Indian History

  A popular syncretism in Hinduism is the god Harihara (Hari being a title of Vishnu and Hara of Shiva). Harihara is worshipped in the form of an icon which combines characteristics of both gods.  The cult of Harihara became popular in South India where the deity is still worshipped. The Harihara temples were built by Vijayanagara ruler.

Today, Budaun may be a non- descript town in the district of the same name in the western Uttar Pradesh, history weighs heavily on it.  About 235 km from Delhi, Budaun came into prominence when it became a centre of power during the reign of  Iltutmish of the Slave Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate. Iltutmish, who ruled from AD 1210 to 1236, served as the governor of Badaun under the Delhi Sultan Qutab ud-din Aibak before becoming the Sultan. It was at Badaun where Tajuddin Yalduz, successor of Muhammad of Ghor in Ghazni and a rival of Iltutmish, was beheaded on the instruction of the latter in 1216. The imposing Shamsi mosque in the town was commissioned by Iltutmish.  Budaun was the birthplace of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325), one of the most famous Sufi saints of Chisti order. His Dargah in Delhi attracts a large number of visitors.  Alauddin Alam Shah , the last ruler of Sayyid Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, found it better to retire in Badaun after abdicating ...

The Rashtrakutas were the feudatories of the Chalukyas of Badami or Vatapi, also known as early Chalukyas. Their kingdom was founded by Dantidurga or Dantivarman who overthrew the Chalukya dynasty about 753. After him, his uncle Krishna I became the next ruler whose accession to the Rashtrakuta throne proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Chalukyas of the Badami. Kailasnatha Temple , the crowning achievement of Ellora, was excavated on the instructions of Krishna I . Krishna I was succeeded by his eldest son Govinda II who, in turn, was dethroned by his younger brother Dhruva Dharavarsha who ruled from c. 779 to 793-94. He decisively intervened in the  tripartite struggle for the supremacy of Kannauj in north India and defeated both the Pala king Dharampal and Pratihara ruler Vatsaraja. After these victories he added the emblem of Ganga and Yamuna to his imperial insignia.  Next Rashtrakuta ruler was Dhruva’s illustrious son Govinda III (A.D. 793-814), who fought a...

 Ashoka ranks among the greatest rulers in the history of mankind. It is with good reason the Lion capital of Asoka has been adopted by Indian Republic as its National Emblem.  Early Life For Asoka’s early life, we have to rely on traditional accounts.  Her mother has been referred to by different names in different Buddhist accounts. While she has been called Subhadrangi In one account, the other Buddhist texts refer to her as Janapada Kalyani and Dharma. As a young prince, Ashoka served as a viceroy of Ujjain and Taxila. Apart from Devi or Vedisa Mahadevi whom Asoka married during his viceroyalty of Ujjai, Karuvaki and Asandhimitra were his other two queens. Karuvaki was the mother of Tivara, the only son of Asoka to be mentioned by name in his inscription. Accession  About 269 BC Asoka succeeded to the Mauryan throne as its third ruler.  The Buddhist sources would make us believe that his accession to the throne was accompanied by much violence. According to ...

                                                     Raja Ram Mohan Roy/Wikipedia Commons Born in 1772 at Radhanagar (in the Hooghly district of West Bengal), Raja Ram Mohan was known for his advocacy of social reform and has been rightly called the father of Indian Renaissance. In 1815, he founded Atmiya Shabha in Calcutta to propagate monotheism and reforms in the Hindu society. In 1828, he founded a sect named Brahmo Sabha which was later renamed Brahmo Samaj in 1882. He launched in 1821 a Bengali weekly newspaper Sambad Kaumudi or “The Moon of the Intelligence” through which he started a campaign for the abolition of Sati .   Among his Persian literary works, Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (A Gift to Monotheists) published in 1803 and  Manazarutul Adyan, a discussion on various religi...

Jauna Khan aka Ulugh Khan succeeded his father and first Tughluq ruler Ghiyas -ud -Din –Tughlaq under the title of Muhammad bin Tughluq whose death in 1351 after a 26-year reign, according to the 16th century historian Badauni, liberated the Sultan from his people and freed them from him.  Muhammad bin Tughluq was among the most remarkable, enigmatic and controversial figures among the Sultans of Delhi. To his contemporaries, he was a mixture of cruelty and kindness.                                                                                                                             For Barani , who enjoyed his patronage, the ideal ruler was the next Tughlaq monarch ...

Mir Jumla was the subahdar of Bengal during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. A Persian by birth, his original name was Muhammad Saiyid. Before becoming the wazir under Shah Jahan and later during the reign of his successor Aurangzeb, Mir Jumla was originally in the service of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He had conquered Karnataka on behalf of Golconda ruler Abdullah Qutb Shah.   Mir Jumla was also a  diamond merchant. Mir Jumla was known for his martial and administrative ability. He was made governor of Bengal in 1659 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In 1661, he seized Cooch Behar and marched to Assam. However, the difficult terrain and the bad climate of the area forced Mir Jumla to retreat empty handed in 1663 and the subjugation of Assam remained incomplete. Mir Jumla died in 1663 on his way to Dacca and has been entombed at Thakurbari on the Assam-Meghalaya border in the westernmost part of West Garo Hills .