Life of the Buddha

Buddha Statue-Bodhgaya

The Buddha ( the enlightened or Awakened), also known as Sakyamuni or Thathagata, was born in 563 B. C. on the Vaihsakha Purnima day in the royal grove at Lumbini, near Kapilavastu, capital of the Sakyan republic, where his father Suddhodana was at the time ruling.

At birth the Buddha stood upright, took seven strides, and spoke: “This is my last birth-henceforth there is no more birth for me.” His mother, Mahamaya, died seven days after the birth. So the child, named Siddhartha, was brought up by his stepmother Gautami. Gautama as a child led a sheltered life and was given every kind of luxury. He was married at the age of 16 to Yasodhara, his cousin and the beautiful daughter of a neighboring chieftain whom he won at a contest where he defeated all the contenders including his envious cousin Devadatta. Gautama enjoyed family life for thirteen years and had a son Rahula.

Since one of the soothsayers had prophesied that Siddhartha is destined to be a Universal teacher, his father Suddhodana made every effort to keep Siddhartha virtually a prisoner in the palace. However, Siddhartha got out by stealth. The four signs he saw outside made a deep impression on him. He is said to have seen an aged man, completely decrepit and ugly and then a sick man who was covered with boils and shivering. Thirdly he saw a corpse; being carried to the cremation ground: all of which deeply depressed him because they showed that there is nothing but sorrow and suffering in the world and death comes to all of us, Finally he saw a religious beggar, clad in a simple yellow robe, an ascetic who devoted himself to religion. This man looked to be quite composed and serene and was inwardly joyful. This sort of life appealed to him. And therefore, he left his palace at night at the age of 29, to seek mental peace in the homeless life of an ascetic. Before leaving the palace, the Buddha went to the room of his son Rahul where his wife Yasodhara was sleeping with one of his hands on the head of the child. He silently left the palace since he feared that her awakening will prove to be an obstacle to his going away. This event is known as “Great Going Forth” (Mahabhiniskramana) in the Buddhist phraseology.

For full six years Gautama sought the solution to the world’s ills. He learnt the technique of ecstatic mediation (samapatti) from Alara Kalama. During the period, he searched, scrutinized and examined in detail the prevalent schools of thought. Ultimately, one fine morning of Vaisakha Purnima at the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under the bodhi tree (Tree of Wisdom) in Bihar.

The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (Isipatana) near Varanasi before the five ascetics who had been earlier his colleagues. Thereafter for forty five years the Buddha went about the country, from town to town, from village to village, disseminating spiritual illumination for the benefit of the suffering of humanity. He attained the final blowing out (mahaparinirvana) at Kushinara in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh) in 483 BC at the age of 80. The last words of the Buddha were: “All composite things decay. Strive diligently!”

Razia, the Only Muslim Woman Ruler of India

Razia (AD 1236-40) was the first and last Muslim woman ruler of Delhi. After the death of her father Sultan Iltutmish (the second ruler of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate) in 1236, her half brother Rukn-ud-din Firuz ascended the throne with the help of the nobles. This was against the wishes of Iltutmish or Altamash who was aware that his sons were not fit to be the ruler. 

During the rule of Rukn-ud-din Firuz the empire plunged into disorder. Matters were made worse by her mother Shah Turkan who unveiled a reign of terror on her adversaries. Initially a concubine in the harem of Iltutmish, Shah Turkan later on went on to become queen of the Sultan. As chaos and confusion loomed large, Rukn-ud-din Firuz and his mother Shah Turkan were put to death on November 9, 1936. He ruled for only seven months.

Razia was now the natural choice of the nobles of Delhi. Razia’s rule lasted three years ad half. She gave good account of herself as a shrewd diplomat and a strategist. At the beginning of her rule, she quelled the rebellion of provincial governors led by Muhammad Junaidi, the prime minster of the empire. She became successful in restring order in the kingdom. This was not an easy task given the conservative nature of the Muslim society in medieval times.

Razia discarded veil, began to don male attire, and rode out in public on the back of an elephant. This was not liked by the orthodox section of the Muslim populace. Another serious complaint against her that she showed undue favour to Jallaluddin Yakut, an Abyssinian by promoting him to the post of Master of Stables.

Soon discontent began to emerge among the governors of the Kingdom. Kabir khan, the governor of Lahore, was defeated by Razia. However she suffered defeat at the hands of the governor of Bhatinda, Altunia who later married her after her defeat. While she was away in Bhatinda, the nobles at Delhi proclaimed Bahram Shah, another son of Iltutmish, Sultan of Delhi. Razia was defeated in 1240 and was killed.

The contemporary historian Minhaj-us-Siraj describes Razia as “a great sovereign endowed with all the admirable qualities and qualifications necessary for kings."

Mariam: Akbar’s First Rajput Wife

Mariam uz-Zamani was the wife of Akbar and mother of the fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Akbar, the greatest of the Mughals, understood it very well that in order to rule such a large country like India, it was essential to have the support the majority of the population. Consequently he entered into matrimonial alliance with Rajputs who were the formidable adversaries of the Mughals.
Tomb of Mariyam

Before her marriage to Akbar, Mariam uz-Zamani, who was Akbar’s first Rajput wife, was known as Rajkumari Hira Kunwari. She was the eldest daughter of Kachwaha Rajput, Raja Bharmal of Amber.

The Tomb of Mariam, built in red sand stone in 1611, is located at Sikandra, near Agra. It is one km away from Akbar’s tomb.

Taj Mahal: One solitary tear on the cheek of time.

Avantivarman: Kashmir's Development Man

In the history of Kashmir, the Utpala dynasty holds a special place. The founder of the Utpala dynasty was Avantivarman who ruled from AD 855 to 883. He was more interested in internal administration than military conquests. New towns and irrigation works were constructed. One of these towns was Suyyapura (modern Sopar), called after his minister and engineer Suyya who gave a further impetus to the agriculture of Kashmir by draining marshes and protecting the fields against the deluge of avalanches. It is said of Suyya that he “made the streams of Indus and Jhelum flow according to his will, like a snake charmer his snakes.”

Avantivarman founded a new city Avantipur (Bantipur). A patron of learning , Avantivarman, in his court, has two poets, Ratnakara and Anandavardhan. In his time, according to the Kashmiri poet Kalhana, author of Rajatarangini (“rivers of kings”), rice was sold for 36 dinaras per khari, as against 2000 dinaras earlier, showing the revival of the country’s prosperity,

Descent of the Ganges: Masterpiece of the Pallava Architecture

Since ancient times rivers have been held scared by the Hindus. Ganga is the most sacred river of India. Sacred because according to Hindu mythology, Ganga sprang from the foot of Vishnu, flowed over the sky in the form of the milky way (Mandakini) and then fell to earth from the matted locks of Shiva. 

Himalayas is the source of Ganga. It is at Hardwar in the sate of Uttarakhand that this holy river debouches on the plain, known as the Gangetic plain. Ganga joins the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal where it forms a large delta. 

Ganga is mentioned only once in a late hymn of Rigveda, the earliest of the Vedas. It seems that during the Rigvedic period, the Aryans had not expanded beyond Yamuna. 

The relief of "The Descent of the Ganges", also known as Arjuna's Penance, in the rock-cut temples of Mamallapuram (Tami Nadu), now known as Mahabalipuram, is the most striking of the sculptures for which the Pallavas are known all over the world. 

Covering a rock face of over90 feet long and 40 feet high, Ganga is watched on either side by gods, demigods, ascetics and elephants as she descends from the head of Shiva. The sinuous snake spirits (nagas) of Shiva are shown swimming in the waters of the Ganga. The sense of humour of the artists of this relief is representative by the carving of a cat standing on one leg and performing penance in order to lure the mice to doom.

Pritilata Waddedar: Brave Woman from Bengal

Pritilata Waddedar (1911-32) was a woman revolutionary from Bengal. An active member of the Jugantar and the Chittagong Republican Army, formed by Surya Sen, also known as “Masterda”. She led a group of revolutionaries and attacked a European club at Pahartali on September 24, 1932 in which a number of European were killed or wounded. After successfully raiding the club, she swallowed poison and committed suicide with a written statement in her pocket, which was a clarion call to the womanhood of India to rise up in arms against the foreign oppressions and to stand by the side of their brothers fighting for freedom.

Pritilata Waddedar

Ashutosh Gowariker's period film "Khele Hum Jee Jaan Se" is based on the Chittagong Uprising. The film is based on based on the book Do And Die by Manini Chatterjee, a veteran journalist. Role of Preetilata Waddedar is played by Vishakha Singh. Abhishek Bachchan plays the role of Surya Sen, that of other woman revolutionary Kalpana Dutt is being played by Deepika Padukone.