Choose any two of the religious teachers/thinkers/saints mentioned in this chapter, and find out more about their lives and teachings. Prepare a report about the area and the times in which they lived, their major ideas, how we know about them, and why you think they are important.
Following are the two saints of the Bhakti movement who are described as follows:
Guru Nanak:
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi on 15th April, 1469. The village now is known
as Nankana Sahib. He belonged to a Khatri caste. Before Guru Nanak departed for his heavenly abode on 22nd Sept., 1539, his name had travelled not only throughout India’s north, south, east and west, but also far beyond into Arabia, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Afghanistan, Turkey, Burma and Tibet. His teachings included: Equality of humans: Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: “See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world.” Universal message for all people: Normally preachers confined their preachings to the men of their own religion. But Nanak reached out. He spoke to hindus and muslims both and said to all “To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a muslim eating pork, or a hindu eating beef.” Equality of women: Nanak promoted women’s rights and equality—a first for the 15th century! He asked: “From woman, man is born; within woman, man is
conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So should whywe call her bad?
Namdeo
Saint Namdeo was born in the year 1270 in the village of Narasi-Bamani, now located in the Hingoli District in Maharashtra. He is a great Saint Poet of Maharashtra. He was one of the earliest writers who wrote in the Marathi language. He is the foremost proponent of the Bhagwad- Dharma who reached beyond Maharashtra, right into Punjab. He also wrote some hymns in Hindi and Punjabi, Namdev travelled through many parts of India, reciting his religious poems. In difficult times, he played the difficult role of uniting the pendle of Maharashtra spiritually, He is said to have lived for more than twenty years in the village of Ghuman in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab. The Sikh brethren in Punjab consider him one.
Discuss the ways in which the Alvars, Nayanars and Virashaivas expressed critiques of the caste system.
Examine how and why rulers tried to establish connections with the traditions of the Nayanars and the sufis.
What were the similarities and differences between the be-shari‘a and ba-shari‘a sufi traditions?
Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.
To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?
Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.
On an outline map of India, plot three major sufi shrines, and three places associated with temples (one each of a form of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess).
Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
Discuss the major beliefs and practices that characterised Sufism.
Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?
What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.
Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
What were the elements of the practice of sati that drew the attention of Bernier?
Read this excerpt from Bernier:
Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling- pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings.
List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare
these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in
the chapter.
Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?
What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?
What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?
Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.
What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped?