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It boots none aught but those that feel That all through time the Lord endures. Translated by J. M. Nallasvani! Pijjai. RECONSTRUCTION 125 21. The Praise of Vishnu in Tamil NOTE. — These are two short extracts from the hymns of the greatest of the Alvars, who is known asNammalvar, orbathakopa. (See p. 129.) (a) The Love of God and of the World. My Father, Lord of worlds evolved, involved, breathes there the man That sees thy lotus feet with royal signs adorned, which stride The triple worlds at once, and seeing will not melt away In bliss ambrosial sweet, his heart immersed in joy supreme, A sweetness ravishing, a sense sublime ? — If so, ah fool ! He knows not, what for him is highest good, pure love for Thee ! Ah fool, to lose this wealth, and strain his every nerve to win With mountain-labour short-lived joy or power o'er mortal things, Ev'n if he sways the triad spheres, or sleeps in heaven's shade. (b) A Prayer for Release from Transmigration. Eternal Lord of angels, who dost deign to veil Thy form In all Creation's varied state, to save poor souls, Vouchsafe in all Thy grace to stay and hear Thy servants' cry, That we be saved the dire return to former wretchedness, When we mistook the body for the soul, and sinned all sins, Which clung to us and fixed us evermore to mortal frames. From A. Govindacharya, The Holy Lives of the Azhvdrs, pp. 220-1. i26 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY 22. Extract from a Commentary NOTE. — This passage is given here to show the style of the great commentator, ^ahkara. It is also of interest as expressing the relation of the famous work, the Vedanta-sutras, to the Vedanta-texts, as the Upanishads are here called. Some of those who maintain a Lord to be the cause of the world, think that the existence of a Lord different from mere transmigrating beings can be inferred by means of the argu ment stated just now without recourse being had to Scripture at all. — But, it might be said, you yourself in the Sutra under discussion have merely brought forward the same argument ! —By no means, we reply. The Sutras, i.e. literally 'the strings ', have merely the purpose of stringing together the flowers of the Vedanta-passages. In reality the Vedanta- passages referred to by the Sutras are discussed here. For the comprehension of Brahman is effected by the ascertain ment, consequent on discussion, of the sense of the Vedanta- texts, not either by inference or by the other means of right knowledge. While, however, the Vedanta-passages pri marily declare the cause of the origin, £c., of the world, inference also, being an instrument of right knowledge in so far as it does not contradict the Vedanta-texts, is not to be excluded as a means of confirming the meaning ascertained. Scripture itself, moreover, allows argumentation; for the passages, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, II. iv. 5, and Chhdn- dogya Upanishad) VI. xiv. 2, declare that human understand ing assists Scripture. 6ahkara's Bhashya to the Veddnla-Sittras, I. i. 2 ; S.B.E., vol. xxxiv. p. 17. RECONSTRUCTION 127 23. Sutras on the Nature of Bhakti 1. Now then there is a wish to know faith (i.e. bhakti\ 2. In its highest form it is an affection fixed on God. 3. From the promise of immortality to him who abides in Him. 4. If you say, it is knowledge — no, because the know ledge of one who hates Him is not an abiding in Him. 5. And from its inferiority thereto. 6. It is an affection from its being the opposite of hatred and from the Vedic expression ' taste '. 7. It is not an action ; for, like knowledge, it does not depend on effort. 8. Hence indeed is the endlessness of its fruit. 9. And from the use of the word ' resignation ' {prapatti} in the case of one who has knowledge, as in other cases where ' resignation ' is used. 10. This [faith] is the main thing, since the others depend upon it. 22. This [faith] is indeed the highest from the express declaration of its superiority to the performers of sacrificial acts, to those who follow knowledge, and to those who practise concentration. 24. But it is not the same as belief, because it has a wider range. 78. All, down even to the despised castes, are capable of learning it at second-hand, like the great common truths. 83. This [highest faith] is the true identity with the Supreme, since this is recognized as the meaning of the Gitd. From Cowell's translation of Sandilya's Bhakti- Sutras, 128 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY TABLES 21. Chronology of Period of Reconstruction External Events History Religion Literature A. D. 700 711 Muham- madans in Kumarila Sincl 732 Europe saved from The Parsis arrive in Rock-cut Temple of Kailas at Islam India Ellora A.D. SOO Second Persian Sahkara cross at Kottayam Decline of Buddhism A.D. 900 Rise of Jainism in the South Blidgavata Purdna A.D. IOOO Manikka Vachakar 1096 The Crusades Rajaraja the Great A.D. 1025 Tem ple of Somnath destroyed The great Temple of Tanjore Nimbarka A. D. IIOO Conquest of North India by Muham- madans A.D. i 193 Bud dhism crushed in Bengal and Bihar Ramanuja, Gltd Govitida, Bhakti Sutra A. U. I2OO RECONSTRUCTION 129 22. The Vaishravas of the South The Twelve Alvars Tirumarigai (About A. D. iroo) Ramanuja Teh-galai Vada-galai (xiii cent.) Filial Lokacharya (xiv cent.) Rama-jamatri-muni Vedanta De^ika (xiii-xiv cent.) (xv cent.) Ramananda CHAPTER X BHAKTI PERIOD THE MUHAMMADANS : VERNACULAR LITERATURE From the Conquest of North India to the Battle of Plassey: A. D. 1200-1757 84. History. The Muhammadan conquest of North India at the very beginning of this period, with the piece meal conquest of Southern India during the following centuries, is practically all that the history of this period contains. The violence, bloodshed, and cruelty of the early conquests were followed by the marvellous wisdom, temper ance, and justice of Akbar ; but his great-grandson Aurang- zeb brought back the persecuting horrors and cruelties of the earlier time. The Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar with stood for a couple of centuries the whole force of the Muhammadans of the Deccan, but it was overthrown in 1565, in the fierce battle of Talikot. From this time Muhammadan influence had a wider range in South India. From the sixteenth century onward, the Portuguese, the NOTE. — The text at the top of the page is in Hindi, and is said to be by Kablr : — 'The beads arc of wood, the gods of stone; the Ganges and the Jumna are water ; Rama and Krishna are dead ; the Vedas are fictitious stories.' BHAKTI 131 Dutch, the French, and the English were to be found at many points on the seaboard of India ; but not until some decades after the battle of Plassey did Europe exercise any serious influence on the life of the people. 85. Religion and Literature. The Muhammadan con quest of India must not be regarded as merely a series of brilliant military exploits leading to a vast political change. 33. HINDU PILLARS IN MOSQUE Beside Qutb Minar, Delhi. This mosque was built trom the spoils of twenty-seven Hindu and Jain temples. The conquerors regarded themselves as crusaders, attacking a vast idolatrous paganism in the name of God. Hence, wherever they went, they destroyed the religious schools, overthrew the temples, smashed the idols, drove away or killed the Buddhist monks and the Hindu priests. Idolatry was forbidden, and a tax was imposed on non-Muslims. It was their missionary method, their way of overcoming Hinduism. Muslim policy allowed but little relief or peace I 2 132 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY for the Hindu, or opportunity to rebuild, until Akbar arose. Throughout the whole vast territory in North India where their armies came and went, there is scarcely a fragment of ancient Hindu work left, except what they built into their mosques. 86. Buddhism seems to have dis appeared almost al together under the shock ; and Hindu ism suffered most severely also ; for many Hindus be came Muslims, and, with the fall of the Hindu kingdoms and the forfeiture of tem ple lands, school, monastery, and priest were left without in come. Hence San skrit scholarship and Hindu learning made comparatively little show in North India for a very long time ; but at Vijayanagar a great deal of good work was done. The 34. QUTB MINAR AT DELHI The iron pillar dates from Chandragupta II, about A.I). 415. The pillars of the mosque are Hindu and Jain.