Bauls: Mystic minstrels

                                            Baul Minstrel / Image source

The Bauls are mystic minstrels or bards who reside mainly in West Bengal, north-eastern India and in Bangladesh. The sect originated in Bengal in the 17th century and its philosophy of humanism attracts people of all religions, sects, caste and creed for its ethos of inclusion. It was popularised by Lalon Shah whose moving songs of religious tolerance have been inspiring poets, writers and thinkers of every period including Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and American poet Allen Ginsberg.

Usually travelling from place to place the Bauls earn their living from singing to the accompaniment of single-stringed ektaras. Shah Abdul Karim , Bhaba Pagla and Purna Das Baul are famous Baul singers. 

Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart) of Śūdraka

Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart), the most realistic of Indian dramas, is ascribed to Śūdraka,  According to  A. L. Basham  Śūdraka was probably Kalidasa’s approximate contemporary. The Sanskrit drama tells a story of the love of a poor Brahman Charudatta for a wealthy and virtuous courtezan Vasantasena.

The climax of the play is the trial scene after which Charudatta is saved from execution at the last moment. 

Mṛcchakaṭika is one of the most widely Sanskrit dramas performed on the European stage. 

Brahmagupta, 7th century Indian astronomer and mathematician

Brahmagupta is one of the most famous of the ancient Indian astronomers and mathematicians. He wrote his masterpiece Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta (“Correctly Established Doctrine of Brahma”) in 628 AD.

It was translated into Arabic in Baghdad about 771 and it became famous in the Arabic world as Sindhind. 

One of the most popular estimates of the size of the Earth was made by Brahmagupta who calculated that it has a circumference as 5000 yojanas. His yojana is equal to about 4.5 miles (7.2 km.). It was Brahmagupta who used zero as number for the first time. 

Vedanta, school of Philosophy

Vedanta, (“the end of the Vedas”) is also called Uttara Mimamsa (Later  Mimamsa). It is the most important of the six systems of Salvations in Hinduism.  

The doctrine of Vedanta are based the Upanishads, mystical texts in Hinduism. . 

Brahma Sutras of Badarayana is the basic text of the system. Written early in the Christian era, Brahma Sutras has been commented on by many scholars in periods from ancient to modern. Modern mystical teachers including Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo Ghose are Vedantists.   

Harihara, syncretism of Vishnu and Shiva

 

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.

Badaun: Where History Reigns Supreme

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 throne in favour of Buhlul Khan Lodi who founded a new dynasty which came to be known as the Lodi dynasty. 

The tombs of Alam Shah and his mother are an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument in Badaun.  

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

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 successful battle against the Pala ruler Dharampala and his protégé Chakrayudha. 

The greatest Rashtrakuta ruler, Amoghavarsha I or Sarva (814-878) succeeded to the throne after his father Govinda III’s death. Krishna III was the last greatest ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. He ascended the throne in 939 and ruled till 967. In 949 he defeated the Chola king Parantaka I in a battle of Takkolam. After this, Krishna III adopted the title of ‘Conqueror of Kacci (Kanchi) and Tanjai (Tanjore)’.

Krishna III was succeeded by his half-brother Khottiga in 967. During latter's rule the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta was sacked by Harsha Siyaka of the Paramara dynasty in 972-73. Khottiga was followed by his nephew Karka II who ascended the throne in 973. Karka II was overthrown and killed within months by the Chalukya Taila II who founded Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani. 

Rashtrakutas were the earliest Indian ruling dynasty to have allowed the Muslim traders to settle and permitted Islam to be preached in their dominions. 

During the early part of the dynasty Rashtrakutas were supporters of Hinduism. Later they became zealous patrons of Jainism.