Adi Shankaracharya

 

Introduction

·       Shankracharya was a Nambudari Brahmin born in Malabar(Kaladi) in early 8^th century CE.

·       Persecute by Jainism he took a triumphant visit to north India, where he worsted his opponents in debates.

Philosophy

·       Knowledge: God and created are one, and differences were not real but apparent and arose due to ignorance.

·       Salvation: The way to salvation is devotion to God(bhakti), strengthened by the knowledge that the God and created are same.

·       How to Achieve Salvation: At the deepest level of meditation (’निर्विकल्प समाधि’) the complete identity between God and created is realized and all the suffering of life ceases and that state is called (सच्चिदान्द ब्राह्मण).

Efforts and Impact

How did Sankaracharya seek to integrate the different religions cults in India?

Contemporary Conditions:  At this time, the expression of Hinduism which is sourced from the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta of Upanishad was under threat.

1.       Different Sects: A multitude of sects, each adhering to different scriptural interpretations had arisen

2.       Mimansa: Reliance on elaborate rituals of Mimansa school had become a common practice.

3.       Band J: In addition Buddhism and Jainism had become quite strong.

Writing: He wrote extensive commentaries on Upanishad, Brahma Sutra and Gita.

·       Consistent System in Upanishad: By able use of logical argument and figurative interpretation of some phrases he reduced all the self-contradictory argument of the Upanishads to a consistent system.

·       Shanmata system: This not only revitalized the philosophical system but also united different sects into a common framework of Shanmata system.

·       Framework: This framework advocated that various Hindu paths were all valid ways of approaching the supreme non-duality and the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta stood over and above all the other forms of Hinduism and encapsulated them.

Tour: In addition to this voluminous writings the other strategy he adopted to integrate different sects was to tour the Indian subcontinent. On tour he would meet religious personalities of different schools, engage them in debate and win over them to Advaita Vedanta. He took three such tours of India.

Disciple Scholars: Adi Shankara had a number of disciple scholars during his travels, who authored their own literature on Shankara and Advaita Vedanta and led to further integration.

Monasteries: Another step which led to integration of different sects was the founding of monastic centers (matha), with each matha having its own Shankracharya chosen from amongst his closest disciples. These mathas were set up at cardinal points of the country(4- Jagannathpuri, Shringeri, Dwarka and Badrinath) and resulted in the whole of sub-continent linked with teachers of Advaita Vedanta. These institutes led to physical and spiritual unification of the country.

Other Efforts and Impact

·       Influence on different It was only after Shankara that the theologians of the various sects of Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater or lesser degree to form the basis of their doctrines, while the Nath-tradition established by him, led "its theoretical influence upon the whole of Indian society became final and definitive”.

·       Difference between Buddhism and Jainism: He also explained the key difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, stating that Hinduism asserts "Atman (Soul, Self) exists", while Buddhism asserts that there is "no Soul, no Self".

·       Challenge to Buddhism and Jainism: He posed the most serious challenge to Buddhism and Jainism after he reformulated the Hindu philosophy.

·       Importance of Monastic Life: He established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mīmāṃsā school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. He is reputed to have founded four mathas  ("monasteries").

·       Panchayatana: He introduced the Pañcāyatana form of worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. Shankara explained that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being.

Criticism

The path of knowledge put forward by him could be understood by few and thus could not influence the masses.

What do you know about Shankaracharya's Vedanta?

 Shankaracharya and Vedanta:

Vedanta: is the most prominent of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning “end of the Vedas”,

Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads(Upanishads form the last part of veda), specifically, knowledge and liberation. Vedanta contains many sub-traditions, ranging from dualism to non-dualism, all of which developed on the basis of a common textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

All Vedanta schools, in their deliberations, concern themselves but differ in their views regarding ontology, soteriology and epistemology.

Some of the better known sub-traditions of Vedanta include:

Advaita Darshan – established by Shankaracharya (788-820 CE)

Vishishtadvaita Darshan – established by Ramanujacharya (1017-1137 CE)

Dvaita Darshan – established by Madhvacharya (1238-1317 CE)

Bhedabhed (or Dvaitadvait) Darshan – established by Nimbarkacharya

Shuddhadvait Darshan – established by Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 CE)

Achintyabhedabhed Darshan – established by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534 CE)

Adi Shankaracharya was an early 8th century Indian philosopher and social reformer who had lived during 8th century AD. He was born in Kerala in a devout Brahman family. He gave the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta.

(Advaita = Not two i.e. monistic system.)

His teaching is based on unity of soul and Brahma where Brahma is without qualities/attribute

(nirguna). I.e. Brahma is the only entity, only reality.

Soul is Brahma and creation (aka Prakriti, Matter) is not real, it is maya- a illusion.

For him ‘The difference between the individual self and the supreme Self is due to the presence of

limiting adjuncts, such as the body, which are set up by names and forms and are created by avidyā;

there is actually no difference.’ He identitfied two level of reality: (But actually only one level of reality.)

Conventional reality (soul)

Absolute reality (Brahma).

And the ignorance(avidya) is reason for mistaking conventional reality for absolute reality.

Realizing this relation; ‘soul is Brahma and everything else isMaya‘ is Moksha.

So, he focused on the path of knowledge.

The goal of Advaita vedanta is liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Liberation for him was the realisation of oneness of atman and brahman. And this realization can

happen only when the ignorance vanishes.

“Adi Shankara was not an ivory tower philosopher; he was political sage, engaging with and responding to the historical context of his time.” Elucidate.

Adi Shankara, a South Indian Philosopher, gave the doctrine of Advaita (allowing no second, i.e., monism) and preached Upanishad doctrine of salvation through Knowledge. He is credited with unifying and

establishing the main currents of different thoughts of different religious cults.

An insight to his contributions:

Doctrine of Jagat mithya, brahma satyam:

This considered as grains of Adi Shankaracharya’s non-dualist maxim, which means the world that

we experience is essentially illusory or rather, mind-dependent epistemological truths. The only

mind-independent ontological truth is brahma, variously translated as God, soul, consciousness,

language, or the infinitely expanded, eternal, unconditioned mind.

This doctrine of reducing the world to mere illusion, popularly known as maya-vada, enabled

Shankara to unite a different religious cult, ideas having diverse worldviews e.g the Buddhists,

the Mimansakas (old Vedic householders) and the Vedantins (the later Vedic hermits), to the

Shaivas, the Vaishnavas, and the Shaktism. This is also evident in his writings.

Shankara’s philosophy is avowedly Vedic. Unlike Buddhists and Jains, he traced his knowledge to the

Vedas and submitted to its impersonal authority, which made him a believer (astika).

A disguised Buddhist: In his commentaries (bhasya) and monographs (prakarana), he repeatedly

sought a formless divine (nirguna brahman) being the only reality. This is evident in his commentary on

Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra-bhasya, his Sanskrit poems Vivekachudamani and Nirvana-shatakam and

his treatise Atma-bodha. Many consider this to be an acceptance of the Buddhist theme of the world,

while giving it a Vedic twist, which is why Shankara said to be a disguised Buddhist (prachanna

bauddha).

But Shankara’s poetry (stotra) also celebrates several tangible forms of the divine (saguna brahmana) as

they appear in the Puranas. He composed grand benedictions to Puranic gods: Shiva (Daksinamurtistotra),

Vishnu (Govinda-ashtaka) and Shakti (Saundarya-lahari). This makes him the first Vedic scholar,

after Vyasa, to overtly link Vedic Hinduism to Puranic Hinduism. Shankara even wrote on tantra.

Unifying geographically: Shankara connected holy spots of India such as the 12 jyotirlingas, 18 shaktipeethas

and four Vishnu-dhaams to create pilgrim routes that defined India as a single land. In his

legends, he traveled from Kerala to Kashmir, from Puri to Dwarka in Gujarat, from Shringeri in presentday

Karnataka to Badari in Uttarakhand, from Kanchi in present-day Tamil Nadu to Kashi in Uttar

Pradesh, along the slopes of the Himalayas, the banks of the rivers Narmada and Ganga, and along the

eastern and western coasts.

Communicated in one language: Adi Shankara, who traveled the breadth of the land, communicated

through the one language that connected the intellectual elite of the land: Sanskrit.

Ramanuja and Vishishtadvaita:

After the collapse of Gupta Empire India had been fragmented politically. Several kingdom were in constant

fight among themselves. In his commentary on the Brahma-sutra, Shankara observed, “One can say that

there never was a universal ruler as there is none now”. This is acknowledgement of the fragmented nature

of the society at his time.

In such existing order in the country he tried to bind the subcontinent of India through philosophy, poetry and pilgrimage.

Limitations of Shankaracharya:

Used Sanskrit for teaching-> not the language of masses.

Complex philosophy:

Vivekananda said that Shankaracharya is real essence showed Buddhism and vedanta are not very different but his disciples didn’t understand the master and degraded themselves and denied the existence of soul and god and became atheist.

Some scholars doubt Shankara’s early influence in India.

The Buddhist scholar Richard E. King states, ‘Although it is common to find Western scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya was the most influential and important figure in the history of Hinduintellectual thought, this does not seem to be justified by the historical evidence.’

Several scholars suggest that the historical fame and cultural influence of Shankara grew centuries later,particularly during the era of Muslim invasions and consequent devastation of India. Many of Shankara’s biographies were created and published in and after 14th century, such as the widely cited Vidyaranya’s Śankara-vijaya.

Later many ridiculous stories were propagated about him.

e.g. Shankara, himself considered to be an incarnation of Shiva

short life of Shankara: dies at age of 32.

Make an assessment of Sher Shah's administration.

 

Sher Shah saw to it that Humayun left Hindustan and had him followed up to Lahore by his men. In the meantime he himself fought winning battles with the Baluch nobles and built a fort on the frontier which he named as Rohtasgarh.. Probably he wanted to secure the frontier and also to see that the Mughals did not make a try to re-enter Hindustan along that line.

In 1541 there was a revolt in Bengal raised by the governor Khizir Khan. This was put down. But Sher Shah completely hauled up the administrative set up in Bengal by introducing a new system altogether. The whole province was divided into sarkars and parganas, each pargana was placed under an official called shiqdar. The shiqdars of each district was directly appointed by Sher Shah himself. Above the shiqdars an officer was appointed called the Amir-i- Bangala who was directly responsible to Sher Shah for all matters. This experiment in Bengal served as the basis for his large scale administrative structure that he later built over his empire.

 

Military successes and Annexations

Malwa was conquered in 1542. Gujarat was made a part of the empire. Mandu, Ujjain and Ranthambor were brought under control. In 1543 the fort of Raisin was taken. Same year Sind and Multan were annexed. Mewar and Marwar were subjugated. However none of these Rajput states were annexed directly. The rulers were left in their respective thrones as long as they accepted the overlord ship of Sher Shah. His last expedition was towards Kalinjar which was successfully taken. However at the moment of victory a chance cannon ball hit Sher Shah and he fell on the battle field. This happened in May 1545.  

The Reforms of the Administration

Sher Shah was a military genius. After defeating Humayun he set to expand his empire. At the same time he extended to the rest of his empire, the administrative experiments that he had successfully carried out in Sasaram and later in Bengal. These projects establish Sher Shah as a brilliant innovating administrator of medieval times and an inspiring anticipator of Akbar.

 

Sher Shah’s Revenue System

Sher Shah’s first attempts at administrative work were undertaken in Sasaram in 1518. The extensive jaigir had a mixed population of Hindu peasants and Cheroes and Savars two very ancient forest tribes. There were Ahirs or the pastoral people of Rajput origin and some well placed influential Rajputs who were encouraged by Sher Shah to settle in the region as a countercheck to the powerful Afghan clans. In 1518 when Farid had yet to go a long way to becoming Sher Shah, the jaigir of Sasaram was a place of rough-hewn settlers. Revenue was collected by the chaudhuris and muqaddams (the Hindu rais and ranas, who were incorporated into the revenue system by Alauddin Khalji as regular revenue collectors and given posts with Persian names), vestiges from the days of Alauddin Khalji. The decline of the Sultanate and its withdrawal from such distant areas emboldened these men to make their posts hereditary. As intermediaries they cheated both the ryot or the peasant and the jaigirdar. Farid sought to change and improve the situation and make way for progress. Abbas Sarwani gives an elaborate account of how Sher Shah by means of a combined policy of displaying forthright power tampered with compromise, completely radicalised the state of affairs.

He separately met each group—the ryots, the amils and the muqaddam and chaudhuris, the turbulent Afghan chiefs and the Hindu chieftains. Each group was made to understand the purpose of the jaigirdar— a) establish law and order, b) regular collection of revenue, c)ensure protection to the ryots and d) general improvement of land and cultivation.

Farid considered the peasants as asset of the land, the interests of the ryots as sheet anchor of his administrative reforms. This policy with which he began his career continued in his later days and remained so when he became the Sultan Sher Shah.

 

The ryot was assured of security and non-eviction as long as they paid their dues. The dues were settled after zarib or survey, measurement and assessment of land condition and crops grown. The rate was fixed only after due care is taken of the ryot’s possessions and the actual hasil (actual produce and the actual collection) at the time of harvest. There were other local officers like the qanungo, the shiqdar and the amin connected with the land measurement, assessment and fixation of rates. All these were to be put down on record. The ryot was to be given two documents. The patta (This assured the ryot his right to continue cultivation in the land) and the Kabuliyat( the agreement on the part of the ryot to pay the revenue rate fixed in accordance to his approval). Farid, later as Sher Shah insisted that these documents were written in the local languages.

The ryot were to receive loans and advances to buy implements and seed grains. It was declared that the rate could be reduced at times of distress and natural calamities and enhanced at times of prosperity.

The Hindu village notables like the patwari, chaudhuri and the muqaddam were duly recognized. At the same time these officers were to take cognizance of the authority of Sher Shah and also of their respective responsibilities.

The powerful Afghan and Rajput settlers were also to take note of the jaigirdar;’s authority. They were not eliminated but allowed to stay on certain conditions. The chieftains were asked to collect revenue from their areas and pay a due share to the exchequer of the jagirdar. They were to also maintain peace and order in their areas. According to Qanungo this was the beginning of the Zamindari system which was to become an integral part of the Mughal agrarian system.

The entire land revenue system was divided into a vertical arrangement, from the lowest unit to the highest—the Deh (village-- revenue to be collected by the patwari or the village headman)--- Mauza (cluster of villages --revenue to be collected by chaudhuris and muqaddams) --- Mahal (parganas—by amils )---Dewani ( to be sent to the Dewan’s Kutchari at Sarkar level )

 

The facts about the revenue arrangements that Farid set up in his father’s jaigir at Sasaram and which was adopted in a grand scale for his empire when he became the Sultan are known in a scattered manner from Abbas Sarwani’s Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi and Niamutullah’s Makhzan-i-Afghani. These had been authenticated and detailed by Abul fazl in Ain-i-Akbari (Qanungo).

The Administration set up

Like his revenue system which was first experimented in Sasaram, the administrative arrangement of the Sur Empire was tried out successfully in Bengal. It was later put into effect in other parts of the Empire.

After putting down the rebellion of Khizir Khan, Sher (He was still fighting Humayun at the time) hauled the entire government of the region and sought to establish a centralised set-up. The entire region was divided into sarkars (this division was introduced earlier by Sikandar Lodi. The sarkar was sub-divided into parganas; pargana --- mahal ---.deh—such were the administrative divisions) the sarkar was to be looked after by the chief shiqdar who was to look after the law and order and protection of the sarkar. The charge of the dewani or the treasury was given to the munshiff. At the pargana level the amil looked after the administrative affairs.

This set up which he had in Bengal was extended to his expanding empire. In Bengal or Bangala there were 19 sarkars. Apart from these he would have the rest of his empire divided into 47 sarkars; (there were altogether 66 sarkars). The shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and the munshiff-i-munshiffan were the two officers parallely appointed, one looking after the administration and defence of the sarkar the other was in charge of the dewani department which included the treasury and the finances. Both were selected by Sher himself and they were independent of each other. The purpose was to maintain a power balance in the provinces. The sarkar of the Sur regime became the suba in the Mughal times following the same administrative arrangement.

The Bengal experiment served as model for the other sarkars. In Bengal Sher had undertaken to subjugate the local chiefs and control the river ways. He built bridges and set up chowkies to collect dues from merchants at regular intervals on the river banks, landing places as also at bridge ends. Sher’s construction of long roads and highways with sarais or rest houses at regular intervals and shady trees in row on both sides is a proverbial statement in Indian history. The one that he built from Sonargaon in eastern Bengal covering the entire Gangetic region, Punjab and right up to Peshawar was on the same route as the one built by Chandragupta Maurya. The roads were maintained properly for the movement of army, as well for the travelling merchants .Sher Shah introduced dak or postal system. The sarais served as places for change of horses for the post. He encouraged trade and commerce knowing that commerce like agriculture was necessary for the economic stability of the empire.

Sher Shah introduced a new silver currency called rupiya containing 178 grains of silver and a copper currency called dam having 330 grains of copper which remained in circulation even during the Mughal period.

Estimate

In many ways Sher Shah depicted the image of a suave, sophisticated diplomat. His military prowess was equally matched by his sense of the right moment. He knew when to ally and with whom. In his long political career he changed sides as it suited him. He was in Babar’s camp twice. He had no scruples though in opposing his son. Towards the final part of his military career he fought to ruin Humayun’s possibilities as the emperor of Hindustan. It seemed at a point his sole political aim. Yet at the same time he absorbed himself in experimenting administrative changes in Bengal. He could change his objectives as when suited his policy.

Sultan Sher Shah followed a liberal and tolerant policy and believed in collaborating with the non-Muslims. This was a legacy from the Sultanate. Even though it was for a short period, Sher Shah’s reign ushered in a sense of stability and order. Sher Shah was a great organiser. The long years of experience, trials and successes that shaped his personality also perhaps lent a kind of durability to the state that he built up. Had he not died so suddenly, had he lived longer, there perhaps would have been a longer Afghan rule in Hindustan delaying the Mughal regime, perhaps even denying such a possibility.

End of the Sur Dynasty

Sher Shah died in 1545. He was succeeded by his son Islam Shah (1545-55). Islam Shah was educated, experienced and well trained in his father’s school.  Islam Shah carried out his father’s policy in a well organised manner and was able to maintain his father’s empire.

The Sur Empire broke up after his death. He was succeeded by his minor son who was killed by Islam’s brother-in-law who ascended the throne taking the name of Muhammad Adil Shah. Adil Shah was soon overthrown and soon there were several contenders. Ibrahim Sur took Delhi but in turn was defeated by Sikandar Sur who occupied Delhi and Agra. It was at this point in time Humayun made a bid to come back. The Sur Empire was broken and was faction ridden. Humayun struck at the right moment.

Dara Shukoh

 Introduction:

·       Dara Shikoh was the eldest son and the heir-apparent of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. He was favored as a successor by his father but was defeated by his younger brother Aurangzeb in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.

Political Exploits

·       Dara was appointed a military commander at an early age and was appointed as Subadar (governor) of Allahabad. As his father's health began to decline, Dara received a series of increasingly prominent commands. He was appointed Governor of Multan and Kabul.

·       Despite strong support from Shah Jahan, who had recovered enough from his illness to remain a strong factor in the struggle for supremacy, Dara was defeated by Aurangzeb and Murad during the Battle of Samugarh. Later on he tried to build up an army and fight back for the throne but he was captured and assassinated on Aurangzeb’s order.

Religious Tolerance and Intellectual Person:

Dara Shikoh is widely renowned as an enlightened intellectual of the harmonious coexistence of heterodox traditions on the Indian subcontinent. He was a champion of mystical religious speculation and a promoter for cultural interaction among people of all faiths.

·       Sikhism: Dara subsequently developed a friendship with the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai.

·       Dara devoted much effort towards finding a common mystical language between Islam and Hinduism. Towards this goal he completed the translation of 50 Upanishads from its original Sanskrit into Persian.

·       His most famous work, Majma-ul-Bahrain ("The Confluence of the Two Seas"), was also devoted to a revelation of the mystical and pluralistic affinities between Sufic and Vedantic speculation

Art & Culture

He was also a patron of fine arts, music and dancing.

·       Painting: The 'Dara Shikoh album' is a collection of paintings and calligraphy assembled from the 1630s until his death.

Architecture: Dara Shikoh is also credited with the commissioning of several exquisite examples of Mughal architecture – among them the tomb of his wife Nadira Banu in Lahore, the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir also in Lahore, the Dara Shikoh Library in Delhi, the Akhun Mullah Shah Mosque and the Pari Mahal garden palace (both in Srinagar in Kashmir.)

Contribution of Kalhana as a historian.

 

Introduction

·      It is one of the most important earliest Sanskrit works, written in 12^th century which has elements of scientific historiography. It is written in poetic form, in 8 books (tarang).

·       It generally records the heritage of Kashmir, since the geological age, but a major chunk discusses the misrule prevailing in Kashmir, before the Muslim invasion.

Why in Kashmir?

·  Kashmir had distinct geographical features and was kind of excluded from the mainland, hence maintained a separate cultural identity with a strong regionalism. Moreover its proximity to Central Asia and China would have also contributed to it as these civilizations had traditions of history writings.

·     Development of Buddhism: Buddhism which has struck roots in Kashmir has a much stronger tradition of historiography than Hinduism.

·   Disclaimer: During the period, due to feudalism, regional feeling was strong elsewhere as well. Such attempts to write local chronicles (गाथागीत) were initiated in other regions as well, but what differentiates Kalhana is his historical sense.

Motivation and his views on History

·       Kalhana was of the view that ancient history written by the authors of that age lacks authenticity. They just used to write some facts based on eulogy to please their patrons. According to him narration of events was not the true way of writing history. It was just like a chronicle with no validity.

·       He believe the poet(historian) as an exponent of moral maxims and want the people to learn from their mistakes.

·       He was writing during a very turbulent period. Harsha’s reign has ended and it was a period of wars and struggles. By writing he wanted to point that all earthly possessions and pleasures are useless.

Importance

·       His sources vary from literary sources such as Nipravaly by Kshemendra, Parthivavali by Helaraja and based his work on Harishchandra, Brihat Samhita and local ‘rajkathas’. He displays surprising advanced technical expertise for unconventional sources such as epigraphic sources, coins, monumental remains, family records and local traditions.

·       He never shows any ruler in either black or white but gives a detailed and objective analysis. Kalhana was different from other raso writers in the sense that he probably didn't have the patronage of any ruler. That is why his work could rise above the petty nature of his contemporaries.

·   His works were continued by Akbar, Rajtarangini by Jonaraja etc but they are much inferior. He mentions his sources in detail. He mentions the 11 scholars who gave him the family tree of Kashmir rulers. He mentions the legends, myths, folklore etc. wherever he had to rely on it.

Content

·    Political: He describes in detail the misrule that was prevailing in Kashmir. Local feudal elements (Damras) have become very strong and were trying to destabilize the throne.  Hence, he says that king should be strong and must ensure that there is no concentration of wealth even in the villages, lest they challenge the royal authority.

·       Administration: He has severely criticized the bureaucracy, most of whom were Kayastha and alleges that they were behind most of the conspiracies against the King.

·       Society: He also describes the social life, with rich drinking perfumed wines and eating meat, while poor surviving on wild vegetables. It says Harsha introduced a general dress in Kashmir of long coats.

·       Economy:  He has given a striking description of agriculture and water works such as dams to prevent landslide, which were supervised by a minister of Avantivarman. This led to subsequent economic prosperity of Kashmir and it led to withdrawal of Kashmir from the plains politics since the need to move there was lessened.

Limitations

·       In the opening chapters, he comes as a mere presenter of folklore and is not very sure of the dates. This is because the sources that he was referring to were not historical. His work is divided into 8 parts. First 3 cover history of more than 3000 years which mainly rely on Puranas and legends. His real historiography only begins from 4^th part and in 4^th - 6^th he covers the Karkota and Utpal rulers.

·     One of the limitations is his strong feeling of regionalism. He includes all the important monarchs as ruler of Kashmir (eg Maurya).

·       He shows a feeling of favoritism towards Brahmins.

Alberuni's understanding of Indian Sciences

 

·       Al-Biruni was an Iranian scholar and polymath and regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era. In 1017 he traveled to South Asia and authored a study of Indian culture for which he has been given the title of "founder of Indology.

Motivation

·       Some scholars have indicated that he had a great sympathy for Indians, as just like his countrymen they have also suffered at the hands of Mahmud Ghazani.

·       But it seems like he was motivated by purely scientific and intellectual curiosity and wanted to know what all factors have determined the thought process of Indians.

·       He was also interested in comparative religion.

·       He sees history as unfolding of God’s divine plan, through prophets, in the other he seems to be adhering to the view that both sciences and recording of history are aimed at finding out truth.

·       His views on Indian History: He warns of the numerous lies and concoctions which are mixed up with almost all historical traditions and records, especially when it comes to analyzing and
reading of Indian texts. He criticizes the Hindus for the lack of interest in history.

Importance

·       Unlike the prevalent Puranic traditions of recording the genealogies or the west Asian tarikh tradition of narrating the political history in a chronological manner, the work is of a very critical nature.

·       It provides information ranging from regional geography, political narratives to customs and traditions and even mathematics and science.

·       He has analyzed not only written sources but also oral sources. His work has elements of scientific historiography and advices historians to be more careful with their sources and critically examine them.

·       Al-Biruni was careful in mentioning the written sources of social and cultural history of India, specifically about the Indian scientific works and their authors.

Content

Political History

·       Al-Biruni’s work on India was not intended to be a political narrative; it nevertheless contains some valuable information.

·       The animosity between the Muslim Turkish invaders and the Indians is for the first time attested in the record of Al-Biruni. He laments the widespread destruction caused due to invasions and the migration of the learned men to further east.

·       He accurately dates the conquest of Somnath by Sultan Mahmud, and also noted its exact location and the legend behind building of the temple.

·       Al-Biruni also records the history of the Hindushahi’s who faced the brunt of Mahmud’s invasion.

·       He also mentions the dynasties of Kashmir, Kalchuris and even mentions Rajendra Chola.

Society

For his keen observations on Indian society and cultural ethos of the time, some scholars have actually written of him as the ‘first anthropologist’.

·       Caste ridden society: He seems to be well informed about the fourfold division of the varna order, and the social position and duties associated with each caste. He also informs that the caste system and the associated segregation of men is one of the principle obstacles for any rapprochement between the Hindus and the Muslims.

·       Closed Society:  He notes that going to far-off places was considered undesirable by Brahmins which was further aggravated by a false sense of superiority.

·       Stagnant Knowledge: He remarks that the knowledge in India was at the lowest ebb and they can’t differentiate between dates and sour grapes.

·       Social Evils: He mentions child marriage, sati, low position of women in general and women in particular.

·       Religious beliefs and practices: Covers all major Hindu texts-Gita, Upanishads, puranans, Vedas and highlighted choices parts.

Science

When Al-Biruni came to India he had knowledge of Indian astronomy, which he had acquired by studying Arabic translations of some Sanskrit texts. He considered the Indians well versed in astronomy and mathematics, but he also mentions that Indians mix up science with poplar religious belief.

Mathematics

·       With regard to Indian system Al-Biruni writes that numerical signs have different shapes
and styles in different regions of India.

·       Al-Biruni quotes that the decimal system, symbol for zero, higher order numbers were all known to the Indians.

·       Al-Biruni also mentions that according to Brahmagupta π=√10 and also gives the value of π given by Aryabhatta.

Astronomy

·       He mentions Varaha Mihira’s Panchasiddhantika (6^th century), Brahmagupta’s Brahma Siddhanta and Khandakhadyaka (7th century); Aryabhatta I’s Dasagitika and works of Aryabhatta II.

·       According to him, Indian astronomers generally divided the zodiac into 27 or 28 lunar stations or nakshatras, and gave the number of stars in each nakshatra along with its distance from the sun.

·       He also mentions that Indian astronomers knew about the real cause behind solar and
lunar eclipses and notes two methods given in Khandakhadyaka for ascertaining the time of an eclipse.

·       Makes passing reference to the precision in the calculation of equinoxes and refers to Brahmasphutasiddhanta regarding the revolution of sun, moon and planet.

Physical Sciences

·       In his account of the Indian views on the origins of the world, he seems to be well aware of the Samkhya philosophy and its exposition of the spirit in relation to matter.

·       Al-Biruni also mentions the different methods of weighing and measuring practised in India at the time.

·       Chemistry:  According to him, Hindus do not give much importance to rasavidya, i.e. alchemy. From the point of view of history of alchemy in India, al-Biruni’s detailed account of three alchemists – Bhanuvasa, Nagarjuna, and Vvadi.

Limitations

·       Written with a faulty reading and understanding of the Sanskrit texts, Al-Biruni at times fails to grasp the nuance of the original in its entirety.

·       His reliance solely on Sanskrit texts as representatives of the books of faith and repository of scientific knowledge in the country, ignores a huge corpus of Buddhist and Jain literature, written in prakrit, pali and other local languages.

·       He also limits his audience only to the upper caste groupings within the Indian society, and hence we are devoid of any real understanding of varna order when seen from the point of view of the lower classes.

Make an assessment of the contribution of Shivaji in different fields of administration and polity.

 Shivajis’ Administration:

Shivaji has been called the ‘father of the Maratha nation.’ Besides being a great conqueror and a diplomat, he was a successful administrator.

In the words of Dr. Ishwari Prasad,

“His system of administration was better than the Mughal administration in several areas.”

A benevolent administrator:

Dr. R.C. Majumdar writes of him, “He was not merely a daring soldier and successful military conqueror but also an enlightened ruler of his people.” Shivaji was readily accessible to his all subjects. He was a popular monarch. He kept a close watch on the administrative affairs of the state. All powers were concentrated on him but he ruled with the advice of his ministers. The common people regarded him with great devotion. They considered him as their greatest benefactor.

General features of Shivaji’s administration:

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1. He employed members of all castes and tribes to maintain balance among them.

2. He assigned separate responsibilities to the ministers and each of them was made responsible for his work to him.

3. He made no office hereditary.

4. In general he did not assign jagirs to his civil and military officers.

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5. He gave special attention towards the administration of the forts.

6. In matters of administration, he gave superior position to his civil officers as compared to military officers.

7. He established Ryotwari system in revenue administration. The state kept direct contact with the farmers.

Shivaji took special care to make his administrative system responsive to the needs of the people. In the words of Dr. Ishwari Prasad, “The institutions which he established were an improvement upon the existing order and were well adapted to the well-being of his subjects.”

Central Administration:

He had a council of ministers (Asht Pradhari) to advise him on the matters of the state but he was not bound by it. He could appoint or dismiss them. This appointment was subject to their efficiency. The Peshwa was the first among ministers. The word Peshwa stands for leader or senior one.

Shivaji’s Asht Pradhan (Council of Eight Ministers):

Excepting the Senapati, all other ministers were Brahmans.

All excepting the Pandit Rao and Nyayadish were expected to command the army whenever needed.

Provincial administration:

Shivaji divided his kingdom into four provinces. Each province was under the head called Mamlatdar or Viceroy. Each province was divided into several districts and villages. The village was an organised institution.

The chief of the village was called Deshpande or Patel. The head used to run the affairs of the village with the help of the Village Panchayat.

Like the centre, there was a committee or council of eight ministers with Sar-i- ‘Karkun’ or the ‘prantpati’ (Head of the province)

Fiscal system or Revenue system:

Important features were:

(1) Land in every village was measured and the produce was roughly assessed.

(2) On the basis of assessment, the cultivators were asked to pay 40 per cent of their produce as land revenue.

(3) The Ryotwari system was introduced in which the revenue was directly collected from the farmers.

(4) Wherever possible, Shivaji abolished the jagirdari system.

(5) The farmers had the option to pay land revenue in cash or kind.

(6) The peasants could pay the revenue in installments.

(7) The accounts of the revenue officers began to be thoroughly checked.

(8) In the event of famine of natural calamity, the state offered loans to the peasants.

(9) Shivaji introduced the collection of two taxes called the Chauth and ‘Sardeshmukhi’.

‘Chauth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’:

Historians differ as to the exact nature of these two taxies levied by Shivaji. According to Ranade, ‘Chauth’ was not merely a military contribution without any moral or legal obligation but a payment in lieu of protection against the invasion of a third power and he compares it with Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance System. Sardesai holds that it was a tribute exacted from hostile or conquered territories.

J.N. Sarkar is of the opinion that Chauth was only a means of buying off one robber and not a subsidiary system for the maintenance of peace and order against all enemies. Thus ‘Chauth’ was a military contribution paid toward off any attack of the Marhatas. It was, in theory, ¼ of revenues of the district invaded but in practice it was sometimes much more than that. Sardeshmukhi was an additional tax of 10% which Shivaji claimed as the hereditary Sardeshmukhi or overlord of Maharashtra.

Judicial administration:

Judicial administrative system was rather simple, crude and primitive. The highest court was ‘Hazar Majils’ or the court of the king. The day-to-day administration was carried on by the village Panchayats and the village ‘Patel’ decided criminal cases.

Shivaji’s army administration:

Shivaji’s army organisation was very efficient. His army was very patriotic, well trained, efficient and extremely mobile.

Shivaji introduced the following reforms in the army:

1. Regular army:

He maintained a regular army. In the traditional military organisation, the soldiers served army for six months and thereafter, they worked in their fields. Now the soldiers were to serve around the year.

2. Cash payment:

He paid the soldiers in cash.

3. Patriotism:

He inspired the soldiers with patriotism.

4. Merit:

He recruited the soldiers on merit.

5. Branding of horses:

He introduced the system of branding the horses and keeping the identification of the soldiers.

6. Discipline:

He enforced strict discipline.

7. Guerilla warfare:

He trained his soldiers in the guerilla warfare.

The guerilla warfare was very suitable in the geographical location of most territories in Maharashtra. He believed in the surprise attacks on the enemy, killed or looted it and disappeared into the forest.

8. Forts:

He paid particular attention to the maintenance of forts. Old forts were repaired and new forts built. The forts also served as military cantonments. About the sanctity of forts it is said that the “people were taught to regard them as their mother.” There were about 280 forts. The inhabitants of the surrounding villages took protection in these forts.

The families of the deceased soldiers were looked after carefully.

9. Muslim soldiers:

Shivaji had about seven hundred Muslim soldiers.

Divisions in the army:

Army had six divisions namely, cavalry, infantry, camel battalions, elephant battalions, artillery and navy.

1. The cavalry:

The cavalry formed the main part of the army. Its number was 40,000. There were two categories of horsemen:

(i) Bargis:

They were paid from the state exchange.

(ii) Silhadars:

They were casual soldiers and they numbered about 50,000.

Discipline in the army:

Shivaji was very strict in maintaining discipline in the army. To kill or torture ladies and children, to loot the Brahmans, to spoil cultivation etc. were punishable offences even during the course of war. Elaborate rules for the maintenance of discipline were rigorously enforced. No soldier was allowed to take his wife in the battlefield.

Liberal Religious policy:

Shivaji was a cultured and a tolerant Hindu ruler. He proclaimed to be the protector of the Hindus, the Brahmans and the cows. He showed respect to religious texts of all religions. He did not destroy a single mosque. He protected Muslim ladies and children even during the course of war.

He gave financial help to Muslim scholars and saints. He employed Muslims in civil and military departments. When Aurangzeb issued a fresh order reimposing the jizya on all the Hindu population, it was an open challenge as much to Shivaji as to many Rajput chiefs.

Shivaji wrote a strong letter of protest to Aurangzeb. He wrote “God is the Lord of all men and not of the Muhammadans only. Islam and Hinduism are only different pigments used by the Divine Painter to picture the human species.” At the same time Shivaji was never actuated by a hatred of the Muslims. He respected the personal honour of a Muslim.