Early Guru period and the first Mughals Oct. 31, 2023 Required readings: - Pages 115-131 in Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot’s India before Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). - Pages 28-61 in J.S. Grewal’s The Sikhs of the Punjab (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991). Guru Nanak meets the Mughal emperor Babur, folio from a Janamsākhī series, prob. Murshidabad, West Bengal, ca. 1755-1700, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Source: B.N. Goswamy and Caron Smith, I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion (New York: Rubin Museum ofArt) 94-95. Midter m: in person on December 5 (30%) - Three sections: 1) 8 multiple-choice questions (12%, 1.5% per question); 2) 8 short-answer questions (12%, 1.5% per question); 3) essay (6%) => 350 words. I will provide a selection of verses from the Guru Granth Sahib and ask you to write an essay on the important notions that are articulated in the verses and how they relate to your readings and what we have talked about in class. The more connections you make between the verses and your readings/class materials, the better your essay will be! - Please cite your materials. You don’t need to use direct quotations, of course, but please indicate when the ideas expressed are not your own. (ex. According to Asher & Talbot, (…) - The midterm will be based on the class lectures and powerpoint presentations of Term 1 and the following readings: Shackle & Mandair's "Introduction" in Teachings of the Sikh Gurus (up to page xli), Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, "Guru Nanak and the Origins of Sikhism" in Sikhism: an Introduction, pp. 1-21, Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot’s India before Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pages 122-131, and 225-236, and Purnima Dhavan “Sikhism in the Eighteenth Century” in the Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Early Guru Period: 1469-1606 - Political power transitioned from the Afghan Lodi Dynasty to the Mughal Empire - Three first Mughal emperors: Babur (1526-30), Humayun (1530-40 and 1555-56), and Akbar (1556 to 1605). - Five first Gurus: Guru Nanak (1469-1539); Guru Angad (1539-1552, birth: 1504); Guru Amar Das (1552-1574, birth: 1479); Guru Ram Das (1574-1581, birth: 1534); Guru Arjan (1581-1606, birth: 1563). Mughal India: Babur - - - The term Mughals comes from the Perso-Arabic word Mongols. Babur was a descendant of the Mongol conqueror Gengis Khan. 1526: battle of Panipat. Victory of Zahiruddin Mohammed Babur who will replace the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi. Babur ruled from 1526 to 1530. Wrote his memoirs: Baburnama Indirectly associated with the construction of the famous Baburi mosque at Ayodhya that was destroyed in 1992 by a group of Hindu fundamentalists. Tomb of Sikander Lodi, father of Ibrahim Lodi, Delhi. Tomb of Sikander Lodi: important touristic attraction in Delhi today Mughal India: Babur From 'Historical Atlas of the Muslim Peoples', by R. Roolvink (Harvard University Press, 1957, pp. 32-33), Uploaded on http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett Humayun - Humayun (1530-40 and 1555-56): adds Gujarat and Malwa. - The Sur interregnum: Afghan invasions and the reign of Sher Shah Sur (1538-45). - Humayun came back to retake India in 1555 and ruled until 1556. Humayun fights Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535, Folio from an Akbarnama (History of Akbar). Pakistan, Lahore, Mughal. Wikipedia commons. Mughal India: Humayun and Akbar From 'Historical Atlas of the Muslim Peoples', by R. Roolvink (Harvard University Press, 1957, pp. 32-33), Uploaded on http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett Akbar - - - Humayun was succeeded by his son Akbar who ruled from 1556 to 1605. Akbar is known for the consolidation of the state and administrative reforms. Akbar is also known as a inclusive and generous patron of the arts: ex. literature in Persian, Sanskrit, and Brajbhasha was flourishing at his court. Encounters between Akbar and religious or literary figures is a common trope in the literature of late Medieval India: famous example appears in the Caurāsī vaiṣṇavan kī vārtā that portrays an encounter between Akbar and Surdas. Akbar hunting mountain lions, folio from the Akbarnama, India, c. 1590, www.davidmus.dk Guru Angad (1539-1552, birth: 1504) - - Khatri from the Trehan subcaste Believed to have created the Gurmukhi script (debated in scholarship). Composed 62 hymns that are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak is referenced as the Guru and his followers as gurmukhs. The Word and the Name refer to the words of Nanak (bāṇī). Moved from Kartarpur to Khadur (left Kartarpur to the sons of Guru Nanak). Sri Chand did not recognize Guru Angad as the successor of Guru Nanak and decided to create his own religious lineage called “Udasis.” Udasis practice ascetiscm and perceive themselves as Sikhs. Believed to have established the community kitchen (langar) with his wife Mata Khivi. Guru Angad receives homage, folio from a Janamsākhī series, prob. Murshidabad, West Bengal, ca. 1755-1700, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Source: B.N. Goswamy and Caron Smith, I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion (New York: Rubin Museum of Art) 98-99. Guru Amar Das (15521574, birth: 1479) - Had to leave Khadur for Goindwal (Khadur was given to the sons of Angad, Dasu and Datu). - The number of Sikh followers became larger under the Guruship of Guru Amar Das. - Built a well (sarovar) at Goindwal for the purpose of ritual baths. - Believed to have compiled the first compilation of hymns from the first three Gurus and poets (Namdev, Kabir) that is called the “Goindwal Pothi” which is today in the possession of the Bhalla family (descendants of Guru Amar Das). (see Gurinder Singh Mann’s work). - Composed 907 hymns that are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. - Created the mañjī system. - Introduced a practice known as gurmat. - His teachings emphasize the equalitarian nature of sikhi. Inclusive of women and lower-caste groups. Guru Amar Das, India, 20th century, Kapany Collection. Source: Paul Michael Taylor and Sonia Dhami, Sikh Art from the Kapany Collection (Pan Alto: The Sikh Foundation) 87. Guru Ram Das (1574-1581, birth: 1534) - - Sodhi subcaste (all the following Gurus were also part of the Sodhi lineage). Built a sarovar in what is today Amritsar. The town that was build around that well was called Ramdaspur in honour of Guru Ram Das. According to Grewal, the construction of the well and of the town is reflective of the resources that were mobilized by the fourth Guru. (Grewal, p. 52). Guru Ram Das composed 679 hymns that are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. There is a significant emphasis on castes in his verses. Emphasis on the sangat as the « collective body of the Sikhs » (Grewal, p. 53). Before his death, his son Arjan was chosen to be the Guru successor. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru, Pahari, leaf from the family workshop of Nainsukh of Guler, ca. 1800, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Source: B.N. Goswamy and Caron Smith, I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion (New York: Rubin Museum ofArt) 134-135. Sodhi lineage J. S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 243) Guru Arjan (1581-1606, birth: 1563) - Son of Guru Ram Das. Married to Ganga Devi. His older brother, Prithi Chand, fought for the Guruship and a share in the property (p. 54). Pursued the development of the Harimandir Sahib or the Golden Temple in Amritsar that was started by his father, Guru Ram Das. Compiled the Kartarpur Pothi on the basis of the Goindwal Pothi. The Kartarpur Pothi is the basis of the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjan composed 2218 hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Died at the hands of Mughal authorities. (next week: we will start by discussing the important transition undertaken by the community with the execution (martyrdom) of Guru Arjan. Portrait of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, Pahari, from the family workshop of Purkhu of Kangra, ca. 1800, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Source: B.N. Goswamy and Caron Smith, I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion (New York: Rubin Museum ofArt) 134-135. Shalok Sahaskriti, M5 45 -49, 1358 (my own translation) he ajita sūra saṅgramaṅ ati balanā bahu maradanaha/ gaṇa gandharaba deva mānukhan pasu paṅkhī bimohanaha/ hari karaṇahāran namasakāran saraṇi nānaka jagadīṣvaraha// he kāman naraka bisrāman bahu jonī bhrāmavaṇaha/ cita haraṇan trai loka gaṅman japa tapa sīla bidāraṇaha/ alapa sukha avita cañcala ūca nīca samāvaṇaha/ tava bhai bisuñcita sādha saṅgama uṭa nānaka nārāiṇaha// he kali mūla krodhan kadañca karuṇā na uparajate/ bikhayanta jīvaṅ vasan karoti niratan karoti jathā marakaṭaha/ anika sāsana tāṛanti jamadūtaha tava saṅge adhaman naraha/ dīna dukha bhañjana dayāla prabhu nānaka saraba jīa rakhā karoti// he lobhā lampaṭa saṅga siramoraha anika laharī kalolate/ dhavanta jīā bahu prakāran anika bhānti bahu ḍolate/ naca mitran naca isaṭan naca bādhava naca māta pitā tava lajayā/ akaraṇan karoti akhādi khādan asājan sāji samajayā/ trāhi trāhi maraṇi suāmī bigāpi nānaka hari naraharaha// he janama maraṇa mūlan ahaṅkāran pāpātāma/ mitran tajanti satran driṛanti anika māyā bisīranaha/ avanta javanta thakanta jīā dukha sukha bahu bhogaṇaha/ bhrama bhayāna udiāna ramaṇan mahā bikaṭa asadhā rogaṇaha/ baidan pārabrahama paramesvara ārādhi nānaka hari hari hare// O [emotional attachment], invincible god whose power overpowers [even] the bravest heroes. [You] infatuate birds, animals, humans, gods, celestial musicians, and demigods, Nanak, greet the Creator, the One, and take shelter within the Divine. O lust (kāman), you forget people in hell and you make them wander through many births. You take away thoughts found in all three worlds and destroy good conduct such as murmured recitation and penance, You only [give] a little bit of joy, you make [people] weak and restless, and you are reabsorbed within the high and low, The company of saints removes your fear, O Nanak, through the One. O anger (krodhan), you are the root of the Kaliyuga, compassion never arises [in you]. All the sinful living beings reside in you who make them dance like monkeys, In your company, people become low and punished by the messenger of death, O the one who removes pain from the world, O compassionate Prabhu, Nanak protects us all. O greed (lobhā), companion of the great, your waves delude many, You make them run and wander around in many ways and directions, You have no respect for friends, deities, relatives, mother or father, You make them do evil deeds, [and] eat what they should not eat. Save me, save me, Nanak and my swami and the One. O ego (ahaṅkāran, haumai), you are the root of birth and death and the soul of sin, You abandon friends, give power to enemies, and expand the world of delusion, You make living beings come and go until they are exhausted, you delude them in joy and pain, You make them wander in the wilderness of doubts, you make them face incurable diseases, The only doctor is the great paramesvara, O Nanak repeat the Name of the One.
