Medieval

Question 1

Tabaqat i nasiri

Answer 1

Minhaj us siraj

Question 2

Tarikh i sher shahi

Answer 2

Abbas sarvani

Question 3

Basantin ul uns

Answer 3

Ikhtsan Dehlavi

Question 4

Tarikh i firoz shahi

Answer 4

Zia ud din barani

Question 5

Afshanaya shah

Answer 5

Shekh kabeer

Question 6

Wakiyati mushtaki

Answer 6

Rizkullah

Question 7

Riyaz us salatin

Answer 7

Ghulam hussain saleem

Question 8

Sufi literature can be divided into

Answer 8

Tajkira- life of saints

Malkujat- dialogues between saints

Maktubaat- writings of saints

Question 9

Prominent sufi saints in bihar

Answer 9

Maulana muzaffar Balkhi

Hazrat latifuddin

Hazrat fazaullah

Makhdum sharfuddin yahiya maneri popularly known as Makhdoom-ul-Mulk Bihari and Makhdoom-e-Jahan

Question 10

Important local works

Answer 10

Vidhyapati-
1. kritilata- a praise-biography in verse detailing the victory of Vidyapati’s patron Kirttisimha’s over his rival Malik Arsalan composed in the Sanskrit genre
2. kritipataka- a partially-extant praise-biography in verse for another of Vidyapati’s patrons, Sivasimha
3. Manimanjarikanatika- a conventional romantic play (nāṭikā)
4. Purusapariska- a treatise on political ethics and ideal masculinity
5. Padavali- a compilation of Vidyapati’s songs in praise of Krishna, likely not put together by him

Jyotirishwar thakur- varnaratnakar

Chandreshwar- rajnitiratnakar

Question 11

Vidhyapati?

Answer 11

1. 1380 – 1460
2. aka Maithili Kavi Kokil
3. He was a devotee of Shiva, but also wrote love songs and devotional Vaishnava songs
4. was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier and royal priest
5. The language at the time of Vidyapati, the prakrit-derived late Abahattha, had just begun to transition into early versions of the Eastern language such as Maithili . Thus, Vidyapati’s influence on making these languages has been described as “analogous to that of Dante in Italy and Chaucer in England”. He has been called the “Father of Bengali literature”.
6. was born in present day Madhubani district, in village of Bisapi
7. Vidyapati himself worked in the courts of various kings of the Oiniwar Dynasty of Mithila
8. Vidyapati’s first commission was by Kīrttisiṃha, who ruled Mithila from around 1370 to 1380. This led to the Kīrttilatā, a long praise-poem for his patron in verse. The conflicts of his time are evident in his works. In his early praise-poem Kīrttilatā, he slyly criticizes his patron for his perceived deference to Muslims
9. The prose story collection Bhūparikramaṇa was written under Devasimha’s, Kirttisimha’s successor, auspices
10. There was a close friendship between Sivasimha, king of Mithila from 1402 to 1406, and Vidyapati. He wrote some five hundred love songs, primarily between 1380 and 1406. They were written in vernacular Maithili as songs, not as formal poems in literary Sanskrit as was done before. Until Vidyapati, Maithili wasn’t employed as a literary medium. As soon as Sivasimha ascended to his throne, he granted Vidyapati his home village of Bisapi, an act recorded on a copper plate. On the plate, Sivasimha calls him “the new Jayadeva”. The poet also accompanied his king to Delhi, at the sultan’s demand. A story about that encounter relates how the king was held by the sultan and Vidyapati negotiated for his release by displaying his clairvoyant powers
11. In Dec 2018, Darbhanga Airport was renamed Kavi Kokil Vidyapati Airport.

Question 12

Foreign writers that have written about bihar- non european

Answer 12

Mullataquia

Abdul latif

Mohammad sadiq wahbahani

Question 13

Foreign writers that have written about bihar- european

Answer 13

Ralph fitch

Peter mundi

John tavernier

Mannuci

Bishop weaver

Question 14

<p>Medieval era: Palas:origin?</p>

Answer 14

<p>founded by Gopala I in 750AD; elected by nobles of the region in order to fill the power vaccum</p>

<p>empire extended by his son, Dharampala.</p>

Question 15

<p>Medieval era: Palas:rulers?</p>

Answer 15

<ol><li>Gopala I : founder</li><li>Dharampala</li><li>Devpala</li><li>Mahedrapala</li><li>https://1drv.ms/b/s!AvN_8sA-Zf0djxtMMwuZl1DHM4Xp?e=kWSgmp</li></ol>

Question 16

<p>Medieval era: Palas:Dharmpala?</p>

Answer 16

<ol><li>770-810 CE</li><li>son of Gopala</li><li>Despite being defeated by Rashtrakuta Ruler, Dhruva, he took advantage of the latters return back to south India, and occupied Kannauj. However he was defeated again by Nagabhatta II of Pratiharas near Munger.</li><li>a Buddhist</li><li>founded Vikramshila uni (Mahavihara) in modern day Bhagalpur district</li><li>rehabilitated Nalanda (tax collections of 200 villages was allocated for its maintenance)</li><li>referred to as Uttrapathaswami by a Gujarati writer Soddhala of 11th Cent CE</li><li>Khalimpur Copper plate inscription deated to 32nd yr of reign of Dharmpala describes his empire as glorious and prosperous</li><li>first Pala king to assume full imperial titles of Maharajadhiraja, Parmesvara and Paramabhattaraka</li></ol>

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Question 17

<p>Medieval era: Palas:Devpala?</p>

Answer 17

<p>810-850AD</p>

<p>highest watermark of Pala empire</p>

<p>extended control over Pragjyotishpur (Assam), parts of Utkala (Odisha), parts of Nepal and even upto Benares.</p>

<p>Info abt his regin is found in Munger copper plate inscription</p>

<p>patron of Buddhism</p>

<p>Mahayana Buddhist Sailendra dynasty (ruled both Srivijaya empire of Sumatra + Medang kingdom of Java) ruler Balputradeva sent embassies to Devpala and got permission to grant revenue of 5 villages for the maintenance of a Buddhist monastery built at Nalanda by the former</p>

Question 18

<p>Medieval era: Palas:foreign visitor acct?</p>

Answer 18

<ul><li>Arab merchant, Suleiman<ul><li>visited India around 850AD</li><li>called Pala kingdom “Ruhma” (probably called Dharma of dharmapala as ruhma)</li><li>wrote that Pala ruler had more troops than Rashtrakutas and Pratiharas</li><li>It was customary for Pala king to be accompanied by a force of 50000 elephants</li><li>10-15 thousand men in his army were employed in only washing clothes</li></ul></li><li>Tibetan traveller- Taranath<ul><li>compiled much later in 17th century</li><li>Palas had maintained close cultural relations with Tibet</li><li>nonted Buddhist scholars like Santarakshita and Dipankara (called Atisa) were invited to Tibet and they introduced a new form of Buddhism there</li><li>many Tibetan buddhists came to Nalanda and Vikramshila</li></ul></li></ul>

Question 19

<p>Medieval era: Palas:art and culture?</p>

Answer 19

<ul><li>Rehabilitated Nalanda uni</li><li>established Vikramshila uni</li><li>despite being hindu rulers, they supported and patronised Buddhism</li><li>built many viharas for Buddhist monks</li></ul>

Question 20

<p>Medieval era: Palas: relations with foreign nations?</p>

Answer 20

<p>trade and cultural links with SE Asia</p>

<p>Mahayana Buddhist Sailendra dynasty (ruled both Srivijaya empire of Sumatra + Medang kingdom of Java) sent embassies to Devpala and got permission to grant revenue of 5 villages for the maintenance of a Buddhist monastery built at Nalanda by the former</p>

Question 21

<p>Medieval era:tripartite struggle: armed forces of the three armies?</p>

Answer 21

<ul><li>The 3 kingdoms Palas , Pratiharas , and Rashtrakutas maintained large and well organized infantry + cavalry +war elephants</li><li>Palas had the largest number of elephants.<br></br></li><li>Horses were imported by Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas<ul><li>By sea from Arabia and West Asia;</li><li>By land from central Asia.</li></ul></li><li>No reference to war chariots (which were commonly referenced to in Vedic documents)</li><li>Rashtrakutas had large no. of forests. These were garrisoned by special troops, with their own independent commanders</li><li>The regular troops were often hereditary</li><li>Palas and Rashtrakutas had their own navies</li></ul>

Question 22

<p>Medieval era:Pala and Pratiharas:administration?</p>

Answer 22

<ul><li>Some areas of the empires were administered directly</li><li>Other areas were ruled by vassal chiefs<ul><li>Vassal chiefs were autonomous in internal affairs</li><li>However, they had to pay fixed tribute + supply troops to the overlord.</li><li>Vassal chiefs attended the royal darbar sometimes.</li><li>Sometimes they rebelled, like the Paramaras of Malwa and Chandellas of Bundelkhand rebelled against the Pratiharas</li></ul></li><li>Directly administered territories of Palas and Pratiharas were divided into:<ul><li>Bhukti: Provinces; governed by <strong>uparika; = collect land revenue + maintain law and order with the help of an army.</strong></li><li>mandalas or Visayas: districts; headed by <strong>visayapati; </strong>same duties as uparika</li><li>pattala</li></ul></li><li>In Rashtrakuta kingdom, directly administered territories were divided into<ul><li>rashtra: province; governed by rastrapati, fns same as uparika</li><li>visaya: district</li><li>bhukti: tehsil</li></ul></li><li>Village was the basic unit of administration<ul><li>Village administration was carried on by the village headman and the village accountant these posts were hereditary</li><li>They were paid by grants of rent free lands</li><li>The headman was often helped in his duties by the village elder ( grama mahajana or grama mahattara</li></ul></li><li>Growth of <strong>small chieftains samantas or bhogapatis</strong> dominated over a number of villages. Visayapatis and smaller chiefs merged later the term samanta ’ is later used for both</li><li>Officials were paid by giving them grants of rent free land. This blurred the distinction between: local officials and hereditary chiefs and smaller vassals</li></ul>

Question 23

<p>Medieval era:Pala and Pratiharas:Trade and commerce?</p>

Answer 23

<ul><li>7 th to 10 th Centuries Period of stagnation/decline of trade in north India<ul><li>Decline in long distance trade within the country because of internal conflicts and policy of ‘localism’.</li></ul></li><li>Absence of gold and silver coins.<ul><li>This is because of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (476 554), with whom India had profitable trade.</li><li>Now trade was with Byzantine empire (eastern Roman empire) and Sassanids of Iran/persia</li></ul></li><li>Bengal, Malwa , Gujarat and south India got gold from trade with: SE Asia and China</li><li>Some Dharmashastras ban travel across the salt seas , and beyond the areas where the munja grass does not grow and black gazelle does not roam ( outside India. Foreign trade continued despite this. Therefore, travel ban was probably meant for brahmans to discourage them from going to lands dominated by Islam and Buddhism, and bringing back religious ideas that were unacceptable.</li><li>Indian merchants organized themselves into guilds.<ul><li>Manigraman and Nanadesi were most famous guilds. Primarily in South India</li></ul></li><li>Tamralipti Tamluk , East Midnapore, WB) was the chief port for sailing to Java, Sumatra,etc</li></ul>

Question 24

<p>Sena dynasty?</p>

Answer 24

<ul><li>replaced the Palas in Bengal in 11th cent</li><li>originally from KN</li><li>founded by Sumanta Sen, described as Brahmakshatriya. Succeded by his son Hemant Sen. Hemant's son Vijaya sen brought the family into limelight during his long reign of 60 yrs.</li><li>main rulers<ul><li>Ballala Sen<ul><li>son of Vijaya sen</li><li>most powerful ruler of the dyansty</li><li>made Nabadwip (present dat Nadia district) (is an important pilgrimage centre even today) as his capital</li><li>great scholar. wrote Danasagara and Adbhutsagar</li></ul></li><li>Lakshman Sena<ul><li>expanded Sena empire to Odisha, Bihar and probably Varanasi</li><li>faced continuous attacks from the Ghurid generals who had established themselves in Delhi region after 2nd Battle of Tarain; was the ruler at the time of Baktiyar Khilji's invasion in 1198 CE.</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>

Question 25

Karnat dynasty?

Answer 25

1. established in 1097 CE by Nanyadeva.
2. The dynasty had two capitals which were Simraungadh in Bara District of Nepal and Darbhanga, Bihar which became the second capital during the reign of Gangadeva
3. The kingdom controlled the areas we today know as Tirhut or Mithila in Bihar state of India and Nepal. This region is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the Himalayas in the North
4. Under the Karnats, Mithila enjoyed almost full sovereignty from 1097 until 1324.
5. Simraungarh: It was situated in an inaccessible place and was defended by high walls and seven ditches. This was observed by the Tibetan scholar Dharmaswami,who visited Tirhut in 1234. Mulla Taqia, a contemporary of Akbar, also refers to the fortitication of Simraon.
6. In 1101, Vijaysena defeated Nanya and imprisoned him. It is possible that Nanyadeva may have temporarily accepted Sena overlordship. Nanyadeva is called Karnatakshatriya and Karnatakulabhushana in Mithila tradition. This shows his feudatory status to some overlord, probably to Vijayasena.
7. Nanyadeva, in his commentary on Bharata Natyashastra, refers to himself as Mahasamantadhipati together with Mithileshwar (king of Mithila) and Nripamalla.
8. Nanya lived long enough to consolidate his position and to conquer Nepal. He ruled for about fifty years.
9. Harisimhadeva was the last great king of the Karnata dynasty. He was succeeded by his sons Gangadeva and Malladeva. Caṇḍeśvara Ṭhakkura was Maithili language political theorist who served under Harisimhdeva.
10. Gangadeva assumed high imperial titles. He was succeeded by Narsimhadeva (1188-1227). During his time Bhakhtiyar Khalji passed with his army through Tirhut on his way to Lakhnauti in 1202. The Raja agreed to pay tribute, but Mithila continued to be raided by Muslims.
11. Tirhut was again raided by the Muslims, during the time of Ramasimha. who ascended the throne in 1227.
12. Tirhut maintained its independent existence till the beginning of the 14th century.
13. The Maithili language grew strongly during this period as new literature and folk songs were created. The philosopher, Gangeśa Upādhyāya, introduced the Navya-Nyāya school of thought which remained active in India until the 18th century. The general religious attitude of the people was conservative and the priestly aristocracy of Maithil Brahmins dominated the royal court.The Varna Ratnakara of Jyotirishwar Thakur was also composed during the reign of Harisimhadeva.