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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSIONS
Several independent kingdoms rose to power after the decline of GuptaEmpire. Harshavardhana was the most important king in the seventh century
CE. He was a man of letter. He was not only the poet/author himself but also he
was the great patron of art and literature. Harshavardhana is called the last great
Hindu emperor of India, but he was neither a staunch Hindu nor the ruler of the
whole country. Due to spend of one fourth of his income on scholastic
activities, gave impetus to literary activities. During Harsha‟s time, glory of
Nalandā was at its zenith. After the death of Harsha and the establishment of
Muslim rule in North India, between these periods, many regional states
established. These developments simultaneously took place in the north as well
as in the south India also.
Dharmapāla was not only patron of Buddhism but also great patron of
art and literature. During his period, the Vikramśila monastery that ultimately
developed into a great centre of Buddhist learning and culture. A new and
glorious chapter began in the history of the Pratihāras with the accession of
king Bhoja. The Arab traveler Sulemāna was praised his rule. Rajaśekhara was
the most reputed court-poet of Mahendrapāla. Amoghavarsha‟s reign is known
for peace, law and order and development of art and literature.
Early medieval period is also known as Rajput age (650-1200 or 6471192 CE), because several Rajput kingdoms came into existence in different
parts of India. Feudalism developed to the highest peak during the Rajput age.
Feudal system laid more emphasis on agriculture than on trade and industry. As
a result, the growth of towns and cities came to a halt. Dhārā, capital of Raja
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Bhoja‟s kingdom, became a great centre of learning. He was not only a learned
man but also patronized the learned people. The Chandela kings built
memorable monuments especially of Khajurāho temples, which are the living
examples of their exceptional skill of architecture.
Pṛithvirāja Chauhāna was the important king of Chauhāna dynasty and
played an important role at the time of Turks aggressions. Chandbardai and
Jayānaka have described his achievements. Reign of Avantivarmana of
Kashmir, was remarkable for his literary activities and for beneficial schemes
of drainage and irrigation. There was a galaxy of poets under Avantivarmana.
Ratnākara, Abhinanda, Kshemendra and Somedeva are the great name of this
period. But Kalhaṇa is the greatest name in Indian historical literature. Kalhaṇa
is really the one historian of ancient India and his work Rājataraṅgiṇī is
regarded as superior to the genealogies of the rest of India.
Many regional states in south India also emerged in the early medieval
period. A special feature of the south Indian polity was that these kingdoms
always kept fighting with one another. Pulkeśina II, the greatest ruler of
Chālukyas of Vātāpī who was not only a great general and conqueror but was
also a patron of art and literature. Hiuen-Tsang was very much impressed by
the rule of Pulkeśina II. Vikramaditya VI was doubtless the most striking
personality in the later western Chālukyas dynasty. This period witnessed a
rapid progress in the field of architecture, sculpture, painting, dancing etc.
Many paintings at Ajāntā and Ellorā were created during the Chālukya period.
Sanskrit was the language of court. Regional languages also flourished during
this period.
Amoghvarsha, a patron of learning and literature, wrote himself
Kavirājamārga in Kannaḍa. He built his capital at Mānyakheta, which was
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famous for his prosperity. The Rāshṭrakūṭas made a splendid contribution to
Indian art. The Kailaśa temple at Ellorā is worth mentioning. Mahābalipuram
and Kāñchī became the centre of art during the Pallavas. Mahendravarmana I
was a poet, musician and a critic and wrote himself Mattavilasa-prahasana in
Sanskrit.
The accession of Rājarāja I is turning point in the history of the Cholas
and southern India. He was a great administrator and encouraged the local selfgovernment. Rajendra I was the first Indian ruler who established the
supremacy of Indian Navy in the sea. The Chola rulers were a great patron of
art and literature. Tamil literature made a lot of progress during the Chola
period. Kamban wrote the Rāmāyaṇa in Tamil. Nāyanāra and Ālvāra poets and
saints composed several beautiful devotional songs because of the revival of
Bhakti. A very rich type of literature based on the Vedas, the Purāṇas, the
epics, astrology, grammar etc developed.
This is a fact that Indians were defeated several times, and lost extensive
territories. But this did not mean the end of their well-developed culture.
Conquest of Sindh by Kāsim was considered by many historians as a mere
episode in the history, a victory without result. But Sindh conquest by Arab
was of great significance from the cultural point of view. They were greatly
influenced by Indian culture and civilizations. Many things were learnt by
Arabs from India and transmitted to Europe. Due to raids of Mahmūd Ghazanī
on North India, it shocked Indian sense of ancient superiority. The Turks
destroyed their kingdoms and laid the foundation of Muslim empire on their
reins.
Early medieval period (7-12 century CE) witnessed unsurpassed
progress in the field of literature. The first reason behind this was that many
218
Rajput rulers were quite learned persons. They gave special respect and honour
to the scholars and patronized them. Secondly, this time saw the growth of
many great poets, dramatists and writers, which names were attached with
many outstanding works in Sanskrit and other regional languages. During this
period regional languages developed and regional literature came into being.
Feudalism became more powerful and pervasive. This changed the social,
political and economic structure of India, and contributed the regional
languages and literature.
This was the time of the revival of the Hinduism in the south. Bhakti
movement started in the south in this period. Devotional literature and advance
philosophical speculation of Hinduism and Jainism were composed during this
period. The period marks the spread of Sanskrit throughout the subcontinent
along with the emergence of a number of regional vernaculars. This is an
important fact that modern Indian languages took the shape in this period from
the different Prākṛits. The phase of the contact of Muslims with India began in
this period, is much more significant for the cultural History of India.
Sanskrit became one of the greatest languages of Indian civilization and
it has been the greatest vehicle of the Indian culture. This period is very
important because one side, Middle Indo-Āryan languages (c. 500BC-1000
CE) take new shape, Apabhraṁśa, literally „falling down‟ (c. 600-1000 CE) is
the third and final stage of Middle Indo-Āryan. Modern Indo-Āryan languages
emerge from the period after c. CE 1000 but produced the literature of their
own from the twelfth century CE. Regional languages start to take the shapes
from this period c. 12 century CE. Contact of Muslim with India begins in this
period, and affect the literature of each other‟s. We had a new era of literary
219
culture and development till the twelfth century CE when the Mohammedans
subjugated the country.
Sanskrit is the language of Brāhmaṇa and educated persons not the
language of common people this is the fact. But we cannot say that it is a dead
language. A large number of people were used it and understand it. Mahāyāna,
main branch of Buddhism turned to Sanskrit shortly after the Christian era, and
composed their scriptures in Sanskrit. The Jaina scholar also contributed in the
development of Sanskrit language. Buddhist scholar Hiuen-Tsang, the Chinese
traveler, who visited India, tells us that the language in which official debates,
were arranged, was Sanskrit and not any provincial dialect. Sanskrit i.e. the
language of the educated but it is still a popular dialect, but Prakritic dialects,
which arose simultaneously with Sanskrit out of the ancient Indo-Āryan
vernacular. This was the greatest development in the field of literature. Various
types literature in various languages developed became the source to construct
the history and affected the social, economic, religious and political condition
of India.
The drama has had a rich and varied development in India. Drama is
known as the fifth Veda, Sūtradhāra or stage manager, in the dramas, as
according to Naṭya-śāstra must be a highly cultured man. Harshavardhana
wrote three dramas. Bāṇa in the metrical introduction to his Harshacharita
refers to Harsha as Adhyāraja (literary rich king) and his achievements literary
and political (Utsahair).
Bhavabhūti, next greatest dramatist after Kālīdāsa, has earned the fame
so much on account of his skill in dramatic-technic, but on account of his
mastery in the useful the Sanskrit language. Mālati-mādhava is the best known
and most popular of Bhavabhūti‟s drama. Klein has designated the Mālati-
220
mādhava as “the Romeo and Juliet drama of India with a happy termination”.
Rājaśekhara, great poet/dramatist, reputed teacher of king Mahendrapāla of
Kanauj, was a great master of words, and composed four dramas. The
Karpūramañjarī is the (one of the) best, comedy (ies) in Indian literature and it
is more remarkable for its style and language. Aścharya-chuḍāmaṇi is the first
by a Kerala dramatist for enactment in the local theater.
In the field of lyric poetry, Bhartrihari was an eminent author of three
śaṭakas. According to I-Tsing, the Chinese traveller, it can be said that
Bhartṛihari possessed a versatile mind. Mayūra‟s Sūryaśataka is a religious
lyric in the honour of sun. Later on poet like Rājaśekhara praised the Mayūra‟s
work. Amaru points the relation of lovers and takes no thought of other aspect
of life. According to a teacher of poetic, a single stanza of the poet Amaru
equals a hundred great poems. Āryasaptaśati of Govardhana was the model for
poet Bihārī Lāla who composed Satsai in Hindi language. The Gītagovinda of
Jayadeva (the last great name in Sanskrit poetry) ranks high amongst Sanskrit
lyric, and poet is a gifted master of poetry. Jayadeva‟s work is a masterpiece,
and it surpasses in its completeness of affect any other Indian poet. His poetry
is the best specimen in the whole of Sanskrit literature of complete harmony in
sound and sense. This work is a landmark in the History of Indian literature.
Bhāravi, writer of an epic named Kirātārjunīya, was not as great as
Kālīdāsa but he was outstanding poet, who left behind a great mark on the field
of literature in Indian manuals of poetics, his name always remain among the
greatest poets. Māgha‟s theme (of Śiśupālavadha) is borrowed like that of
Bhāravi from the Mahābhārata, but while Bhāravi magnifies Śiva, Māgha does
Vishṇu. In the manuals of poetics, this epic is quoted very frequently and the
Indian scholars of poetics held him in high esteem. Harivaṁśapurāṇa of
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Digāmbara Jaina Jinasena contains very valuable information of historical
importance. It mentions the names of the contemporary rulers of the period
(composed in 783 CE).
Naishadhacharita or Naishadhīyacharita of Śriharsha, an interesting
and characteristic figure, is counted as the fifth panchmahākāvya. This is the
outstanding work of this period. According to Indian tradition „Śriharsha‟ name
is placed with Kālidāsa, Bhāravi and Māgha. He was a great scholar of
different systems of Indian philosophy and possessed a unique command over
grammar, rhetoric and lexicon. Hemachandra, a great Jaina scholar, is known
as the Kalikāla-Sarvajña (the know all of the Kaliyuga).
It has recently been objected the old charges, leveled on Indians that
India had no historians and no historical sense. Hiuen-Tsang who visited India
during the reign of Harshavardhana, testifies to the existence of an official for
each province whose task was to maintain written records of “good and evil
events, with calamities and fortunate occurrence. The inscriptions are an
important source of our knowledge of history. Praśastis, biographies are the
great source of history, which were huge in the early medieval period.
Bhāṇabhaṭṭa‟s Harshacharita is a very important as a prose romance in the
historical literature of India. Vakpatirāja, under the patronage of Yaśovarmana,
king of Kanauj, wrote Gauḍavāho in Prākṛit, a very important historical work.
Navasāhasāṁkaracharita of Padmagupta, is the first important historical
Kāvya, and describes the winning of Princess Śaśiprabha and refers to the
history of his patron, named Sindhurāja Navasāhasāṁka of Mālavā.
Vikramānkadevacharita of Bilhaṇa, a historical work, one side mentions origin
of the Chālukya dynasty other side gives us an account of the author himself.
This is a fact Bilhaṇa was more a poet than a historian was, but his work gives
222
us many historical facts. But Kalhaṇa is the best of the Indian historians. The
Rājataraṅgiṇī is the only reliable book on the history of Kashmir after the
death of king Harsha when the country passed through stormy bloody days. It
is the only work in Sanskrit literature, which approaches history to a certain
extent. This work is extraordinarily rich sources of information. In my view 1112th century CE was a landmark in the History of Indian historiography.
After sixth century CE, we find many numbers of books, which were
written in prose. Daśakumāracharita of Daṇḍin contains story of common life
and reflects a corrupt state of society. Subandhu, writer of Vasavadatta,
possessed mastery in the use of words and expressions, having two meanings.
Harshacharita, the first prose historical Kāvya, helps us to know the social
political and religious condition of India. The Kādambarī is a Kathā, a story of
love and romance. According to S.K. Chatterji in Cultural Heritage of India,
Kādambarī is too much value through many-fold with reference to manner and
customs of that time in particular to religious life of Śaiva. We do not find
proper Gadya-Kāvya after Bāṇabhaṭṭa about four centuries in between seventh
to tenth century CE. The fables and fairy tales occupy a very important place in
the history of Indian literature. Old fables are a treasure house of political and
practical wisdom. These tales were the media of imparting useful knowledge to
keep the youngsters away from the paths of evil. Buddhasvāmin‟s
Ślokasaṁgraha,
Kshemendra‟s
Bṛihatkathāmañjari
and
Somadeva‟s
Kathāsaritasāgara occupy a great place in popular tales. The most popular
book of the fable extant is the Pañchatantra, a remarkable Storehouse of fairy
tales and beast fable. This is the first book of Indian literature, which published
in English and translated into over fifty-five languages of the world.
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Champū literature (composition in mixed prose and verse), belongs to
the tenth century CE. A particular type literature started to write in the early
medieval period. Nalachampū of Trivikramabhaṭṭa is the most famous and first
work in this style. He narrated the Nalastory in an ornate style. There are so
many writings of Champū literature of tenth-eleventh century CE. This is
remarkable point that this type literature (champū) flourished in Southern India.
Poetics (Alaṁkāraśāstra) has been cultivated in India from a very early
date as a science. By this process poetry became more musical beautiful and
scientific in its art. There are many rhetoricians after six century CE who
developed this field of literature. Bhāmaha is one of the earliest rhetoricians to
take up a systematic discussion of poetics after Bharata‟s Nāṭyaśāstra. Daṇḍin
is the author of Kāvyadarśa; main contribution to poetics is the concept of
Guṇa. Udbhaṭa was a renowned rhetorician and a poet, and his literary
achievements overshadowed Bhāmaha, who was his predecessor. Vāmana
boldly asserted that Rīti is the soul of poetry and that the ten Guṇas are
important as far as they constitute Rīti. His work, which is full of quotations, is
of capital importance for setting the chronology of many Sanskrit writers.
Rudraa was the first to attempt a scientific-classification of figures as based
upon certain definite principles. Dhvani, the most important school of poetics,
is related to Ānandavardhana, the writer of Dhvanayāloka, one of the very
famous works in the domain of Sanskrit poetics. This work of Ānandavardhana
becomes the guide for coming writers and shows them the proper path in the
field of poetics. According to some scholars declared that Ānandavardhana had
settled all the important problems of poetics. Abhinavagupta was a man of very
acute intellect and was an encyclopedic scholar. Kāvya-mīmāṁsā of
Rājaśekhara is a handbook for poets. Kuntaka is perhaps the mightiest
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antagonistic of the Dhvani school. He insists that Vakrokti, crooked or
figurative speech, is the life of poetry or the soul of poetry. Famous king Bhoja
quotes over fifteen hundred examples from former poets and therefore is
valuable for the chronology of Sanskrit literature.
Grammar, „Science of Language‟ is one of the most important branch of
literature, was described as “the mouth of the Vedas”. This subject was very
popular in the early medieval period. After the three great sages of ancient
India i.e. Pāṇini, Kātyāyana and Patāñjali, we may place the name of
Bhartrihari, great grammarian and philosopher of seventh century CE. Kāśikāvṛiti of Jayaditya and Vāmana was very popular among the Buddhist scholars
of Sanskrit language. I-Tsing himself was taught Sanskrit through this
grammar. First one excellent and exhaustive commentary called the Nyāsa or
Kāśikavivaraṇa-pañjika by the Buddhist Jinendrabhuti. In the eleventh century,
the Ashṭadhyāyi was given a new form by the Buddhist scholar, Dharmakīrti.
Kielhorn has called the Siddha-Hemachandra, the best grammar of the middle
age of India. The work is different from other works on this subject and this
work is a good manual. Scholars of Kashmir and Bengal in this subject are very
important. Buddhist scholars of early medieval period give main contribution
to develop the writings of this subject.
The Abhidhāna-ratna-mālā of Halāyudha written in c. 950 CE is the
single ancient Kośa of which the age can be determined approximately.
Vaijayantī-kośa of Yādavaprakāśa is no doubt the most comprehensive single
volume lexicon of classical India. Hemachandra is the only lexicographer
whose separate works both on synonyms and hononyms have come down to us.
Tremendous progress in the literature in the field of Astrology,
Astronomy and Mathematics in the early medieval period is found. The
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Līlāvati and the Bījagaṇita (Two chapters of Siddhānta-śiromaṇi) of
Bhāskarācharya made some lasting contribution to Indian mathematics in the
twelfth century CE. Brahmagupta (7th century CE), Mahāvīra (9th century CE)
and Bhāskara (12th century CE), great mathematician of India, discovered so
many things in the field of mathematics but Europe was unknown about them
till renaissance.
The ancient Ayurveda has been a guide to good health and even spiritual
enlightenment for thousands of generations of Indians. Charaka, Suśruta and
Vagbhaṭṭa are the big names in ancient India, which were known for their
knowledge in medical science. According to the Gazetteer of India, the period
of rational medicine starts about eight century BC and from that time until
about 1000 CE is the golden age of Indian medicine. Many commentaries were
written on the work of Charaka and Suśruta. Rugiviniśchaya of Mādhavakara is
a valuable treatise on Pathology. The fame of this work is proved by many
commentaries, which are written on this work. Sālihotra of Bhoja in the
eleventh century CE is an interesting work, giving information about the
disease and remedies of horses.
Erotic (Kāmaśastra) "the science of sexual love" is related to all human
beings. The works on erotic is not mere a tract on Sexology or eugenics, but a
serious and scientific treatment of Kāma or Erotic in all the different aspects,
social and humanistic. Kokkaka or Kokā Panḍit, writer of Ratirahasya boasts
that he has collected not only the teachings of Vātsyāyana, but also the
teachings of former teachers.
According to Medhātithī, commentator on Manu, the supremacy of the
common law and authority of custom was above the rule of law. The
Mitākshara of Vijñaneśvara, early attained the position of a standard work, not
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only in Deccan but also even in Banārasa and a great part of North India.
Nibandhas or Dharma-nibandhas (digests) are very systematic and partly very
voluminous treatise on Dharma. We find the general tendency to write these
digests rather than commentaries from the eleventh century CE. These digests
were composed on the order of kings. Digests were not written in the school of
dharma unlike smṛitis, but jurists, ministers and similar other personalities
wrote them under the order of king. Smṛitikalpataru of Lakshmīdhara, one of
the oldest works, occupies a unique place among digests. Lakshmidhara
includes the religious as well as civil and criminal law and the law of
procedure.
Many writings on Arthaśāstra (politics) are available in the early
medieval period. The Nītisāra of Kāmadaka is the most important political
treatise in the eighth century CE. The work is based on the Arthaśāstra and the
author acknowledges Kauilya as the innovator of the politics. But it is not
merely a redaction of the Arthaśāstra. Nītivākyāmṛita of Somadevasūri, a Jaina
scholar, is a mixture of ethics and politics in short sūtras or aphorism. It may be
placed in the rank after the Kauilya's Arthaśāstra and Kāmadaka's Nītisāra. In
the Nītivākyāmṛita, the term Nīti is used not only in the sense of 'political
wisdom' but also of 'moral conduct‟, Somadeva's style is his own and the
language of work is simple and clear. The chapters on polity in Mānasollāsa of
Someśvara, give brief information about the royal policy. This work takes on
the character of an encyclopedia. King Bhoja of Dhārā in his work named
Yuktikalpataru gives us the largest number of quotations and references and
showing a very fine taste in selection and comment.
The traditional accounts, archaeological and literary evidence show that
music and dance formed an important part of religious and secular life in the
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early medieval India. Sangita-makaranḍa of Nārada deals with music and
dance. Jayadeva writer of Gitagobinda was a great poet, musician and singer in
the court of king Lakshmaṇasena of Bengal in the twelfth century CE. In
character and feeling, the Gitagobinda has been compared with the Song of
Solomon.
While religion was rooted in philosophy, philosophy itself was rooted in
experience. Vāchaspatimiśra was the versatile and erudite genius who touches
the every branch of the orthodox systems of Indian philosophy. Udayana's time
(10th century CE), the Nyāya and Vaiśishika system had come close to each
other, and philosophers of one school often wrote works on the other. The
Nyāya-mañjari of Jayanta Bhaṭṭa may be taken as a landmark in the History of
Indian Philosophy as it contains reference practically to all the philosophic
thoughts current at the time. Kumārila, reputed to be a great champion of
Hinduism, worked for the revival of Hinduism. After Kumārila, the greatest
thinker on monistic Vedānta is Śankaracharya. He was the chief of the Vedānta
philosophy and the exponent of Advaita doctrine.
We find a great progress in the field of Tamil literature. There was a
great revival in Tamil language and literature. We cannot forget the
contribution of Kamban who wrote the Tamil Rāmāyaṇa, which was not
merely the copy of the Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa. In the 11th and 12th century CE
witnessed a great literature revival. The middle Tamil period begins with the
lyrics of the Śaiva and Vaishṇava religious teachers who flourished under the
Pallavas, and continued until late medieval times. The Pallava age is called the
golden age in Tamilnad. The Tolkāppiyam, a work on Tamil grammar, is the
fountain of al literary conventions in Tamil literature. Śaiva and Vaishṇava
saints had between the 6-9th century CE, given the language, an extraordinary
suppleness and a warm and moving song quality. Genius Kamban gave to the
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language fresh powers of articulation and made it serve the pure perfection of
poetry.
This was the age of Śaiva (Nāyanārs) and Vaishṇava (Ālvārs), who
produced huge literature and started a new era in the field of Tamil literature.
The work of the various Śaiva saints were collected into eleven books
(Tirumurai). The eighth Tirumurai is considered as sacred as the Upanishads.
The most important devotional literature produced in the Chola period is the
Tiruṭṭoṇḍar Purāṇam by Śekkilāra. This work is considered as the twelfth
Tirumurai. Śekkilāra was one of the most talented and deeply religious seers of
the Tamil land. The great name Ānḍal was the only woman-saint among the
Ālvārs. Her mystic songs were of very high class, and expressed her divine
love in matchless verse with a depth of feeling, which is rarely found in such
works. Later these writings of Śaivas and Vaishṇava became the base of Bhakti
Movement. The contribution of Jaina and Buddhists was not inferior to the
Vaishṇava and the Śaiva. The Jīvaka-chintāmaṇī, written by Thirutthakathevar
a Jaina poet, is entitled to special mention in many account of Tamil literature
because of the vital role it played in the development of religious thought and
also because of its inherent literary excellence. This was also the age of great
grammatical works mostly by Jaina authors and some Buddhist authors.
Vīrasoliyam of Buddhamitra is very famous among the students of History as a
Tamil grammatical theory.
We have three gems of Tamil literature named Kamban, Oṭṭakkuan
and Pugalendi who flourished in the twelfth century CE. This is the great age in
the Tamil literature. Kamban‟s work (Rāmanātaka /Kamba Rāmāyaṇa) is no
mere translation of the original in Sanskrit Vālmīki. According to S.
Maharajan, Kamban can never become out of date, because he speaks to us and
to the whole world with the voice of tomorrow.
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Telugu is one of the most important languages of south India, which is
used mainly in Andhra Pradesh and surrounding states. We find huge
inscriptions in this language in the 9-10th century CE, which were written in
prose or verse and gave us many historical information regarding south India.
Nannaya‟s Mahābhāratamu gives a definite shape in the history and
development of the Telugu language in the eleventh century CE. Nannaya‟s
work becomes the model for the coming Telugu scholars.
Kannaḍa, one of the oldest and highly cultivated languages of Dravidian
family, played a very important role in the field of literary activities.
Amoghavarsha Nṛipatuṅga was a royal poet, a scholar with a mastery of both
Sanskrit and Kannaḍa. Pampa‟s real fame is due to his great work named
Vikramarjuna-vijaya (Pampabhārata). Pampa is called the father of Kannaḍa
poetry and he is to Kannaḍa what Vālmīki is to Sanskrit. By their monumental
works the great trio Pampa, Ponna and Ranna have immortalized Kannaḍa,
earning the well-merited title Ratnaraya (the three gems) for themselves and
the epithet “Golden Age” for their period. Chmuṇdarāya-purāṇa of
Chāmuṇdarāya, has acquired importance mainly for its unique prose style- a
style that combines the narrative and the scientific manner of writing which
flourished independently of each other for centuries.
Now mostly scholars admit that Malayālma is not a daughter but a sister
of Tamil. It is difficult to assign dates to the earliest work of this language;
some songs in this language are at least as old as the tenth century CE. But
literary history of Malayālama takes a new shape with the works of
Ezhuttacchan in the sixteenth century CE.
Literature of Buddhism and Jainism played an important role in the lives
of Indians. Religious ideas, thoughts and practices differed among these groups
and transformation and development took place in them in course of time.
These changes were very often brought about by the ideas and actions of
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intellectual thinkers. Religion in India was never stationary in character. The
religious, sects of Jaina who made them a linguistic medium for their literary
activities, rejecting classical Sanskrit linked with Hindu scripture cultivated
Ardhamagadhī and Māhārāshri above all. Jaina writers and philosophers were
busy with literary activities of considerable magnitude during those ancient
days. Many regional languages developed out of the Prākrit languages,
Gautama Buddha the lord and founder of Buddhism had the dynamic
personality and used the Pālī, the language of the common people. Most of the
works during the period of early medieval are the product of learned Theras
(monks) from Ceylon, the contribution from the mainland of India being
meagre. The Sanskrit language regained its position in the literary activities
when the Buddhist was divided into two sects Hinayāna and Mahayāna. The
literature of both religions in all languages is full of legends, fairly tales and
stories in prose and verse in the form of sermons for the followers of the
religion. This literature is confined not only to religion but also touch every
aspect of life, secular and non-secular both.
The Jaina literature of this period is written not only in Sanskrit, Tamil,
and Kannaḍa but also in Prākṛit, Apabhraṁśa and the Deśabhāshās. The Jaina
literature of this period is very extensive and varied, and numerous references
of social, political economical and religious values are scattered in it. Jaina
non-canonical works throws light on historical aspects. Jinadāsagani Mahattara,
writer of many important chūrṇi was also an expert storyteller and later writers
copied some of the stories told by him. Haribhadrasūri was one of the most
learned men of his time. Harivaṁsa-Purāṇa of Jinasena contains very valuable
information of historical importance in the concluding verses, and mentions the
name of contemporary kings of that period. It has preserved an unbroken
genealogy of the Jaina teachers from Lord Mahāvīra onwards. The Ādi-purāṇa
is undoubtedly one of the finest poems written in the early medieval period.
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Nītivākyāmṛita of Somadevasūri is largely based on the Arthaśāstra of
Kauṭilya, is an excellent treatise on the science and the art of politics covering
the period from c. 100 BCE to 900 CE centuries. The greatest Jaina scholar of
twelfth century CE was the famous Hemachandra. He was a celebrated poet,
grammarian and historian. He was the author of various works-scientific,
historical and literary were the great sources of knowledge.
The Nyāyaprakāśa of Diṁnāga is a monumental work on logic.
Diṁnāga has been described as one of the foremost figures in the history of
Indian philosophy. The main features of Buddhism that Tāntrik Buddhist texts
were composed during this period. Many Buddhist scholars adopted the
Sanskrit as the medium of their writings. Contribution of Buddhist scholars
made by them especially in the field of grammar cannot be ignored. The most
important Buddhist monastic centre (mainly Nālandā and Vikramaśilā) which
were the great centre of education and literary activities played a very
important role in this period. A number of original works of Buddhist were
burnt in the library of Nālandā, which might be a great source to construct the
history of India and Buddhism. Probably with the passage of time or through
desecration and vandalism in the monasteries, innumerable manuscripts were
destroyed. Literary activities affect the social, political, economical cultural and
religious condition of India at large scale in the early medieval India.
Sanskrit is the first literary language of India. Middle Indo-Āryan
dialects continued to develop and expand in almost entire India. Apabhraṁśa
stands midway between the Prākrit and Modern Indo-Āryan language. Modern
Indo-Āryan languages emerge from the period after c. 1000 CE and produce
the literature of their own from the twelfth century CE. From this period,
regional languages start to take the shapes and their history of development of
literature. This time due to emerge of regional languages, regional scripts were
also emerged. The phase of contact of Muslim with India begins in this period.
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Serious competitions with Sanskrit as the language of literature arose when the
Mohammedan conquests brought Persian into play, and the vernaculars in the
period shortly after 1000 CE began first to influence Sanskrit and then to
develop into literary language. We had a new era of literary culture and
development till the twelfth century CE when the Mohammedans subjugated
the country. It is enough to keep in mind that influence of Sanskrit was deep
and extensive in every respect, in linguistic evolution as well as in literary
development.
Dharmaśāstras have played a very important role in the life of Hindus
and their rules are universal acceptable in all ages. The early medieval period is
famous of commentaries on old texts. Karpūramañjarī is shown as superb, in
both number and effect. It holds as an important landmark in the history of
Indian drama, many features, which are quite, note worthy in the spheres of
medieval Indian culture and Prākrit studies.
Social life, education, festivals and celebrations, condition related to
love at all levels, dress and decoration etc, are all reflected in the literature,
which were affected the society in many ways. Bāṇabhaṭṭa and the Aihole
inscription are the two fixed landmarks in the early chronology of early
medieval period. Inscriptions worked as a guide in many ways for coming
generation time to time. Several missing links or broken chains in the history of
India can be connected with the help of inscriptions. Era that was a part of a
literature, played a very important role in India to fix the date of events, kings,
etc. The achievements of Indians are the greatest in the field of Mathematics, as
compared with those of the other ancient people. According to Alberūni, the
Hindus are ahead of us in this subject. It is the science, in which the Indian
have contributed the most. Music gained popularity with the spread of Bhakti
movement. That time music and dance were the main source of recreation of
people and affected the social life.
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A peep into the smṛitisastras and nibandhs of early medieval period
shows that there was a regular attempt to bind together all possible actions of
men of different castes of society by rigorous rules of Smṛitis. Just as the
patterns of conduct recorded in the smṛitiśāstras became the criteria of good or
bad conduct. The current of social life became gradually more and more
stagnant and unfit for free literary producing.
In spite of, the Dharmaśāstras denied the Śudras and women the right to
important religious rites, the Tantra form worship is open to women and
Śudras. Like the Bhakti cult, Tantrism can also be seen in the context of socioeconomic changes. Tantra‟s texts deeply influenced sculpture. Tantra had deep
and wide impact on society. For early medieval period and even at the present
time Tantra‟s writings is the spiritual food of millions of Indians.
The Bhāshya on the Brahma-sūtra of Śankaracharya became the
landmarks in the field of Hindu philosophy for coming scholars. According to
him source of valid knowledge is scriptures and scripture is the last source of
knowledge of self. Due to efforts and works of Śankara, Hinduisms revived and
removed the many shortcomings of Hinduism. Śankara is one of those
outstanding personalities who have changed the course of history and culture
within a short span of time. Rāmānuja, the most critique to Śankara‟s
philosophy, provided a philosophy for the Bhakti movement in the medieval
period. The historical writings of Jaina are more superior to Buddhist in terms
of the richness of their contents and coverage of the subject matter in the early
medieval period. In fact, Jaina philosophy reached its high-water-mark with the
production of Jaina literature in Kannaḍa and Tamil.
We have many standard ancient books, which have great quality; they
inspire and motivate the persons in many fields. It is a fact that great works
such as the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata etc. have always influenced the
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people by giving them the outlook of discrimination between good and bad, as
well as right and wrong. History through literature has to teach us to
discriminate between the good and bad policies, through the occurrence of
events.
In the nutshell, the early medieval period is noted for the production of
commentaries on ancient texts. Most of the Smṛitis other than the older ones
were written during to period 400-1000 CE. From the tenth century CE,
onwards we have large number of commentators of Smṛitis and writers of
digests or nibandhs of Smṛitis. This period proved to be a blooming one in the
history of historical writings in the early medieval India, because a number of
historical biographies were produced in different parts of India. Champū style
literature mainly started to write in this period. Early medieval period became
the base for emergence of regional languages and literature. This was the initial
phase of Mohammedans contact with Indians. In South India it was a glorious
age of history, when Cholas flourished once again in the tenth century CE, they
not only united the south India but also defeated the many kingdoms outside
the India. Besides the political conflicts, this period witnessed great cultural
growth.
This was the time of revival of Hinduism in the India.
Bhakti
Movement started in the South India in this period. In the course of time as the
literature became very extensive, it became clear that human memory alone
could not be trusted to preserve it. Libraries began to spring into existence in
important centre of education. It is romance of Indian History, and a unique
achievement in the annals of humankind.