Dadu: Medieval Bhakti Saint and Religious Reformer

Dadu was the most important of the religious teachers who taught the ideals of Kabir with great force. He was born to Brahmin parents in 1544 AD in Ahmedabad in Gujarat.  He, however, spent most part of his life in Rajasthan where he died in 1603 in the village of Narana or Narayana which is presently the chief centre of his followers who are called by the name of Dadu-panthis.

A contemporary of Mughal emperor Akbar, Dadu taught the brotherhood of all faiths and founded Brhama-sampradaya or Parabrahma- sampradaya to give effect to his doctrine. It is said that it was at the instance of Dadu that the Mughal emperor ordered the ban of cow-slaughter in his empire.

A non-believer in the authority of scriptures, Dadu stressed the importance of self-realization. According to him, this realization can be attained by complete surrender to God and making ourselves free from egotism.

Sundaradasa (1597-1689) and Rajjab were the famous disciples of Dadu.

Famous Quote of Dadu

“Be humble and free from egotism; be compassionate and devoted in service; be a hero, fearless and energetic; free your mind from sectarianism, and from all the meaningless forms and semblances of religion; be forgiving by nature and firm in your faith. The path of realization becomes easier, if you can fid a true teacher”.

Rukn-ud-din Firuz: Successor of Iltutmish

Rukn-ud-din Firuz was the ruler of the Slave dynasty who was placed on the throne of Delhi Sultanate by the nobles of the court in deference to the wishes of the Slave Sultan Iltutmish who had nominated his daughter Razia as his successor before his death in April, 1236.

Iltutmish's eldest son, Nasir-ud-din Mahmud, who was also his favourite child and the ablest among the children, died in April, A.D. 1229. Nasir-ud-din Mahmud was governor of Bengal at that time. Since Rukn-ud-din Firuz, Iltutmish’s eldest surviving son, was incompetent and lazy and indulged in sensual pleasures, the Sultan thought it prudent to nominate Razia as heir-apparent. However, the anointment of a woman was not liked by the nobles and courtiers. So his wish was thrown to the dustbin and Rukn-ud-din Firuz became the next Slave Sultan.

Rukn-ud-din Firuz’s reign did not last long as the kingdom plunged into utter chaos and disorder due to the undue influence of his mother Shah Turkhan, an inordinately ambitious woman of low origin, who let loose a reign of terror by persecuting her co-wives and their children. During Rukn-ud-din Firuz’s reign, the provincial governors of Badaun, Multan, Hansi, Lahore, Oudh and Bengal threw off their allegiance to the Delhi Sultanate.

The nobles of Delhi put Shah Turkhan in prison and Rukn-ud-din Firuz was killed on the 9th November, A.D. 1236. He lies buried near the Sultan Ghari in Delhi. 

Rukn-ud-din Firuz was succeeded by his sister Razia on the Delhi throne.

Firuz Shah Bahmani; The multi-faceted Bahmani ruler

In 1397 Taj-ud-din Firuz Shah, popularly known as Firuz Shah Bahmani, usurped the throne of the Bhamani kingdom which came into existence in 1347 in the Deccan as a revolt against the rule of the Tughlaq Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate.

The most famous ruler of the Bahmani kingdom, Firuz Shah was a grandson Alauddin Hasan Bahmani, the founder of the dynasty. Sayyid Ali Tabataba, the author of Burhan-i-Ma'asir, describes him as ' a good, just, and generous king, who supported himself by copying the Quran’. According to him, Firuz "was an impetuous and a mighty monarch, and expended all his ability and energy in eradicating and destroying tyranny and heresy, and he took much pleasure in the society of the Shekhs, learned men and hermits".

An interesting personality in the history of Deccan, Firuz Shah is counted among the most learned rulers of his time. Endowed with a prodigious memory and keen intellect, he was a linguist and could converse freely with his wives of varied nationalities in their own tongues. He was fond of music.

Firuz Shah Bahmani was not immune from vices. Addicted to hard drinking, he like many other medieval rulers, was a blood thirsty tyrant. He won two battles against the Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom in 1398 and 1406. After these victories, he took delight in massacre of the populace and left “the roads littered with the bodies of the slaughtered Hindus”. Firuz Bahmani entered into a new relationship with Vijayanagar ruler Deva Raya by marrying his daughter. The wedding ceremony was celebrated in the capital of Vijayanagar with great pomp and show.

However, when Firuz was defeated in his third expedition against the Hindu Kingdom in 1420 at Pangul, to the north of the Krishna, he fled from the battlefield when his commander-in-chief, Mir Fazl-ullah Inju, was killed. The Vijayanagar army mercilessly put hordes of the Muslim subjects of the Bahmani kingdom into sword and demolished several mosques in vengeance.  

This defeat took a heavy toll on Firuz’s mind and body and he lost interest in the affairs of the state which he left in the hands of his slaves, Hushyar 'Ain-ul-mulk and Nizam Bidar-ul-mulk. He was succeeded by his brother Ahmad who forced him to abdicate the throne in his favour. According to Burhan-i-Ma'asir, Firuz was murdered by Ahmad, while Ferishta says his death was natural.

Ruknuddin Kaikaus

Ruknuddin Kaikaus was the independent ruler of Bengal who ruled from 1291 to 1300 AD. He succeeded to the throne after his father Bughra Khan, son of Delhi Sultan Balban, decided to abdicate the Bengal throne in his favour. 

Futuh –us-Sulatin by Isami

Born in 1311 AD, Khwaja Abd Malik Isami has written a political history called Futuh–us-Sulatin, dedicated to the founder of the Bahmani kingdom, Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah. 

Composed in a form of an epic, Futuh –us-Sulatin begins with the rise of the Ghaznavi dynasty and concludes with the reign of Sultan Muhamamd bin Tughlaq.

According to Isami, Balban became the ruler of the Slave dynasty by murdering his predecessor and son-in-law Nasir-ud-din Mahmud. Regarding the rationale of shifting his capital from Delhi to Deogir (Daultabad) in the Deccan by Muhamamd bin Tughlaq,  this fourteen century historian says that the decision was taken as Daultabad was centrally located and consequently safe from the Mongol invasion, a recurrent feature during the period.

Burhan-i-Ma'asir

Burhan-i-Ma'asir, named after Burhan Nizam Shah II of Nizam Shahi dynasty of the Muslim kingdom of Ahmadnagar, is written by Sayyid Ali Tabataba who came to India from Persia in 1580. Tabataba started writing Burhan-i-Ma'asir in 1591-1592 and finished it in 1595-1596.

Burhan-i-Ma'asir describes the events pertaining to the Bahmani kingdom and its subsequent break-up into five Muslim dynasties in the South India. 

Muslim Sultanate of Madurai

No less than eighteen rebellions took place during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the second ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. One such rebellion challenging his authority came from Jalal-ud-din Ahsan Shah, governor of Malabar, who cashing in on the Sultan's military preoccupations in Northern India, declared his independence in A.D. 1335 and struck gold and silver coins in his own name.

Thus came into being the independent Muslim Sultanate of Madurai. 

The Madurai Sultanate, however, proved short-lived. 

The kingdom was annexed to the resurgent Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar in 1378. The victory has been celebrated in the Sanskrit epic poem of great merit Madura Vijayam (Conquest of Madurai) or Kamparaya-Charitam (History of Kampanna), composed by Ganga Devi, queen of Vira Kampanna, who led the Vijayanagar army. Vira Kampanna was the son of Bukka I, co-founder of Vijayanagar empire. 

Jalal-ud-din Ahsan Shah was also the father-in-law of the famous Arab traveller from Morocco, Ibn Batutah who had visited the Madurai Sultanate in 1344.