Chapter – 6

Bhakti-Sufi Traditions

In this post, we have given the detailed notes of Class 12 History Chapter 6 (Bhakti-Sufi Traditions) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Bhakti Movement

• With the passage of time, many such people emerged in the society who opposed the shortcomings of the prevailing religions and established a new path, the development of such people and the spread of their ideas was called Bhakti movement.
• The shortcomings of the religions prevalent at that time was:
  • Caste System
  • discrimination
  • untouchability
  • tradition of Sati
  • varna system
• In view of all these shortcomings, many new religions and ideologies emerged, which criticized these shortcomings and show new paths, this is called Bhakti movement.

Path of Devotion

There were two mainly paths of devotion prevalent in that period.

• Nirguna

  • Nirguna All those people who believe that God is formless, according to them there is no colour form of God, they opposed idol worship and insisted on meditating and remembering the name.
  • Guru Nanak and Kabir Das were the supporters of this idea.
  • for example
    • In Sikhism no idol or person is worshiped but the formless God is considered

• Sagun

  • All those people who believe in God as a corporeal person are called Sagunas, idols are worshiped by these people only.
  • Mirabai and Kalidas were supporters of Saguna ideology.
  • for example
    • Hinduism in which idols of God are worshipped

Popular Traditions of Bhakti

• According to historian Robert Redfield, the main two types of traditions of devotion were prevalent in that period.

• Great

  • Vedic religion was placed within the great traditions, it was the religion which was largely followed by the upper class of the society.
  • Under this, everything said by the Brahmins was followed and the gods and goddesses were worshipped.

• Small

  • Small this tradition included those religions which were followed by the lower class of the society for example regional deities etc.
  • According to him, in the future, these two systems got mixed together and the regional deities were included with the deities of Vedic religion.
  • In this way many deities started in Hinduism.
  • Each region had its own regional deities which later became mainstream.

India and the Bhakti Movement

• Bhakti movement started in 6th century
• This was the period when many new ideologies and traditions emerged.
• The Bhakti movement in India is divided into two parts

Southern India and the Bhakti Movement

• The rise of sages in southern India after the 6th century
• They were mainly divided into two parts

  • Alwar

    • The Alvars mainly worshiped Vishnu.
    • their number was 12
    • Some of the main saints of these
      • Nammalwar
      • Tondradippodi
      • Andal
    • The book composed by him is called Nalayiradivyaprabandham .

  • Nayanar

    • used to be a devotee of Shiva
    • their number was 63
    • chief saint
      • great sabandar
      • beautiful
      • Karai Kaal Ammaiyar
    • The book composed by him is called Tavaram .

King and Saint

• The relationship between the king and the saints used to be good, one of the main reasons for this was the public.
• These saints were very much liked by the common people and they had many followers, that is why the kings also had a special inclination towards these saints.
• By supporting these saints, he could get the support of the general public.
• During their travels, these saints declared some holy places as the abode of God. Later, huge temples were built here by the kings and these places came to be considered as pilgrimage sites.
• Idols of these saints were also installed inside the temples by many kings.
• such as the temples of Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangekodacholapuram

Veer Shaivite Tradition

• Basa Vanna, a Brahmin from Karnataka, started a new movement in the 12th century.
• He was a believer of Jainism, but later he started opposing the Brahminical system and created a new system.
• He did the work of social reform and criticized all the evils present in the Brahmin system.
• His followers came to be known as Veerashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (bearing Linga).
• Shiva is worshiped by all of them in their linga form.
• In this community men keep the Linga in a small silver box and wear it on their left shoulder.

Lingayat ideology

• opposed to untouchability
• don’t believe in reincarnation
• opposition to caste system
• Prohibition of idol worship
• devotion to Shiva
• place in society on the basis of merit
• Arrangement for remarriage of widowed woman
• is buried at the funeral

North India and the Bhakti Movement

• During the 6th century, the region of northern India was divided into small states.
• Rajput’s ruled in these areas
• All these rulers lacked unity
• Due to which the rule of Muslim rulers was established in North India in future.
• On the one hand, where the Vedic religions Alvar and Nayanar were flourishing in South India, on the other hand Muslim rule emerged in North India.

North India and Muslim rule

• First Attack

  • The first Muslim invasion of India was done by Muhammad Qasim of Arabia in 711.
  • After this invasion, Mohammad Qasim won the Sindh part of India and conquered it.
  • established his rule
  • This was the first attack on India by Muslim rulers.

• Second Attack

  • After this Mohammad Ghaznavi (ruler of Afghanistan) attacked India in 1001. The main objective of his attack was to plunder this region.
  • Mohammad Ghaznavi attacked India 17 times and plundered India
  • For the 16th time when he was going back after looting India, the Jats located in present day Haryana and Uttar Pradesh together looted Mohammad Ghaznavi.
  • To avenge this incident, Mohammad Ghaznavi attacked India for the 17th time.

• Third Attack

  • Muhammad Ghori invaded India in 1191
  • There was a war between Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammad Ghori in the Tarain region.
  • Prithviraj Chauhan won in this war and Mohammad Ghori had to go back after defeating

• Beginning of Delhi Sultanate

  • Exactly 1 year after this war in 1192, Mohammad Ghori came back and defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and established his rule.
  • Mohammad Ghori had no son, that is why after his death his slave Qutbuddin Aibak became the ruler.
  • And in this way in 1206, the Delhi Sultanate and the slave dynasty started from here.

Delhi Sultanate

Slave Dynasty

• It was Qutbuddin Aibak who built the Qutub Minar in Delhi.
• After Qutbuddin Aibak, his slave Iltutmish became the next ruler because Qutbuddin Aibak also had no children.
• After Iltutmish his daughter Razia Sultan ruled the Delhi Sultanate
• This was followed by the decline of the slave dynasty and the beginning of the rule of the Khilji dynasty over the Delhi Sultanate.

Khilji Dynasty

• Alauddin Khilji was one of the main rulers of Khilji dynasty.
• The Tughlaq dynasty started after the fall of the Khilji dynasty.

Tughlaq Dynasty

• Its chief ruler was Mohammed bin Tughlaq.
• The last ruler of this dynasty was Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah Tughlaq.
• After the Tughlaq dynasty, the rule of the Sayyid dynasty was established over the Delhi Sultanate.

Sayyid Dynasty

• Its first ruler was Khizr Khan and last ruler was Alam Shah.
• After the fall of the Sayyid dynasty, the Lodi dynasty was established on the Delhi Sultanate.

Lodi dynasty

• It was started by Bahlul Lodi and its last ruler was Ibrahim Lodi.

Mughal Rule

• In 1526, the Mughal Empire was established by Babur by defeating Ibrahim Lodi and the Delhi Sultanate came to an end.
• Babur established the Mughal Empire in India
• Chief Ruler
  • Babar
  • Humayun
  • Akbar
  • Jahangir
  • Shahjahan
  • Aurangzeb
  • Bahadur Shah Zafar
• The Mughal Empire came to an end with the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Delhi Sultanate

Slave Dynasty

• Mohammad Ghori
• Qutbuddin aibak
• Iltutmish
• Razia Sultan

Khilji Dynasty

• Alauddin Khilji

Tughlaq Dynasty

• Mohammed bin Tughlaq
• Naseeruddin Nusrat Shah Tughlaq

Sayyid Dynasty

• khijar khan
• Allam Shah

Lodi dynasty

• Bahlul Lodi
• Ibrahim Lodi

Mughal rule

• Babar
• Humayun
• Akbar
• Jahangir
• Shahjahan
• Aurangzeb
• Bahadur Shah Zafar
• British rule
• free India

The Rise of Muslim Religion and Sufis

• Over time, the rise of Sufis in Islam
• Sufis were people who lived their life according to Sharia
  • Sharia is a Muslim scripture which describes the rules of Muslim religion.
• All these Sufis used to live in Khanqah (ashram)

Khanqah

• The khanqah was an ashram-like area where the sheikh (teacher) and his murid (followers) used to live.
• People used to come here to express their faith and fulfil their desires.
• The khanqah used to have a system of langar throughout the day, so that any visiting person could have food.
• People also used to come to the Khanqahs to make amulets etc.
• Silsila system was followed in these khanqahs.

Series Arrangement

• This system was a generational system of expansion of knowledge.
• Under this, the Prophet Muhammad was considered the main teacher.
• After him one of his disciples became a teacher and in the same way after the death of the teacher his disciple became a teacher.
  • The teacher in the khanqahs was also called sheikh, murshid or pir
  • His disciples were called Murids.
  • The followers were initiated by the sheikhs.
    • Whoever accepted the Muslim religion i.e., took initiation, he had to accept the main five things
    • Allah is God, Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,
    • It is necessary to read Namaz 5 times a day,
    • It is necessary to do Jamaat (Kharat / Donation Dakshina)
    • Fasting should be observed in Ramadan by all Muslims
    • Must visit Mecca
    • After the death of the pir, his dargah was made, at this dargah the fans of the pir used to worship him.

Types of Sufis

• There were mainly two types of Sufis in Muslim religion.

• Basaria :-

  • Those Sufis who lived according to Sharia and lived in khanqahs were called Basharias.

• Beshariya :-

  • Those Sufis who did not live in one place and roamed around and practiced religion and devotion through music and did not fully follow the laws of Sharia were called Beshariyas, they were called Qalandar, Madari or Hyderi.

Followers of Other Religions

• People of other religions living in their sultanate were charged a tax called Jaziya by Muslim rulers, this tax was because they followed some other religion than Muslim religion.
• Such people who followed a religion other than that of the king were called jimmies.

King and Sufi

• good relations between kings and Sufis
• Sufis were supported by all the kings
• Grants and assistance were also provided by the king.
• All this was due to the popularity of the Sufis among the general public.
• Donations were also given by the kings to the Sufis, which were later distributed among the poor by the Sufis.
• for example
  • Ajmer Dargah
    • This is the dargah of Sheikh Moinuddin Chishti
    • Sheikh Moinuddin was a very famous Sufi
    • His dargah was built on his Khanqah in Ajmer.
    • This is the beginning of the Chishti sequence.
    • This Dargah is also called Garib Nawaz
    • Its first building was built by Ghiyasuddin Khilji.
    • Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the first sultan who came to this dargah and Akbar visited this dargah about 14 times

Meera Bai

• Mirabai was born in Rajasthan
• His birth period was between 15th to 16th century.
• His father’s name was Ratan Singh.
• Mirabai was absorbed in the devotion of Shri Krishna since childhood and she accepted him as her only husband.
• Against their wishes, Meerabai was married into the Sisodia clan of Mewar, but she refused to fulfil all her obligations.
• Once an attempt was made to poison her by her in-laws, but that poison did not have any effect on her.
• To get rid of worldly bondage and openly worship Krishna, Meerabai ran away from the Raj Bhavan and became a wandering singer.
• He renounced all the pleasures of the royal palace and lived like a sanyasi wearing a white sari.
• Mirabai wrote many songs to express her feeling.
• Mirabai opposed the caste system, her guru was also Raidas ji, who was a tanner i.e. belonged to the lower caste.

Guru Nanak

• Guru Nanak was born in Nankana village of Punjab
• He was born in a Hindu family and got married at a young age.
• He spent most of his life among Sufi and devout saints and travelled across the country.
• He called God as Rab and preached Nirguna Bhakti.
• Completely rejecting Hindu Muslim religion and their customs and the way of doing devotion is called remembrance and chanting of the name
• Nanak ji used to express his thoughts through Shabad in Punjabi language, he used to sing this shabad in different ragas and his servants used to support him by playing Mardana Rabab.
• After Guru Nanak, his follower Angad attained the position of Guru.

Sikhism

• Chief Master
  • Guru Nanak
  • Guru Angad
  • Guru Amar Das
  • Guru Ramdas
  • Guru Arjun Dev
  • Guru Hargobind
  • guru harrai
  • Guru Harkishan
  • Guru Tegh Bahadur
  • Guru Gobind Singh

Guru Granth Sahib

• A scripture was created by the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Arjun Dev, by collecting the words of Guru Nanak and his four successors, Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir ji, it was called Adi Granth Sahib.
• The compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur were also included in the Adi Granth Sahib by Guru Gobind Singh in the 17th century and came to be called the Guru Granth Sahib.

Establishment of Khalsa Panth

• Khalsa Panth means army of the holy
• This army was established due to the cruel policies of Aurangzeb.
• He was beheaded by Aurangzeb for not accepting Islam by Guru Tegh Bahadur.
• For this reason, Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth to avoid the cruel policies of Aurangzeb and to maintain Sikhism.
• There are five main symbols

1. uncut hair

2. Saber

3. Briefs

4. Comb

5. Iron skillet

Kabir

• It is believed that Kabir was given birth in Varanasi by a widowed woman.
• But being a widow, Kabir’s mother left her near the same Lahartara river.
• He was then raised by a weaver couple, Neeru and Neema.
• Kabir described the ultimate truth through his creations, he described God as formless and supported monotheism
• Ramanand is considered the Guru of Kabir.
• Kabir’s voice has been kept in a book called Bijak, many of his verses are also included in Guru Granth Sahib.
• Bijak is preserved in Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh by Kabirpanthis

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