Evernote Shared Notebook

9/8/2016
Evernotesharednotebook:
MedievalIndianCulture
Friday,July42014,4:12PM
The13th&14thCenturies
Persian/ArabicLiterature
1.Poetry was a popular form. Amir Khusrau and Amir Hassan were great poets. They also wrote qawwalis and
createdanewIndianstyleofpoetryandistheoriginatorofHindustanimusic.
2.Historywritingwasanotherpopulartrend.Barni,Afif,Sirajetc.
3.Bookswewritten,speciallydictionaries,withpaintedillustrations.
PersianvsArabicHistoriography
2.analyticaltype.keepinmindthathistoriographyisthestudyofhowhistoryiswritten.itisthestudyofallaspectsofwriting
history.goingbythisdefinition.....volumewisearabichistoryworksarelessvoluminous,persianmore.reason,persian
hadbeenthecourtlanguageofmedievalrulers.whateverwaswritteninarabicwasbytravelersbeforedelhi
sultanate,byreligiousscholars,arabimmigrantstoindia.(listherefamousexamples )perspectivesarabichistorians
werenotsympathetictohindutraditionsandculture.mostoftheworkswrittenbyreligiousscholars,immigrants
carrythattingeoffanaticismandsuperioritycomplexwithrespecttoindiaingeneralandhindusinparticular.persian
moresympatheticastheywerewrittenbythosewhosettledhereandnonreligioushistorians.contentandstyle
nodifferencesthatiknowof.standardmuslimstylehistoricalwritingwithplentyofallusionstoreligiousterms.very
fewwereobjective.mostofthemwerewrittentopraisetheirpatrons.eulogiesandexaggerations.politicalhistory,
culturalhistory,economichistory,militaryhistoryetcwerethegenres.
methodsofstudybothreliedongeneralobservations,litterarysourceswrittenbeforethemintheirlanguages.verylessorno
importancewasgiventonumismatics,inscriptions,archaeologicalsources,nonarabicandnonpersianliterature.
AlUtbi'sKitabiYamini
1.HehimselfwasSecretarytotheSultanMahmud.HethusplayedanimportantroleinthegovernmentatGazni,
andnodoubthadfirsthandknowledgeofmanyoftheeventshedescribed,atleastthosethattookplaceinthe
capital. His work covers the entire reign of the first sultan of Gazni Nasirud din Subuktgin, and of his son
Mahmud up to the year 410 H. (1020 CE). As the founder of the Ghaznivite dynasty, Subuktigin played an
extremelyimportantroleinthehistoryofIndiaandCentralAsia.
2.DespitehisproximitytoSultanMahmud,AlUtbiseemstohavelittleornodirectknowledgeofIndia.Heseems
to have little knowledge of Indian topography and his statements regarding localities and place names are
unreliable.NoIndianwordsappearinhistextasidefromRai.
3.His numerous incursions into India were largely raids designed to capture spoil in material wealth, slaves and
livestock.HeisportrayedasazealousMuslimeagertodestroy"idoltemples",butthiswasprobablyjustification
for pillage, since these activities contravened the earlier Arab policy of granting Hindus and Buddhists
protecteddhimmistatus.
MinhajusSiraj'sTabakatiNasiri
(a)Motivationbehindwriting
1.Minhaj served in very high posts in his career. He was very close to the sultans. Thus his interests were
completelyalignedwiththeinterestsofthesultanatei.e.topreserveandestablishstronglytheTurkishrule.
2.Anothermotivationdefinitelywouldbetopleasethesultanandheworkedundermanysultans.Butthiswasa
minormotivationonlyashedidn'tdependonwritingtoearnhislivelihood.
3.By glorifying the western connections of Islam he sought to inspire the muslims as well which was needed as
theywerefacinganumberofchallengesinthatage.
(b)Importance
1.Due to his proximity to the sultans the value of his work goes up because it reflects the thoughts of a person
whoseinterestswerecompletelyalignedwiththatoftheTurkishruleandwhowasactivelyhelpingthesultansin
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preservingandestablishingtherule.
2.Thesultanatewasinanascentandinsecurestagethen.Thesultanwastryingtoestablishhislegitimacyand
authority and for this he had even sought investiture from the Caliph. In his work Minhaj tries to establish the
historicallinksoftheSultanatewithWesternAsianIslamandcoversthisinhisinitialchaptersitself.
3.By glorifying the western connections of Islam he sought to inspire the muslims as well which was needed as
theywerefacinganumberofchallengesinthatage.
4.HisinterestswereinthepreservationandpropagationofTurkishruleandhiswritingsreflecttheinsecurityofthe
age. He didn't care who was the sultan so long as the rule was preserved. Thus he praised each and every
sultanveryhighlydespitethefactthathemayhaveviolentlyreplacedtheprevioussultan.Forthesamereason
hekeepsabalancebetweenallsultans.
5.Wherehedepartsfromtheotherwritersofhisagewashecoverednotjustthehistoryofhissultanbutalsothe
entirehistoryofIslam.
6.Because he was writing a history of a long period it was necessary for him to draw upon the works of other
scholars.Whereverhefinds2conflictingopinionshementionsbothwithsourcesalongwiththeoneheaccepts
andthereasonsfordoingso.Forhisownperiodhereliesonhisownexperiencesorthoseofwitnesses.
7.Hegivesanindiscriminatereligioustonetohiswork.HealmostabsentmindedusestermslikeIslamicarmies
anddevil'sarmiestodescribewarseveniftheywerebetweentwomuslimrulersonly.Bydoingthishemerely
showedwherehissympathylay.Thistellsusabouttheeducationalsystemofthedaybecausehewasaproduct
ofaneducationalsystemwhichwashighlyreligiousandusedonlyreligiousterms.
8.His bias against Hindus can be seen only when he describes the conflicts. Otherwise he ignores it when they
posenothreattothesultanate.Thisclearlyreflectstheattitudeofthesultanaterulersaswellwhousedreligion
to achieve their goals in the conflict situations only and otherwise were indifferent in all practical purposes. In
manyinstancesMinhajgoesignorestheuncomfortablereligiousaspectsofaproblemaswellifitrancounterto
hisobjectives.Thisattitudewasreflectedinthesultansaswell.
(c)Limitations
1.Heremainedconfinedtotherulingandeliteclassonly.Butthistellsusaboutthenatureofstatesysteminthose
days.
(d)ComparisonwithBarani
1.Minhaj comes across as a scholar who lived in a turbulent phase one where the rulers' concern was the
preservation of their rule and for which they had to make many compromises and even shift goalposts i.e. be
practical.Wecannotexpecthimtobedrivenbyanyparticularideologyorpoliticalleaning.Institutionswerefluid
andsituationwasdynamicandonehadtobeverycareful.ByBarani'stimetheinstitutionshadstabilized,self
preservationwasnolongertheoverridingobjectiveandonecouldsticktoanideology.Tensionswereemerging
betweentheseinstitutionsandthisisreflectedinBarani'swritingsaswell.
2.Minhajwritesindetailaboutdifferentamirsindifferentareasandthusmanyoftheeventsarerepeated.Barani
ontheotherhandfocusesontheeventsofonlyoneareaandwritesperiodwise.Thusthereisnorepetitionin
Barani.
3.Minhaj mostly chronologically lists various events and doesn't analyzes the trends, elements of continuity /
discontinuity and the reasons thereof. Barani tries to analyze some aspect or the other at the end of each
chapterforinstancehoweachsultanviewedpunishmentas.
4.Minhaj doesn't tell us about the problems faced by the sultans. Barani tells us how Balban strengthened his
position,howsultanatechangedunderKhaljis,howmongolthreatchangedthenatureofsultanateunderAla
uddin.
ZiauddinBarani(TarikhiFiruzshahi&FatwaiJahandari)
(a)Motivationsbehindwriting
1.Barani himself writes that he hoped that his work will help others learn from past mistakes. He claims he was
repentfulfornotcriticizingMbTwhenitmattered.Bythiswork,hehoped,peoplewilllearnandnotcommitthe
samemistakes.
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2.But in reality he had fallen out of favor of the new sultan Firuz and was even imprisoned. Firuz had outlook
whichrancontrarytoMbTinmanywaysandhenceBaraniwaswritingtopleasehimandearnfavor.
(b)Importance
1.His work doesn't just reflect his own thinking but tells us about the views of the educational system and the
particularsectionofmaulvis.ThesemaulvisreliedonextremistformofIslamtopreservetheirexistenceinpolity.
They expected the sultan to consult them on even political matters and this kept their importance intact. But
under MbT the dominance of maulvis had reduced drastically as he had to make many compromises to
propagate and strengthen his rule in India which included appointment of even Hindus to high offices and not
consultingthemaulvisinpoliticalmatters.Theywerethusfearfuloflosingpowerinthepoliticsoftheage.Thisis
reflectedinthework.
2.ThusheprescribesthatthesultanmusttakestepstopropagateIslam,punishnonmuslims,imposeshariatand
givemoreauthoritytomenof(muslim)religion.
3.Byhistimethesenseofinsecurityinthesultanatewasoverandthesultanswerewellestablished.Therewas
noneedtodrawlegitimacyformthewesternconnectionsanymore(infactdelhiwasthesolesurvivingmuslim
sultanate). Sultanate had no connections left with the west. So Barani makes no attempt to draw origin from
westandmerelycarriesforwardfromMinhaj.HefocusesonlyonIndia.
4.Barani'sworkandviewsexpressedreflecttheinsecurityofhisclassinthatage.BeingaTurkorahighbornwas
no longer considered enough to qualify for a high post! This class was facing competition from the educated
Indians.Onehadtohavequalitiesalsotosucceed.Baraniandhisclassobviouslyresenteditandinhisworkhe
criticizes the low born, prescribes they shouldn't be given education neither employed in state service. In an
idealmuslimworldallhigherbornwillhaveassuredhereditaryhighoffices.
5.Baranirepresentedaclassofnobleswhodependedonlandandthesurplusextractedfortheirwellbeing.Thus
he was also very critical of merchants and traders and prescribed that the state should ensure they don't
accumulatewealth.
6.He obviously hated Hindus because of both his education and the fact that many of them were employed in
higherpostsandwerericherthanhim(whowaslanguishinginjail).Soheisverycriticalofhighlyplacedhindus
andignoresthepoorhindusasheignorespoormuslims.
7.Baranitriestoanalyzesomeaspectortheotherattheendofeachchapterforinstancehoweachsultanviewed
punishment as. He tells us how Balban strengthened his position, how sultanate changed under Khaljis, how
mongolthreatchangedthenatureofsultanateunderAlauddin.
(c)Limitations
1.HisworkFatwaiJahandariisnotahistoricalworkatall.BaranihaspresentedhisownviewsinformofMahmud
Gazni's lessons to his sons. Moreover the historical events presented (from Gazni's tongue) are of doubtful
historicnature.ThebookisjustareflectionofBarani'sownthoughtsonhowthingsshouldbe.
2.Baranitriestomentionmanysourcesbutfailstobringthemoutclearly.Moreoverifanyfactwasconvenientfor
himandsupportedhisviewshewouldclaimithadcomefromagodfearingmuslimandhecouldthustakeiton
itsfacevalue.
3.In TarikhiFiruzshahi he rarely mentions any chronology and wherever he does that it is of doubtful nature.
Perhapsitwasduetothefacthewaswritingfromjailandthushadtorelymostlyonhismemory.
4.Hisbookisabundleofexaggerationsandhecontaminatesmanycharacters.
ShamsiSirajAfif:TarikhiFiruzshahi
(a)Motivationsbehindwriting
1.He was clearly not trying to please Firuz because Firuz had died by the time. He was writing in a time when
sultanate had disintegrated, anarchy prevailed all over and Timur had plundered Delhi. So he was trying to
recollect the old glorious days. He misses the past in light of his present and that is why he tries to paint a
prosperousandpeacefulpictureofolddays.
(b)Importance
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1.HiswritingreflectstheanarchiststateofaffairsofhistimeandhowhetriedtojustifyeachandeveryactofFiruz
inordertoportrayapastthatwasgloriousandsorelymissed.
2.In his attempt to portray Firuz's reign as one of total peace and prosperity and under a great king, he tells
unintentionally us about Firuz's weaknesses. On his part he merely focuses on positives and presents the
weaknessesasiftheyappearhisstrength.Hedidn'ttrytohidefactsbecausehadthisbeenthecasehewould
havenotevenmentionedtheweaknesses.Examplesarethefamousbribecaseandthemilitarydefeats.
3.Hedidn'tcomefromaverywelltodofamilylikeBarani.Soheisfreefromhisbiases.Hedidn'thaveanystrong
ideologicalleaningsMoreoverhewritesinaverysimplelanguage.
4.He is also free from the antihindu biases of Barani and Minhaj (probably because he was free from the
extremistatmosphereinhisupbringinglikethemandalsobecausethemuslimsoftheagedidn'tfaceanythreat
from hindus they were ravaged by mongols). Though he praises Firuz's act of burning a brahman and
imposingjiziyabutthatisapartofhisgeneralattempttoportrayFiruzasagreatkingandhisreignasagolden
age.
5.Comingfromacommonerbackgroundwefindhemovesbeyondthesultanandhisdurbarinhisworkandtalks
abouttheproblemsfacedbythecommoners.
IbnBatuta'sRehela
1.Itisnotareliablesourceatall.Itisinterestingonlybecauseitthrowssomelightonthesociopoliticaleventsof
theage.ButthewriteriscompletelybiasedagainstMbT.
2.Moreover his description of places and things doesn't have any depth and he simply briefly describes thins
withoutdoinganyresearch.
AmirKhusrau
1.Amir Khusrau took the literature from elites to the commoners. He wrote numerous popular puzzles in a form
which is enjoyable to common people. This was perhaps because he was very close to sufis and hence
influencedbythemandalsocontributedtotheircause.Thushiswritingsareareflectionofsufimovement.
2.Hewasapoetandnotahistorian.Whateverhistoryhewrotewaseitheroninstanceofthesultans(whoeven
toldhimthetopicsonwhichtowriteabout)ortopleasethem.Evenwhilewritinghistoryhisfocuswasonthe
poeticaspectandnothistoricaltruth.
3.His first work was KiranusSaden (1289) which was written to please Bugra Khan and his son KakuiBad. In
this he tells us about delhi, its buildings, durbar, social life of amirs etc. and his hatred towards mongols.
Naturallyhisfocuswasonthepoeticaspect.
4.HissecondworkwasMiftahulFutuh(1291)inwhichhepraisedJalaluddinandhismilitarycampaignsagainst
MalikChajju,againstRanthamboreetc.
5.KhwajainulFutuh or TarikhiAlahi was written in a highly ornate style and described the first 15 years of his
reign.Althoughitisagainmoreofapoeticworkitshistoricalsignificancecomesfromthefactthatitistheonly
contemporary source we have. This book describes military campaigns of Alauddin and Malik Kafur and
presentsabeautifuldescriptionofthephysicalandculturalgeographyofIndia.
6.HisnextworkisAshikawhichtalksofAlauddin'ssonKhijrKhan'sdesireforprincessofGujaratDevalrani.Ge
describesthecampaignslaunchedtogetherandalsothegeographyofIndia.
7.InhisworkSipiharhepraisesMubarakKhalji.
8.HisstrongpointisthathehasgivenalotofdatesandingeneralheismoretrustworthythanBarani.Hiswritings
alsohighlightsthesocialconditionsprevailingintheagesomethingmosthistoriansoftheagecouldn'tdo.He
tellsusaboutthepeople,theirdances,songs,settlements,professionsetc.
AlBerouni'sKitabulHind
(a)Motivationbehindwriting
1.SomescholarsbelievethathesympathizedwithIndiansbecauseMahmudhadplunderedhisnativeplacetoo
likeIndia.HencehewassosympathetictoIndiancause.
2.In reality he was motivated by pure scientific and intellectual curiosity. He wanted to understand Indian
philosophical, religious and scientific thought. He analyzed everything that came across him in a critical and
scientificmannerandpresentedhisanalysisinanunbiasedmanner.
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(b)Importance
1.InhisquesthefoundthatmostoftheinformationhecameacrossaboutIndiaisbasedonsecondarysources
only.Herealizedthatsecondhandinformationisinvariablycorruptedasitpassesfrompeopletopeople.Hence
hewasdriventofindtheoriginalsourcesandhencehebegantolearnSanskritandcollectancientIndiantexts.
He referred to works of Varahmihira, Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Patanjali as well as Bhagwad Gita, Vishnu
Purana,VaayuPurana.
2.Forthishealsoconsultedmanybrahmansoftheagewheneverheneededsomehelpinproperinterpretation.
3.Hehadacompletelyscientificoutlookandanunbiasedopinion.Soreligiousconventionscouldn'tcorrupthim.
4.Whereverhefeelshisunderstandingandknowledgeislackingheacceptsitwithouthesitation.Hementionsit
clearlywhereverhehadtorelyonsourceswithouttestingfortheirauthenticityorsecondarysources.
5.He describes Indian society, culture, festivals, dress, food, entertainment, scientific thought, philosophical
thought etc. in great detail. He describes the weights and measures used in India, distances, geographical
features, alphabet etc. prevailing in India. Not only does he merely describe them but also critically analyzes
them. He talks of the legal system as mentioned in the scriptures and highlights how the prevailing system
differedfromit.Weaverswerelowevenamongtheoutcasteswholivedonlyoutsidethevillagesandtowns.He
tells us that Buddhism was not to be seen anywhere and he had only heard about it. He tells us about the
influenceofBhaktibyrecognizingafirmmonotheisminNIndia.
6.HeexpressesregretthatIndianshadabandonedthescientificoutlookoftheirancestorsandhadrelapsedinto
stagnation in mind and in thought. Instead of keeping their minds open and learning from others as their
ancestorsdidtheynowreliedonlyontraditions.
(c)Limitations
1.Hisworkismostlylimitedtotheintellectualclassoftheagewhichwasobviousgivenhismethodology.Heholds
ignorantpeopleinverylowesteem.
HindiLiterature
1.Parochial / feudal outlook:After the fall of the Gupta empire the political landscape had become increasingly
fragmentedandthelandbasedfeudalsystemwhichdevelopedencouragedalocalparochialoutlook.Wecan
seethisclearlyintheliteratureoftheage.
2.Stagnationinthesociety:Thesocietyhadshutitsmindtowardsembracingnewideasandencouragingoriginal
thinking.Wefindasimilartrendintheliteratureasitbecamevoidoffreshoutlookandcontinuedonestablished
themesonly.
3.Phases of hindi literature: (a) ancient phase (adi kaal): reflects the feudal order of the day, (b) bhakti phase
(bhaktikaal):reflectstheimpactofbhaktimovementsoftheday,(c)reetikaal:afterthebhaktiphasewhenthe
zamindariandjagirdarisystemsreturnedwithnewvigoralongwiththepresenceofromanticism.
Phase1:Ancientphase/AdiKaal/VeerGathaPhase(814centAD)
(a)RasoLiterature
1.It was called veer gatha phase earlier because the first literature found comprised almost exclusively of the
writingsofthecourtpoetsglorifyingthebraveryoftheirrulingmastersinordertopraisethem.Theyoftenwere
fullofexaggerations.ExamplesarePrithvirajRaso,ParmalRaso(AlhaandUdal),BeesaldevRaso(loveaffairof
AjmerrulerBeesaldevandMalwaprincessRajmati).Inadditiontoglorifyingtheirbraverythepoetsalsoglorified
theirloveaffairswithbeautifulprincessesoftheage.
2.Reflectionoffeudalisticorderandparochialoutlook:Theliteraturewasfullofpraiseforthelocalrulersandhow
they fought other local rulers. They left no words unwritten in the praise of their local lords and ridiculing the
other chiefs. Their aim was not to present historical facts but to glorify their masters. By glorifying wars and
feudstheyplayedanimportantroleinpromotingregionalrivalryanddisturbednationalunity.
3.Reflectionofcherishedidealsinthesociety:Braveryandlove.Fightingwarswasnoble.Thesewarswerefought
solelyforpersonalreasonsoftherulersbeitvengeanceortogetaprincessorsimplytodisplayone'sbravery
andneverfortheinterestsofthestate.Theyconsiderabravewarriortobethemostnobleperson.
4.Reflectionofpoorstatusofwomeninthesociety:Thewaytheyfocussolelyonthebeautyoftheprincesswhile
glorifyingtheloveaffairsoftheirmasterstellsusthatwomenweretreatedmerelyasanobjectofconsumption.
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Womenwereexpectedtoperformjauharandsati.Theyhadnoexistenceoftheirown.
5.Reflectionoflackoflawandorderandpeaceinthesociety:Theyglorifywarsontheotherchiefs.Theyglorify
violenceandmentiontheinsecurityofcommonpeoplespeciallyiftheyhadanyvaluables.
6.Reflectionofthestatesystem:The rulers had no concern whatsoever with the welfare of their subjects. They
merelycollectedtaxesandfoughtwarsandwereconcernedwiththeirowngloryandwelfareonly.
7.Reflectionofgrowthofregionaldialects:ManyoftheseworksuseamixedformofregionalRajasthanidialects
astyleoftencalledpinglestyle.
(b)SiddhLiterature
1.It reflects the contemporary religious and cultural life very well. It was written for the propagation of Vajrayan
buddhist sect in eastern India in the local languages. This literature tells us about the changes which had
occurredinthebuddhistreligionovertheages.
2.Theycriticizecomplexrituals,traditionalism,extremismandadvocateasimplelife.Theyshowadominanceof
mysticideasintheirthoughts.Atthesametimetheyalsoadvocatecontinuationofgrihastalife.
(c)JainLiterature
1.ItflourishedinwesternIndiaintheformofpoeticliteratureinlocallanguages.Forthepoeticformitisalsocalled
Raasliterature.Itcomprisesofthepoemswhichweresunginthejaintemplesbytheworshippers.
2.Theytoldusaboutthecontemporaryfeudsetc.buttheirmainaimremainedtoemphasizetheprinciplesofnon
violenceenshrinedintheJainreligion.ChandanBalaRaasisafamouswork.
(d)NathLiterature
1.ItemergedineasternIndiaasareactiontoSiddhliterature.WhiletheSiddhliteraturebelievedincontinuationof
normal married life the Nath sect opposed consummation. It was advocated by Gorakhnath and
Matsyendranath.
2.They believed in austerities and self control. They idealized a man who doesn't get deviated from his path
despitebeingsurroundedbyalltemptations.Ithaselementsofmysticisminit.
(e)MaterialLiterature(LaukikLiterature)
1.Romanticliterature:ItsmainworksareJaichandraPrakash,JaiMayankChandrikaandVasantVilas.Theirmain
emphasiswasonexpressingthefeelingsofheart,descriptionofwomenetc.
2.Literatureforcommoners:Amir Khusrau took the literature from elites to the commoners. He wrote numerous
popularpuzzlesinaformwhichisenjoyabletocommonpeople.
Phase2:BhaktiPhase(1416centAD)
1.Different provincial rulers began to patronize music. Due to the fusion of IndoIslamic music, khyal style
emerged.Textswerewrittenonthismusicwhichformedapartofthebhaktiliterature.
2.Thisperiodwasaperiodofgrowingregionalismanddecliningcentralauthority.Thiswasreflectedintherapid
growth of regional languages as well which became fully developed in this period. Similarly new styles of
literatureemergedindifferentpartsandattainedmaturity.Thistrendisreflectedinthebhaktiperiodliterature.
3.Bhakti movement sought to involve more people with it and to awaken them. This led to the development of
literatureforpeopleinsteadoftheliteraturefortheelitesasinthepreviousrasoliterature.
4.Bhaktiandsufimovementledtospreadofcommunalharmony.Thiseffortcanbeseenintheliteratureaswell.
5.Bhaktimovementdrewfromthebasictenantsofupanishadsandvedasbutwasprogressiveinitsoutlookand
humanistincharacter.Thiscanbedirectlyseeninitsliteratureaswell.
6.The nirgun literature can be divided into two one emphasizing knowledge (like kabir, nanak, dudu dayal)
emphasizedonthegreatnessoftheteacher.Itwasmoreradical,egalitarian,assimilatory,vocalintheircriticism
of traditional rituals and closer to the masses. The other type of nirgun literature emphasized on love (sufis,
chandayan,mrigavati,padmavat)whichpreachedmonotheismandtriedtobringhindusandmuslimscloser.It
was romantic in nature with God as the love object. They believed by loving God we can eliminate all
differences.TheyportrayGodasawomanandsoulasaman.
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7.ThesagunliteraturecanbedividedintotwoonedevotedtoRama(tulsidas,ramanand)andotherdevotedto
Krishna(mira,surdas).Theyuseahighlypoeticliteraturewhichcouldbesunginthetemples.
Phase3:TraditionalPhase/RitiPhase(Mughals)
1.UndertheMughalswesawtheemergenceofatrulycompositerulingclasswhichincludedHindusaswell.We
can see the impact in the literature of the time as it came closer to the Islamic literature. We can see the
descriptions of the dresses, attitude and practices, subjects etc. all in a way which indicated that both
communitieshadcomeclosertoeachother.Thustheprotagonistsofhindiliteraturenowfreelyworedresses
made of fine silk and muslin, used arabic perfumes, engaged in entertainment like the mughal rulers, their
durbars,variouspracticesbecamemorelikemughals.EventhereligioussubjectslikeKrishnaandRadhaare
portrayedinanintenselyromanticandplayfulmannerandwearingmuslimcostumes.Thereisacleardeparture
from the traditional focus on spiritualism and devotion towards worldly pleasures. There is increased focus on
wealth,wineandwomen.
2.Under Akbar we find many muslim writers like Rahim, Raskhan composing in Hindi while many Hindi works
beingtranslatedintoPersian.AnewupanishadcalledAllahoupanishadwasevencomposed.Weseethatthe
writerswhotriedtopreachcommunalismcouldnotfindanypopularityinthisage.
3.Withrespecttowomen,theliteratureclearlyshowsthemasanobjectoftobeenjoyedasagainsttheirdepiction
asgoddesses,mothersetc.earlier.EvencharacterslikeSitaandRadhawerenolongerobjectsofworshipbut
thefocuswasontheirbodyandmakeupandtheyweretreatedasobjectsofconsummation.
4.Thus we can see a clear decline of bhakti spirit in the literature of this age and instead being replaced by
consumption which was also the social undercurrent as the ruling class (who were the audience of such
literature)believedinconsumptiononly.Thusthisliteraturecanalsobecalledasclassliterature.Inoppositionto
thistherewasaminorstrandofmassliteraturespeciallycomingfromsufisaintsoftheagelikeMiraetc.which
opposed worldly consumption. We can also see a strand of literature emphasizing on morals in the form of
dohasofRahimetc.
5.Just like the ruling class was separate from and unmindful of the problems of the masses the class literature
also ignores the masses and focuses only on the lifestyle of the rulers. We can also see a clear movement
towardsattributingdivineassociationtotheemperorsandkingsaswasemphasizedbytheMughals.
SanskritLiterature
Kalhana'sRajtarangini
(a)WhywassuchaworkwrittenonlyinKashmir?
1.SomescholarsbelievethatKashmirbecauseofbeingcutofffromrestofIndiaanditsdistinctgeographicalsetup
wasabletomaintainaseparateculturalidentity.ThusregionalloyaltywasverystronginKashmir.Moreoverit
hadconstantinteractionwiththeBuddhistsinTibetandChinaaswellaswithCentralAsia.Suchplaceshada
strongtraditionofhistoriographyandhencetheworkwaswritteninKashmir.
2.But it must be recognized that in that period entire India was fragmented into numerous localities and under
feudalsystem.Regionaloutlookwasstrongeverywhere.Suchattemptstowriteonregionalhistoriescameup
everywherebutwhatmakeKalhana'sworkuniquewasitssenseofhistory.
3.Kalhana was different from other raso writers in the sense that he probably didn't have the patronage of any
ruler.Thatswhyhisworkcouldriseabovethepettynatureofhiscontemporaries.
(b)Motivationsforwriting
1.He writes in the kavya style in order to make it interesting to the reader. Though he ensures creativity in his
writingyetheneverlosessightofhismaingoalvistowritehistoricaltruthsasseenbyhim.Thushemaintained
hisobjectivityinmostmatters.
2.Hewaswritinginaveryturbulentperiod.Harsha'sreignhadendedandtherewerelotsofwarsandstruggles
around. He wanted to write impartially so as to present facts before people and make them learn from their
mistakes.
(c)Importance
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1.Hementionshissourcesindetail.Hementionsthe11scholarswhogavehimthefamilytreeofKashmirrulers.
Hementionsthelegends,myths,folkloreetc.whereverhehadtorelyonit.Buthisstrongestpointisherelieson
inscriptionsinthetemples,landgrantinscriptionsetc.andmentionsthemclearly.
2.Hisworkisdividedinto8parts.First3coverhistoryofmorethan3000yearswhichmainlyrelyonPuranasand
legends.Hisrealhistoriographybeginsfrom4thpartandin46hecoverstheKarkotaandUtpalrulers.For
thesepartshereliesoninscriptionsaswellasbuddhisttexts.In7and8thparthecoverstheLoharadynasty.
3.In the beginning he comes across as a mere presenter of various folklore. There was no attempt of any
analysis. But as we come closer to his period we can clearly see the critical analysis done by him. This
expresseshisviewsclearlyonmattersaswellascontemporaryrealities.ForinstanceKashmirwentthrougha
veryturbulentphasepostHarsha.Localfeudalelementshadbecomeverystrongandtherewasanarchy.Sohe
saysthatakingshouldbestrongsothathecancontroltheaffairsofthekingdomefficiently.Heshouldmake
sure that no one in even the remotest village has sufficient wealth left with him so that he could even think of
posingachallengetotheking.Hewritesthatthefeudalelementsderivetheirstrengthfromthevastamountof
landtheyhold.Hecriticizeskayasthasandbureaucratsandaccusesthemofharboringtreacherousintentions
againstthekings.Heneverpaintsanybodyinfullwhiteorblackandimpartiallytellsusabouthisstrengthsas
wellasweaknesses.
4.Ittellsusaboutotherrealitiesofthesociallifeaswell.Hementionsveryproudlythathebelongedtoabrahman
family.Thesocietyhadrichwhofedonfriedmeatanddrankperfumedcoolwine.Whilethepoorhadtoliveon
wildvegetables.ItsaysHarshaintroducedageneraldressinKashmiroflongcoats.Hegivesusawholelotof
otherinformationlikegeography,familytreesofimportantpeople,economicactivitieslikecoinmouldingetc.
5.ItcontainsastrikingdescriptionoftheengineeringworkssupervisedaministerofAvantivarman.Landslidesand
soildegradationledtoagreatamountofrubbleandstonebeingdepositedintheJhelumriverwhichimpeded
theflowofwater.Thiswascleared,embankmentswereconstructedtopreventthelandslides,damswerebuilt
and lakes were drained. The minister even managed to divert the course of the Jhelum and the Indus rivers
slightly which led to reclamation of land for cultivation. This has been supported by archaeological evidences
andsubsequenteconomicprosperityofKashmiranditledtowithdrawalofKashmirfromtheplainspoliticssince
theneedtomovetherewaslessened.
(d)Limitations
1.Hisanalysisisnotentirelyfreefromhisbiases.Thuswhilehecriticizesbureaucracy(becauseitwasmadeof
mostlykayasthas)andsaysthebureaucracyhadcorruptedthekingsandpersuadedthemtofollowantipeople
policies,hesaysthatthekingshouldconsultbrahmansinstead.Thisperhapsreflectshispersonalgrudge.
Architecture
Features
1.BeforetheadventofTurks,Rajputarchitecturebelongedtothetrabeatestyle and had flat roofs, false arches
and stone / mud based. But Turks brought with them the Islamic style vis true arches, domes and used lime
mortarandbrickbased.
2.Turkish architecture was technologically superior as it used true arches, domes, lime mortar, headers and
stretchersbrickoutlay,wasmassive.
3.Italsoleftenoughspaceforthecirculationofair.
Howthearchitecturereflectscontemporarysociopoliticoeconomicrealities?
1.Urbanization:Turkswereurbandwellers.Theirmonumentsareinurbanareasandpromoteurbanism.
2.Concentrationofwealth:Theturkishrulersextractedalltheagriculturesurplusintheirhands.Thissurplushad
tobeputtouseandithappenedintheformofgrandmonuments.
3.Reflects the distance between the rulers and the ruled, the despotism of the sultans: Each monument reflects
thetastesofthesultanasbecauseoftheirscaleeachsultantriedtobuildaccordingtohislikestoexpandhis
glory.AlauddinbuiltAlaiDarwazawhichwasmajesticinscale.Thisreflectsthedespotismofthesultanandhis
abilitytoextractsurplusfromthepeasants.
4.Communal composition: Most of the monuments were Islamic which showed the distribution of power in the
urban society. Islam doesn't permit images of birds and animals so floral designs, geometric designs and
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calligraphycameup.
5.They can be divided into 3 phases (a) During and immediately after Turkish conquest when many hindu
temples were destroyed and new islamic monuments were sought to be created in their place quickly. (b)
ExchangeofskillsandtraditionsbetweenIndianandIslamicarchitectureformsbutatthesametimealsoshows
lackofmasteryofIndiancraftsmenoverthenewIslamicform,(c)evolutionofaspecialIndoIslamicform.
6.DuringandimmediatelyafterTurkishconquest:Turkishrulershadnotyetestablishedthemselves.Theyneeded
tocreateanaweamongtheruled.ThusIltutmishcreatedmanymonumentsinDelhisothatthepubliccouldbe
awed.QutubMinarwasbuiltasasymbolofTurkishvictory.Furtherthemonumentsoftheagecan'tbedivided
exclusivelyintosecularandreligiousmonuments.Thisisbecausetherulersneededmonumentswhichcouldbe
used for huge public gatherings of the nascent Muslim society in India. Thus they were often located in the
middleofthetownandhadlargeopengardeninthem,pillaredverandahson3sidesandtheprayingsitefacing
west.Therewasaraisedplatformwhereimamsandsultanscouldaddressthepublic.Firstsuchmonumentof
the kind was Kuwwat ul Islam in Qila Pithora.They had come to India as conquerors. So they didn't bring
alonganymasons.SotheinitialmonumentshaveadeepinfluenceofIndianarchitecture.Thebuildingsofthis
phase were built by demolishing parts of existing hindu temples and converting them according to muslim
needs by destroying the images, putting a wall in garbhgriha and inscribing Quranic verses. Also the flat roof
hadtobeconvertedintoadomeandflatwindowsintoarch.TheIndiancraftsmenwereusedtotheirtraditional
style only. One of the earliest monuments is Adhai Din Ka Jhopda which was built by Qutubuddin which has
falsearches.
7.Expanding muslim population in India and subsequent rise of Indian muslim class:A mosque's area is often
proportional to the Muslim population living in the area. Thus Quwwat ul Islam mosque was expanded by
IltutmishandAlauddin.AsIndianmuslimclassgrewstrongeritalsogotitsfairshareintherulingclassinthe
formofKhaljis.SotheexpansionofthemosquealsosymbolizesrisingpowerofIndianmuslimclass.
8.ExchangeofskillsandtraditionsbetweenIndianandIslamicarchitecturalforms:Graduallyweseepureformof
IslamicarchitecturecomingasIndiancraftsmenbegantomasterthenewform.Balban'stombhadthefirstTrue
arch.JamatikhanamosqueofAlauddinisthefirsttrueIslamicmonument.AlaiDarwazacanbeconstruedto
be the first monument which symbolizes the end of the initial phase of insecurity and the IndoIslamic
architecturalform.
9.Tughluqage:ThemonumentsbuiltwereinferioringrandeurandbeautycomparedtotheKhaljiphase.Perhaps
they represented a reaction to the excessive ways of the Khaljis or the economic problems facing the sultan.
Under Ghiyasuddin Tughluq we can see the continuation of the fusion of IndoIslamic forms. Thus in his
mausoleum we can see a kalash kept on top of the dome. The construction work in Tughluqabad may also
reflect the haste and commotion in the face of impending Mongol threat. Firuz constructed many monuments
but none matched the grandeur of earlier sultans. Specially under Firuz, sloping walls called salami were
prevalent to give an impression of solidity to the monument. True domes were constructed but they were
somewhatsmall.Pentagonaldesignscameup.
10.Lodi age: Lodis believed in the kingship theory of being first among the equals. This is also reflected in the
architectureaswefindthatthemonumentsbuiltbymanyAmirswereequalinscaleandgrandeurtothosebuilt
by the sultans. By their time, the octagonal designs, double domes and headers and stretchers brick layering
stylescameup.Charbaghstylealsocameup.
Painting
1.Thesepaintingsalsoshowmanymusicalinstrumentslikevariousformsofveena.
EvidencesofGrowthofPaintingsUnderSultans
1.It was generally considered that the sultans didn't favor paintings. But recent evidences firmly establish that
paintingsflourishedunderthesultans,undertheprovincialrulersoftheageaswellasundertheeliteelements
ofthesociety.
2.ContemporarywriterTajuddinRajasaysthatpaintingswerequitepopularunderIltutmish'sreign.Heexplicitly
talksofpaintingsinvolvinghumanandanimalfigureswhiletheCaliph'senvoywaswelcomedattheport.Other
contemporarywritersconfirmwhathesays.
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3.We find both direct and indirect evidences of paintings being used as illustrations in books during Alauddin's
rule.AmirKhusrauwritesindetailhowthesedesignswereprepared.
4.ShamsiSirajAfifinhisTarikhiFiruzshahiwritesclearlythatFiruzbannedthelivingportraitsofhumansinthe
palacegalleriesandbedroomsofthesultan.Thistellsusthatsuchapracticewasfollowedrightintheheartof
sultanate.
5.Similarly Barani writes in TarikhiFiruzshahi that Jalaluddin finished the work of construction of a palace
startedbySultanKakuibadanddecorateditwithpaintings.
RegionalPaintings
1.Jaunpurpaintings:VariousplaysandotherliteraryworksintheAvadhilanguagemakeliberaluseofillustrations
and/or talk explicitly about paintings. Prominent are the romantic works of Chandayan and Mrigavati. The
subjects of such works were often derived from Ramayan and Mahabharat. Another Persian manuscript has
beenfoundwhichisheavilyinfluencedbyPersianpaintingstyle.
2.Paintings under Jain merchants: Since 9 10 cent AD we find miniature illustrations in religious works of
Buddhism,JainismandHinduismunderthePalas.Inthe1315centADsuchatraditionemergedverystrongly
under the patronage of rich Jain merchants and spread to central and northern India as well. In Ahemdabad
manysecularaswellasreligiousJainworkswerecreatedwhichhadillustrationsinthem.
3.Mandupaintings:Wehavefound4majormanuscriptsherewhichgiveevidenceofflourishingpaintingarthere.
A manuscript found here (Niyamatnama) has many miniature portraits of Sultan Nasiruddin Khalji. These
paintingsshowclearfusionofIndianandPersianart.Theyusebrightandlivelycolorsandreflecttheliveliness
of the durbar of Mandu. Another manuscript is MiftahulFuzala which is a dictionary. The manuscript Vostan
showsheavyinfluenceofPersianart.The4thoneisUjaibulSannati.
4.Bengal paintings: A manuscript Sharafnama has 9 paintings. Sikandarnama has beautiful paintings on its
openingpageitself.TheyshowclearfusionofIndoIslamicforms.
CompositeCulture
1.The fusion of Indo Islamic culture began with the Turks in 13th century. Before that Arab merchants were
residinginIndiaintheMalabarandRashtrakutaempireandArabshadalsoconqueredSind.Butstillnotmuch
exchangehappened.ThisfusionreachedgreaterheightsundertheMughals.
Music
1.Despite the opposition of religious extremists, music flourished under the Sultans. Amir Khusrau developed a
newIndianstyleofpoetry.MbTandZainulAbedinwerebigpatronsofmusic.ThenunderMughalsitreached
its zenith. Abul Fazl tells us about the prominent musicians in Akbar's court which included both Hindus and
Muslims. Under Bijapur's sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah many texts were written in poetry. He himself was a poet.
BahadurShahandMuhammadShahalsoencouragedmusic.
LanguageandLiterature
1.OneofthemajorstepswhichpromotedthefusionwasthecompletePersianizationoftheadministrativework.
ThisencouragedHindustotakeupPersianlearningandtheyalsobegantocontributetothePersianliterature.
2.Regional languages also began to liberally exchange with Persian due to this move. Though they kept their
basicgrammarandsyntaxbutincorporatedmanywordsfromPersian(speciallyMarathiforinstancePeshwa,
Avadhi, Bengali). We can see the influence of Persian in Nanak's work as well as Tulsi's Ramcharitmanas.
RegionallanguagesalsodevelopedastheMuslimrulersinprovincesalsopatronizedthem(forinstanceZainul
AbedinencouragedcompilationofRajtarangini,healsoencouragedKashmiriliterature.Sanskritworkscameup
in Muhammed Begara's reign, Gujarati works were encouraged by Ahmedshah. Similarly Bengali, Telugu etc.
wereencouragedbythelocalrulers).ManyworksweretranslatedfromPersianandSanskritintotheseregional
languages.
3.Akbarwasveryfondofliteraryworksandhadabiglibraryofworksinmanylanguages.Healsogotmanyworks
translatedintoPersian.
UrduLanguage
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1.TheTurkishinvaderscamehereandsettledhere.WithtimetheirlinkswithCentralAsiabroke(specificallydue
toMongolinvasions)andhencetheyhadtorecruitfortheirarmedforcesfromamongIndians.Naturallythere
wasabarrierincommunicationbetweenthePersianspeakingcentralasiansandhindispeakingIndians.Thus
urducameupasthecamplanguage.AmirKhusrauwasoneofthefirstprominentwriterstoalsotakeupUrdu.
2.Whenthesufisaintsandsubsequentlythesultanswenttodeccantheyfacedthesamelanguagebarrieragain.
So the language which subsequently came up after exchanges with the regional languages is called Deccani
languagewhichevolvedintothemoreformal/classicalformofUrdu.WiththeexpansionofMughalempirein
17thcenturyinDeccanthespreadofDeccaniincreased.
3.In 18th century Urdu emerged as the leading language of the gentry and symbolized the revolt against the
Persiandominance.
ProvincialArchitecture
1.GujaratistylerepresentstheclearestinfluenceofHindustyleofarchitecture.WecanseethisintheJamaMasjid
@ Ahemdabad, Khambat and Badi Masjid @ Champaner etc. where they resemble Hindu and Jaina temples
closely.Thedomewassupportedbyslenderminarets.InfluenceseeninFatehpurSikri.
2.In Golconda fort we can see that the arches were ornamented with Hindu motifs like cranes, parrots, lions,
peacocks etc. Similarly in Bijapur's Jama Masjid we can see sculptures of Pipal trees on the walls which is a
sacredtreeforHindus.
3.Under the Bundelas @ Orchha and Datia we can see arches along with Hindu style. Under Marathas we can
see Islamic features lime minarets, domes etc. which are even used in the construction of temples. Marathas
alsohadgardensconstructedintheirpalacesalongwithfountains,canalsetc.
ReligionandPhilosophy
1.BhaktiandSufimovementsinfluencedeachotherandthepopularthought.Diniilahiwasamanifestationofthe
fusion.DaraShikohwasalsoagreatassimilatorycharacterandinfluencedbysufism.
2.Stilltheexchangecouldn'ttakeplacebeyondsomepopularpracticesandbeliefs.Atthephilosophicallevelthe
fusionwasnotvisibleexceptfortheabovementionedinstances.Thereweresomesufisaintswhoincorporated
some practices of hindu saints like yoga etc. A particular sect of Muslims believed Prophet to be an avatar,
MuinuddinChistitobeademigod.Wecanseepeopleofbothcommunitycelebratingmanyfestivalstogether.
Thiscommunalharmonywasencouragedbytheprovincialsultansaswell.
EvolutionofaCompositeRulingClass
1.WithtimethedominationofTurksendedandwecanseeIndianMuslimsrisingintherankoftherulingclass.
Then there were many Hindus who were exploited in the Hindu society, they sought to take advantage of the
newsituationfortheiradvance.Slowlyeventhebetteroffhindusalignedthemselveswiththesultansandeven
though they didn't get a share directly in the upper echelons of power they were quite important for the
sultanate.
2.When Sikandar Lodi ordered for the adoption of Persian as the official language many learned Hindu classes
like Kayastha, Kashmiri brahmans etc. learnt Persian and took advantage. The ruling class at the village and
local level still comprised predominantly of hindus. Yet before Mughals a truly composite ruling class couldn't
emerge.
AmirKhusrauinMusic
1.HewasverymuchinfluencedbyIndianmusicandgavemanynewragas(liketilak,sarpada,saajgiri)andtaals
byfusingIndianandIslamicmusic.HeissaidtohavepopularizedQawwalisandinventedtablaandsitar.
SufisinMusic
1.Theycontributedintheformofgazalsandqawwalis.Gazalisaromanticformofmusicwheretheobjectoflove
isapersoninthisworldonly.QawwaliistheromanticmusicwheretheobjectisGod.Assuchgazalsbecame
verypopularinthedurbarsofsultans.
CultureinMughalEmpire
PersianHistoryWriting
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NatureandCharacter
1.In N India land records were kept in Persian only. In S India however, both local and Persian languages were
used.ThisgaveagreatboosttothespreadofPersian.
2.ThehistorieswerewrittenwithintheconfinementofIslami.e.criticismofKuran,Hadi,Sunnaetc.isnotpossible
anditmustremainwithintheconfinesofthereligion.
3.Therisingmightoftheemperorhadaninfluenceonthehistoriographyaswellandnowthehistoryoftheage
becamethehistoryoftheemperor.Thecompletedworksnowcametobededicatedtotheemperor.Theearlier
Arabictraditionofgivingsourceswasalsodiscontinuedhere.Divineassociationofthekingswasemphasized
upontoestablishtheirsovereignty.Wefindthetraditionofhistorywritingspreadingtotheprovincesaswell.
4.We find extensive use of religious terminology in the texts which might appear to the extent of outright
communal at the first glance. But it must be kept in mind that in those days religion and education were
intricately linked. The scholars were invariably men of religion and they knew no terminology other than
religious.Thustheymakeindiscriminateuseofsuchterms.Forinstanceusingsuchtermslashkarikufraand
lashkariislamevenwhenbothsidesfightingeachotherwereMuslims.
5.We must also keep in mind that the interest of much of the history writing section differed from those of the
sultans. The history writing section mainly came from the religious ulemmas class and wanted sultan to be
boundbytheshariatandkuransothathewouldhavetoconsultthemonallmattersandtheirimportanceinthe
politicsgrows.Sultansontheotherhandwerenotwillingtoacceptanysovereigntyabovethem.Sotoplease
the ulemmas and to show their complete loyalty towards shariat whenever it was possible they tried to give
religious color to actions otherwise necessitated by politicoeconomic considerations. The historians naturally
usedtogivelotofimportanceandcommunalcolortosuchevents.
6.Thepoliticalstabilityandeconomicprosperityoftheagecanalsobeseeninsuchworks.
DifferencesfromSultanateEraHistoryWriting
1.Thecompletedworksnowcametobededicatedtotheemperor.
2.TheearlierArabictraditionofgivingsourceswasalsodiscontinuedhere.
3.The emperors used to pay a lot of attention to history writings themselves as is evident from the tradition of
autobiographiesinthemughalage.Whentheycouldn'ttheyappointedhighestscholarsforthetaskandgave
themfullaccesstoallgovernmentrecords(includingtheclassifiedones)andgavethemotherprivilegesaswell.
Butasusualthismeansthesewritingswereoftenbiased.
4.Inthemughalworkswecanseeeventspresentedchronologicallyyearafteryearalongwithallthedates.Butin
Barani'sworkweseelackofsuchchronology.
5.The techniques of paper making and binding showed marked improvement over the sultanate era and so we
havelargeramountofsourcesofmughalerawithus.
ZahiruddinMuhammedBaburandTuzukiBabri
(a)Importance
1.Its importance is that its an autobiography and this is where Mughals differed from sultans. The work is from
someonewhowasshapingtheIndiaoftheageandbroughtarevolution.Hedivideshisworkin3partsfirst
part runs from his accession to the throne of Fargana and ends with leaving Samarkand for the final time,
secondparttellsusabouthisstrugglesandwarsinIndiaandthethirdparttellsusaboutthestateofaffairsin
India.
2.He describes the political situation of the country in great detail. He talks about different provincial rulers like
Gujarat, Malwa, Bijapur, Golconda etc., Vijaynagar, Bengal, Rajputana. He talks about the difficulties faced in
keeping the conquered areas firmly under his control. He talks about the difficulties faced in collecting land
revenue.
3.Beingaforeignerhetellsusindetailaboutallthingswhichstrucktohimandwhichmayhavebeenordinarytoa
resident here. He was a keen observer and describes people and geography in great detail. He writes about
their clothes, food, habits, behavior, profession, social structure, festivals, art forms, architecture, technologies
etc.ingreatdetail.Thusheproducesarichaccount.
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4.Healsowritesveryfranklyabouthisownmistakes.Italsogivesagoodaccountoftheconditionsprevailingin
Humayun'sinitialyearsandtellsusabouthisstrengthsandweaknessesaswell.
(b)Limitations
1.Hecanbeaccusedofdistortionoffactsalsospeciallywhilehighlightinghismilitaryvictories.
2.He forms a negative stereotype of Indians based on his observations of certain backward sections of the
society.
3.HealsoleavesoutcertainprovinceslikeSind,Kashmir,Odisha,Khandesh.HeneglectsPortugueseaswell.
4.Hisisalsoabrokenaccountsometimesithadlongbreaks.
Humayun'sHistoriography
1.TarikhiRashidibyHussainMirza:HewasaseniorcommanderinBabur'sandthenHumayun'sarmyandhence
theimportance.HetalksindetailaboutHumayun'speriod.HewritesaboutcharacterandhabitsofHumayun.
Hegivesadifferentanddetailedaccountofcircumstancesleadingtothebattle@KannaujandKamran'srolein
it.HesaidthatsomerevoltshademergedinPunjabandQandharsoKamranhadtoreturnimmediatelybuthe
left5000sawarswithHumayun.
2.KanuniHumayuni by KhondMir: The writer was a senior official under Humayun and thus gives us a good
accountoftheeventsandconventionsofthedurbar.
3.Humayunnama by Gulbadan: She was a step sister to Humayun and tells us in detail about the life of royal
ladiesandHumayun'sexileandconqueringKabul.
Akbar'sHistoriography
1.Ithad3strands(a)theofficialversioni.e.AkbarnamawrittenbyAbulFazlandwhichwassponsoredbyAkbar,
(b)neutralversioni.e.TabakatiAkbariwrittenbyNizamuddinAhmad,and(c)antiAkbarversionMuntakbhut
TarikhwrittenbyBadayuni.
(a)AkbarnamabyAbulFazl
1.Abul Fazl was a liberal person like Akbar and consequently had come very close to him. In 1590 he was
entrustedwiththetaskofwritinghistoryofAkbar.ThefirstpartstartswithAkbar'sbirthandendsin1572where
hetalksaboutcreationoftheuniverse,otherreligionsandtheirprophets,Akbar'sancestorsetc.Inthesecond
onehecoverstheperiodtill1588.ThethirdpartisAiniAkbari.The4thparttalksaboutthegeography,people,
climate,indiansaints,sufisaintsetc.ofIndia.Inthefinalparthegiveshisbriefautobiography.
2.HestudiedallrelevantArabicandPersianhistorybooks,heusedallrelevantofficialrecords,farmaansetc.,he
interviewedalotofpeopleincludingtheamirsandAkbarhimself,heknewintricatedetailsofmanythingsbeing
ahighamirhimselfandwhenevertherewasadisputeregardinganythingheusedtotakeopinionofmaximum
possiblenumberofpeopleconversantwiththematterandiftherewasstillanydisputeleftthenAkbarusedto
takeadecision.
3.Abul Fazl was a great supporter of Akbar's liberal religious ideas and he wanted to strengthen his position
further. So he highlighted the divine aspect of Akbar's kingship and also praised sulhikul policy of Akbar. He
supportedhisclaimtomustajir.Variousreligionsgenerallyassociatebirthsofprophetsorgreatmenwithsome
divine signs. Abu Fazl tries to link Akbar's birth with some divine signs as well. If he was not given formal
educationduringhischildhood,AbuFazllinksittosuchatraditionamongtheprophets.Hewantedpeopleto
believethatAkbarhadanelementofdivinityinhimsothattheyfollowhisorderswithoutanyissues.
4.He rejects the highly ornamental style of Persian writing of previous historians and instead writes in a very
simpleandyetlovablelanguage.UnlikeotherPersianhistorianshedoesn'tuseanysuchlanguagewhichcan
evenhintatreligiousintolerance.Thiswasabigbreakfromthehistorywritingtraditionoftheage.
5.AiniAkbari reflects the liberal religious views and sulhikul thoughts of Akbar. It tries to give a harmonious
portrayalofhindusandhinduphilosophyandpresentsthemasbeingtolerant,liberalandassimilatory.Although
it must be noted that he didn't know Sanskrit like Berouni and thus suffered from this handicap. He tries to
portraytheapparentdifferencesbetweenvariousreligionsasaresultofdifferentlanguages,ignoranceofthe
religiousheadsandinterpreters,theirtraditionalandfanaticaloutlook,useofreligionbythemandtherulersto
servetheirpersonalambitionsetc.Inrealitythereisnodifferencebetweenanyreligion.Herejectstheclaimof
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old historians that in India there is an inherent conflict between the muslims and hindus. He also rejects any
fanaticismbeitinhindusorinmuslims.ThushepraisesTodarmalforhisqualitiesbutcriticizeshimforhislack
oftolerance.
(b)TabakatiAkbaribyNizamuddinAhmad
1.NizamuddinwasahighrankingofficerunderAkbaryetwroteinaneutralway.Hisbookcoversthehistoryof
sultanateandAkbarandotherprovinceslikeBengal,Malwa,Jaunpur,Kashmir,Sindetc.Hedidn'twritetogain
favorsfromtheemperorandwasamanofhighintegrity.
2.HeusesotherworkslikeTuzukiBabri,Akbarnamaandnumerousotherhistoricaltextsofhisage.
(c)MuntakbhutTarikhbyAlBadayuni
1.Badayunirepresentedthetraditionalfanaticalulemmaclass.Hehadgrownupandreceivededucationinavery
orthodoxandfanaticalenvironment.HehatedAkbarforhisreligioustolerancewhichhebelievedhadledtothe
ignorance of learned scholars like him. He believed that all the high posts and influence should be exclusively
reservedformuslimsandthattooforlearnedscholarslikehim.Thiswashisbiggestlimitationbutatthesame
timealsoletsusknowtheimpactofAkbar'spoliciesonthissection.
2.BadayunihadbeeninvitedtoibadatkhanaaffairsofAkbar.Buthesoonfoundoutthathisorthodoxviewswould
havenoimpactontheemperor.HewasalsojealousofAbulFazl(whonotonlyinfluencedAkbar'spoliciesbut
also was involved in implementing them) whom he accused of poisoning the emperor's mind and this hatred
showsinhiswork.HebelieveshimselftobeasoldierofIslamandbrandsbothAkbarandAbulFazlasenemies
of Islam. He was also dissatisfied from Akbar for his regulations imposed on madadimash (the tax free land
grantsmadetomuslimulemmas).
3.Hisworkhas3partsfirstonebeginsfromSubuktginandlaststillHumayun'sdeath(thiscanbeconsideredas
asummaryofTabakatiAkbar),secondrelatestoAkbarandthirdrelatestosomesufisaints,poetsandmuslim
scholars.
4.Hisworkisfullofreligiousintoleranceandhatredforhindus.Butitmustbekeptinmindthathewasjealousof
rich hindus as they were richer than him and focuses his venom on them. At the same time he ignores poor
hindusjustlikeheignorespoormuslimsasthisreflectsthetypicalmindsetoftheprivilegedclassoftheage.
5.His research and analysis was shallow as he was not really interested in describing any event of the age. He
merelywantedtopourvenomonbothAkbarandAbulFazl.
TuzukiJahangiribyJahangir
1.Thisisanautobiographyanddescribesindetailhiscampaignsincludingfailures,factionalismemerginginthe
high noblery, transfers of mansabdars and how he himself turned away from his responsibilities. The work
reflectshisdesires,hisefforts,successes,failureseverything.Hedescribeshowhewantedtobelikehisfather.
Hewritesindetailabouthisdailylife,histhoughtsveryhonestly.
2.He doesn't stay limited to his life only. He also describes his officers, his perception about their thoughts and
factionalfightsetc.Thismakesitaverygoodsource.Healsodescribesthegeographicaldetailsofhisjourney
toKashmir,Malwa,Ajmer,GujaratandPunjab.
3.First15yearsofhisreignwereverygoodbutfromthe16thyearonwardsproblemsbeginandhestartstoretire
fromactivelife.Thisisreflectedintheformofirregularentriesinthebook.Inthealteryearshedelegatedthe
responsibilityofhistorywritingtoMotmidKhanwhowritesinthenameofJahangirtillthe19thyear.Fromthen
onhewritesIkbalnamaiJahangiriinhisownnamewhichagainisaveryreliablesource.
Padshahnama(forShahjahan)
1.Thishas3versions.FirstwaswrittenbyKazwiniwhichcoversthefirst10yearsofhisreign.Nextwaswrittenby
AbdulHamidLahoriandcoversfirst20yearsofthereign.ThethirdversionwaswrittenbyMuhammadWaris
whichcoversthelast10yearsofhisreign.Thisworkcoversindetailtheprinces,amirs,scholars,sufis,poets,
campaigns,politicalevents,transfersetc.
Aurangzeb'sHistoriography
(a)AlamgirnamabyKasemShiraji
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1.Hecoversthefirst10yearsofhisreign.Likeotherofficialhistorians,hetoohadaccesstoallthegovernmental
records. Where he needed more information he could investigate anyone and was also free to consult the
emperor.HeliberallypraisesAurangzebandcriticizeshisbrothersandevenShahjahan.Hepraisesthoseamirs
whosidedwithAurangzebinhissuccessionwar.
(b)MuntakbhulLubabbyKhafiKhan
1.ThisisacriticalworkofAurangzeb'sreignandhewriteshowthepeasantrywasoppressedbythemughalsand
alwayslivedinfear.Healsocriticizesthehandlingofdeccaniaffairsandhisworkcontainstheelementspointing
towardsthedeclineofmughalempire.
(c)FutuhatiAlamgiribyIsardasNagar
1.Thiscovershisreignupto34yearsandtalksindetailabouthisrelationswithrajputs.Hewriteshowby1691
Aurangzeb'spolicieshadfailedandhisnobleryhadhatchedambitionstocarveoutindependentprincipalities.
EuropeanSources:JeanTaverner
1.He was a merchant and hence was interested mostly in economic activities of the country. But a difference
betweenhimandotherwritersisthathedidn'tremainconfinedtothecourtactivities.HetravelledacrossIndia
and also wrote about the people, social life (whatever he could understand) and economic life. Thus he
becomesanimportantsourcealbeitonewhichshouldbeinterpretedwithpropercaution.Hethuswritesabout
theproductionactivitiesinIndia,themerchants,thesarafs,theinvolvementofamirsintrade,varioustemples
etc.
2.Onelimitationisthathetravelledthroughforestssohecouldhavewrittenaboutthetribalstherebuthedidn't.
Thenhiswritingsonreligiousandculturallivesareatbestshallow.
EuropeanSources:FrancisBernier
1.HehadstayedinIndiaforalongperiod.Sohecametounderstandthecircumstanceshereinabetterway.He
hadaccesstotheroyalcourtsandhencewritesaboutthelivesoftherulingclassincludingtheprincesses.He
writesabouttherajputsaswell.
2.He also throws sufficient light on the economic life. He writes about the craftsmen, the peasants etc. But he
incorrectlyassertsthattheemperorwastheownerofalllandhere.
3.Onamirshewritesthattheylivedaveryconsuminglife.Despitelargeincomestheywerealwaysindebted.He
talks about the transportation means, the mughal army, the brahmans and their narrow mindset and
superstitions,thesatisystem,devadasisystemandcraftproductionprocessesinIndia.
MughalArchitecture
Features
1.Change & Continuity: Double dome, charbagh style were elements of continuity. Influence of provincial
architecture,kalash,petradurastylewereelementsofchange.
2.Due to the central asian origin of the emperors the architecture was characterized by fusion of HinduIslamic
architecture specially under Akbar. One such influence is the kalash placed on top of the domes which was
borrowed from Hindu temple architecture. In SJ's time, greater emphasis was placed on Islamic character of
buildings.ThusduringAkbar'speriodwecanseeafusionofregionalstylesintoMughalbuildings.InRedFort
we can see distinct Gujarati and Malwa influence. The use of domes was avoided and instead replaced by
chatris.Domeswereusedonlyinthemosque.Wecanseetheuseofcolorfulandglazedtilesontheexternal
walls in Sikri which resemble Persian style. On the other hand the internal walls and chatris were ornamented
withmotifsofdifferentanimalsandhumanbeingsintheRajputstyle.FatehpurSikritoosawhugeinfluenceof
GujaratandRajputstyles.RajputinfluenceiswitnessedinthedoorsandwindowsandinJodhabai'sandBirbal's
palaces while Kashmiri influence is visible in Mariam's palace. In Birbal's palace we can see the arches were
decorated with motifs of lotus, rose and other flowers. In the DiwaniKhas we can see the influence of Jain,
BuddhistaswellasHindustyles.
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3.Itusedthecharbaghstyle.Initiallythemonumentwasconstructedinthemiddleofthegardenonaraisedplinth
andflowingwater.Humayun'stombisthefirstexample.Shahjahanchangedittoplacingthemonumentinone
cornerofthegarden.
4.Manybeautifulgardenswithflowingcanalswerecreated.ItbeganwithBaburwhogotagardencreatedinAgra
whenhebegantolivethere.ExampleareShalimar@Lahore,NishatBaghinKashmir.
5.Doubledomewasanotherfeature.Humayun'stombisthefirstexample.
6.RedsandstonefromDhaulpurwasextensivelyusedbyMughals.ExamplesareShahjahanabadandFatehpur
Sikri.Marblewasalsoused.FromJahangir'stimeavisibleshiftwasmadetowardsuseofmarble.
7.SomenewcitieslikeDinPanahbyHumayunandShergarhbySSSwerebuilt.
8.Pietra dura style was used for ornamentation. Floral designs were carved in walls and semiprecious stones
werefittedintheseengravingsforentiredesign.
9.LastexampleofMughalarchitectureisSafdarjungtomb.
10.Thearchitecturewassuitedtotheclimaticconditionsoftheland.Theroomswerelargeandairy.Therewerebig
gardensaroundthebuildingandmanyfountainsaswell.Theroofshadthekhuskhusgrasstokeepthemcool.
MughalArchitectureasaReflectionofContemporaryLife
1.Itsymbolizesthegreatpoweroftherulingclassandthegreatdividebetweentherulersandtheruled.Mughals
brought a vast area of the country under their administration. They had elaborate machinery to extract the
agriculturesurplusandthissurpluswasconcentratedinfewhandsonly.Thisgavethemtheabilitytoprovidefor
best of the resources from all over the country in their monuments. This shows in the superiority of their
architecture. The elite and privileged class used burnt bricks, mortar and stones (because stone cutting and
polishingwascostly)andarches,domesandvaultedroofsintheirconstructions.Theyalsomadeuseofglasses
fortheirwindowsandJahangirevenusedcoloredglasseswhichwereveryexpensive.Commonersusedmud
bricksorkucchahouses.
2.Theyreflecttheincreasingpoweroftheemperoreveninrespectofhisamirs.ThuswhileintheLodirulewefind
that the monuments of his amirs were as good as those of the sultan, in mughal age monuments of the
emperorswerewayaboveanybodyelse's.Whiletheemperorshadtheresourcesandcapacitytoobtainbestof
materialandlaborfromanypartofthecountryhisnoblesandprovincialrulers/governorsclearlycouldn'tdo
so.
3.WecanseetheimpactofAkbar'sdesiretobethereligiousleaderofIndianmuslimsaswell.InDiwaniAam@
Sikri we can see that the emperor's throne was placed in the western direction which gave him religious
supremacyaswell.TheuseofmanyprovincialstylesinthebuildingscanbeseentoreflectAkbar'sdesiretobe
theemperorofwholeIndiaandnotjustapartofit.Butthisinnovativeandassimilativecharacterwasreplaced
byatraditionalcharacterinShahjahan'smonuments.
4.Themonumentsclearlyshowthestateoftheempireinthosedays.Forinstancethemajesticfusionandsmooth
construction of Sikri shows the stability and the strength of the empire. By Shahjahan's time a stagnation had
occurred which we can see in the lack of variety in the construction. The freshness and cultural fusion of the
buildingsgavewaytoartificialgrandeur.TheinnovativeandassimilativecharacterofAkbar'stimewasreplaced
by a traditional character in Shahjahan's monuments. It appears that this was an attempt to hide the growing
problemsoftheempire.ByAurangzeb'stimethearchitecturedeclinedduetohispersonalindifferenceaswell
as economic condition of the state. Whatever monuments are there show traditional style only and lack of
creativity.Insteadthemonumentsoftheregionalprincipalitiesbegantogrowintheirattraction.Thisshowsthe
declineoftheempire.
5.These majestic projects reflected the cultural currents and tastes of the age in the ruling class. The emperors
often personally paid attention to the plans and construction of the monuments. Thus we have paintings of
AkbarobservingtheconstructionofFatehpurSikripersonally.
6.After300yearsofliberalexchangesandchanges,Indianarchitecturestylehadstabilized.Thecraftsmenhad
becomemastersoftheirartandthisshowsinthebuildingswhichshowastylethatismorematureanduniform
than its predecessors. Architecture during sultanate period was heterogenous and more like a collection of
differentstyles.
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7.Theconstructionmadeuseoflaborintensivetechnologieswhichindicatetheabundanceofunskilledandskilled
labor of the age and that it had become an important industry. Large amount of labor was employed. For
instance Akbarnama tells us 4000 workers were employed everyday for the construction of Agra fort. Jama
MasjidofDelhiemployed8000workersandTajMahalemployed20000workersworkingeveryday.
8.Thearchitecturewassuitedtotheclimaticconditionsoftheland.Theroomswerelargeandairy.Therewerebig
gardensaroundthebuildingandmanyfountainsaswell.Theroofshadthekhuskhusgrasstokeepthemcool.
9.The architecture clearly shows a fusion of IndoIslamic styles and shows the prevailing undercurrents of
communalharmonyandliberalexchangeinthesociety.
10.Themughalamirsusedtoconstructtheirbuildingsclosetothebuildingsconstructedbytheirancestors.
11.Thefoundationofanymajorprojectwaslaidonlyafterconsultingtheastrologicalcharts.
MughalPainting
Howtheyreflectthecontemporarylife?
1.PainterswerebothHinduMuslimsaswellaslowercastehindus.
2.Courtpatronized.Bookillustrationsplayedanimportantrole.Karkhanaswereestablishedforpainting.Painters
werepaidmonthlysalaries+bonuses.
3.Itwasunislamicyetliberalinterpretationofislamallowsit.
4.PaintedportraitsofAkbarshowingdespotism.
5.Specializationabsent.
6.Mughal paintings show the construction scenes of the big monuments and also tell us about the used
technologies.ForinstancesomepaintingsshowushowstoneswerecutandpolishedtobeusedinFatehpur
Sikri.
7.Courtscenes,huntingscenes,warswerepainted.Indiancolorsweredeveloped.
MughalPaintingsunderAkbar
1.IntheinitialphaseduringAkbar,paintingsusedtodrawheavilyfrompersianstylethoughwecouldseesome
influencesofIndianstyleoccasionally.OneofthefirstimportantpaintingswastheminiaturestyleDastaniAmir
HamzaorHamzanama.Ithad1200paintingsandusedbrightcolors.AmirHamzawasaPersianmythological
hero and Akbar used to enjoy his stories. Hamzanama depicts foreign plants and flowers. We can also see
influenceofHindusstyleinthepaintingofwomeninit.InAnwariSuhailiwecanseethatthebirdsandanimals
are painted in a very natural style whereas in persian style animals are painted in a very artificial way (they
appear more like masks than alive animals). It shows Indian trees and flowers but paints hills and clouds in
persianstyle.ThesepaintersweremostlyPersians.
2.In the next phase Akbar's policies had become much more assimilatory and the resulting fusion culture had
become mature. Akbar was becoming more interested in analysis of different religions. So he wanted many
books of different religions to be translated into Persian. Such translations would also include miniatures. This
gave a big boost to the fusion process. We can see the same impact in the paintings as they now included
various provincial styles like Gwalior, Gujarat, Rajputana, Lahore, Kashmir etc. This was possible as their
painters were now drawn from all over India and not just Persia. Tootinama is an important painting from this
phaseandwecanseeIndianinfluenceinbothsubjectsaswellasstyle.Themostfamouspaintingofthisage
wasRazmnamawhichworkedasamilestoneforotherpaintings.
3.With time we can also see the European influence in the paintings. It began when in 1580 Akbar invited a
missionarytohisdurbar.Theybroughtmanypaintingswiththem.Themughalprinceswereimpressedandthe
painterstriedtoincorporateitsfeaturesintheirownpaintings.Inthebeginningtheyjustcopiedtheoutlinesand
filleditintheirowncolorsandstyle.Lateronwecanseetheeuropeaninfluencebothinthesubjectsandstyle.
Apopularfeaturenowwasthatthefrontobjectswereputinaperspectivebychangingtheirsize.
4.DuringthefinalyearsAkbarwasbesiegedwithmanyproblemsincludingtherevoltofprinceSalimanddeathof
princesMuradandDaniyal.Wecanseethecorrespondingdeclineinthepaintingsaswellspeciallyminiatures.
Thisdeclinewasevidentnotonlyinquantitybutalsoqualityastheynowlackedcreativity.
MughalPaintingsunderJahangir
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1.DuringAkbar'sreignthepaintingwasboundbythesubjectofthemanuscriptofwhichitformedapart.Jahangir
freed it from this limitation and encouraged free paintings (on subjects dictated by him) including portraits.
Initiallyhegotsomeofthepaintingsredonefromtheroyallibrary.Thenheturnedtowardslifesizeportraitsand
other scenes from royal life. It must be kept in mind even Akbar got portraits done but under Jahangir they
becamethedominatingtheme.Jahangirwaseagertohaveimportanteventsofhislifeandreignrecordedand
asked the painters to paint his durbar scenes, festival celebrations, flowers and animals which interested him
etc. There is one painting which shows Jahangir aiming for a lioness's eye and a Rajput prince is pointing
towardsit.
2.The paintings of the age elevated Jahangir's aura and showed him in a majestic form. Maybe they are an
attempt to take his mind away from the dissonance of his failures to tackle some of the problems he faced or
some of the desires he could never fulfill. They were just an attempt to show him as a great, all conquering,
mercifulandjustruler.Forinstancewecanseehimgreetingthepersianruleronequaltermsthoughhenever
methim.Theonepaintingshowshimpresidingover(asagreatgreatemperor)ameetingofmanykingsand
princesfromfarofflands.InanotherheisseenaskickingMalikAmbar'shead.
3.Thusgraduallyinhisreignwecanseeminiaturesdecliningandgettingreplacedbyfreestylepaintingsincluding
theportraits.
4.The paintings also show the animals and birds in a very natural way and focus on their bodily features with a
precisenesswhichisamazing.Wecanseesignsofscientificstudyofsuchsubjectsbeforethepaintings.
MughalPaintingsafterJahangir
1.ForsomeyearsShahjahanletthemworkastheywereworkingunderJahangir.Butlateronhebegantohave
himselfpaintedinassociationwithsomedivinepowerslikeforinstancetheangelsthemselvesaredescending
on earth to keep the crown on his head, or they are standing holding flags in their hands and praying for his
victory and long life. He also had himself painted in most imposing forms. In one painting we can see Akbar,
JahangirandShahjahanwithAkbardirectlygivingthecrowntoShahjahan.
2.Perhapsallthiswasanattempttohidethedeclineinthefortunesoftheempire.Thatiswhythereistoomuchof
glorifying the emperor. The decline in mughal painting had clearly set in and creativity had given way to
traditionalism.
3.Europeaninfluencecanbeclearlyseeninthesepaintingsasthereisgenerallyanilluminatedcirclebehindhis
headradiatinglightasintheeuropeanpaintingsofJesus.Furtherwecanseethatthebackgroundisgenerally
paintedblurinlightcolors.
RajputanaSchoolofPainting
1.Rajputana paintings can be broadly divided into (a) court paintings which depict as usual the lifestyle of the
feudallords.Wecanseeclearmughalinfluencehereintheformofdresses,symbols,background,sceneryetc.
The influence grew as the painters returned from the delhi court due to the decline of the empire. (b) literary
paintingswhichtypicallydrawtheirsubjectmatterfromhindureligion.Theyalsoshowlessinfluenceofislamic
artandmoreofrajputtraditionalartonlybecausetheinteractionwithmughalswasmoreintherulingclass.(c)
folkpaintingswhichtypicallyshowfestivals,celebrations,dailylifeeventsetc.
MewarSchool
1.It mainly flourished in Chittor, Udaipur, Nathdwara, Deogarh, Sirohi, Saawar under Sisodias. It shows
comparativelylesserinfluenceofmughalstyleduetodistantpoliticalrelationswiththemughals.
2.Under Rana Amar Singh we can see that the men clothing is triangular in the bottom part of the body which
indicates mild mughal influence only. Under his successor Rana Jagat Singh we can see an increase in the
religiouspaintingsaswellascourtpaintings.Thesepaintingsdepictedmenandwomeninamixofmughaland
traditionalwear,birds,flowersetc.allintheirnaturalstatebutthehillswerepaintedinmughalstyle.
3.Inthefirsthalfof18thcenturythecourtpaintingsflourishedfurtheraslotofpainterscameback,butafterthat
wecanseeadeclineundertheinfluence.
AmberSchool
1.ItflourishedunderKachwahasinAmber,Jaipur,Alwar.
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2.Here the folk painting and literature related religious painting flourished more. It flourished under Man Singh,
SawaiJaiSinghandhissuccessors.Butby19thcenturyitlostitsappeal.
MarwarSchool
1.ItflourishedunderRathoresinJodhpur,Bikaner,Jaisalmer,Pali.Withtimewecanseegrowingmughalinfluence
intheJodhpurschoolasthetraditionalrajputelementswerereplacedbyrefinementandadornment.Itportrays
menandwomeninstockybodiesandmenwithmustaches.
2.Bikaner school was the one most closely affiliated with the mughal style as it had very close political relations
with mughals. Instead of bright colors or beautiful scenery work like other rajput schools it uses soft lines and
colorassortmentlikethemughals.ItappearsthatwhenmughalpainterswereneglectedunderShahjahanthey
cametoBikaner.ApartfromthemughalinfluencewecanalsoseedeccaniinfluenceherebecauseRanaAnup
SinghstayedindeccanforlongunderAurangzeb.Theytoofocusonthebodilybeautyofwomenwhoarelight
andslim.
BundiSchool
1.It flourished under the Hadas in Bundi and Jhalawar. Bundi was located between Amber in north, Mewar in
southandKotainwest.SoBundiusedtoattractpaintersfromalltheseschoolsandhencedevelopeditsdistinct
style.
2.Ittypicallyusedbrightlivelycolors,focusedonthebodilybeautyofwomenandaddedtotheirbeautybyusing
sceneriesincludinghills,rivers,forests,trees,fruits,flowersetc.inverynaturalsense.Itusedaspecialmixture
ofcolorstoshowtheskyinbackground.
3.In 18th century the subjects were mostly hunting scenes, durbars, portraits of the feudal lords and their
entertainment(examplesofmughalinfluence).Ittoodeclinedinthelaterhalfof18thcentury.
KotaSchool
1.AlthoughitisclosetoBundi,itstilldevelopedauniquestyle.Bundipassedthroughaturbulentphaseinthe18th
century.SomanypaintersfromtherecametoKotaandworkedhere.ThusitcameclosertoBundi.
2.The subjects were mostly hunting scenes, portraits of the feudal lords and their entertainment (examples of
mughalinfluence).Ittoodeclinedinthelaterhalfof18thcentury.
KishangarhSchool
1.The Rana here was very interested in art forms and was influenced by sagun bhakti. The famous Bani Thani
painting is from Kishangarh. The paintings here depict Radha and Krishna in gardens or celebrating festivals
etc.ItwasverymuchinfluencedbybhaktiandthefocusisonthebodilybeautyofRadha.
PahadiSchoolsofPainting
KangraSchoolofPainting
1.Thisschoolreflectstheclosenesstonatureandusesnaturalscenestoexpresshumanemotions.Forexample
drytreestosymbolizeseparation,brightflowerstosymbolizemeetingetc.
2.IthasmanyregionalvariationswhichcanbeseeninBilaspur,Jammu,Mandi,Garhwal,Chamba,Nurpuretc.
BasauliSchoolofPainting
1.WecanseeaclearfusionoffolkartofKashmir,MughalschoolandRajputschoolhere.Itschiefcenterswere
Jasrota,Mankot,Bandharlata,Jammu,Nurpur,Chamba.
2.Initiallywecanseethetraditionalartformsclearlywithpeoplewearingtraditionaldressesandornamentsetc.
After the turbulence in Delhi due to invasions and throne games, many painters came here and we see the
influenceofmughalstylegrowing.Thiswecanseeintheformofchangesindresses,expressionsofwomen,
ornamentationetc.
GulerorEastKangraSchoolofPainting
1.One of the reasons for its development was that due to disorder the route between Delhi and NWFP and
KashmirchangedfrompassingviaLahoretoviaJammu.Sowithtimethiscameundermughalinfluence.
DifferenceswithMughalandRajputSchools
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1.While mughal school has focused on the splendor of the emperor and his court, pahadi school expresses the
emotions, nature, religious sentiments etc. Thus pahadi school could focus on life outside the royal sphere as
well.
2.PahadischooltriestoportraycommonlifestyleandclothingstylethroughkrishnaasithappenedinEuropean
renaissance.Thuskrishnaisdepictedaswearingpahadidressesandamongpahadiwomenwearingtraditional
dresses.Thescenesaredepictedintheoriginalstateofnature.
3.Apartfromkrishna,pahadipaintingsalsodepictcommongirlsplayingthecommongamesofthedayorplaying
musicordepictsanimalsandbirdsintheirnaturalsettings.Womenareshownaswelllikemughalpaintings.the
paintingsoftheprincesandtheirfamiliesareverymuchmughalstyled.Thedifferenceherethoughisthatwhile
such mughal paintings focused on some political events like battles, surrender by the enemy, receiving an
ambassadoretc.pahadipaintingsonsucheventsarefew.
ProvincialArchitecture&Painting
LucknowSchoolofPainting
DeccaniSchoolofPainting
1.ItflourishedinBijapur,GolcondaandAhmadnagar.Therewasalotofexchangebetweenthethreecentersdue
to the upheavals of the age so it is often difficult to distinguish which painting belonged to which place. There
were exchanges with Rajputs as well as Mughals. Nizamshahi sultans also welcomed the painters from
Vijaynagarempire.Thusthepaintingsshowagoodfusionwithhindustyleaswell.
2.These paintings show openness as against the traditionalism which crept into mughal paintings during
Shahjahan.Themostfamouspaintingisthatofayogini(orprincess)fromBijapur.AdilShahIandIbrahimAdil
ShahofBijapurweregreatpatronsofartincludingpaintings.Theirpaintingsareclearlyinfluencedbywestern
romanticschool.
PatnaSchoolofPainting
LucknowSchoolofArchitecture
RajputanaSchoolofArchitecture
ClassicalMusic
1.Originally there was only one system of music but in medieval age, north India came under the influence of
Persianmusicleadingtoformationof2schoolsHindustani(north)andKarnataka(south).Theyhavecommon
basicfeatureslikeraga,taal,performanceincludesasoloist(eithervocaloroninstrument),adrummeranda
tanpura.
2.InitiallyDhrupadstylewaspopularwhichusedveenaastheinstrument.Anothermusicstylewhichwaspopular
amongpeopleinthosedayswasDhamarstylewhichfocusedondescribingkrishnaalongwiththecountrygirls,
krishna playing holi in Braj, celebration of festivals etc. Mughal court couldn't remain uninfluenced by Holi and
TansenetalcomposedmanyDhamarsaswellandthusthisfolkmusicstylefounditswayinthemughalcourts.
Apart from these two there was the bhakti music specially from Kabir, Mira etc. which was sung. Then Akbar
alsogavepatronagetomusiciansfromsouthernindiaaswellasnorthwest.Thusanallencompassingmusic
evolvedinhisperiod.Jahangirwasapatronofmusicaswellspeciallygazals.ThiscontinuedunderShahjahan
butdeclinedunderAurangzeb.
3.In the 18th century under Muhammed Shah (court musicians Adarang and Sadarang) and under ruler of
Jaunpur,thekhyalstyleemergeddominant.Itdifferedfromdhrupadinthesenseitallowedformorefreedomof
themusicianaswellaswaswaslightandfulloflife.Ithasonlytwoparts(sthayiandantara)asagainstthe4in
dhrupad.Itismoresuitedtothefemalevoiceandthishelpedinitsspread.Inkhyalstyleaswellthereweretwo
types chota khyal and bada khyal. Bada khyal has slow tempo while chota khyal has medium and high and
hencebecamemorepopularamongthetwo.Khyalwasdifficulttoplayonthetraditionalveenaandhencenew
instrumentslikesitarandtablacameup.
CarnaticMusic
1.IncontrasttoHindustanimusic,themainemphasisinCarnaticmusicisonvocalmusicmostcompositionsarewrittento
besung,andevenwhenplayedoninstruments,theyaremeanttobeperformedingayaki(singing)style.
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2.It peaked under Vijaynagar empire @ Tanjavur in 16 17 century. Purandar Das is known as the father of Carnatic
Music.BhaktimovementandfolkmusictraditionscontributedalottothedevelopmentofCarnaticmusic.
Shruti
1.Itreferstomusicalpitch,thenotefromwhichalltheothersarederived.Itisalsousedinthesenseofgradedpitchesinan
octave. While there are an infinite number of sounds falling within a raga in Carnatic music, the number that can be
distinguishedbyauditoryperceptionistwentytwo.
Swara
1.Itconsistofsevennotes,"sarigamapadani".Everymemberoftheswarahas3variants(likera,ri,ru)exceptforsa,
pa, ma. It refers to a type of musical sound that is a single note, which defines a relative (higher or lower) position of a
note,ratherthanadefinedfrequency.
Raga
1.InCarnaticmusic,itprescribesasetofrulesforbuildingamelody.Itspecifiesrulesformovementsup(aarohanam)and
down (avarohanam), the scale of which notes should figure more and which notes should be used more sparingly, which
notes may be sung with gamaka (ornamentation), which phrases should be used or avoided, and so on. In effect, it is a
seriesofobligatorymusicaleventswhichmustbeobserved,eitherabsolutelyorwithaparticularfrequency.
Tala
1.Taals are the repeating succession of beats or claps like on a dholak (dhikdhadhikdhakdhin). They have
cyclesofadefinednumberofbeatsandrarelychangewithinasong.
HindustaniMusic
1.FusionofVedicandPersianmusicaswellassufitradition.NameslikeAmirKhusrauandTansenareassociatedwiththis
school. Sufi tradition brought religious assimilation in the music as Muslim singers sung praising Hindu deities and vice
versa.
2.It is traditional for performers who have reached a distinguished level of achievement to be awarded titles of
respectHindusareusuallyreferredtoaspanditandMuslimsasustad.
DhrupadStyle
1.Itsnameisderivedfromthewords"dhruva"(fixed)and"pada"(words).ThistraditioncanbetracedbacktoVedas.Butit
saw a decline from 18 century onwards. A newer genre, khyal, gained popularity at dhrupad's expense as it placed less
constraints on the singers and also the new instruments being developed the sitar and the sarod were not suited to
dhrupad.
2.Dhrupad as we know it today is performed by a solo singer or a small number of singers in unison to the beat of
thepakhavajormridangratherthanthetabla.Thevocalistisusuallyaccompaniedbytwotanpuras.
3.Dhrupadstyleshavelongelaboratealapsandgraduallyaccelerates.Thealapisderivedfromamantra,inarecurrent,set
pattern:arenena,tterenena,rirerenena,tenetone.Inmoststylesofdhrupadsingingcaneasilylastanhour.It
isbroadlysubdividedintothealapproper(unmetered),thejor(withsteadyrhythm)andthejhala (accelerating strumming)
ornomtom,whensyllablesaresungataveryrapidpace.Thenthecompositionissungtotherhythmicaccompaniment:
thefourlines,inserialorder,aretermedsthayi,antara,sanchariandaabhog.
KhyalStyle
1.Khyalbasesitselfonacollectionofshortsongsoftwotoeightlineseachcalledabandish.Khyalbandishesaretypically
composed in a variant of Urdu / Hindi, and sometimes in Persian, Marathi or Punjabi, and these compositions cover
diversetopics,suchasromanticordivinelove,praiseofkingsorgods,theseasons,dawnandduskandtheycanhave
symbolismandimagery.Thebandishisdividedintotwopartsthesthayiandtheantara.Thesthayioftenusesnotesin
theloweroctave,whiletheantarausesinupperoctave.
2.Everysingergenerallyrendersthesamebandishdifferently,withonlythetextandtheragaremainingthesame.A typical
khyalperformanceusestwosongsthebadakhyalinslowtempocomprisingmostoftheperformance,whilethechota
khyalinfasttempousedasafinale.Thesongsaresometimesprecededbyimprovisedalap.
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3.The singer uses the bandish as raw material for improvisation, accompanied by a harmonium or sarangi, tabla and
atanpurainthebackground.
TaranaStyle
1.ItisatypeofcompositioninHindustaniclassicalvocalmusicinwhichcertainwordsandsyllablesareusedinamedium
tempoandfasttempo.ItwasinventedbyAmirKhusrau.
TappaStyle
1.Tappa originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab and developed as a form of classical music by Mian
GhulamNabiShori@Oudh.
ThumriStyle
1.ItisasemiclassicalIndianmusic.Itdeveloped@OudhanddealsmainlywithKrishna.
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