddhist laity lost passion and organizational sense; Hinduism with its rituals and caste system attracted more followers.
- Buddhist sanghas lacked political survival skills, dependent on rulers’ support, and lacked political awareness.
- Hinduism offered a flexible, tolerant environment for assimilating Buddhists, although some persecutionsoccurred.
- Muslim persecutions are debated; Turco-Afghan invaders looted wealthy monasteries like Nalanda, but Buddhism had been in decline before this.
- The Bhakti movement in south India helped wean the masses from heterodox religions like Buddhism.
Diversity within Hinduism
- Most people in India would not have described themselves as Hindu; the term gained popular use only from the 13th or 14th century.
- The term Hindu was originally used by Muslims to describe idol-worshippers, a label applied to various groups like Vaishnava and Shaivite followers, Buddhists, Jains, and heretics.
- Three main strands shaped Hinduism before encountering Islam and post-Enlightenment Europe.
- The oldest strand, Vedic Brahmanism, was nearly 3,000 years old, with beliefs and practices including the supremacy of the Vedas, sacrifices, the caste system, and the divine right of kings.
- Bhakti tradition emerged in the 5th century CE, focusing on intense devotion to personal gods like Vishnu and Shiva, led by Alvar and Nayanar saints.
- The Puranic religion and bhakti tradition did not displace Vedic Brahmanism but challenged it; philosophers like Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Madhava helped reconcile the two strands.
- Regional royal power supported both traditions, with temples symbolizing royal patronage.
- The third strand was the incorporation of local cults into Hinduism, especially as new regional kingdoms emerged.
- Local cults involved practices like goddess worship, animal sacrifice, and animism, which were absorbed into the Puranic religion.
- The Devi or Shakti cults, worshiping the Mother Goddess, played a significant role, with forms like Uma (beneficent) and Durga, Kali, or Shitala (demonic).
- Tantric cults, involving magic and mysticism, also grew, incorporating female strength and respect.
- Non-caste and lower-caste followers played a role in the growth of image worship and the individual worship of deities.
- Mythologies of deities became popular through regional languages and oral recitations.