South Indian Bhakti Movement

The post-Sangam period witnessed some notable changes in the religious sphere. One of them was the rise of the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement emerged in the context of the economic downturn that followed the Sangam period. During this time, the collapse of international trade and bloody wars disrupted the economy and affected the lives of the people. This prompted people to turn to religion and philosophy.

There were also religious reasons for the rise of the Bhakti movement. Jainism and Buddhism had a good influence on the common people. In the post-Sangam period, refined Hinduism also began to gain popularity. Most kings in South India promoted refined Hinduism based on Vaishnavism and Shaivism. In this context, the Bhakti movement was conceived to stop the growth of Jainism and Buddhism and to bring the common people closer to Hinduism.

According to traditional Hindu thought, there are three paths to attaining salvation: the path of action, the path of knowledge, and is the path of devotion. The founders of the Bhakti movement demanded to accept one of this path.

The Bhakti movement was led by the Azhwars and the Nayanars. The Azhwars were devotees of Vishnu and the Nayanars were devotees of Shiva. These Vaishnava-Shaiva devotees were also first-class poets. They composed devotional hymns about their idols and went around singing them. The Bhakti movement demonstrated religious generosity. It gave the message that God was accessible to everyone, regardless of caste or religion. Therefore, the followers of the Bhakti movement included people from lower castes.

Alvars

It has been mentioned that the Alvars and Nayanars led the Bhakti movement in Tamil Nadu from the 6th to the 9th century. Literary works mention 12 Azhvars and 63 Nayanars.

Thirumangai Alvars and Periyavar were famous devotees of Vishnu. The Kirtans they composed were of high quality. Among the Alvars, a woman named Andal (known as the Mirabai of South India) and an untouchable named Thiruppan were very notable.

One of the Alvars was from Kerala; the Chera king Kulasekha Azhwar. His Mukundamala and Perumal Thirumozhi are devotional poems that captivate anyone. Nammarzhwar (Shatakopa) was another famous Alvar. His kirtans in praise of the Vaishnava temples of Kerala are famous. The 4000 or so devotional songs of the Alvars were later compiled by a Vaishnava devotee named Nathamuni under the title 'Nalayiraprabandham'.

Nayanars

There were 63 Nayanars associated with the Tamil Bhakti movement. Thirumoolar, Karaikkal Amma, and Ayyadigal Kadavarkon were the earliest Nayanars.

The Trimurti of Appar, Sambandhar and Sundarar were prominent Nayanars of the Pallava period. It was Appar who converted the Pallava king Mahendravarman to Shaivism. Sambandhar defeated many Jain scholars in debates. Sundarar composed thousands of kirtans. Two of the Nayanars were from Kerala: Cheraman Perumal Nayanar and Viralminda Nayanar. Sundaramurti Nayanar and Manikyavasaka were also famous devotees of Shiva. The 5 kirtans composed by Manikyavasaka are known as Thiruvachakam.

The Shaivite hymns of the Nayanars were later compiled by a Shaivite devotee named Nambi under the title "Patinonnu Thirumuraikal". This greatly helped the growth of the Bhakti movement. Some famous spiritual teachers were among those who led the Bhakti movement in South India. Shankaracharya, Ramanujan, Madhavan and Basaveshwara are the most important of them.

Shankaracharya ( 788-820)

Shankaracharya, the Advaita thinker, was born in Kalady on the banks of the Periyar. His parents, Shivaguru and Aryamba, were great devotees. Shankara, who took up sannyasa at a young age, visited all the major Hindu pilgrimage centers in India. During this time, he accepted Govinda Yogi, a disciple of Gaudapada, as his guru.

Shankara, who meticulously analyzed the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita developed the Advaita philosophy as indicated in them. The philosophy he formulated came to be known as “Advaita Vedanta”. Shankara engaged in debates with many Mimamsakas and Buddhist scholars and defeated them. Thus, he proved the superiority of his philosophy and Hinduism.

Ramanujan and Madhavan

Ramanujan was born in Sriperumbudur near Kanchi. He was a proponent of "Vishishta Dvaita". Vishishta Dvaita was a religious philosophy. It accepted three ultimate realities: God, soul, and matter.

Madhavan of Udupi was a devotee of Vishnu. He rejected Ramanuja's Vishishta-dvaita and upheld the dualism based on the Bhagavata Purana.

Veerashaiva movement

In the 12th century, another religious movement emerged in South India. It was called the Veerashaiva movement. It was also known as the Lingayat movement. Its founders were Basava and Chinnabasava. They lived in the palace of the Kalachuri kings of Karnataka. Lingayat is another form of Shaivism. The Lingayats, who were worshippers of Shaivism, rejected fasting, pilgrimage, and sacrifices.

North Indian Bhakti Movement

The ideas and activities that emerged in the Middle Ages based on devotion to God are generally called the Bhakti movement. Bhakti as a popular movement first grew in South India. The Bhakti movement, which began in Tamil Nadu, later spread to North India. Historians point out that the main feature of the Bhakti movement is its active female presence. The ideas of Bhakti were spread in North India by scholars and saints. The prominent leaders of the Bhakti movement were Jnaneshwaran, Namadeva, Ramananda, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya, and Mirabai.

The results of the devotional movement

◆ The idea of ​​social equality against caste discrimination was strengthened by the Bhakti movement.

◆ The concept of gender equality began to take shape.

◆ When Kabir and Lal ded, who were backward in caste, led the Bhakti movement, the idea of ​​social equality gained popularity.

◆ Regional languages ​​have developed.

◆ Immorality was questioned.

◆ Challenged orthodox Brahminical traditions.

◆ Representation was given to women and those who were marginalized as lower castes.

◆ Made contributions to literature and music.

Leaders of the Bhakti movement

Jnaneshwar: One of the early teachers of the Bhakti movement, Jnaneshwar was a monk from Maharashtra. He prepared a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. In it, he gave equal importance to knowledge, action, and devotion. He wrote the Gita in Marathi, their language, so that the common people could understand it. 

Namadeva: Namadeva, the successor of Jnaneshwar, was a tailor. He lived as a robber for some time before taking up sannyasa. His poems, written in Marathi, extol the greatness of deep love and worship of God. Namadeva, who believed in the oneness of God, preached that salvation could be achieved only through love of God. He believed that idol worship and external rituals could not lead people to salvation. After Namadeva, Tukaram and Ramdas took the lead in the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.

Ramananda: Another master of the Bhakti movement, Ramananda was born into a Brahmin family in Allahabad. He was the one who introduced the system of worshipping Rama instead of Vishnu. A staunch devotee of Rama, he spread his doctrine of devotion to people belonging to all four castes. He ignored the prohibition against people of different castes cooking and eating together. People from all castes, including the lower castes, were his disciples. Among Ramananda's 12 important disciples, Ravidas was a shoemaker, Kabir was a weaver, Sena was a barber, and Sadhanan was a butcher.

Kabir: Apart from being a poet of the Bhakti movement, he was also a social reformer who had a wide influence on the people. Kabir believed that God was the invisible form of Brahma. Concerned by the disastrous effects of the four castes, Kabir exposed the primitive injustices that existed in the Hindu society through his poems. Although he could not obtain higher education, Kabir was able to formulate and propagate ideas that were considered innovative at that time. He founded a new religion, 'Santism', which was acceptable to all people. The basic principles of Santism are human brotherhood and a sense of God's greatness. Ordinary people of different castes and religions became his followers. He traveled all over the country and spread his theories. He opposed giving up household life to take up asceticism.

Guru Nanak: At a very young age, he became proficient in Punjabi, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Parsi. He emphasized monotheism and tried to unify the principles of Hinduism and Islam. He was an advocate of religious tolerance and universal brotherhood. He opposed the external rituals of Hinduism and Islam, idolatry, and pilgrimage. He promoted the middle path of combining household duties with spiritual life. Guru Nanak's contribution to the prayer songs is known as Shahbad. He advised his followers to prepare their meals from a common kitchen (langar). Nanak's ideas later paved the way for the origin of Sikhism.

Vallabhacharya: A devotee of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, Vallabhacharya belonged to a Telugu Brahmin family near Banaras. After his education, he went to the court of Krishnadevaraya and eventually settled in Kashmir and spread Krishna devotion. 

Chaitanya: A contemporary of Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya was the most famous of the Vaishnava saints. He was born in a Brahmin family in Nadia, Bengal. He gave up worldly life at the age of twenty-two and spent the rest of his life spreading his message of love and devotion to God. He traveled all over India, including Vrindavan, and tried to revive Krishna devotion there. Chaitanya spread the Kirtans. He believed that the presence of God could be experienced through love, devotion, song, and dance. Chaitanya spread his message to all people, regardless of caste or class. Some of his followers were from the lower strata of Hindu society. He was not opposed to idol worship. At the same time, he was not a traditionalist.

Mirabai: Mirabai is one of the most well-known names in the North Indian Bhakti movement. Mira was a Rajput princess from the princely state of Merta in Marwar, Rajasthan. Mira was married to Bhojan, son of Rana Sanga of Chittor, Rajasthan. But Mira, who was not interested in married life, left the palace and traveled all over the country with music. Mirabai's devotional songs in praise of Krishna are known as ' bhajans'. Mirabai composed many bhajans addressing Krishna. Mirabai accepted a leatherworker, Rayidas, as her guru. It was a protest against the caste system. People called Mira ' Bhaktamira '.