Indian History

The supernatural Mara is a sort of Satan in Buddhist literature. He is best known for his temptation of the historical Buddha. Equipped with sinister motives, he is the Buddhist devil. When the historical Buddha was sitting under the pipal tree awaiting Enlightenment, Mara tried all means to seduce him. First he disguised as a messenger and told Siddhartha that his father Suddhodhana had been put into prison by the Buddha’s wicked cousin Devadatta . This didn’t deter Siddhartha. Mara then called his armies of demon hosts to attack Gautama with earthquake and flood. Yet Siddhartha sat firm. When Mara challenged Siddhartha to produce evidence of his goodness, he touched the earth, and the earth itself spoke: "I am his witness.” Lastly Mara brought his three beautiful daughters ( Desire , Pleasure and Passion ) to seduce Siddhartha. This means also came to naught.

Edwin Arnold’s main fame to claim is his magnum opus The Light of Asia, a lengthy poem on the Buddha’s life. An English poet and journalist, Edwin Arnold used Lalitavistara, one of the earliest Mahayana texts, to write the above-mentioned work which became hugely popular in the 19th century.

Slavery existed in the 16th century Vijayanagar Empire. There are references to besabaga or the sale of human beings during the period. The Vijayanagar inscriptions and the accounts left by the foreign travellers to the kingdom make reference to both male and female slaves. The condition of the salves was governed by humane regulations and they could not be ill-treated. Italian traveler Nicolo Conti visiting India in the early fifteenth century, says, “They have a vast number of salves, and the debator who is insolvent is everywhere adjudged to be the property of his creditor.” On the whole the masters treated them with kindness and consideration.

Francois Bernier was a French Traveller to the Mughal Empire in the reign of fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. He was a physician by profession. He was attached to the court of Shah Jahan and was witness to the fierce war of succession among the sons of Shah Jahan. His History of the Late Rebellion in the States of the Great Mughal, describing the war of succession, was published in 1670. After the battle of Samugah that took place in 1658 between Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent, and Aurangzeb and Murād Bakhsh, other sons of Shah Jahan, Bernier successively joined the services of Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber, the Portuguese at Goa and Sutan Abul Hassan Qutb Shah of Golconda.  He later moved to Madras where he died in 1717. His book,  Travels in the Mughal Empire , is one of the most valuable sources of the Mughal Empire. Bernier, a physician by profession, was an eye-witness to the scene in which Dara was paraded in a most undignified manner on the streets of Delhi on 29th August 1

Women, in Indus Valley Civilization also known as Harappan Civilization, wore far more elaborate hairstyles than their men folk. They used to take special care of their hair. Some of the women had a plait tied with a bow at the end. The discovery of the statue of dancing girl from Mohenjadaro attests to the pony tail, so common at the present day. The men in the Harappan civilization were used to different styles of hair dressing. They used to part hair in the middle and tied it with a bullet. Sometimes the hair was gathered up in a bun or coiled in a ring on top of the head. The crawling child depicted on a clay figure from Mohenjadaro show that curly hair was also in vogue. Men used to trim their beards and shaved the upper lips. There are traces of completely shaven faces with a small beard on the chin. Short beards were preferable.

There was already a class division in the tribal structure of the Aryans when they entered India. However the social divisions became more prominent in the Vedic period due to the racial discriminations between the Aryans and non-Aryans, who after being defeated by the former were treated as Dasas, Dasyus and shudras. Gradually the tribal society of the Aryans were divided into three classes or groups –the priest (Brahmanas), warrior (Kshatriyas) and peasant (vaishyas). The purusha shukta or creation Hymn of the Rigveda (X, 90, 12) says that Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras originated respectively from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the Purusha or Creator. This hymn is taken to be the root of caste system in India. But initially it was varna (literary means colour) and referred to the person of a particular profession, and not of particular birth. But in the hymns of the Rigveda rigid restriction typical of castle in its mature form is not evident. There is no trace of

Chauth and sardeshmukhi were the two most important taxes in the taxation system of the powerful Maratha state founded by brilliant Maratha leader Shivaji (1627-1680).  According to Mahadev Govind Ranade , a famous Indian scholar and freedom fighter, chauth was a military tribute that was levied as a quid pro quo for protection against the invasion of a third power. But eminent historian Jadunath Sarkar does not ascribe to this view. According to him, chauth, 25% tax on revenue or produce, was realized from the alien territories to save themselves from the unwelcome presence of the Maratha soldiers and civil underlings. Shivaji was not under obligation to guard the territory from foreign invasion or internal disorder.  According to another authority S. G Sardesai , chauth was a military tribute paid by the conquered or hostile territories. Since Shivaji was the hereditary sardeshmukh (Chief Headmand) of Maharashtra, he demanded an additional levy of 10 percent known as sardeshmu

          Champaner’s Jama Masjid, built by Mahmud Begada/Wikimedia Commons Muzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat was founded by Zafar Khan, who was appointed governor of Gujarat in 1391 by the ruler of Delhi Sultanate, with the title Muzaffar Khan. Zafar Khan was son of Sadharan, a Jat convert to Islam. Firuz Shah Tughluq was married to Sadharan’s sister. Muzaffar Khan remained loyal to Delhi sultanate and was able to suppress the rebellions of Muslim and Hindu chieftains. Though deposed by his son Tatar Khan in 1403-4, he was restored to the throne by his uncle, Shams Khan Dandani, who poisoned Tatar Khan. Muzaffar proclaimed his independence as Muzaffer Shah in 1407. After his death in 1411 the throne passed on to Shihabuddin Ahmad Shah who ruled for thirty-one years. During his reign, Ahmad Shah (1411-42), who was son of the dead Tatar Khan, was engaged in continuous warfare and consolidated the Gujarat Sultanate. In 1411 he founded a new walled city which he named Ahmedabad. He built the