Sena Dynasty of Bengal

The political space after the decline of the Pala power in Bengal was occupied by the Senas whose king Vijayasena succeeded in conquering a large part of Pala territory. The Senas were the supporters of orthodox Hinduism. The dynasty traces its origin to the South, to the Chalukyas.

The founder of the Sena rule was Samantasena who described himself as a kshatriya of Karnata and born in a family of “Brahma-Kshatriya" at a place called Radha in West Bengal. The title Brahma-Kshatriya indicates that Samantasena was a Brahmin but his successors called themselves simply Kshatriyas. He himself states that he fought the outlaws of Karnata and later turned an ascetic.

Samantasena was succeeded by Vijayasena who consolidated the Sena power. According to the Deopara inscription composed by the poet Dhoyi, Vijayasena is credited with defeating “Navya (ruler of Mithila and Nepal) and Vira. The Gauda kingdom was attacked by him who also humbled the ruler of Kamrupa. He also defeated many minor kings and is said to have dispatched his fleet along the course of the Ganga.” Vijayasena established tow capitals, Vikrampura in East Bengal and Vijayapuri in West Bengal.

After the death of Vijayasena, Ballalsena (1165-85) ascended the throne. The literary texts Ballalacharita and Laghubharata, Mithala formed part of the Sena kingdom as the fifth province. Varendra, Vagdi, Radha and Vanga were the other four provinces. Ballalsena was a man of literary taste. He is said to have authored Adbhutasagara, a work on astronomy, and Danasagara, a work on Smriti. Ballalsena is known to have started a social movement known as Kulinism by which the nobility of birth and purity of blood were carefully protected.

Ballalsena was succeeded by Lakshmana Sena who surrendered meekly to the Turkish invader Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji and escaped for his life by flight in 1194. Lakshmanasena fled the Sena capital at Nadia (renamed Lakhnauti or Lakshmanavati) and took refuge at Vikrampura in East Bengal where his sons Visvarupasena and Kesavasena continued to rule. Visvarupasena ruled for fourteen years while Kesavasena for three years.

Though politically an effete, Lakshmanasena, however, was a patron of great literary minds of the day. Jayadev, author of Gita Govinda, Halayudha Mishra, the linguist, and Dhoyi, author of Pavanadutam, adorned his court.

Yama: the God of Death

Yama was one of the earlier Indian gods. As the death god of the Vedas, he was one of the Lokapalas, or Guardian of the Universe. He was the Lokpala of southern quarter. In the Vedic period he was the lord of the dead and Guardian of the World of the Fathers, where he blessed the dead.

At the approach of the medieval period , his role began to get somewhat altered for he was no longer the cheerful lord of paradise, but the stern judge of the dead, ruling over the purgatories where the wicked suffered until their rebirth. The idea of a divine judge, theoretically unnecessary according to the doctrine of karma, may have been imported from the west, where it was known in many cults.

Sometimes Yama, aided by his clerk Chitragupta, is described as weighing the deeds of the souls of the dead in a balance, rather like the Egyptian Throth.

Lingayat: Shaivite sect in South India

Lingayat or Virashaivas was an important Shaivite sect, founded by Basava, a minister of King Bijala Kalchuri who usurped the throne of the Chalukyas of Kalyani in A. D. 1156. This sect is famous more for its cult and social doctrines than for its theology, which is a “qualified monism” with few striking features.

Basava opposed idolatry. In Lingayatism the only scared symbol is the linga of Shiva, a specimen of which is always carried on the person of the believer. Radical in his view, Basava completely rejected the Vedas and authority of the Brahmin class, and priesthood-the jangamas. Apart from opposing pilgrimage and sacrifice he instituted complete equality among his followers, even to the equality of women who were permitted to remarry on the death of their husbands. Among other Aryan practices which Basava condemned was cremation, and his followers are still buried. It is possible that he was influenced by what he had heard of Islam.

The Lingayats still retain their individuality, though they have compromised with orthodoxy in some respects, and they are an important sect in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Their sacred literature is mainly in Kannada and Telgu.

Mahabharata: Great Indian Epic

Earlier of the two great Sanskrit epics of India, the Mahabharata (other being the Ramayana) is written earlier than the other. Considered to be the longest single poem in the world literature, the epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, though it incorporated many episodes in the later centuries. As the poem stands today, it contains about 90, 000 stanzas, most of them of thirty two syllables.

The central story of the Mahabharata concerns a great civil war fought among cousins and brothers for the succession of the throne of the Kuru Kingdom, in the region of the modern delhi, then known as Kurukshetra.

Mara: The Buddhist Satan

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: The Light of Asia

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 in Vijayanagar Empire

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.