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Summary
Art & Culture Class 15

SANGAM LITERATURE (04:34 PM)

  • The word Sangam signifies the confluence of poet and poetess. Under the patronage of Pandya rulers, three Sangam assemblies were held in and around Madurai.
  • It is believed that the first Sangam assembly was attended by gods and angels and no texts survived.
  • From the second Sangam assembly only one book survived i.e. Tolkappiyam written by Tolkappiyar(The earliest book of Tamil grammar) It also provides details about the landscape of southern India. The third Sangam assembly was attended by 373 poets. It also included more than 30 Poetess. All the books of these assemblies survived which is majorly classified into two categories Malkanakku and Kilkanakku.
  • Malkanakku is further subdivided into Ethuthogai and Ppattuppattu.
  • The 18 minor texts deal with a moral ethical code of conduct.
  • After the end of Sangam assemblies two Tamil epics were written:
  • a)Silapathikaram written by Ilango Adigal
  • b)Manimekalai written by Chattanar
  • Inspired by kilkanakku tradition Thirukkural was written by Thiruvalluvar. It is a text on the moral and ethical codes of conduct, It serves as a manual percept to guide persons to lead a noble life.
  • It is highly respected in Tamil society and moreover it is also included in the book of oath and witnessed in Tamil courts. It is a collection of witty quotations on almost every aspect of life like livelihood, Nobility, education, love, separation, finances, administration etc.

URDU LANGUAGE (04:56 PM)

  • It is a Persian word which means camp, It emerged in the military camps of the Delhi sultanate.
  • It was the product of the cross-interaction of Turkish and Persian officers of the Delhi sultanate with the Indian soldiers.
  • The vocab of Urdu took the words from khari boli Hindavi, Turkish and Persian. Moreover, the grammatical structure of Urdu was based on Shauraseni.
  • Amir Khusro was the first person who used Urdu for literary purposes but official recognition of Urdu was given by Golconda rulers.

BHAKTI MOVEMENT (05:04 PM)

  • The word bhakti is attachment to or love towards god or seeking Union with God.
  • The first reference to Bhakti is found in Bhagavad Gita in the teachings of lord Krishna.
  • The compilation of the Bhagavad Gita happened during the Gupta age and at this point in time concept of Bhakti superseded the Vedic rituals.
  • The original bhakti movement started in the 7th century AD in Tamil Nadu. After the end of Sangam assemblies, two types of Bhakti saints emerged in the south :
  • a)Alwars
  • They were the devotee of the lord Vishnu. They started to compose simple poems in praise of Lord Vishnu.
  • These poems were known as Prabandhan and Prabhanda Kavyam.
  • b)Nayanars
  • They were devotees of Lord Shiva and they composed simple poems in Tamils Thevaram and thevacram's in the praise of Lord Shiva.
  • In the 8th century AD, Adi Shankaracharya propounded Advaitvada and emphasised on Union with God. He defended Hinduism on an intellectual basis.
  • In the 11th century AD shre Ramanujacharya of Srirangam popularised the Bhakti movement. He emphasised the path of Bhakti to attain salvation.
  • Many of the followers of Ramanujacharya, Popularised the Bhakti movement in the different parts of the country.

LINGAYAT MOVEMENT (05:15 PM)

  • In the 12th century AD, A person named Baswana laid the foundation of the Lingayat movement. It was a progressive movement which emphasised on removal of caste restrictions and discrimination based on caste.
  • In their cadre, They included men, women, shudra, backwards etc.
  • They believed Lord Shiva was the only and the ultimate reality as such they always carry an Ishtalinga in pendant form with them.
  • They donot cremate their dead, instead they are buried. They believe at the time of death body gets united with Lord Shiva.
  • They supported the upliftment of women and backwards in society and also favoured widow remarriage and post-puberty marriage.

BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN MAHARASHTRA (05:25 PM)

  • The beginning of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra started in 13th century AD.
  • The foremost person was Sant Jnanadev a devotee of Lord Krishna who created a manifestation of Lord Krishna i.e. Vithoba God in the Pandharpur area of Maharashtra.
  • The worship tradition of the Vithobha god is known as Wari Warkari.
  • One of his disciples was Namdeva who further popularised the Wari Warkari tradition. In the early 17th century Sant Tukaram emerged as a highly popular bhakti saint from Maharashtra.
  • He belonged to the Shudra community which was not entitled to read and write religion matter. He broke the injunctions of upper caste society and started to write on Hindu religious matters in the Marathi language.

BHAKTI MOVEMENT NORTH INDIA (05:40 PM)

  • By the 14th century in North India two strands of the Bhakti movement developed:
  • a)Nirguna Bhakti
  • The adherents of Nirguna bhakti believed in one formless and shapeless god. They further believed God is without any physical attributes. Kabir and GuruNanak were the most famous Nirguna saints.
  • Both of them were highly critical to the orthodoxies of Hindu and Muslim society. They were also critical to caste rigidity in society. They talked about the upliftment of backwards and the promotion of equality. Kabir was illiterate but his saying was full of wisdom.
  • After his death, His disciples compiled his sayings in Bijak and Kabir granthvali.
  • Guru Nanak also composed simple songs in the praise of Gods who is Nirakar his songs are referred to as Shabad.
  • b)Shaguna Bhakti
  • The adherents of the Shaguna Bhakti believed in the physical attributes of God, For them God has a certain form and shape.
  • They believed in the idol worship and reincarnation of the God.
  • The saints include Surdas, Ramanand, Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shankardev, Mirabai and Tulsidas.

SUFI MOVEMENT (05:50 PM)

  • By the 10th century AD, Islam came under the influence of many Islamic theologians, These theologians adopted a dogmatic approach and scholastic method to explain the tenets of Islam.
  • In a way, They started diluting the original teachings of Allah and the Prophet.
  • Sufism emerged as a response to this tendency. It is derived from the word Soul which means piece of woolen cloth.
  • Sufis claim their direct spiritual genealogy with Allah and the prophet. Based on the spiritual genealogy, they created many Silsilas.
  • One of the most important Silsila was Chisztia.In a Silsila the master was known as Shaikh, Pir or Khwajaand disciples were known as Murid.
  • 1)Shaikh Mainuddin Chisti 
  • He was the first Chiszti saint in India who arrived during the tenure of Prithviraj Chauhan. He created his base at Ajmer and was popularly known as Garib Nawaz(Benefactor of the Poor).
  • He had immense sympathy for the suffering of the poor. He started the system of community food service to feed the poor(Later in Sikhism it became Langar).
  • 2)Baba Farid
  • His teachings were incorporated into the holy text of Sikhism Guru Granth Sahib 
  • 3)Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya
  • He was the most famous Sufi saint of Delhi. He did not share a good view of Delhi sultans, He saw the rule of seven Delhi sultans but never paid any official visit to them.
  • He worked for the betterment of the Poor people of Delhi.
  • 4)Naseeruddin Chirag of Delhi
  • He was called as Lamp of Delhi, After him area in Delhi is called Chirag Delhi.
  • 5)Salim Chisti
  • With his blessings Akbar was blessed with a son, Moreveor in his reverence Akbar shifted his capital complex to Fatehpur Sikri.

SUHRAWADI SILSILA (06:14 PM)

  • It was founded by Shaikh Bahauddin Zakaria who was a contemporary of Illtutmish, He accepted the office position of the Delhi Sultanate and he was also not critical of the oppressive measures of Delhi Sultans.
  • Illtutmish gave him the title of Shaikh-UL-Islam (Leader of Islam).

The syllabus of Art and Culture stands completed with this class. All the best.