Notes on the Literature of the Sultanate Period

Notes on the Literature of the Sultanate Period

The old view used to be that the period from 1206 to 1526 A.D. was entirely barren from the literary and cultural points of view. Dr. Qureshi has put forward the view that the Delhi Sultanate was a culture state. Both views are extremes and the truth lies midway between the two. It is true that the Turko-Afghan rulers were essentially warriors but they were also the patrons of Islamic learning. They took pride in patronizing learned men and spent a lot of money on them.

As a result of the Arab Conquest of Sindh, some of the important Sanskrit works as Brahmasiddhanta of Brahmagupta and his Khanada Khandyaka were translated into Arabic with the help of Hindu Scholars. Al-Beruni, who came to India along with Mahmud, was an accomplished Sanskrit scholar. After the conquest of Nagarkot, a Sanskrit manuscript fell into the hands of Firuz Tughlaq and he got it translated into Persian and gave it the name of Dalayal Firuz Shahi.

Amir Khusrau was unquestionably the greatest of the Indian poets. He was born at Patiali in 1253. His father was a Turkish refugee. Amir Khusrau himself took up service as a poet under Prince Mohammad Khan, the son of Balban, and after the death of his patron enjoyed the patronage of the successive Sultans from Balban to Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq.

Towards the end of his life, he gave up the world and became a disciple of Shaikh Nizam-ud-Din Auliya. Amir Khusrau wrote a good deal. He is said to have written more than 4 lacs of couplets. He was the first Muslim writer who made use of Hindi words and also adopted Indian poetic imagery and themes. His important writings are Khazyan-ul-Futuh, Tughluqnamu and Tarikh-i-Alai.

Amir Hasan, Dehlwi was a poet of considerable eminence. He is described as “musical and most pleasing.” He was in the court of Muhammad Tughlaq. He composed a Diwan and wrote the memoirs of Shaikh Nizam-ud-Din Aulia. Badr-ud-Din or Badri-i-Chach was a native ofTaskhand. He was in the court of Muhammad Tughlaq and composed odes in his praise. His poetry is difficult and loaded with imagery.

Minhaj-us-Siraj was the Author of Tabqat-i-Naisiri. There is brevity, boldness and vigour in his style. Zia-ud-din Barani was the Author of Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi. He took a lot of trouble in writing his book and made it a compendium of all kinds of useful knowledge. Barani was patronized by both Muhammad Tughlaq and Firuz Tughlaq. Shams-i-Siraj Afif continued the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi of Barani.

He was more methodical and careful in his treatment of the subject than Barani. However, there is a lot of unnecessary repetition in his work. It is also full of praise for his master. Ain-ul-Mulk Multani held important offices under Ala-ud-Din Khalji, Muhammad Tughlaq and Firuz Tughlaq.

He was a clever and accomplished man of highest ability. He wrote some excellent books such as Ain-ul-MuIki, and Munshat-i-Mahru, also called Inshai-i-Mahru. His writings give useful information regarding the political, social and religious condition of India in his time.

Ghulam Yahya bin Ahmad was the author of Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi. This book is valuable for the period during which the author lived. In many respects, it corrects and supplements Minhaj-us-Siraj, Zia-ud-Din Barani and Shams-i-Siraj Afif. Futuhus-Salatin of Isami contains the history of India for more than 300 years. Hasan Nizami was the author of Tajul-Maasir.

Some literature was produced under the patronage of the rulers of the various provinces. Jaunpur was a famous seat of learning and many learned men were attracted to the court of Ibrahim.

Qazi Shihab-ud-Din Daulatabadi wrote Hawash-i-Kufiah Irshad and Bad-ul-Bayan. Maulana Shaikh Ilahdad wrote on the Hedaya. The other famous writers were Mughis Hasnavi, Zahir Dehlwi, Maulana Hasan Nashqi, Maulana Ali Ahmed Nishani and Nurul Haq.

A reference may be made to the literature produced by the Hindus during this period. It is absolutely incorrect to say that the Hindu mind during this period became sterile and it did not produce any literature of merit. The truth is that the Hindus created a lot of literature during this period.

Ramanuja wrote his commentaries on the Brahma Sutras. In this book he explained his conception of Bhakti. Parthasarthi Misra was the Author of Sastra Dipika. Many books on Yoga,

Nyaya and Vaisesika systems of Philosophy were written during this period. Deva Suri was a great Jain Logician of the 12th century. The Gita-Govinda of Jayadeva is an excellent specimen of typical poetry.

There is beauty, sweetness and wealth of emotion in the writings of Jayadeva. According to Dr. Keith, “Jayadeva is a master of form and diction and above all he is not merely of remarkable skill in meter but he is able to blend sound to emotion in a manner that renders any effort to represent his work in translation utterly inadequate.”

A large number of dramas were written during this period. Harkeli Nataka and Lalitavigraharaja Nataka were written in the 12th century. During this period, Prasanna Raghava was written by Jayadeva, Hammir-mada-mardana by Jaya Singh Suri. Pradyumnabhydaya by Ravivarman, Pratap Rudra Kalyan by Vidyanath, Parvati Parinaya by Vamana Bhatta Bana, Gangadas Pratap Vilas by Gangadhara and Lalita Madhava by Rupagoswami. Jiva Goswami wrote as many as 25 books in Sanskrit. Vijnanesvara wrote the Mitakshara which is a commentary on Yajnavalkya.

This commentary of Hindu law was the law of this country for many centuries. Jimuta Vahan was the author of Dayabhaga. That work formed the basis of the law of inheritance and partition in Bengal for many centuries. The Smriti literature “flourished in Mithila so luxuriantly that the writers came to be regarded as forming a separate school.”

The study of astronomy was promoted by Bhaskaracharya who was born in 1114 A.D. Kalhana wrote the famous Rajatarangini which deals with the history of Kashmir. The other important writers were Padma Bhatta, Vidyapati Thakur and Vachaspati Misra. Sayana wrote his famous commentaries on the Vedas. Madhava was responsible for the composition of Siva-Gama Stotra.

Naga Chandra, also known as Abhinava Pampa, was the author of Pampa Ramayana. In addition to Naga Chandra, the other Jain writers were Hema Chandra, Prabha Chandra, Hastimalla, Asadhara and Sakalakriti.

A lot of vernacular literature was also produced during this period. Chandbardai was the author of Prithvi Raj Rasau.” This work contains 69 books and 100,000 stanzas.

It has not been possible to fix the exact date of its composition. There is a mixture of legend, fiction and history in this book. The poet has given an account of the life and exploits of Prithvi Raj. He described Padmavati or Sanjogita thus:

Arrayed with the tokens of the King of Love, Filling a golden tray with pearls. Lighting a lamp she waved it round; Taking her confidant with her boldly the maiden, Goes as Rukmini went to meet Murari.

Jagnayak was the author of Alhakhand. In that book, the deeds of love and war of Alha and Udal, two brave warriors of Parmala of Mahoba, are described. Sarangdhara was the Author of Hammir Rasau and Hammir Kavya. These books contain an account of the glories of Raja Hammir of Ranthambor.

Khusrau was essentially a Persian Poet but he was also interested in Hindi poetry. He has referred to the greatness of the Hindi language in his poem, called Ashiqa.

His view was that the Hindi language was not inferior to the Persian language. He also compared the grammar and syntax in Arabic to that in Hindi. In his writings, we come across such words as Pradhana, Sudar Kamin etc.

The leaders of the Bhakti Movement also added to the literature. Namadeva wrote in Marathi but some of the Hindi songs are to be found in the Grantha. Some hymns were composed by Ramananda. Some of the sayings of Kabir are to be found in the Sakhis and Raminis. Hindi literature owes a lot to Kabir. Guru Nanak also composed some hymns which are a mixture of Hindi and Punjabi. The songs of Mirabai in Hindi are very famous.

Narsi Mehta was a poet of Gujarat and he wrote beautiful short religious songs. Krittivasa prepared a Bengali translation of the Ramayana from Sanskrit. According to D.C. Sen, “It is in fact the Bible of the people of the Gangetic valley and it is for the most part the peasants who read it.”

The Mahabharata was also translated into Bengali. Krishnadevaraya himself wrote a poem called Amuktamalyada. His poet-laureate was Allasani Peddana. He was a writer of original merit. His famous work was Svarochisa Mancharitra.