Page 128 - Eye of the beholder

BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN IN IN MEDIEVAL INDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON ON MINIATURE TRADITION
The revival of of Vaishnavism and the rise of of Bhakti cult became instrumental in in in Indian miniatures acquiring rich and diverse content content which was inspired by the literary content content that arose out of the the the Bhasha or or literature written in the the the Matru [mother tongue] or or vernacular language The new bhasas expressed regional aspirations in in protest against the hegemony of Sanskrit or Deva bhasah and the the the culture developed through it In In the the the North of India the the the regional dialects known as as as the the Apabhramsa asserted as as as independent languages Consequently the the Indo-Aryan dialect in in in in the the East split into Bangla and Oriya in in in in 10th century with the the former giving birth to to Assamiya in in in 13th century century Sindhi and Punjabi in in in 15th century century The western Apabhramsa of the Indo-Aryan distributed itself into Hindi Hindi in in in in in 13th century century Gujarati and Marathi in in in in in the 11th century century Hindi Hindi also interacted with Islamic languages Persian and Arabic which was spoken in in India from 11th to 19th centuries Urdu developed in the 13th century as a a a a a a a language of of military camps of of Arabic soldiers in in Gulbarga in in South India which later became a a a a a a a a a a great literary language Bhakti as a a a a a a a religious concept meant devotional surrender to a a a a a a a personally conceived God for attaining salvation The origin of this doctrine has been traced to both the Brahmanical and Buddhist traditions of ancient India and to various scriptures such as as the the Gita It was for the the first time in South India between the seventh and tenth century C E that Bhakti grew from a a a a a a a mere religious religious doctrine into a a a a a a a popular movement based on religious religious equality and broad- based social participation The movement which was led by popular saint-poets reached its climax in in the tenth century after which it it began to decline But it it was revived as as a a a a a a a philosophical and and ideological movement by a a a a a a a a series of wandering scholars or acharyas beginning with Ramanujam in the eleventh century The Saiva Nayanmars and Vaishnava Alvars saints of of South India spread the doctrine of of Bhakti among different sections of of the the society irrespective of of caste and ' sex during the the period between the the the the seventh and the the the the tenth century Some of these saints came from the the the the "lower" castes and and some were women The saint-poets preached Bhakti in in in an an an an intense emotional manner and and promoted religious egalitarianism or classlessness They dispensed with rituals and traversed the region singing dancing and and advocating Bhakti The Alvars and and Nayanmars saints used the the Tamil language and and not Sanskrit for preaching and and composing devotional songs All these features gave the movement a a a a a a popular character The South Indian Bhakti saints were critical of Buddhists and Jains who enjoyed a a a a a a a privileged status at at at at the courts of of South Indian kings at at at at that time They won over many adherents of of Buddhism and and Jainism both of which by now had become rigid and and formal religions At the same time however these poet-saints resisted the the the authority of the the the orthodox Brahmans by making Bhakti accessible to all without any caste and sex discrimination But the South Indian Bhakti movement had its limitations as well It never consciously opposed Brahmanism or the Varna and and caste caste systems at at the the the social level It was integrated with the the the caste caste system system and and the the the "lower" castes continued to suffer from various social disabilities There was no elimination of Brahmanical rituals such as as worship of of idols recitation of of the Vedic mantras and pilgrimages to sacred places in spite of of the the emphasis on Bhakti as as the the superior mode of of worship The Buddhists and Jains were its main targets not the Brahmins 122