Changes in beliefs and devotional texts (c. 8th to 18th centuries)
Bhakti means loving devotion to a god. Sufism means the loving, inner path in Islam. Both grew strongly in India between the 8th and 18th centuries.
Joining of traditions
Historians see two kinds of traditions. The great tradition is the one written in Sanskrit books by Brahmanas. Little traditions are local beliefs of villages and forest people. Over time they mixed. For example, a local deity could be seen as a form of Vishnu or Shiva. Many local goddesses were worshipped as forms of Devi. The Puranas, easy stories in simple Sanskrit, helped this mixing.
Tantric practices
Some forms of worship, called Tantric, were open to women and men of all castes. They often ignored Vedic rules.
New devotional texts
Saints wrote in the people's languages: Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi. Their songs were collected into holy books. This is a big change from worship mainly in Sanskrit.
Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu
Between the 6th and 9th centuries, the Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) and Nayanars (devotees of Shiva) travelled from place to place singing Tamil hymns.
- There were 12 Alvars and 63 Nayanars. They came from many castes, including some called 'untouchable' at that time.
- Their hymns: the Nalayira Divyaprabandham (4,000 hymns of the Alvars) and the Tevaram (hymns of the Nayanars).
- Some Alvars questioned caste and said love matters more than birth.
- Women saints: Andal, an Alvar, sang of her love for Vishnu. Karaikkal Ammaiyar, a Nayanar, gave up comforts and followed a hard path. Their songs challenged the idea that women must stay in home roles.
- Kings and temples: Chola rulers gave land and built huge temples to Shiva, and they got hymns sung there. Bronze images of saints were placed in temples.
The Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka
In the 12th century, Basavanna, a minister at a Chalukya court, led a new movement. His followers are called Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (wearers of the linga).
- They worship Shiva as a linga, worn in a small case on the body.
- They rejected caste and the idea of pollution.
- They questioned the theory of rebirth. They bury their dead instead of burning.
- They supported things the Dharmashastras disliked, like widow remarriage and marriage after growing up.
- Their Kannada poems are called vachanas.
Islam and the Sufi silsilas
Islam reached India through traders from the 7th century and through rulers later. Rulers followed the sharia (Islamic law) but many subjects were not Muslims. Some non-Muslims got the status of zimmi (protected people) and paid a tax called jizya. Akbar removed jizya.
Who were the Sufis?
Sufis were Muslim mystics. They did not like rigid rules and showy wealth. They looked for closeness to God through love, remembering God's name (zikr) and following a teacher.
How Sufi groups worked
- Khanqah: a hospice where the master lived and people ate, stayed and prayed.
- Pir / shaikh: the master. Murid: the disciple.
- Silsila: a chain linking master to disciple, back to the Prophet.
- Dargah: the tomb of a Sufi master, a place of pilgrimage (ziyarat).
- Sama: music and song (like qawwali) to feel closer to God.
The Chishtis
The Chishti silsila was the most popular in India. Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti's dargah at Ajmer was visited by rich and poor; Akbar went there many times. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi ran a khanqah with an open kitchen (langar) for all. Chishtis used local languages; poets like Amir Khusrau wrote in Hindavi and Persian.
Sufis and the state
Chishtis kept a distance from kings, but they accepted gifts and land to run khanqahs. Kings wanted Sufi blessings because the people loved the Sufis.
New paths in North India: Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai
Nirguna and saguna
Nirguna bhakti is love for God without form or qualities. Saguna bhakti is love for God with form, like Krishna or Rama.
Kabir (14th to 15th century)
A weaver, Kabir called God by many names (Rama, Allah, Hari, Sahib). He attacked empty rituals of both Hindus and Muslims and said God is found within. His poems are in the Bijak, the Kabir Granthavali and the Adi Granth. He is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims; his exact life is not fully known.
Guru Nanak (1469 to 1539)
Born at Talwandi, he travelled widely. He taught worship of one God without form, through remembering the Name (nam). He rejected idol worship, pilgrimages and caste. He set up a community with shared worship (sangat) and a shared kitchen (langar). His hymns, with those of later Gurus and saints like Kabir and Baba Farid, were collected by Guru Arjan in the Adi Granth (1604). Guru Gobind Singh later added more and founded the Khalsa (1699).
Mirabai (15th to 16th century)
A Rajput princess, Mirabai loved Krishna as her beloved. She left the palace against her family and sang. Her guru is said to be Raidas, a leatherworker, which challenged caste. Her songs are still sung in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
How historians read these traditions
Sources include hymns, saints' biographies (hagiographies), malfuzat (conversations of Sufi masters), maktubat (their letters) and tazkiras (life stories). Songs were passed on by memory and changed over time, so historians compare many versions.
Key formulas and definitions
- Alvars = 12 Vishnu saints (Tamil); Nayanars = 63 Shiva saints (Tamil); 6th to 9th century
- Virashaiva / Lingayat = Basavanna, Karnataka, 12th century; vachanas
- Pir teaches murid; the chain = silsila; hospice = khanqah; tomb = dargah; music = sama
- Nirguna = God without form (Kabir, Nanak); saguna = God with form (Mirabai)
- Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan, 1604; Khalsa 1699
Worked examples
1. How did the Puranas help join great and little traditions?
Step 1: Puranas were stories in simple Sanskrit. Step 2: they explained local gods as forms of Vishnu, Shiva or Devi. Step 3: so village worship and Sanskrit worship became one family of beliefs.
2. How many saints in all were Alvars plus Nayanars?
Step 1: Alvars = 12. Step 2: Nayanars = 63. Step 3: 12 + 63 = 75 saints.
3. Explain a silsila with an example.
Step 1: a pir teaches a murid. Step 2: the murid later becomes a pir and names his own successor (khalifa). Step 3: Muinuddin Chishti → ... → Nizamuddin Auliya is part of the Chishti chain. Each link passes on the teaching.
4. Why were both Kabir and Mirabai bhakti saints but different?
Step 1: both loved God directly and rejected caste pride. Step 2: Kabir prayed to God without form (nirguna). Step 3: Mirabai loved Krishna with form (saguna). So same love, different idea of God.
Common mistakes
- Mixing Alvars and Nayanars. Alvars = Vishnu; Nayanars = Shiva.
- Saying Sufis rejected Islam. They were Muslims who stressed love and inner faith over rigid rules.
- Calling Mirabai a nirguna saint. She loved Krishna with form, so she is saguna.
- Thinking a dargah is a mosque. It is the tomb of a Sufi saint.