The
Gupta Empire that covered entire northern India became weak soon after King
Skandagupta (ruled 455-467 AD) repulsed invading Hunas from the northwestern
front of the subcontinent. The empire disintegrated as it lost much of its
resources during the fight. The Hunas first captured the region of Punjab and then
penetrated in other northern regions. The first ruler of this tribe was
Toramana. He ruled over Malwa and Gujarat around 510 AD. After him, his son
Mihirkula took over who ruled for nearly 20 years. He proved to be a mighty
warrior ruling over Gandhara, Kashmir, southern India and Ceylon with capital
at Sakala (Sialkot in Pakistan). Kalhan records that Mihirkula while returning
from Ceylon, defeated the Kings of Chola, Karnataka, Nata and so on and
destroyed their cities. When he neared Kashmir, he heard painful cries of an
elephant fallen in the deep valley. He was so pleased with the dreadful cries that
he ordered nearly 100 elephants to be thrown in the valley [1]. In 532 AD, Yashodharman of Malwa
built confederacy of many kings including the Gupta kings of Magadha to fight against
Mihirkula. It led to Mihirkula’s defeat and he took refuge in Kashmir. Before
dying in 542 AD, he captured the throne of Kashmir again and ruled for few
years. After his death, Hunas never came to prominence but they continued to rule
over certain parts of northwestern India. The tribes of Huna, similar to the Aryans
of Vedic era, are traced to Indo-Iranian group of humans. When they invaded
India, they too got influenced from the rich traditions and cults of the land. The
Jaina text Kuvalaya Mala claims
Toramana converting to Jain faith. The copper plates received near Sanjeli in
Gujarat address King Toramana as ‘Param Bhattarak Maharajadhiraj Shri Stormano’.
His son Mihirkula was follower of Shiva and recorded as one of the cruelest
rulers who ordered persecutions of the Buddhist monks and destruction of Viharas.
His story of cruelty is recorded by Hiuen Tsang, Sang Yan, Cosmos (Greek monk),
Kalhan, Jaina texts and on the inscriptions of Gwalior. As the tribe was
involved in fierce fighting with the Gupta Kings of Magadha, they are mentioned
as barbarian people in epic Mahabharata and Puranas.
The texts further refer the tribe to be originated from the froth of sage
Vasistha’s cow. As Hunas followed one or the other faiths of Indian origin, they
assimilated completely in Indian society and slowly lost their distinct
identities
In
coming years, the Gupta Empire of Magadha collapsed completely and that led to
flourishing of many small kingdoms in the regions ruled by the empire. Out of
many such kingdoms, the most prominent was Vardhana
Dynasty of Thaneshwar (in Haryana) and Shashanka (Shoshangko in Bengali) of west Bengal. In Vardhana dynasty, the
first powerful king was Prabhakar Vardhana who had the title of ‘Maharajadhiraj
and Param Bhattarak’. After his death, the elder son Rajya Vardhana ascended
the throne in 606 AD. But the same year, he got treacherously murdered by King
Shashanka who was in fight with the Vardhanas from the very beginning. After him,
the younger son Harsha Vardhana ascended the throne same year. He attacked Shashanka
and drove him out of Kannauj (in Uttar Pradesh) which he occupied after killing
Rajya Vardhana. Harsha declared Kannuaj as his capital. He was a great
conqueror and in just 6 years, the entire northern subcontinent stretching from
Nepal, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Assam and part of Bengal was under his dominion. He
tried to capture southern India too but got defeated in 620 AD by Chalukya King
Pulakeshi II. After this an agreement was done in which Narmada became the
southern boundary of Harsha Empire. After death of Shashanka in 637 AD, he led
his expedition towards Bengal and brought the entire territory under his
dominion. Harsha, other than being a great conqueror, was also an author and
wrote three Sanskrit plays namely Nagananda,
Ratnavali and Priyadarsika. He was the chief patron of Nalanda University and the
excavations revealed two seals of Harsha. He ruled for 41 years and died in 647
AD without any heir. It resulted in political chaos and the period saw an upsurge
of numerous princely houses known as ‘Rajput’ who dominated the history of
northern India for next few centuries.
On
the religious front, the period witnessed Buddhism suffering a major setback in
Bengal as Shashanka ordered the persecution of Buddhist monks and even putting
prizes on their head. The rise of Vardhana dynasty, however, helped Buddhism to
survive little longer. Although Harsha’s father was sun worshipper, Harsha, his
brother and sister were followers of Buddhism. Harsha’s brother was a staunch
Buddhist of Hinayana sect while Harsha himself was a Buddhist of Mahayana sect.
After converting to Buddhism, Harsha prohibited the killing of animals as part
of any ritual or fun. He was also patron of Shaivism and helped all three
religions Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanism flourish in northern India. Chinese
traveler Hiuen Tsang, who visited India during the Harsha Empire, records the
generosity of King towards all religions. As Harsha was the last patron of
Buddhism in India, the religion declined rapidly after him and the Brahmanism
saw its full fledged revival after the rise of Rajput clans across northern
India.
6.1 Rise of Rajput
Clans and its impact on society
One
of the most valorous parts of Indian history belongs to Rajputs who saw their
rise from the land of Rajasthan around 8th century AD. They loved
war so much that last night before the battle, they used to spend time by
listening recitations from the Mahabharata and Ramayana and impatiently waiting
for the sun to rise in the morning. The tribe has many outstanding virtues and
a spirit of loyalty to which they lived up even in the time of difficulties. They
did not cause needless misery to the poor and innocent people. They were
generous and merciful even to enemies, if the latter submitted and sought shelter.
They offered stiffest resistance to foreign invaders but if submitted and took
an oath of fidelity once, they remained faithful to their word of honor and
gave up commitment only when they were deserted by their foreign victors. The
tribe had very high degree of proud on their clan and considered Rama as their
Hero. They directly ruled over most part of northern India till the rise of
Mughals and later indirectly by submitting to both Mughals and Britishers till the
subcontinent got freedom. According to famous scholar Col James Tod ‘high
courage patriotism, loyalty, hospitality and simplicity are qualities which must
at once conceded to them.’
The
literary meaning of Rajput stands as Raja-Putra
i.e. son of a King. It does not reflect any relation with Varna or caste system
that was deeply rooted in Indian society nearly 2-3 centuries before their rise.
They suddenly rose to prominence after the fall of Vardhana dynasty and most of
their clans do not find any reference in ancient Brahmanical texts. As a
result, there is non-agreement between historians on their origin. Most historians
traced their origin from invading tribes of the Kushanas, Sakas, Hunas and
Gurjaras who invaded India after the fall of the Mauryan Empire while few
related them with descendants of Kshatriyas who remained follower of Brahmanism
from the Vedic period. Col James Tod related Rajputs to Scythians origin who
invaded India during 5th and 6th century AD. Vincent Smith
specifically traced Pratihara clan of Kannuaj to Gurjara origin and comments
that ‘towards south, various indigenous or original tribes and clans underwent
the process of Hinduised social promotion, in virtue of which Gonds, Bhars,
Kharwars and so forth emerged as Chandels, Rathors, Gaharwars and other well
known Rajput clans duly equipped with a pedigree reaching back to the sun and
moon’. Prof L. Mukerjee comments that ‘The term Rajput does not occur in early
Sanskrit literatures nor we hear of Rajput clans before the 8th century
AD. This proves that they were later addition to the population of India.
…..The fact seems to be that when a foreign clan or a tribe became Hinduised
that ruling families were recognized as Kshatriyas while the rank and file lost
to their tribal character and developed into an Indian caste of inferior rank.’
Contrary to these statements, historians like Gauri Shankar Ojha and C.V.
Vaidya traces origin of Rajputs from ancient Vedic Kshatriyas showing prevalence
of some customs like Ashwamedha yajna, Sati and so on.
Leaving
the contradictory views of historians aside, the suspicion on the Vedic
Kshatriya lineage of all Rajput clans had some solid base. If the tribe had a Vedic
Kshatriya lineage then what made them or the orthodox Brahmins to refer their
tribe or clan as Rajputra when the
majority of Brahmanic society was still divided into four Varna namely Brahmin,
Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra? The suspicion also gets support from the myth
associated with origin of four Rajput clans namely Chauhans, Parmars, Parihars
and Solankis. As per the myth mentioned in Prithviraj
Raso by Chand Bardai, when Kshatriyas were exterminated by Parashurama,
some Brahmins felt the need of the warrior class to defend them and their dharma.
They started yajna at the top of Mount Abu, situated in southern Rajputana, for
almost forty days. From the agnikund
(firepit) of yajna, four persons appeared who became the first ancestor of Chauhan,
Parmar, Parihar and Solanki clans. As they originated from agni, they were referred of Agnivanshi
kula. The myth is well accepted in all
four Rajput clans about their origin. It is well known that the origin of this and
many such myths related with both Kshatriya and Brahmin Varna belongs to an era
when lots of fanciful stories were under creation in form of Puranas across India. However every myth
has some underlying meaning and historians knowing this traced the sacred fire
as ‘purification’ process of the above tribes by orthodox Brahmins before
entering them in the Brahmanised society. The Parashurama linkage of this myth reflects
the sentiment of orthodox Brahmins toward the society of that era which was
formed after Ashoka Maurya, whereby most ancient Kshatriyas left Brahmanism
resulting in loss of royal patronage to them and their dharma. The very similar
Parashurama myth is also cited by many communities who claim to be of either Kshatriya
or Brahmin origin but have secondary status in the present day society than
their counterparts. The myth prevalent in the communities claiming Kshatriya origin
is that they were degraded from the rank of Kshatriya because their ancestors
removed the sacred thread from the fear of Parashurama and declared themselves
as shudra in front of him. The myth prevalent in the communities, who can be
classified as non-priestly class of Brahmins, is that they were degraded from the
rank of Brahmins because their ancestors took the role of Kshatriyas on order
of Parashurama who massacred Kshatriyas of earth 21 times. Clearly all these myths
point towards 7th-10th century AD society in which the orthodox
Brahmins looked for new political alliance by riding on the laws of Manusmiriti
and the heterodox Brahmins and Kshatriyas switched towards contemporary
Hinduism after the decline of heterodox sects like Buddhism, Jainism and some
others. In the process, the heterodox populations started insisting on their Brahmanical
holiness and compulsions behind their non-Brahmanical touch by linking their origin
with the myths associated with Brahmin figure Prashurama. Based on the myths
and other social facts, most historians thus traced ancestry of all Rajput clans
from invading tribes of post-Mauryan Empire and to some other tribes of northern
India who all were first purified and then assimilated into Brahmanized society.
The ruling families of these invading tribes were referred as Rajputra and given the rank of Kshatriyas
while rest population got assimilated as part of Shudra or labor class (Jat and
Gurjar). On similar lines certain Indo-Aryan warrior tribes, considered of
lower castes by orthodox Brahmins of that period, were also purified and
elevated to Kshatriya rank. They now form the Rashtrakutas of Deccan, Rathors
of Rajputana and Chandels of Bundelkhand.
It,
however, seems wrong on the part of some historians to correlate every clan of present
day Rajputs with those of post-Mauryan invaders or to lower castes. It is known
that Indian society of 8th century AD had Kshatriyas following
Brahmanism and Vratya Kshatriyas following Buddhism, Jainism and other cults.
The confusion seems to have arisen from Mughal literature which were composed
after 14th century AD. The Mughals not only saw great resistance
from the Rajputs on the northwestern front but became fond of Rajputs because
of their bravery, honesty and loyalty. Just like they termed every person
settled beyond the River Indus as Hindus irrespective of their religious
orientation, similarly they termed every ruling clan of northern India having similar
social status and following all rituals of Brahmanism, as Rajputs. The process
resulted in clubbing of ancient Brahmanic Kshatriyas with Rajputs in Mughal
court and in their literature. In the later era when matrimonial and other
social alliances became common between the two sections of ruling tribes, the
two words Rajput and Kshatriya became synonymous with each other. However
due to blind support extended to Brahmanism, the Rajputs were always favored
over other Kshatriyas by orthodox Brahmins. In coming period their status
was even elevated above the Brahmanic Kshatriyas. It is evident from the social
undertones whereby Chauhans and other Agnikula
Rajputs claim to be of superior origin than other recognized Kshatriyas of
northern India and Rajputs of Rajasthan on a broader scale consider themselves
superior than the other Rajputs of the northern plains as they consider the
latter mixed with desi (native)
Kshatriyas. Based on all these arguments, the present day Rajputs / Kshatriyas
/ Thakurs of northern India can be termed as the descendants of ancient Brahmanic
Kshatriyas and many other royal tribes who were assimilated in Brahmanised
society after the purification process. Though there can be still some controversy
over the lineage of Rajput’s because of myths created around their origin but
undoubtedly they were great warriors who resisted the entry of Arabs, Mughals,
Afghans and Turkic people in India. Some of them occupy unique position in the history
of India and they included Bappa Rawal, Vidyadhar Chandela, Prithviraj Chauhan,
Hammir Dev Chauhan, Rawal Ratan Singh, Maharana Hammir, Maharana Kumbha, Rana
Sanga, Rao Maldeo Rathore, Maharani Durgavati, Maharana Pratap, Maharaja
Jaswant Singh, DurgaDas Rathore, Banda Bahadur and so on.
The
rise of Rajputs as a ruling class on Indian map was a significant milestone in the
socio-religious history of India. The society saw complete churning in its
fabric as Rajputs along with Brahmanic Kshatriyas formed the majority of the ruling
class of northern India. Both along with orthodox Brahmins implemented the
rules of Manusmiriti in society. The ruling class lost their highest position
in the Varna system as Rajputs accepted the hierarchy rules made by Brahmin
class. The class system evolved as caste system became rigid in nature. As a
result, some new castes came into existence like that of Kayastha who used to be clerks in the princely houses and came from
many other castes into this profession. Restrictions on the women and Shudra
class were also put in various forms. When orthodox Brahmins were putting great
thrust on inclusion of the Shaivites and the followers of other aboriginal orthodox
cults in their stream across northern India, they remained hostile towards the Buddhist.
The aggression was so high that the Vishnu
Purana suggests complete excommunication of the Buddhists and the breaking
of all social contacts with them. It says’ ‘the Brahmanist follower who dines
with a Buddhist goes to hell. The Buddhists are considered as to be unclean,
whatever their caste affiliation may have been. A Brahmanist must discourage
the Buddhist from associating with him.’ Therefore the period after the rise of
Rajputs saw mythologies penetrating deep in society with lots of superstitions around
it and the nastika traditions
witnessed their decline.
6.2
Bhakti movement in South India
While
the rise of Rajputana across northern India helped Ramayana, Mahabharata and
Manusmiriti becoming the main texts
of Brahmanic society other than popularizing Rama, Krishna, Shiva and Shakti as
gods and goddesses, the situation in society of southern India was different.
The southern society other than following nastika cults was still divided into majority
Shaiva and minority Vaishnava followers with high hostility between the last
two sections. Most Vaishnava followers of the southern society were orthodox
Brahmins of northern India who migrated and settled in the southern India in the
vast period ruled by the Vishnu worshipper Guptas. As in the period of the Guptas,
most aboriginal gods were still under inclusion process in the Vedic or
Brahmanic list of gods in northern India, the migrated orthodox Brahmins
continued their tradition of maintaining distance with Shaiva followers including
the Shaivite Brahmins who originated from the Dravidian race of humans. However
for both Shaiva and Vaishnava priestly populations, Buddhism and Jainism were
common rivals because of their atheist philosophy. To cut the atheist sentiment
of the society, the region witnessed strong bhakti
(devotional) movement led by various spiritual scholars belonging to the orthodox
cults. One such movement was led by Alvars, the followers of Vaishnavaism and the
other was led by Nayanars – the followers of Shaivism. Both movements emphasized
on bhakti as a religious observance
to improve one’s karma. The movements
stressed on the simple devotion of love towards God by keeping all rituals,
caste hierarchy and philosophy aside. Slowly the movements got popularized and
it successfully cut the atheist root of both Buddhism and Jainism. Though the movement
was originated in Tamilnadu, it soon spread in the north during the late
medieval period. Initially, bhakti was seen against Brahmanism as it discarded the
role of caste system in getting moksha
but looking at its popularity, orthodox Brahmins supported the movement finally
making it ‘orthodox’ in nature.
6.3 Extinction of Buddhism from India - Click here to read
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References:
[1] Sagar,
K. C. (1992). Foreign Influence on Ancient India, pp. 216-221. New Delhi:
Northern Book Center.
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Index Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
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