Medieval Indian Culture

3/12/2016
Evernotesharednotebook:newspaperculture
MedievalIndianCulture
Friday,July42014,4:12PM
The13th&14thCenturies
Persian/ArabicLiterature
1.Poetry was a popular form. Amir Khusrau and Amir Hassan were great poets. They also wrote
qawwalisandcreatedanewIndianstyleofpoetryandistheoriginatorofHindustanimusic.
2.Historywritingwasanotherpopulartrend.Barni,Afif,Sirajetc.
3.Bookswewritten,speciallydictionaries,withpaintedillustrations.
PersianvsArabicHistoriography
2.analyticaltype.keepinmindthathistoriographyisthestudyofhowhistoryiswritten.itisthestudyofall
aspectsofwritinghistory.goingbythisdefinition.....volumewisearabichistoryworksarelessvoluminous,
persianmore.reason,persianhadbeenthecourtlanguageofmedievalrulers.whateverwaswrittenin
arabicwasbytravelersbeforedelhisultanate,byreligiousscholars,arabimmigrantstoindia.(listhere
famousexamples )perspectivesarabichistorianswerenotsympathetictohindutraditionsandculture.
mostoftheworkswrittenbyreligiousscholars,immigrantscarrythattingeoffanaticismandsuperiority
complexwithrespecttoindiaingeneralandhindusinparticular.persianmoresympatheticastheywere
writtenbythosewhosettledhereandnonreligioushistorians.contentandstylenodifferencesthati
knowof.standardmuslimstylehistoricalwritingwithplentyofallusionstoreligiousterms.veryfewwere
objective.mostofthemwerewrittentopraisetheirpatrons.eulogiesandexaggerations.politicalhistory,
culturalhistory,economichistory,militaryhistoryetcwerethegenres.
methodsofstudybothreliedongeneralobservations,litterarysourceswrittenbeforethemintheirlanguages.very
less or no importance was given to numismatics, inscriptions, archaeological sources, nonarabic and nonpersian
literature.
AlUtbi'sKitabiYamini
1.HehimselfwasSecretarytotheSultanMahmud.Hethusplayedanimportantroleinthegovernment
atGazni,andnodoubthadfirsthandknowledgeofmanyoftheeventshedescribed,atleastthose
thattookplaceinthecapital.HisworkcoverstheentirereignofthefirstsultanofGazniNasiruddin
Subuktgin,andofhissonMahmuduptotheyear410H.(1020CE).AsthefounderoftheGhaznivite
dynasty,SubuktiginplayedanextremelyimportantroleinthehistoryofIndiaandCentralAsia.
2.DespitehisproximitytoSultanMahmud,AlUtbiseemstohavelittleornodirectknowledgeofIndia.
He seems to have little knowledge of Indian topography and his statements regarding localities and
placenamesareunreliable.NoIndianwordsappearinhistextasidefromRai.
3.His numerous incursions into India were largely raids designed to capture spoil in material wealth,
slavesandlivestock.HeisportrayedasazealousMuslimeagertodestroy"idoltemples",butthiswas
probablyjustificationforpillage,sincetheseactivitiescontravenedtheearlierArabpolicyofgranting
HindusandBuddhistsprotecteddhimmistatus.
MinhajusSiraj'sTabakatiNasiri
(a)Motivationbehindwriting
1.Minhaj served in very high posts in his career. He was very close to the sultans.Thus his interests
werecompletelyalignedwiththeinterestsofthesultanatei.e.topreserveandestablishstronglythe
Turkishrule.
2.Another motivation definitely would be to please the sultan and he worked under many sultans. But
thiswasaminormotivationonlyashedidn'tdependonwritingtoearnhislivelihood.
3.By glorifying the western connections of Islam he sought to inspire the muslims as well which was
neededastheywerefacinganumberofchallengesinthatage.
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(b)Importance
1.Duetohisproximitytothesultansthevalueofhisworkgoesupbecauseitreflectsthethoughtsofa
person whose interests were completely aligned with that of the Turkish rule and who was actively
helpingthesultansinpreservingandestablishingtherule.
2.The sultanate was in a nascent and insecure stage then. The sultan was trying to establish his
legitimacy and authority and for this he had even sought investiture from the Caliph. In his work
MinhajtriestoestablishthehistoricallinksoftheSultanatewithWesternAsianIslamandcoversthis
inhisinitialchaptersitself.
3.By glorifying the western connections of Islam he sought to inspire the muslims as well which was
neededastheywerefacinganumberofchallengesinthatage.
4.His interests were in the preservation and propagation of Turkish rule and his writings reflect the
insecurityoftheage.Hedidn'tcarewhowasthesultansolongastherulewaspreserved.Thushe
praised each and every sultan very highly despite the fact that he may have violently replaced the
previoussultan.Forthesamereasonhekeepsabalancebetweenallsultans.
5.Wherehedepartsfromtheotherwritersofhisagewashecoverednotjustthehistoryofhissultan
butalsotheentirehistoryofIslam.
6.Becausehewaswritingahistoryofalongperioditwasnecessaryforhimtodrawupontheworksof
otherscholars.Whereverhefinds2conflictingopinionshementionsbothwithsourcesalongwiththe
oneheacceptsandthereasonsfordoingso.Forhisownperiodhereliesonhisownexperiencesor
thoseofwitnesses.
7.Hegivesanindiscriminatereligioustonetohiswork.HealmostabsentmindedusestermslikeIslamic
armies and devil's armies to describe wars even if they were between two muslim rulers only. By
doingthishemerelyshowedwherehissympathylay.Thistellsusabouttheeducationalsystemofthe
day because he was a product of an educational system which was highly religious and used only
religiousterms.
8.His bias against Hindus can be seen only when he describes the conflicts. Otherwise he ignores it
whentheyposenothreattothesultanate.Thisclearlyreflectstheattitudeofthesultanaterulersas
well who used religion to achieve their goals in the conflict situations only and otherwise were
indifferent in all practical purposes. In many instances Minhaj goes ignores the uncomfortable
religiousaspectsofaproblemaswellifitrancountertohisobjectives.Thisattitudewasreflectedin
thesultansaswell.
(c)Limitations
1.He remained confined to the ruling and elite class only. But this tells us about the nature of state
systeminthosedays.
(d)ComparisonwithBarani
1.Minhajcomesacrossasascholarwholivedinaturbulentphaseonewheretherulers'concernwas
the preservation of their rule and for which they had to make many compromises and even shift
goalposts i.e. be practical. We cannot expect him to be driven by any particular ideology or political
leaning.Institutionswerefluidandsituationwasdynamicandonehadtobeverycareful.ByBarani's
time the institutions had stabilized, self preservation was no longer the overriding objective and one
couldsticktoanideology.Tensionswereemergingbetweentheseinstitutionsandthisisreflectedin
Barani'swritingsaswell.
2.Minhaj writes in detail about different amirs in different areas and thus many of the events are
repeated. Barani on the other hand focuses on the events of only one area and writes period wise.
ThusthereisnorepetitioninBarani.
3.Minhaj mostly chronologically lists various events and doesn't analyzes the trends, elements of
continuity/discontinuityandthereasonsthereof.Baranitriestoanalyzesomeaspectortheotherat
theendofeachchapterforinstancehoweachsultanviewedpunishmentas.
4.Minhaj doesn't tell us about the problems faced by the sultans. Barani tells us how Balban
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strengthened his position, how sultanate changed under Khaljis, how mongol threat changed the
natureofsultanateunderAlauddin.
ZiauddinBarani(TarikhiFiruzshahi&FatwaiJahandari)
(a)Motivationsbehindwriting
1.Baranihimselfwritesthathehopedthathisworkwillhelpotherslearnfrompastmistakes.Heclaims
hewasrepentfulfornotcriticizingMbTwhenitmattered.Bythiswork,hehoped,peoplewilllearnand
notcommitthesamemistakes.
2.ButinrealityhehadfallenoutoffavorofthenewsultanFiruzandwasevenimprisoned.Firuzhad
outlook which ran contrary to MbT in many ways and hence Barani was writing to please him and
earnfavor.
(b)Importance
1.His work doesn't just reflect his own thinking but tells us about the views of the educational system
andtheparticularsectionofmaulvis.ThesemaulvisreliedonextremistformofIslamtopreservetheir
existence in polity.They expected the sultan to consult them on even political matters and this kept
theirimportanceintact.ButunderMbTthedominanceofmaulvishadreduceddrasticallyashehadto
makemanycompromisestopropagateandstrengthenhisruleinIndiawhichincludedappointmentof
evenHindustohighofficesandnotconsultingthemaulvisinpoliticalmatters.Theywerethusfearful
oflosingpowerinthepoliticsoftheage.Thisisreflectedinthework.
2.ThusheprescribesthatthesultanmusttakestepstopropagateIslam,punishnonmuslims,impose
shariatandgivemoreauthoritytomenof(muslim)religion.
3.By his time the sense of insecurity in the sultanate was over and the sultans were well established.
Therewasnoneedtodrawlegitimacyformthewesternconnectionsanymore(infactdelhiwasthe
solesurvivingmuslimsultanate).Sultanatehadnoconnectionsleftwiththewest.SoBaranimakesno
attempttodraworiginfromwestandmerelycarriesforwardfromMinhaj.HefocusesonlyonIndia.
4.Barani's work and views expressed reflect the insecurity of his class in that age. Being a Turk or a
high born was no longer considered enough to qualify for a high post! This class was facing
competition from the educated Indians. One had to have qualities also to succeed. Barani and his
class obviously resented it and in his work he criticizes the low born, prescribes they shouldn't be
giveneducationneitheremployedinstateservice.Inanidealmuslimworldallhigherbornwillhave
assuredhereditaryhighoffices.
5.Baranirepresentedaclassofnobleswhodependedonlandandthesurplusextractedfortheirwell
being.Thushewasalsoverycriticalofmerchantsandtradersandprescribedthatthestateshould
ensuretheydon'taccumulatewealth.
6.He obviously hated Hindus because of both his education and the fact that many of them were
employedinhigherpostsandwerericherthanhim(whowaslanguishinginjail).Soheisverycritical
ofhighlyplacedhindusandignoresthepoorhindusasheignorespoormuslims.
7.Barani tries to analyze some aspect or the other at the end of each chapter for instance how each
sultan viewed punishment as. He tells us how Balban strengthened his position, how sultanate
changedunderKhaljis,howmongolthreatchangedthenatureofsultanateunderAlauddin.
(c)Limitations
1.HisworkFatwaiJahandariisnotahistoricalworkatall.Baranihaspresentedhisownviewsinform
of Mahmud Gazni's lessons to his sons. Moreover the historical events presented (from Gazni's
tongue)areofdoubtfulhistoricnature.ThebookisjustareflectionofBarani'sownthoughtsonhow
thingsshouldbe.
2.Barani tries to mention many sources but fails to bring them out clearly. Moreover if any fact was
convenient for him and supported his views he would claim it had come from a god fearing muslim
andhecouldthustakeitonitsfacevalue.
3.InTarikhiFiruzshahiherarelymentionsanychronologyandwhereverhedoesthatitisofdoubtful
nature. Perhaps it was due to the fact he was writing from jail and thus had to rely mostly on his
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memory.
4.Hisbookisabundleofexaggerationsandhecontaminatesmanycharacters.
ShamsiSirajAfif:TarikhiFiruzshahi
(a)Motivationsbehindwriting
1.HewasclearlynottryingtopleaseFiruzbecauseFiruzhaddiedbythetime.Hewaswritinginatime
whensultanatehaddisintegrated,anarchyprevailedalloverandTimurhadplunderedDelhi.Sohe
wastryingtorecollecttheoldgloriousdays.Hemissesthepastinlightofhispresentandthatiswhy
hetriestopaintaprosperousandpeacefulpictureofolddays.
(b)Importance
1.Hiswritingreflectstheanarchiststateofaffairsofhistimeandhowhetriedtojustifyeachandevery
actofFiruzinordertoportrayapastthatwasgloriousandsorelymissed.
2.InhisattempttoportrayFiruz'sreignasoneoftotalpeaceandprosperityandunderagreatking,he
tells unintentionally us about Firuz's weaknesses. On his part he merely focuses on positives and
presentstheweaknessesasiftheyappearhisstrength.Hedidn'ttrytohidefactsbecausehadthis
beenthecasehewouldhavenotevenmentionedtheweaknesses.Examplesarethefamousbribe
caseandthemilitarydefeats.
3.Hedidn'tcomefromaverywelltodofamilylikeBarani.Soheisfreefromhisbiases.Hedidn'thave
anystrongideologicalleaningsMoreoverhewritesinaverysimplelanguage.
4.HeisalsofreefromtheantihindubiasesofBaraniandMinhaj(probablybecausehewasfreefrom
theextremistatmosphereinhisupbringinglikethemandalsobecausethemuslimsoftheagedidn't
face any threat from hindus they were ravaged by mongols). Though he praises Firuz's act of
burningabrahmanandimposingjiziyabutthatisapartofhisgeneralattempttoportrayFiruzasa
greatkingandhisreignasagoldenage.
5.Comingfromacommonerbackgroundwefindhemovesbeyondthesultanandhisdurbarinhiswork
andtalksabouttheproblemsfacedbythecommoners.
IbnBatuta'sRehela
1.Itisnotareliablesourceatall.Itisinterestingonlybecauseitthrowssomelightonthesociopolitical
eventsoftheage.ButthewriteriscompletelybiasedagainstMbT.
2.Moreoverhisdescriptionofplacesandthingsdoesn'thaveanydepthandhesimplybrieflydescribes
thinswithoutdoinganyresearch.
AmirKhusrau
1.AmirKhusrautooktheliteraturefromelitestothecommoners.Hewrotenumerouspopularpuzzlesin
aformwhichisenjoyabletocommonpeople.Thiswasperhapsbecausehewasveryclosetosufis
andhenceinfluencedbythemandalsocontributedtotheircause.Thushiswritingsareareflectionof
sufimovement.
2.Hewasapoetandnotahistorian.Whateverhistoryhewrotewaseitheroninstanceofthesultans
(whoeventoldhimthetopicsonwhichtowriteabout)ortopleasethem.Evenwhilewritinghistoryhis
focuswasonthepoeticaspectandnothistoricaltruth.
3.HisfirstworkwasKiranusSaden(1289)whichwaswrittentopleaseBugraKhanandhissonKakui
Bad.Inthishetellsusaboutdelhi,itsbuildings,durbar,sociallifeofamirsetc.andhishatredtowards
mongols.Naturallyhisfocuswasonthepoeticaspect.
4.His second work was MiftahulFutuh (1291) in which he praised Jalaluddin and his military
campaignsagainstMalikChajju,againstRanthamboreetc.
5.KhwajainulFutuhorTarikhiAlahiwaswritteninahighlyornatestyleanddescribedthefirst15years
ofhisreign.Althoughitisagainmoreofapoeticworkitshistoricalsignificancecomesfromthefact
thatitistheonlycontemporarysourcewehave.ThisbookdescribesmilitarycampaignsofAlauddin
andMalikKafurandpresentsabeautifuldescriptionofthephysicalandculturalgeographyofIndia.
6.His next work is Ashika which talks of Alauddin's son Khijr Khan's desire for princess of Gujarat
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Devalrani.GedescribesthecampaignslaunchedtogetherandalsothegeographyofIndia.
7.InhisworkSipiharhepraisesMubarakKhalji.
8.HisstrongpointisthathehasgivenalotofdatesandingeneralheismoretrustworthythanBarani.
His writings also highlights the social conditions prevailing in the age something most historians of
theagecouldn'tdo.Hetellsusaboutthepeople,theirdances,songs,settlements,professionsetc.
AlBerouni'sKitabulHind
(a)Motivationbehindwriting
1.SomescholarsbelievethathesympathizedwithIndiansbecauseMahmudhadplunderedhisnative
placetoolikeIndia.HencehewassosympathetictoIndiancause.
2.Inrealityhewasmotivatedbypurescientificandintellectualcuriosity.HewantedtounderstandIndian
philosophical, religious and scientific thought. He analyzed everything that came across him in a
criticalandscientificmannerandpresentedhisanalysisinanunbiasedmanner.
(b)Importance
1.InhisquesthefoundthatmostoftheinformationhecameacrossaboutIndiaisbasedonsecondary
sources only. He realized that second hand information is invariably corrupted as it passes from
people to people. Hence he was driven to find the original sources and hence he began to learn
Sanskrit and collect ancient Indian texts. He referred to works of Varahmihira, Aryabhatta,
Brahmagupta,PatanjaliaswellasBhagwadGita,VishnuPurana,VaayuPurana.
2.For this he also consulted many brahmans of the age whenever he needed some help in proper
interpretation.
3.He had a completely scientific outlook and an unbiased opinion. So religious conventions couldn't
corrupthim.
4.Wherever he feels his understanding and knowledge is lacking he accepts it without hesitation. He
mentions it clearly wherever he had to rely on sources without testing for their authenticity or
secondarysources.
5.He describes Indian society, culture, festivals, dress, food, entertainment, scientific thought,
philosophical thought etc. in great detail. He describes the weights and measures used in India,
distances,geographicalfeatures,alphabetetc.prevailinginIndia.Notonlydoeshemerelydescribe
thembutalsocriticallyanalyzesthem.Hetalksofthelegalsystemasmentionedinthescripturesand
highlights how the prevailing system differed from it. Weavers were low even among the outcastes
wholivedonlyoutsidethevillagesandtowns.HetellsusthatBuddhismwasnottobeseenanywhere
and he had only heard about it. He tells us about the influence of Bhakti by recognizing a firm
monotheisminNIndia.
6.He expresses regret that Indians had abandoned the scientific outlook of their ancestors and had
relapsed into stagnation in mind and in thought. Instead of keeping their minds open and learning
fromothersastheirancestorsdidtheynowreliedonlyontraditions.
(c)Limitations
1.Hisworkismostlylimitedtotheintellectualclassoftheagewhichwasobviousgivenhismethodology.
Heholdsignorantpeopleinverylowesteem.
HindiLiterature
1.Parochial / feudal outlook: After the fall of the Gupta empire the political landscape had become
increasingly fragmented and the land based feudal system which developed encouraged a local
parochialoutlook.Wecanseethisclearlyintheliteratureoftheage.
2.Stagnation in the society: The society had shut its mind towards embracing new ideas and
encouraging original thinking. We find a similar trend in the literature as it became void of fresh
outlookandcontinuedonestablishedthemesonly.
3.Phasesofhindiliterature:(a)ancientphase(adikaal):reflectsthefeudalorderoftheday,(b)bhakti
phase(bhaktikaal):reflectstheimpactofbhaktimovementsoftheday,(c)reetikaal:afterthebhakti
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phasewhenthezamindariandjagirdarisystemsreturnedwithnewvigoralongwiththepresenceof
romanticism.
Phase1:Ancientphase/AdiKaal/VeerGathaPhase(814centAD)
(a)RasoLiterature
1.Itwascalledveergathaphaseearlierbecausethefirstliteraturefoundcomprisedalmostexclusively
ofthewritingsofthecourtpoetsglorifyingthebraveryoftheirrulingmastersinordertopraisethem.
They often were full of exaggerations. Examples are Prithviraj Raso, Parmal Raso (Alha and Udal),
Beesaldev Raso (love affair of Ajmer ruler Beesaldev and Malwa princess Rajmati). In addition to
glorifyingtheirbraverythepoetsalsoglorifiedtheirloveaffairswithbeautifulprincessesoftheage.
2.Reflectionoffeudalisticorderandparochialoutlook:Theliteraturewasfullofpraiseforthelocalrulers
andhowtheyfoughtotherlocalrulers.Theyleftnowordsunwritteninthepraiseoftheirlocallords
andridiculingtheotherchiefs.Theiraimwasnottopresenthistoricalfactsbuttoglorifytheirmasters.
Byglorifyingwarsandfeudstheyplayedanimportantroleinpromotingregionalrivalryanddisturbed
nationalunity.
3.Reflectionofcherishedidealsinthesociety:Braveryandlove.Fightingwarswasnoble.Thesewars
werefoughtsolelyforpersonalreasonsoftherulersbeitvengeanceortogetaprincessorsimplyto
displayone'sbraveryandneverfortheinterestsofthestate.Theyconsiderabravewarriortobethe
mostnobleperson.
4.Reflection of poor status of women in the society: The way they focus solely on the beauty of the
princesswhileglorifyingtheloveaffairsoftheirmasterstellsusthatwomenweretreatedmerelyas
anobjectofconsumption.Womenwereexpectedtoperformjauharandsati.Theyhadnoexistence
oftheirown.
5.Reflection of lack of law and order and peace in the society: They glorify wars on the other chiefs.
They glorify violence and mention the insecurity of common people specially if they had any
valuables.
6.Reflection of the state system: The rulers had no concern whatsoever with the welfare of their
subjects.Theymerelycollectedtaxesandfoughtwarsandwereconcernedwiththeirowngloryand
welfareonly.
7.Reflectionofgrowthofregionaldialects:ManyoftheseworksuseamixedformofregionalRajasthani
dialectsastyleoftencalledpinglestyle.
(b)SiddhLiterature
1.It reflects the contemporary religious and cultural life very well. It was written for the propagation of
Vajrayan buddhist sect in eastern India in the local languages. This literature tells us about the
changeswhichhadoccurredinthebuddhistreligionovertheages.
2.They criticize complex rituals, traditionalism, extremism and advocate a simple life. They show a
dominance of mystic ideas in their thoughts. At the same time they also advocate continuation of
grihastalife.
(c)JainLiterature
1.ItflourishedinwesternIndiaintheformofpoeticliteratureinlocallanguages.Forthepoeticformitis
also called Raas literature. It comprises of the poems which were sung in the jain temples by the
worshippers.
2.They told us about the contemporary feuds etc. but their main aim remained to emphasize the
principlesofnonviolenceenshrinedintheJainreligion.ChandanBalaRaasisafamouswork.
(d)NathLiterature
1.It emerged in eastern India as a reaction to Siddh literature. While the Siddh literature believed in
continuation of normal married life the Nath sect opposed consummation. It was advocated by
GorakhnathandMatsyendranath.
2.Theybelievedinausteritiesandselfcontrol.Theyidealizedamanwhodoesn'tgetdeviatedfromhis
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pathdespitebeingsurroundedbyalltemptations.Ithaselementsofmysticisminit.
(e)MaterialLiterature(LaukikLiterature)
1.Romanticliterature:ItsmainworksareJaichandraPrakash,JaiMayankChandrikaandVasantVilas.
Theirmainemphasiswasonexpressingthefeelingsofheart,descriptionofwomenetc.
2.Literature for commoners:Amir Khusrau took the literature from elites to the commoners. He wrote
numerouspopularpuzzlesinaformwhichisenjoyabletocommonpeople.
Phase2:BhaktiPhase(1416centAD)
1.Different provincial rulers began to patronize music. Due to the fusion of IndoIslamic music, khyal
styleemerged.Textswerewrittenonthismusicwhichformedapartofthebhaktiliterature.
2.Thisperiodwasaperiodofgrowingregionalismanddecliningcentralauthority.Thiswasreflectedin
therapidgrowthofregionallanguagesaswellwhichbecamefullydevelopedinthisperiod.Similarly
newstylesofliteratureemergedindifferentpartsandattainedmaturity.Thistrendisreflectedinthe
bhaktiperiodliterature.
3.Bhakti movement sought to involve more people with it and to awaken them. This led to the
development of literature for people instead of the literature for the elites as in the previous raso
literature.
4.Bhakti and sufi movement led to spread of communal harmony. This effort can be seen in the
literatureaswell.
5.Bhakti movement drew from the basic tenants of upanishads and vedas but was progressive in its
outlookandhumanistincharacter.Thiscanbedirectlyseeninitsliteratureaswell.
6.The nirgun literature can be divided into two one emphasizing knowledge (like kabir, nanak, dudu
dayal) emphasized on the greatness of the teacher. It was more radical, egalitarian, assimilatory,
vocalintheircriticismoftraditionalritualsandclosertothemasses.Theothertypeofnirgunliterature
emphasizedonlove(sufis,chandayan,mrigavati,padmavat)whichpreachedmonotheismandtried
to bring hindus and muslims closer. It was romantic in nature with God as the love object. They
believedbylovingGodwecaneliminatealldifferences.TheyportrayGodasawomanandsoulasa
man.
7.ThesagunliteraturecanbedividedintotwoonedevotedtoRama(tulsidas,ramanand)andother
devoted to Krishna (mira, surdas). They use a highly poetic literature which could be sung in the
temples.
Phase3:TraditionalPhase/RitiPhase(Mughals)
1.UndertheMughalswesawtheemergenceofatrulycompositerulingclasswhichincludedHindusas
well.WecanseetheimpactintheliteratureofthetimeasitcameclosertotheIslamicliterature.We
can see the descriptions of the dresses, attitude and practices, subjects etc. all in a way which
indicated that both communities had come closer to each other. Thus the protagonists of hindi
literature now freely wore dresses made of fine silk and muslin, used arabic perfumes, engaged in
entertainment like the mughal rulers, their durbars, various practices became more like mughals.
EventhereligioussubjectslikeKrishnaandRadhaareportrayedinanintenselyromanticandplayful
manner and wearing muslim costumes. There is a clear departure from the traditional focus on
spiritualism and devotion towards worldly pleasures. There is increased focus on wealth, wine and
women.
2.UnderAkbarwefindmanymuslimwriterslikeRahim,RaskhancomposinginHindiwhilemanyHindi
worksbeingtranslatedintoPersian.AnewupanishadcalledAllahoupanishadwasevencomposed.
Weseethatthewriterswhotriedtopreachcommunalismcouldnotfindanypopularityinthisage.
3.With respect to women, the literature clearly shows them as an object of to be enjoyed as against
their depiction as goddesses, mothers etc. earlier. Even characters like Sita and Radha were no
longer objects of worship but the focus was on their body and makeup and they were treated as
objectsofconsummation.
4.Thuswecanseeacleardeclineofbhaktispiritintheliteratureofthisageandinsteadbeingreplaced
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byconsumptionwhichwasalsothesocialundercurrentastherulingclass(whoweretheaudienceof
suchliterature)believedinconsumptiononly.Thusthisliteraturecanalsobecalledasclassliterature.
In opposition to this there was a minor strand of mass literature specially coming from sufi saints of
the age like Mira etc. which opposed worldly consumption. We can also see a strand of literature
emphasizingonmoralsintheformofdohasofRahimetc.
5.Just like the ruling class was separate from and unmindful of the problems of the masses the class
literaturealsoignoresthemassesandfocusesonlyonthelifestyleoftherulers.Wecanalsoseea
clearmovementtowardsattributingdivineassociationtotheemperorsandkingsaswasemphasized
bytheMughals.
SanskritLiterature
Kalhana'sRajtarangini
(a)WhywassuchaworkwrittenonlyinKashmir?
1.Some scholars believe that Kashmir because of being cutoff from rest of India and its distinct
geographical setup was able to maintain a separate cultural identity.Thus regional loyalty was very
stronginKashmir.MoreoverithadconstantinteractionwiththeBuddhistsinTibetandChinaaswell
as with CentralAsia. Such places had a strong tradition of historiography and hence the work was
writteninKashmir.
2.ButitmustberecognizedthatinthatperiodentireIndiawasfragmentedintonumerouslocalitiesand
under feudal system. Regional outlook was strong everywhere. Such attempts to write on regional
historiescameupeverywherebutwhatmakeKalhana'sworkuniquewasitssenseofhistory.
3.Kalhanawasdifferentfromotherrasowritersinthesensethatheprobablydidn'thavethepatronage
ofanyruler.Thatswhyhisworkcouldriseabovethepettynatureofhiscontemporaries.
(b)Motivationsforwriting
1.Hewritesinthekavyastyleinordertomakeitinterestingtothereader.Thoughheensurescreativity
in his writing yet he never loses sight of his main goal vis to write historical truths as seen by him.
Thushemaintainedhisobjectivityinmostmatters.
2.Hewaswritinginaveryturbulentperiod.Harsha'sreignhadendedandtherewerelotsofwarsand
strugglesaround.Hewantedtowriteimpartiallysoastopresentfactsbeforepeopleandmakethem
learnfromtheirmistakes.
(c)Importance
1.He mentions his sources in detail. He mentions the 11 scholars who gave him the family tree of
Kashmir rulers. He mentions the legends, myths, folklore etc. wherever he had to rely on it. But his
strongest point is he relies on inscriptions in the temples, land grant inscriptions etc. and mentions
themclearly.
2.His work is divided into 8 parts. First 3 cover history of more than 3000 years which mainly rely on
Puranasandlegends.Hisrealhistoriographybeginsfrom4thpartandin46hecoverstheKarkota
andUtpalrulers.Forthesepartshereliesoninscriptionsaswellasbuddhisttexts.In7and8thpart
hecoverstheLoharadynasty.
3.Inthebeginninghecomesacrossasamerepresenterofvariousfolklore.Therewasnoattemptof
anyanalysis.Butaswecomeclosertohisperiodwecanclearlyseethecriticalanalysisdonebyhim.
Thisexpresseshisviewsclearlyonmattersaswellascontemporaryrealities.ForinstanceKashmir
wentthroughaveryturbulentphasepostHarsha.Localfeudalelementshadbecomeverystrongand
therewasanarchy.Sohesaysthatakingshouldbestrongsothathecancontroltheaffairsofthe
kingdomefficiently.Heshouldmakesurethatnooneineventheremotestvillagehassufficientwealth
leftwithhimsothathecouldeventhinkofposingachallengetotheking.Hewritesthatthefeudal
elements derive their strength from the vast amount of land they hold. He criticizes kayasthas and
bureaucratsandaccusesthemofharboringtreacherousintentionsagainstthekings.Heneverpaints
anybodyinfullwhiteorblackandimpartiallytellsusabouthisstrengthsaswellasweaknesses.
4.Ittellsusaboutotherrealitiesofthesociallifeaswell.Hementionsveryproudlythathebelongedtoa
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brahmanfamily.Thesocietyhadrichwhofedonfriedmeatanddrankperfumedcoolwine.Whilethe
poor had to live on wild vegetables. It says Harsha introduced a general dress in Kashmir of long
coats. He gives us a whole lot of other information like geography, family trees of important people,
economicactivitieslikecoinmouldingetc.
5.It contains a striking description of the engineering works supervised a minister of Avantivarman.
Landslides and soil degradation led to a great amount of rubble and stone being deposited in the
Jhelumriverwhichimpededtheflowofwater.Thiswascleared,embankmentswereconstructedto
preventthelandslides,damswerebuiltandlakesweredrained.Theministerevenmanagedtodivert
thecourseoftheJhelumandtheIndusriversslightlywhichledtoreclamationoflandforcultivation.
This has been supported by archaeological evidences and subsequent economic prosperity of
KashmiranditledtowithdrawalofKashmirfromtheplainspoliticssincetheneedtomovetherewas
lessened.
(d)Limitations
1.Hisanalysisisnotentirelyfreefromhisbiases.Thuswhilehecriticizesbureaucracy(becauseitwas
madeofmostlykayasthas)andsaysthebureaucracyhadcorruptedthekingsandpersuadedthemto
follow anti people policies, he says that the king should consult brahmans instead. This perhaps
reflectshispersonalgrudge.
Architecture
Features
1.BeforetheadventofTurks,Rajputarchitecturebelongedtothetrabeatestyleandhadflatroofs,false
archesandstone/mudbased.ButTurksbroughtwiththemtheIslamicstylevistruearches,domes
andusedlimemortarandbrickbased.
2.Turkisharchitecturewastechnologicallysuperiorasitusedtruearches,domes,limemortar,headers
andstretchersbrickoutlay,wasmassive.
3.Italsoleftenoughspaceforthecirculationofair.
Howthearchitecturereflectscontemporarysociopoliticoeconomicrealities?
1.Urbanization: Turks were urban dwellers. Their monuments are in urban areas and promote
urbanism.
2.Concentration of wealth: The turkish rulers extracted all the agriculture surplus in their hands. This
surplushadtobeputtouseandithappenedintheformofgrandmonuments.
3.Reflectsthedistancebetweentherulersandtheruled,thedespotismofthesultans:Eachmonument
reflects the tastes of the sultan as because of their scale each sultan tried to build according to his
likestoexpandhisglory.AlauddinbuiltAlaiDarwazawhichwasmajesticinscale.Thisreflectsthe
despotismofthesultanandhisabilitytoextractsurplusfromthepeasants.
4.Communalcomposition:MostofthemonumentswereIslamicwhichshowedthedistributionofpower
in the urban society. Islam doesn't permit images of birds and animals so floral designs, geometric
designsandcalligraphycameup.
5.Theycanbedividedinto3phases(a)DuringandimmediatelyafterTurkishconquestwhenmany
hindutemplesweredestroyedandnewislamicmonumentsweresoughttobecreatedintheirplace
quickly.(b)ExchangeofskillsandtraditionsbetweenIndianandIslamicarchitectureformsbutatthe
sametimealsoshowslackofmasteryofIndiancraftsmenoverthenewIslamicform,(c)evolutionof
aspecialIndoIslamicform.
6.During and immediately after Turkish conquest: Turkish rulers had not yet established themselves.
Theyneededtocreateanaweamongtheruled.ThusIltutmishcreatedmanymonumentsinDelhiso
that the public could be awed. Qutub Minar was built as a symbol of Turkish victory. Further the
monuments of the age can't be divided exclusively into secular and religious monuments. This is
becausetherulersneededmonumentswhichcouldbeusedforhugepublicgatheringsofthenascent
MuslimsocietyinIndia.Thustheywereoftenlocatedinthemiddleofthetownandhadlargeopen
gardeninthem,pillaredverandahson3sidesandtheprayingsitefacingwest.Therewasaraised
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platform where imams and sultans could address the public. First such monument of the kind was
KuwwatulIslaminQilaPithora.TheyhadcometoIndiaasconquerors.Sotheydidn'tbringalong
anymasons.SotheinitialmonumentshaveadeepinfluenceofIndianarchitecture.Thebuildingsof
thisphasewerebuiltbydemolishingpartsofexistinghindutemplesandconvertingthemaccordingto
muslim needs by destroying the images, putting a wall in garbhgriha and inscribing Quranic verses.
Alsotheflatroofhadtobeconvertedintoadomeandflatwindowsintoarch.TheIndiancraftsmen
wereusedtotheirtraditionalstyleonly.OneoftheearliestmonumentsisAdhaiDinKaJhopdawhich
wasbuiltbyQutubuddinwhichhasfalsearches.
7.ExpandingmuslimpopulationinIndiaandsubsequentriseofIndianmuslimclass:Amosque'sareais
oftenproportionaltotheMuslimpopulationlivinginthearea.ThusQuwwatulIslammosquewas
expandedbyIltutmishandAlauddin.AsIndianmuslimclassgrewstrongeritalsogotitsfairshare
intherulingclassintheformofKhaljis.Sotheexpansionofthemosquealsosymbolizesrisingpower
ofIndianmuslimclass.
8.Exchange of skills and traditions between Indian and Islamic architectural forms: Gradually we see
pureformofIslamicarchitecturecomingasIndiancraftsmenbegantomasterthenewform.Balban's
tomb had the first True arch. Jamatikhana mosque of Alauddin is the first true Islamic
monument.AlaiDarwazacanbeconstruedtobethefirstmonumentwhichsymbolizestheendofthe
initialphaseofinsecurityandtheIndoIslamicarchitecturalform.
9.Tughluq age: The monuments built were inferior in grandeur and beauty compared to the Khalji
phase. Perhaps they represented a reaction to the excessive ways of the Khaljis or the economic
problemsfacingthesultan.UnderGhiyasuddinTughluqwecanseethecontinuationofthefusionof
IndoIslamic forms. Thus in his mausoleum we can see a kalash kept on top of the dome. The
constructionworkinTughluqabadmayalsoreflectthehasteandcommotioninthefaceofimpending
Mongolthreat.Firuzconstructedmanymonumentsbutnonematchedthegrandeurofearliersultans.
Specially under Firuz, sloping walls called salami were prevalent to give an impression of solidity to
the monument. True domes were constructed but they were somewhat small. Pentagonal designs
cameup.
10.Lodiage:Lodisbelievedinthekingshiptheoryofbeingfirstamongtheequals.Thisisalsoreflected
in the architecture as we find that the monuments built by many Amirs were equal in scale and
grandeur to those built by the sultans. By their time, the octagonal designs, double domes and
headersandstretchersbricklayeringstylescameup.Charbaghstylealsocameup.
Painting
1.Thesepaintingsalsoshowmanymusicalinstrumentslikevariousformsofveena.
EvidencesofGrowthofPaintingsUnderSultans
1.It was generally considered that the sultans didn't favor paintings. But recent evidences firmly
establishthatpaintingsflourishedunderthesultans,undertheprovincialrulersoftheageaswellas
undertheeliteelementsofthesociety.
2.ContemporarywriterTajuddinRajasaysthatpaintingswerequitepopularunderIltutmish'sreign.He
explicitlytalksofpaintingsinvolvinghumanandanimalfigureswhiletheCaliph'senvoywaswelcomed
attheport.Othercontemporarywritersconfirmwhathesays.
3.WefindbothdirectandindirectevidencesofpaintingsbeingusedasillustrationsinbooksduringAla
uddin'srule.AmirKhusrauwritesindetailhowthesedesignswereprepared.
4.ShamsiSiraj Afif in his TarikhiFiruzshahi writes clearly that Firuz banned the living portraits of
humans in the palace galleries and bedrooms of the sultan. This tells us that such a practice was
followedrightintheheartofsultanate.
5.Similarly Barani writes in TarikhiFiruzshahi that Jalaluddin finished the work of construction of a
palacestartedbySultanKakuibadanddecorateditwithpaintings.
RegionalPaintings
1.Jaunpurpaintings:VariousplaysandotherliteraryworksintheAvadhilanguagemakeliberaluseof
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illustrationsand/ortalkexplicitlyaboutpaintings.ProminentaretheromanticworksofChandayanand
Mrigavati.The subjects of such works were often derived from Ramayan and Mahabharat.Another
PersianmanuscripthasbeenfoundwhichisheavilyinfluencedbyPersianpaintingstyle.
2.PaintingsunderJainmerchants:Since910centADwefindminiatureillustrationsinreligiousworks
ofBuddhism,JainismandHinduismunderthePalas.Inthe1315centADsuchatraditionemerged
verystronglyunderthepatronageofrichJainmerchantsandspreadtocentralandnorthernIndiaas
well.InAhemdabadmanysecularaswellasreligiousJainworkswerecreatedwhichhadillustrations
inthem.
3.Mandupaintings:Wehavefound4majormanuscriptsherewhichgiveevidenceofflourishingpainting
arthere.Amanuscriptfoundhere(Niyamatnama)hasmanyminiatureportraitsofSultanNasiruddin
Khalji.ThesepaintingsshowclearfusionofIndianandPersianart.Theyusebrightandlivelycolors
and reflect the liveliness of the durbar of Mandu.Another manuscript is MiftahulFuzala which is a
dictionary. The manuscript Vostan shows heavy influence of Persian art. The 4th one is Ujaibul
Sannati.
4.Bengalpaintings:AmanuscriptSharafnamahas9paintings.Sikandarnamahasbeautifulpaintingson
itsopeningpageitself.TheyshowclearfusionofIndoIslamicforms.
CompositeCulture
1.ThefusionofIndoIslamicculturebeganwiththeTurksin13thcentury.BeforethatArabmerchants
were residing in India in the Malabar and Rashtrakuta empire andArabs had also conquered Sind.
Butstillnotmuchexchangehappened.ThisfusionreachedgreaterheightsundertheMughals.
Music
1.Despite the opposition of religious extremists, music flourished under the Sultans. Amir Khusrau
developed a new Indian style of poetry. MbT and ZainulAbedin were big patrons of music. Then
underMughalsitreacheditszenith.AbulFazltellsusabouttheprominentmusiciansinAkbar'scourt
whichincludedbothHindusandMuslims.UnderBijapur'ssultanIbrahimAdilShahmanytextswere
written in poetry. He himself was a poet. Bahadur Shah and Muhammad Shah also encouraged
music.
LanguageandLiterature
1.One of the major steps which promoted the fusion was the complete Persianization of the
administrative work. This encouraged Hindus to take up Persian learning and they also began to
contributetothePersianliterature.
2.RegionallanguagesalsobegantoliberallyexchangewithPersianduetothismove.Thoughtheykept
their basic grammar and syntax but incorporated many words from Persian (specially Marathi for
instance Peshwa,Avadhi, Bengali). We can see the influence of Persian in Nanak's work as well as
Tulsi's Ramcharitmanas. Regional languages also developed as the Muslim rulers in provinces also
patronized them (for instance ZainulAbedin encouraged compilation of Rajtarangini, he also
encouragedKashmiriliterature.SanskritworkscameupinMuhammedBegara'sreign,Gujaratiworks
wereencouragedbyAhmedshah.SimilarlyBengali,Teluguetc.wereencouragedbythelocalrulers).
ManyworksweretranslatedfromPersianandSanskritintotheseregionallanguages.
3.Akbarwasveryfondofliteraryworksandhadabiglibraryofworksinmanylanguages.Healsogot
manyworkstranslatedintoPersian.
UrduLanguage
1.The Turkish invaders came here and settled here. With time their links with Central Asia broke
(specifically due to Mongol invasions) and hence they had to recruit for their armed forces from
amongIndians.NaturallytherewasabarrierincommunicationbetweenthePersianspeakingcentral
asiansandhindispeakingIndians.Thusurducameupasthecamplanguage.AmirKhusrauwasone
ofthefirstprominentwriterstoalsotakeupUrdu.
2.When the sufi saints and subsequently the sultans went to deccan they faced the same language
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barrier again. So the language which subsequently came up after exchanges with the regional
languages is called Deccani language which evolved into the more formal / classical form of Urdu.
WiththeexpansionofMughalempirein17thcenturyinDeccanthespreadofDeccaniincreased.
3.In 18th century Urdu emerged as the leading language of the gentry and symbolized the revolt
againstthePersiandominance.
ProvincialArchitecture
1.GujaratistylerepresentstheclearestinfluenceofHindustyleofarchitecture.Wecanseethisinthe
Jama Masjid @ Ahemdabad, Khambat and Badi Masjid @ Champaner etc. where they resemble
Hindu and Jaina temples closely. The dome was supported by slender minarets. Influence seen in
FatehpurSikri.
2.InGolcondafortwecanseethatthearcheswereornamentedwithHindumotifslikecranes,parrots,
lions, peacocks etc. Similarly in Bijapur's Jama Masjid we can see sculptures of Pipal trees on the
wallswhichisasacredtreeforHindus.
3.UndertheBundelas@OrchhaandDatiawecanseearchesalongwithHindustyle.UnderMarathas
we can see Islamic features lime minarets, domes etc. which are even used in the construction of
temples.Marathasalsohadgardensconstructedintheirpalacesalongwithfountains,canalsetc.
ReligionandPhilosophy
1.Bhakti and Sufi movements influenced each other and the popular thought. Diniilahi was a
manifestation of the fusion. Dara Shikoh was also a great assimilatory character and influenced by
sufism.
2.Stilltheexchangecouldn'ttakeplacebeyondsomepopularpracticesandbeliefs.Atthephilosophical
level the fusion was not visible except for the above mentioned instances. There were some sufi
saints who incorporated some practices of hindu saints like yoga etc. A particular sect of Muslims
believed Prophet to be an avatar, Muinuddin Chisti to be a demigod. We can see people of both
community celebrating many festivals together. This communal harmony was encouraged by the
provincialsultansaswell.
EvolutionofaCompositeRulingClass
1.With time the domination of Turks ended and we can see Indian Muslims rising in the rank of the
ruling class.Then there were many Hindus who were exploited in the Hindu society, they sought to
take advantage of the new situation for their advance. Slowly even the better off hindus aligned
themselveswiththesultansandeventhoughtheydidn'tgetasharedirectlyintheupperechelonsof
powertheywerequiteimportantforthesultanate.
2.WhenSikandarLodiorderedfortheadoptionofPersianastheofficiallanguagemanylearnedHindu
classeslikeKayastha,Kashmiribrahmansetc.learntPersianandtookadvantage.Therulingclassat
the village and local level still comprised predominantly of hindus. Yet before Mughals a truly
compositerulingclasscouldn'temerge.
AmirKhusrauinMusic
1.HewasverymuchinfluencedbyIndianmusicandgavemanynewragas(liketilak,sarpada,saajgiri)
andtaalsbyfusingIndianandIslamicmusic.HeissaidtohavepopularizedQawwalisandinvented
tablaandsitar.
SufisinMusic
1.They contributed in the form of gazals and qawwalis. Gazal is a romantic form of music where the
objectofloveisapersoninthisworldonly.QawwaliistheromanticmusicwheretheobjectisGod.As
suchgazalsbecameverypopularinthedurbarsofsultans.
CultureinMughalEmpire
PersianHistoryWriting
NatureandCharacter
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1.In N India land records were kept in Persian only. In S India however, both local and Persian
languageswereused.ThisgaveagreatboosttothespreadofPersian.
2.ThehistorieswerewrittenwithintheconfinementofIslami.e.criticismofKuran,Hadi,Sunnaetc.is
notpossibleanditmustremainwithintheconfinesofthereligion.
3.Therisingmightoftheemperorhadaninfluenceonthehistoriographyaswellandnowthehistoryof
theagebecamethehistoryoftheemperor.Thecompletedworksnowcametobededicatedtothe
emperor.TheearlierArabictraditionofgivingsourceswasalsodiscontinuedhere.Divineassociation
ofthekingswasemphasizedupontoestablishtheirsovereignty.Wefindthetraditionofhistorywriting
spreadingtotheprovincesaswell.
4.Wefindextensiveuseofreligiousterminologyinthetextswhichmightappeartotheextentofoutright
communal at the first glance. But it must be kept in mind that in those days religion and education
were intricately linked. The scholars were invariably men of religion and they knew no terminology
otherthanreligious.Thustheymakeindiscriminateuseofsuchterms.Forinstanceusingsuchterms
lashkarikufraandlashkariislamevenwhenbothsidesfightingeachotherwereMuslims.
5.Wemustalsokeepinmindthattheinterestofmuchofthehistorywritingsectiondifferedfromthose
ofthesultans.Thehistorywritingsectionmainlycamefromthereligiousulemmasclassandwanted
sultantobeboundbytheshariatandkuransothathewouldhavetoconsultthemonallmattersand
their importance in the politics grows. Sultans on the other hand were not willing to accept any
sovereigntyabovethem.Sotopleasetheulemmasandtoshowtheircompleteloyaltytowardsshariat
wheneveritwaspossibletheytriedtogivereligiouscolortoactionsotherwisenecessitatedbypolitico
economicconsiderations.Thehistoriansnaturallyusedtogivelotofimportanceandcommunalcolor
tosuchevents.
6.Thepoliticalstabilityandeconomicprosperityoftheagecanalsobeseeninsuchworks.
DifferencesfromSultanateEraHistoryWriting
1.Thecompletedworksnowcametobededicatedtotheemperor.
2.TheearlierArabictraditionofgivingsourceswasalsodiscontinuedhere.
3.The emperors used to pay a lot of attention to history writings themselves as is evident from the
tradition of autobiographies in the mughal age. When they couldn't they appointed highest scholars
forthetaskandgavethemfullaccesstoallgovernmentrecords(includingtheclassifiedones)and
gavethemotherprivilegesaswell.Butasusualthismeansthesewritingswereoftenbiased.
4.In the mughal works we can see events presented chronologically year after year along with all the
dates.ButinBarani'sworkweseelackofsuchchronology.
5.The techniques of paper making and binding showed marked improvement over the sultanate era
andsowehavelargeramountofsourcesofmughalerawithus.
ZahiruddinMuhammedBaburandTuzukiBabri
(a)Importance
1.ItsimportanceisthatitsanautobiographyandthisiswhereMughalsdifferedfromsultans.Thework
isfromsomeonewhowasshapingtheIndiaoftheageandbroughtarevolution.Hedivideshiswork
in 3 parts first part runs from his accession to the throne of Fargana and ends with leaving
Samarkandforthefinaltime,secondparttellsusabouthisstrugglesandwarsinIndiaandthethird
parttellsusaboutthestateofaffairsinIndia.
2.He describes the political situation of the country in great detail. He talks about different provincial
rulerslikeGujarat,Malwa,Bijapur,Golcondaetc.,Vijaynagar,Bengal,Rajputana.Hetalksaboutthe
difficultiesfacedinkeepingtheconqueredareasfirmlyunderhiscontrol.Hetalksaboutthedifficulties
facedincollectinglandrevenue.
3.Beingaforeignerhetellsusindetailaboutallthingswhichstrucktohimandwhichmayhavebeen
ordinary to a resident here. He was a keen observer and describes people and geography in great
detail.Hewritesabouttheirclothes,food,habits,behavior,profession,socialstructure,festivals,art
forms,architecture,technologiesetc.ingreatdetail.Thusheproducesarichaccount.
4.He also writes very frankly about his own mistakes. It also gives a good account of the conditions
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prevailinginHumayun'sinitialyearsandtellsusabouthisstrengthsandweaknessesaswell.
(b)Limitations
1.Hecanbeaccusedofdistortionoffactsalsospeciallywhilehighlightinghismilitaryvictories.
2.HeformsanegativestereotypeofIndiansbasedonhisobservationsofcertainbackwardsectionsof
thesociety.
3.HealsoleavesoutcertainprovinceslikeSind,Kashmir,Odisha,Khandesh.HeneglectsPortuguese
aswell.
4.Hisisalsoabrokenaccountsometimesithadlongbreaks.
Humayun'sHistoriography
1.TarikhiRashidibyHussainMirza:HewasaseniorcommanderinBabur'sandthenHumayun'sarmy
andhencetheimportance.HetalksindetailaboutHumayun'speriod.Hewritesaboutcharacterand
habitsofHumayun.Hegivesadifferentanddetailedaccountofcircumstancesleadingtothebattle@
KannaujandKamran'sroleinit.HesaidthatsomerevoltshademergedinPunjabandQandharso
Kamranhadtoreturnimmediatelybutheleft5000sawarswithHumayun.
2.KanuniHumayunibyKhondMir:ThewriterwasaseniorofficialunderHumayunandthusgivesusa
goodaccountoftheeventsandconventionsofthedurbar.
3.HumayunnamabyGulbadan:ShewasastepsistertoHumayunandtellsusindetailaboutthelifeof
royalladiesandHumayun'sexileandconqueringKabul.
Akbar'sHistoriography
1.Ithad3strands(a)theofficialversioni.e.AkbarnamawrittenbyAbulFazlandwhichwassponsored
byAkbar,(b)neutralversioni.e.TabakatiAkbariwrittenbyNizamuddinAhmad,and(c)antiAkbar
versionMuntakbhutTarikhwrittenbyBadayuni.
(a)AkbarnamabyAbulFazl
1.AbulFazlwasaliberalpersonlikeAkbarandconsequentlyhadcomeveryclosetohim.In1590he
wasentrustedwiththetaskofwritinghistoryofAkbar.ThefirstpartstartswithAkbar'sbirthandends
in 1572 where he talks about creation of the universe, other religions and their prophets, Akbar's
ancestorsetc.Inthesecondonehecoverstheperiodtill1588.ThethirdpartisAiniAkbari.The4th
parttalksaboutthegeography,people,climate,indiansaints,sufisaintsetc.ofIndia.Inthefinalpart
hegiveshisbriefautobiography.
2.He studied all relevant Arabic and Persian history books, he used all relevant official records,
farmaansetc.,heinterviewedalotofpeopleincludingtheamirsandAkbarhimself,heknewintricate
details of many things being a high amir himself and whenever there was a dispute regarding
anythingheusedtotakeopinionofmaximumpossiblenumberofpeopleconversantwiththematter
andiftherewasstillanydisputeleftthenAkbarusedtotakeadecision.
3.Abul Fazl was a great supporter ofAkbar's liberal religious ideas and he wanted to strengthen his
position further. So he highlighted the divine aspect ofAkbar's kingship and also praised sulhikul
policy of Akbar. He supported his claim to mustajir. Various religions generally associate births of
prophets or great men with some divine signs.Abu Fazl tries to linkAkbar's birth with some divine
signs as well. If he was not given formal education during his childhood,Abu Fazl links it to such a
tradition among the prophets. He wanted people to believe thatAkbar had an element of divinity in
himsothattheyfollowhisorderswithoutanyissues.
4.HerejectsthehighlyornamentalstyleofPersianwritingofprevioushistoriansandinsteadwritesina
very simple and yet lovable language. Unlike other Persian historians he doesn't use any such
language which can even hint at religious intolerance.This was a big break from the history writing
traditionoftheage.
5.AiniAkbari reflects the liberal religious views and sulhikul thoughts of Akbar. It tries to give a
harmoniousportrayalofhindusandhinduphilosophyandpresentsthemasbeingtolerant,liberaland
assimilatory.Although it must be noted that he didn't know Sanskrit like Berouni and thus suffered
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fromthishandicap.Hetriestoportraytheapparentdifferencesbetweenvariousreligionsasaresult
ofdifferentlanguages,ignoranceofthereligiousheadsandinterpreters,theirtraditionalandfanatical
outlook,useofreligionbythemandtherulerstoservetheirpersonalambitionsetc.Inrealitythereis
no difference between any religion. He rejects the claim of old historians that in India there is an
inherentconflictbetweenthemuslimsandhindus.Healsorejectsanyfanaticismbeitinhindusorin
muslims.ThushepraisesTodarmalforhisqualitiesbutcriticizeshimforhislackoftolerance.
(b)TabakatiAkbaribyNizamuddinAhmad
1.NizamuddinwasahighrankingofficerunderAkbaryetwroteinaneutralway.Hisbookcoversthe
historyofsultanateandAkbarandotherprovinceslikeBengal,Malwa,Jaunpur,Kashmir,Sindetc.He
didn'twritetogainfavorsfromtheemperorandwasamanofhighintegrity.
2.HeusesotherworkslikeTuzukiBabri,Akbarnamaandnumerousotherhistoricaltextsofhisage.
(c)MuntakbhutTarikhbyAlBadayuni
1.Badayuni represented the traditional fanatical ulemma class. He had grown up and received
education in a very orthodox and fanatical environment. He hatedAkbar for his religious tolerance
whichhebelievedhadledtotheignoranceoflearnedscholarslikehim.Hebelievedthatallthehigh
postsandinfluenceshouldbeexclusivelyreservedformuslimsandthattooforlearnedscholarslike
him. This was his biggest limitation but at the same time also lets us know the impact of Akbar's
policiesonthissection.
2.Badayuni had been invited to ibadatkhana affairs ofAkbar. But he soon found out that his orthodox
views would have no impact on the emperor. He was also jealous of Abul Fazl (who not only
influenced Akbar's policies but also was involved in implementing them) whom he accused of
poisoningtheemperor'smindandthishatredshowsinhiswork.Hebelieveshimselftobeasoldierof
IslamandbrandsbothAkbarandAbulFazlasenemiesofIslam.HewasalsodissatisfiedfromAkbar
forhisregulationsimposedonmadadimash(thetaxfreelandgrantsmadetomuslimulemmas).
3.His work has 3 parts first one begins from Subuktgin and lasts till Humayun's death (this can be
consideredasasummaryofTabakatiAkbar),secondrelatestoAkbarandthirdrelatestosomesufi
saints,poetsandmuslimscholars.
4.Hisworkisfullofreligiousintoleranceandhatredforhindus.Butitmustbekeptinmindthathewas
jealousofrichhindusastheywerericherthanhimandfocuseshisvenomonthem.Atthesametime
he ignores poor hindus just like he ignores poor muslims as this reflects the typical mindset of the
privilegedclassoftheage.
5.Hisresearchandanalysiswasshallowashewasnotreallyinterestedindescribinganyeventofthe
age.HemerelywantedtopourvenomonbothAkbarandAbulFazl.
TuzukiJahangiribyJahangir
1. This is an autobiography and describes in detail his campaigns including failures, factionalism
emerging in the high noblery, transfers of mansabdars and how he himself turned away from his
responsibilities.Theworkreflectshisdesires,hisefforts,successes,failureseverything.Hedescribes
howhewantedtobelikehisfather.Hewritesindetailabouthisdailylife,histhoughtsveryhonestly.
2.He doesn't stay limited to his life only. He also describes his officers, his perception about their
thoughts and factional fights etc. This makes it a very good source. He also describes the
geographicaldetailsofhisjourneytoKashmir,Malwa,Ajmer,GujaratandPunjab.
3.First 15 years of his reign were very good but from the 16th year onwards problems begin and he
startstoretirefromactivelife.Thisisreflectedintheformofirregularentriesinthebook.Inthealter
years he delegated the responsibility of history writing to Motmid Khan who writes in the name of
Jahangirtillthe19thyear.FromthenonhewritesIkbalnamaiJahangiriinhisownnamewhichagain
isaveryreliablesource.
Padshahnama(forShahjahan)
1.Thishas3versions.FirstwaswrittenbyKazwiniwhichcoversthefirst10yearsofhisreign.Nextwas
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writtenbyAbdulHamidLahoriandcoversfirst20yearsofthereign.Thethirdversionwaswrittenby
MuhammadWariswhichcoversthelast10yearsofhisreign.Thisworkcoversindetailtheprinces,
amirs,scholars,sufis,poets,campaigns,politicalevents,transfersetc.
Aurangzeb'sHistoriography
(a)AlamgirnamabyKasemShiraji
1.He covers the first 10 years of his reign. Like other official historians, he too had access to all the
governmentalrecords.Whereheneededmoreinformationhecouldinvestigateanyoneandwasalso
free to consult the emperor. He liberally praises Aurangzeb and criticizes his brothers and even
Shahjahan.HepraisesthoseamirswhosidedwithAurangzebinhissuccessionwar.
(b)MuntakbhulLubabbyKhafiKhan
1.This is a critical work ofAurangzeb's reign and he writes how the peasantry was oppressed by the
mughals and always lived in fear. He also criticizes the handling of deccani affairs and his work
containstheelementspointingtowardsthedeclineofmughalempire.
(c)FutuhatiAlamgiribyIsardasNagar
1.Thiscovershisreignupto34yearsandtalksindetailabouthisrelationswithrajputs.Hewriteshow
by 1691 Aurangzeb's policies had failed and his noblery had hatched ambitions to carve out
independentprincipalities.
EuropeanSources:JeanTaverner
1.He was a merchant and hence was interested mostly in economic activities of the country. But a
differencebetweenhimandotherwritersisthathedidn'tremainconfinedtothecourtactivities.He
travelledacrossIndiaandalsowroteaboutthepeople,sociallife(whateverhecouldunderstand)and
economic life. Thus he becomes an important source albeit one which should be interpreted with
propercaution.HethuswritesabouttheproductionactivitiesinIndia,themerchants,thesarafs,the
involvementofamirsintrade,varioustemplesetc.
2.Onelimitationisthathetravelledthroughforestssohecouldhavewrittenaboutthetribalstherebut
hedidn't.Thenhiswritingsonreligiousandculturallivesareatbestshallow.
EuropeanSources:FrancisBernier
1.He had stayed in India for a long period. So he came to understand the circumstances here in a
better way. He had access to the royal courts and hence writes about the lives of the ruling class
includingtheprincesses.Hewritesabouttherajputsaswell.
2.Healsothrowssufficientlightontheeconomiclife.Hewritesaboutthecraftsmen,thepeasantsetc.
Butheincorrectlyassertsthattheemperorwastheownerofalllandhere.
3.On amirs he writes that they lived a very consuming life. Despite large incomes they were always
indebted.Hetalksaboutthetransportationmeans,themughalarmy,thebrahmansandtheirnarrow
mindsetandsuperstitions,thesatisystem,devadasisystemandcraftproductionprocessesinIndia.
MughalArchitecture
Features
1.Change & Continuity: Double dome, charbagh style were elements of continuity. Influence of
provincialarchitecture,kalash,petradurastylewereelementsofchange.
2.DuetothecentralasianoriginoftheemperorsthearchitecturewascharacterizedbyfusionofHindu
Islamic architecture specially under Akbar. One such influence is the kalash placed on top of the
domes which was borrowed from Hindu temple architecture. In SJ's time, greater emphasis was
placedonIslamiccharacterofbuildings.ThusduringAkbar'speriodwecanseeafusionofregional
stylesintoMughalbuildings.InRedFortwecanseedistinctGujaratiandMalwainfluence.Theuseof
domeswasavoidedandinsteadreplacedbychatris.Domeswereusedonlyinthemosque.Wecan
seetheuseofcolorfulandglazedtilesontheexternalwallsinSikriwhichresemblePersianstyle.On
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the other hand the internal walls and chatris were ornamented with motifs of different animals and
humanbeingsintheRajputstyle.FatehpurSikritoosawhugeinfluenceofGujaratandRajputstyles.
RajputinfluenceiswitnessedinthedoorsandwindowsandinJodhabai'sandBirbal'spalaceswhile
Kashmiri influence is visible in Mariam's palace. In Birbal's palace we can see the arches were
decoratedwithmotifsoflotus,roseandotherflowers.IntheDiwaniKhaswecanseetheinfluenceof
Jain,BuddhistaswellasHindustyles.
3.Itusedthecharbaghstyle.Initiallythemonumentwasconstructedinthemiddleofthegardenona
raisedplinthandflowingwater.Humayun'stombisthefirstexample.Shahjahanchangedittoplacing
themonumentinonecornerofthegarden.
4.Many beautiful gardens with flowing canals were created. It began with Babur who got a garden
created in Agra when he began to live there. Example are Shalimar @ Lahore, Nishat Bagh in
Kashmir.
5.Doubledomewasanotherfeature.Humayun'stombisthefirstexample.
6.RedsandstonefromDhaulpurwasextensivelyusedbyMughals.ExamplesareShahjahanabadand
FatehpurSikri.Marblewasalsoused.FromJahangir'stimeavisibleshiftwasmadetowardsuseof
marble.
7.SomenewcitieslikeDinPanahbyHumayunandShergarhbySSSwerebuilt.
8.Pietradurastylewasusedforornamentation.Floraldesignswerecarvedinwallsandsemiprecious
stoneswerefittedintheseengravingsforentiredesign.
9.LastexampleofMughalarchitectureisSafdarjungtomb.
10.The architecture was suited to the climatic conditions of the land. The rooms were large and airy.
Therewerebiggardensaroundthebuildingandmanyfountainsaswell.Theroofshadthekhuskhus
grasstokeepthemcool.
MughalArchitectureasaReflectionofContemporaryLife
1.Itsymbolizesthegreatpoweroftherulingclassandthegreatdividebetweentherulersandtheruled.
Mughalsbroughtavastareaofthecountryundertheiradministration.Theyhadelaboratemachinery
toextracttheagriculturesurplusandthissurpluswasconcentratedinfewhandsonly.Thisgavethem
the ability to provide for best of the resources from all over the country in their monuments. This
showsinthesuperiorityoftheirarchitecture.Theeliteandprivilegedclassusedburntbricks,mortar
andstones(becausestonecuttingandpolishingwascostly)andarches,domesandvaultedroofsin
theirconstructions.TheyalsomadeuseofglassesfortheirwindowsandJahangirevenusedcolored
glasseswhichwereveryexpensive.Commonersusedmudbricksorkucchahouses.
2.Theyreflecttheincreasingpoweroftheemperoreveninrespectofhisamirs.ThuswhileintheLodi
rule we find that the monuments of his amirs were as good as those of the sultan, in mughal age
monumentsoftheemperorswerewayaboveanybodyelse's.Whiletheemperorshadtheresources
andcapacitytoobtainbestofmaterialandlaborfromanypartofthecountryhisnoblesandprovincial
rulers/governorsclearlycouldn'tdoso.
3.We can see the impact of Akbar's desire to be the religious leader of Indian muslims as well. In
DiwaniAam@Sikriwecanseethattheemperor'sthronewasplacedinthewesterndirectionwhich
gavehimreligioussupremacyaswell.Theuseofmanyprovincialstylesinthebuildingscanbeseen
toreflectAkbar'sdesiretobetheemperorofwholeIndiaandnotjustapartofit.Butthisinnovative
andassimilativecharacterwasreplacedbyatraditionalcharacterinShahjahan'smonuments.
4.Themonumentsclearlyshowthestateoftheempireinthosedays.Forinstancethemajesticfusion
and smooth construction of Sikri shows the stability and the strength of the empire. By Shahjahan's
time a stagnation had occurred which we can see in the lack of variety in the construction. The
freshness and cultural fusion of the buildings gave way to artificial grandeur. The innovative and
assimilative character of Akbar's time was replaced by a traditional character in Shahjahan's
monuments. It appears that this was an attempt to hide the growing problems of the empire. By
Aurangzeb's time the architecture declined due to his personal indifference as well as economic
conditionofthestate.Whatevermonumentsarethereshowtraditionalstyleonlyandlackofcreativity.
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Insteadthemonumentsoftheregionalprincipalitiesbegantogrowintheirattraction.Thisshowsthe
declineoftheempire.
5.These majestic projects reflected the cultural currents and tastes of the age in the ruling class.The
emperors often personally paid attention to the plans and construction of the monuments.Thus we
havepaintingsofAkbarobservingtheconstructionofFatehpurSikripersonally.
6.After 300 years of liberal exchanges and changes, Indian architecture style had stabilized. The
craftsmenhadbecomemastersoftheirartandthisshowsinthebuildingswhichshowastylethatis
more mature and uniform than its predecessors. Architecture during sultanate period was
heterogenousandmorelikeacollectionofdifferentstyles.
7.Theconstructionmadeuseoflaborintensivetechnologieswhichindicatetheabundanceofunskilled
andskilledlaboroftheageandthatithadbecomeanimportantindustry.Largeamountoflaborwas
employed. For instance Akbarnama tells us 4000 workers were employed everyday for the
construction of Agra fort. Jama Masjid of Delhi employed 8000 workers and Taj Mahal employed
20000workersworkingeveryday.
8.The architecture was suited to the climatic conditions of the land. The rooms were large and airy.
Therewerebiggardensaroundthebuildingandmanyfountainsaswell.Theroofshadthekhuskhus
grasstokeepthemcool.
9.ThearchitectureclearlyshowsafusionofIndoIslamicstylesandshowstheprevailingundercurrents
ofcommunalharmonyandliberalexchangeinthesociety.
10.The mughal amirs used to construct their buildings close to the buildings constructed by their
ancestors.
11.Thefoundationofanymajorprojectwaslaidonlyafterconsultingtheastrologicalcharts.
MughalPainting
Howtheyreflectthecontemporarylife?
1.PainterswerebothHinduMuslimsaswellaslowercastehindus.
2.Courtpatronized.Bookillustrationsplayedanimportantrole.Karkhanaswereestablishedforpainting.
Painterswerepaidmonthlysalaries+bonuses.
3.Itwasunislamicyetliberalinterpretationofislamallowsit.
4.PaintedportraitsofAkbarshowingdespotism.
5.Specializationabsent.
6.Mughalpaintingsshowtheconstructionscenesofthebigmonumentsandalsotellusabouttheused
technologies.Forinstancesomepaintingsshowushowstoneswerecutandpolishedtobeusedin
FatehpurSikri.
7.Courtscenes,huntingscenes,warswerepainted.Indiancolorsweredeveloped.
MughalPaintingsunderAkbar
1.In the initial phase duringAkbar, paintings used to draw heavily from persian style though we could
seesomeinfluencesofIndianstyleoccasionally.Oneofthefirstimportantpaintingswastheminiature
styleDastaniAmirHamzaorHamzanama.Ithad1200paintingsandusedbrightcolors.AmirHamza
was a Persian mythological hero andAkbar used to enjoy his stories. Hamzanama depicts foreign
plantsandflowers.WecanalsoseeinfluenceofHindusstyleinthepaintingofwomeninit.InAnwar
iSuhailiwecanseethatthebirdsandanimalsarepaintedinaverynaturalstylewhereasinpersian
styleanimalsarepaintedinaveryartificialway(theyappearmorelikemasksthanaliveanimals).It
showsIndiantreesandflowersbutpaintshillsandcloudsinpersianstyle.Thesepaintersweremostly
Persians.
2.In the next phase Akbar's policies had become much more assimilatory and the resulting fusion
culturehadbecomemature.Akbarwasbecomingmoreinterestedinanalysisofdifferentreligions.So
he wanted many books of different religions to be translated into Persian. Such translations would
alsoincludeminiatures.Thisgaveabigboosttothefusionprocess.Wecanseethesameimpactin
thepaintingsastheynowincludedvariousprovincialstyleslikeGwalior,Gujarat,Rajputana,Lahore,
Kashmir etc. This was possible as their painters were now drawn from all over India and not just
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Persia.Tootinama is an important painting from this phase and we can see Indian influence in both
subjects as well as style.The most famous painting of this age was Razmnama which worked as a
milestoneforotherpaintings.
3.With time we can also see the European influence in the paintings. It began when in 1580 Akbar
invitedamissionarytohisdurbar.Theybroughtmanypaintingswiththem.Themughalprinceswere
impressed and the painters tried to incorporate its features in their own paintings. In the beginning
they just copied the outlines and filled it in their own colors and style. Later on we can see the
european influence both in the subjects and style.A popular feature now was that the front objects
wereputinaperspectivebychangingtheirsize.
4.During the final yearsAkbar was besieged with many problems including the revolt of prince Salim
and death of princes Murad and Daniyal. We can see the corresponding decline in the paintings as
well specially miniatures. This decline was evident not only in quantity but also quality as they now
lackedcreativity.
MughalPaintingsunderJahangir
1.DuringAkbar's reign the painting was bound by the subject of the manuscript of which it formed a
part.Jahangirfreeditfromthislimitationandencouragedfreepaintings(onsubjectsdictatedbyhim)
includingportraits.Initiallyhegotsomeofthepaintingsredonefromtheroyallibrary.Thenheturned
towards life size portraits and other scenes from royal life. It must be kept in mind evenAkbar got
portraits done but under Jahangir they became the dominating theme. Jahangir was eager to have
important events of his life and reign recorded and asked the painters to paint his durbar scenes,
festivalcelebrations,flowersandanimalswhichinterestedhimetc.Thereisonepaintingwhichshows
Jahangiraimingforalioness'seyeandaRajputprinceispointingtowardsit.
2.ThepaintingsoftheageelevatedJahangir'sauraandshowedhiminamajesticform.Maybetheyare
anattempttotakehismindawayfromthedissonanceofhisfailurestotacklesomeoftheproblems
he faced or some of the desires he could never fulfill.They were just an attempt to show him as a
great,allconquering,mercifulandjustruler.Forinstancewecanseehimgreetingthepersianruler
on equal terms though he never met him. The one painting shows him presiding over (as a great
great emperor) a meeting of many kings and princes from far off lands. In another he is seen as
kickingMalikAmbar'shead.
3.Thus gradually in his reign we can see miniatures declining and getting replaced by free style
paintingsincludingtheportraits.
4.Thepaintingsalsoshowtheanimalsandbirdsinaverynaturalwayandfocusontheirbodilyfeatures
withaprecisenesswhichisamazing.Wecanseesignsofscientificstudyofsuchsubjectsbeforethe
paintings.
MughalPaintingsafterJahangir
1.ForsomeyearsShahjahanletthemworkastheywereworkingunderJahangir.Butlateronhebegan
tohavehimselfpaintedinassociationwithsomedivinepowerslikeforinstancetheangelsthemselves
are descending on earth to keep the crown on his head, or they are standing holding flags in their
handsandprayingforhisvictoryandlonglife.Healsohadhimselfpaintedinmostimposingforms.In
one painting we can see Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan with Akbar directly giving the crown to
Shahjahan.
2.Perhapsallthiswasanattempttohidethedeclineinthefortunesoftheempire.Thatiswhythereis
too much of glorifying the emperor. The decline in mughal painting had clearly set in and creativity
hadgivenwaytotraditionalism.
3.Europeaninfluencecanbeclearlyseeninthesepaintingsasthereisgenerallyanilluminatedcircle
behind his head radiating light as in the european paintings of Jesus. Further we can see that the
backgroundisgenerallypaintedblurinlightcolors.
RajputanaSchoolofPainting
1.Rajputanapaintingscanbebroadlydividedinto(a)courtpaintingswhichdepictasusualthelifestyle
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of the feudal lords. We can see clear mughal influence here in the form of dresses, symbols,
background,sceneryetc.Theinfluencegrewasthepaintersreturnedfromthedelhicourtduetothe
decline of the empire. (b) literary paintings which typically draw their subject matter from hindu
religion.They also show less influence of islamic art and more of rajput traditional art only because
the interaction with mughals was more in the ruling class. (c) folk paintings which typically show
festivals,celebrations,dailylifeeventsetc.
MewarSchool
1.ItmainlyflourishedinChittor,Udaipur,Nathdwara,Deogarh,Sirohi,SaawarunderSisodias.Itshows
comparativelylesserinfluenceofmughalstyleduetodistantpoliticalrelationswiththemughals.
2.UnderRanaAmarSinghwecanseethatthemenclothingistriangularinthebottompartofthebody
which indicates mild mughal influence only. Under his successor Rana Jagat Singh we can see an
increase in the religious paintings as well as court paintings. These paintings depicted men and
womeninamixofmughalandtraditionalwear,birds,flowersetc.allintheirnaturalstatebutthehills
werepaintedinmughalstyle.
3.Inthefirsthalfof18thcenturythecourtpaintingsflourishedfurtheraslotofpainterscameback,but
afterthatwecanseeadeclineundertheinfluence.
AmberSchool
1.ItflourishedunderKachwahasinAmber,Jaipur,Alwar.
2.Herethefolkpaintingandliteraturerelatedreligiouspaintingflourishedmore.ItflourishedunderMan
Singh,SawaiJaiSinghandhissuccessors.Butby19thcenturyitlostitsappeal.
MarwarSchool
1.It flourished under Rathores in Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Pali. With time we can see growing
mughalinfluenceintheJodhpurschoolasthetraditionalrajputelementswerereplacedbyrefinement
andadornment.Itportraysmenandwomeninstockybodiesandmenwithmustaches.
2.Bikanerschoolwastheonemostcloselyaffiliatedwiththemughalstyleasithadveryclosepolitical
relations with mughals. Instead of bright colors or beautiful scenery work like other rajput schools it
uses soft lines and color assortment like the mughals. It appears that when mughal painters were
neglectedunderShahjahantheycametoBikaner.Apartfromthemughalinfluencewecanalsosee
deccaniinfluenceherebecauseRanaAnupSinghstayedindeccanforlongunderAurangzeb.They
toofocusonthebodilybeautyofwomenwhoarelightandslim.
BundiSchool
1.It flourished under the Hadas in Bundi and Jhalawar. Bundi was located between Amber in north,
MewarinsouthandKotainwest.SoBundiusedtoattractpaintersfromalltheseschoolsandhence
developeditsdistinctstyle.
2.Ittypicallyusedbrightlivelycolors,focusedonthebodilybeautyofwomenandaddedtotheirbeauty
by using sceneries including hills, rivers, forests, trees, fruits, flowers etc. in very natural sense. It
usedaspecialmixtureofcolorstoshowtheskyinbackground.
3.In 18th century the subjects were mostly hunting scenes, durbars, portraits of the feudal lords and
theirentertainment(examplesofmughalinfluence).Ittoodeclinedinthelaterhalfof18thcentury.
KotaSchool
1.AlthoughitisclosetoBundi,itstilldevelopedauniquestyle.Bundipassedthroughaturbulentphase
inthe18thcentury.SomanypaintersfromtherecametoKotaandworkedhere.Thusitcamecloser
toBundi.
2.The subjects were mostly hunting scenes, portraits of the feudal lords and their entertainment
(examplesofmughalinfluence).Ittoodeclinedinthelaterhalfof18thcentury.
KishangarhSchool
1.TheRanaherewasveryinterestedinartformsandwasinfluencedbysagunbhakti.ThefamousBani
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Thani painting is from Kishangarh. The paintings here depict Radha and Krishna in gardens or
celebratingfestivalsetc.Itwasverymuchinfluencedbybhaktiandthefocusisonthebodilybeautyof
Radha.
PahadiSchoolsofPainting
KangraSchoolofPainting
1.Thisschoolreflectstheclosenesstonatureandusesnaturalscenestoexpresshumanemotions.For
exampledrytreestosymbolizeseparation,brightflowerstosymbolizemeetingetc.
2.It has many regional variations which can be seen in Bilaspur, Jammu, Mandi, Garhwal, Chamba,
Nurpuretc.
BasauliSchoolofPainting
1.We can see a clear fusion of folk art of Kashmir, Mughal school and Rajput school here. Its chief
centerswereJasrota,Mankot,Bandharlata,Jammu,Nurpur,Chamba.
2.Initially we can see the traditional art forms clearly with people wearing traditional dresses and
ornamentsetc.AftertheturbulenceinDelhiduetoinvasionsandthronegames,manypainterscame
here and we see the influence of mughal style growing.This we can see in the form of changes in
dresses,expressionsofwomen,ornamentationetc.
GulerorEastKangraSchoolofPainting
1.OneofthereasonsforitsdevelopmentwasthatduetodisordertheroutebetweenDelhiandNWFP
andKashmirchangedfrompassingviaLahoretoviaJammu.Sowithtimethiscameundermughal
influence.
DifferenceswithMughalandRajputSchools
1.While mughal school has focused on the splendor of the emperor and his court, pahadi school
expresses the emotions, nature, religious sentiments etc. Thus pahadi school could focus on life
outsidetheroyalsphereaswell.
2.Pahadischooltriestoportraycommonlifestyleandclothingstylethroughkrishnaasithappenedin
European renaissance. Thus krishna is depicted as wearing pahadi dresses and among pahadi
womenwearingtraditionaldresses.Thescenesaredepictedintheoriginalstateofnature.
3.Apartfromkrishna,pahadipaintingsalsodepictcommongirlsplayingthecommongamesoftheday
orplayingmusicordepictsanimalsandbirdsintheirnaturalsettings.Womenareshownaswelllike
mughal paintings. the paintings of the princes and their families are very much mughal styled. The
difference here though is that while such mughal paintings focused on some political events like
battles,surrenderbytheenemy,receivinganambassadoretc.pahadipaintingsonsucheventsare
few.
ProvincialArchitecture&Painting
LucknowSchoolofPainting
DeccaniSchoolofPainting
1.ItflourishedinBijapur,GolcondaandAhmadnagar.Therewasalotofexchangebetweenthethree
centersduetotheupheavalsoftheagesoitisoftendifficulttodistinguishwhichpaintingbelongedto
which place. There were exchanges with Rajputs as well as Mughals. Nizamshahi sultans also
welcomed the painters from Vijaynagar empire. Thus the paintings show a good fusion with hindu
styleaswell.
2.Thesepaintingsshowopennessasagainstthetraditionalismwhichcreptintomughalpaintingsduring
Shahjahan.The most famous painting is that of a yogini (or princess) from Bijapur.Adil Shah I and
IbrahimAdilShahofBijapurweregreatpatronsofartincludingpaintings.Theirpaintingsareclearly
influencedbywesternromanticschool.
PatnaSchoolofPainting
LucknowSchoolofArchitecture
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RajputanaSchoolofArchitecture
ClassicalMusic
1.Originally there was only one system of music but in medieval age, north India came under the
influence of Persian music leading to formation of 2 schools Hindustani (north) and Karnataka
(south).Theyhavecommonbasicfeatureslikeraga,taal,performanceincludesasoloist(eithervocal
oroninstrument),adrummerandatanpura.
2.Initially Dhrupad style was popular which used veena as the instrument.Another music style which
was popular among people in those days was Dhamar style which focused on describing krishna
along with the country girls, krishna playing holi in Braj, celebration of festivals etc. Mughal court
couldn'tremainuninfluencedbyHoliandTansenetalcomposedmanyDhamarsaswellandthusthis
folkmusicstylefounditswayinthemughalcourts.Apartfromthesetwotherewasthebhaktimusic
specially from Kabir, Mira etc. which was sung.ThenAkbar also gave patronage to musicians from
southernindiaaswellasnorthwest.Thusanallencompassingmusicevolvedinhisperiod.Jahangir
was a patron of music as well specially gazals.This continued under Shahjahan but declined under
Aurangzeb.
3.Inthe18thcenturyunderMuhammedShah(courtmusiciansAdarangandSadarang)andunderruler
of Jaunpur, the khyal style emerged dominant. It differed from dhrupad in the sense it allowed for
morefreedomofthemusicianaswellaswaswaslightandfulloflife.Ithasonlytwoparts(sthayiand
antara)asagainstthe4indhrupad.Itismoresuitedtothefemalevoiceandthishelpedinitsspread.
Inkhyalstyleaswellthereweretwotypeschotakhyalandbadakhyal.Badakhyalhasslowtempo
whilechotakhyalhasmediumandhighandhencebecamemorepopularamongthetwo.Khyalwas
difficulttoplayonthetraditionalveenaandhencenewinstrumentslikesitarandtablacameup.
CarnaticMusic
1.In contrast to Hindustani music, the main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music most compositions
are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed
ingayaki(singing)style.
2.It peaked under Vijaynagar empire @ Tanjavur in 16 17 century. Purandar Das is known as the father of
Carnatic Music. Bhakti movement and folk music traditions contributed a lot to the development of
Carnaticmusic.
Shruti
1.Itreferstomusicalpitch,thenotefromwhichalltheothersarederived.Itisalsousedinthesenseofgraded
pitches in an octave. While there are an infinite number of sounds falling within a raga in Carnatic music, the
numberthatcanbedistinguishedbyauditoryperceptionistwentytwo.
Swara
1.It consist of seven notes, "sarigamapadani". Every member of the swara has 3 variants (like ra, ri, ru)
exceptforsa,pa,ma.Itreferstoatypeofmusicalsoundthatisasinglenote,whichdefinesarelative(higher
orlower)positionofanote,ratherthanadefinedfrequency.
Raga
1.In Carnatic music, it prescribes a set of rules for building a melody. It specifies rules for movements up
(aarohanam)anddown(avarohanam),thescaleofwhichnotesshouldfiguremoreandwhichnotesshouldbe
usedmoresparingly,whichnotesmaybesungwithgamaka(ornamentation),whichphrasesshouldbeusedor
avoided, and so on. In effect, it is a series of obligatory musical events which must be observed, either
absolutelyorwithaparticularfrequency.
Tala
1.Taals are the repeating succession of beats or claps like on a dholak (dhikdhadhikdhak
dhin).Theyhavecyclesofadefinednumberofbeatsandrarelychangewithinasong.
HindustaniMusic
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1.Fusion of Vedic and Persian music as well as sufi tradition. Names like Amir Khusrau and Tansen are
associated with this school. Sufi tradition brought religious assimilation in the music as Muslim singers sung
praisingHindudeitiesandviceversa.
2.It is traditional for performers who have reached a distinguished level of achievement to be awarded titles of
respectHindusareusuallyreferredtoaspanditandMuslimsasustad.
DhrupadStyle
1.Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" (fixed) and "pada" (words). This tradition can be traced back to
Vedas. But it saw a decline from 18 century onwards. A newer genre, khyal, gained popularity at dhrupad's
expense as it placed less constraints on the singers and also the new instruments being developed
thesitarandthesarodwerenotsuitedtodhrupad.
2.Dhrupadasweknowittodayisperformedbyasolosingerorasmallnumberofsingersinunisontothebeatof
thepakhavajormridangratherthanthetabla.Thevocalistisusuallyaccompaniedbytwotanpuras.
3.Dhrupad styles have long elaborate alaps and gradually accelerates. The alap is derived from a mantra, in a
recurrent,setpattern:arenena,tterenena,rirerenena,tenetone.Inmoststylesofdhrupadsinging
can easily last an hour. It is broadly subdivided into the alap proper (unmetered), the jor (with steady rhythm)
and the jhala (accelerating strumming) or nomtom, when syllables are sung at a very rapid pace. Then the
composition is sung to the rhythmic accompaniment: the four lines, in serial order, are
termedsthayi,antara,sanchariandaabhog.
KhyalStyle
1.Khyalbasesitselfonacollectionofshortsongsoftwotoeightlineseachcalledabandish. Khyal bandishes
are typically composed in a variant of Urdu / Hindi, and sometimes in Persian, Marathi or Punjabi, and these
compositionscoverdiversetopics,suchasromanticordivinelove,praiseofkingsorgods,theseasons,dawn
andduskandtheycanhavesymbolismandimagery.Thebandishisdividedintotwopartsthesthayi and
theantara.Thesthayioftenusesnotesintheloweroctave,whiletheantarausesinupperoctave.
2.Every singer generally renders the same bandish differently, with only the text and the raga remaining the
same. A typical khyal performance uses two songs the bada khyal in slow tempo comprising most of the
performance, while the chota khyal in fast tempo used as a finale. The songs are sometimes preceded by
improvisedalap.
3.The singer uses the bandish as raw material for improvisation, accompanied by a harmonium or sarangi,
tablaandatanpurainthebackground.
TaranaStyle
1.ItisatypeofcompositioninHindustaniclassicalvocalmusicinwhichcertainwordsandsyllablesareusedin
amediumtempoandfasttempo.ItwasinventedbyAmirKhusrau.
TappaStyle
1.TappaoriginatedfromthefolksongsofthecamelridersofPunjabanddevelopedasaformofclassicalmusic
byMianGhulamNabiShori@Oudh.
ThumriStyle
1.ItisasemiclassicalIndianmusic.Itdeveloped@OudhanddealsmainlywithKrishna.
23/23

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