Medieval India

Primary source: record left by participant or witness

Secondary account: written by someone with secondhand knowledge

Regional Development in Medieval India

• consolidation of regional kingdoms

• regional languages

• regional cultures

• religious development

Bhakti (Devotional Religion)

• adoration of the deity via mystical, personal approach

• Bhagavadgita (1^st c): Krishna to Arjuna

He who loves me will not perish . . . think of me, love me, give sacrifices to me, honor me, and you will be one with me.

• early Siva devotee (6^th c):

While Indra, Vishnu and Brahma and all the other gods have to live up in heaven in order to get a glimpse of Shiva he has come down to this earth, he has come to me who is of no use, he has shown his great love for me as only a mother would do. He has made my body as soft and tender as wax and has put an end to all my deeds, whether I was born as an elephant or as a worm. He came like honey and milk, like sugarcane, he came as a king who gives precious gifts and he has graciously accepted my service as his slave.

Islam

• first appears in South Asia in 8^th c

• first Muslim rulers arrive in 12^th/13^th c

• jihad: everyday struggle to be good Muslim

• Allah = “god”

Zoroastrians (Parsis)

• arrive in India around 10^th c

• today, influential but dying community

Sufism

• melds Islamic teachings with elements of Hindu devotionalism

• ecstatic personal worship of a god

• often mediated through pir (holy person or saint)

Sikhism

• founded 16^th c, in N India (Punjab), by Guru Nanak

• rejects many Hindu and Islamic teachings (idols, priests, pilgrimages, caste, etc)

Theme: constant change and mutual influence of religions and cultures

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