Product Code Database
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of Bhakti to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during the 6th century CE, it gained prominence through the poems and teachings of the Vaishnava Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars in early medieval South India, before spreading northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
The Bhakti movement regionally developed around different Hindu gods and goddesses, and some sub-sects were Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Shakti goddesses), and Smartism. (1999). 9788175330931, MD Publications. ISBN 9788175330931 The Bhakti movement preached using the local languages so that the message reached the masses. The movement was inspired by many poet-saints, who championed a wide range of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism of Dvaita to absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta.
The movement has traditionally been considered an influential social reformation in Hinduism, as it provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality, regardless of one's birth or gender. Contemporary scholars question whether the Bhakti movement was ever a reform or rebellion of any kind. They suggest that the Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking, and recontextualisation of ancient Vedic traditions.
Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love for and devotion towards religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellect. The connotation of love in this context is not one of uncritical emotion but committed engagement. The Bhakti movement in Hinduism refers to ideas and engagement that emerged in the medieval era on love and devotion to religious concepts built around one or more gods and goddesses. The Bhakti movement preached against the caste system and used local languages and so the message reached the masses. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.
This verse is notable for the use of the word Bhakti, and has been widely cited as among the earliest mentions of "the love of God".WN Brown (1970), Man in the Universe: Some Continuities in Indian Thought, University of California Press, , pages 38-39 Scholars have debated whether this phrase is authentic or later insertion into the Upanishad, and whether the terms "Bhakti" and "God" meant the same in this ancient text as they do in the medieval and modern era Bhakti traditions found in India.Max Muller, The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages xxxii – xliiPaul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 301-304 Max Muller states that the word Bhakti appears in only one verse of the epilogue at its end, may have been a later insertion and may not be theistic as the word was later used in much Sandilya Sutras.Max Muller, The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages xxxiv and xxxvii
Grierson, as well as Carus, note that the first epilogue verse 6.21 is also notable for its use of the word Deva Prasada (देवप्रसाद, grace or gift of God), but add that Deva in the epilogue of the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad refers to "pantheistic Brahman" and the closing credit to sage Śvetāśvatara in verse 6.21 can mean "gift or grace of his Soul".
Doris Srinivasan states that the Upanishad is a treatise on theism, but it creatively embeds a variety of divine images, an inclusive language that allows "three Vedic definitions for a personal deity".D Srinivasan (1997), Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes, Brill, , pages 96-97 and Chapter 9 The Upanishad includes verses wherein God can be identified with the Supreme (Brahman-Atman, Self, Soul) in Vedanta monistic theosophy, verses that support the dualistic view of Samkhya doctrines, as well as the synthetic novelty of triple Brahman where a triune exists as the divine soul (Isvara, theistic God), individual soul (self) and nature (Prakrti, matter).
Tsuchida writes that the Upanishad syncretically combines monistic ideas of the Upanishads and the self-development ideas of Yoga with personification of the deity Rudra. Hiriyanna interprets the text to be introducing "personal theism" in the form of Shiva Bhakti, with a shift to monotheism but in the henotheistic context where the individual is encouraged to discover his own definition and sense of God.M. Hiriyanna (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 32-36
In verses 6.31 through 6.47 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes bhakti yoga and loving devotion as one of the several paths to the highest spiritual attainments. (2025). 9789004147577, Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9789004147577Christopher Key Chapple (Editor) and Winthrop Sargeant (Translator), The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, , pages 302-303, 318
According to Brockington, the initial Tamils Bhakti movement was characterized by "a personal relationship between the deity and the devotee", and "fervent emotional experience in response to divine grace". The Bhakti movement in Tamil Nadu was composed of two main parallel groups: Shaivism (who also worshipped local deities like Shiva or his son Kartikeya) and Vaishnavism (who also worshipped local deities like Tirumāl). The Vaishnavism Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars and, who lived between 5th and 9th century CE. They promoted love of a personal God first and foremost which is also expressed by love of one's fellow human beings. They also wrote and sang hymns of praise to their God, and came from numerous social classes, even Shudra.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity, pp. 130-33. Edinburgh University Press. These poet saints became the backbone of the Sri Vaishnavism and Shaiva Siddhanta traditions.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity, pp. 139-140. Edinburgh University Press.
The Alvars, which literally means "those immersed in God", were Vaishnava poet-saints who sang praises of Vishnu as they traveled from one place to another. They established temple sites such as Srirangam, and spread ideas about Vaishnavism. Various poems were compiled as Alvar Arulicheyalgal or Divya Prabandham, developed into an influential scripture for the Vaishnavas. The Bhagavata Purana's references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis on bhakti, have led many scholars to give it South Indian origins though some scholars question whether that evidence excludes the possibility that Bhakti movement had parallel developments in other parts of India.
Like the Alvars, the Shaiva Nayanars were Bhakti poet saints. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns on Shiva by sixty-three Nayanar poet-saints, developed into an influential scripture in Shaivism. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread spiritual ideas built around Shiva. Early Tamil-Shiva Bhakti poets influenced Hindu texts that came to be revered all over India.
For example, in Kannada-speaking regions (roughly modern Karnataka), the Bhakti movement arrived in the 12th century, with the emergence of Basava and his Lingayatism, which were known for their total rejection of caste distinctions and the authority of the Vedas, their promotion of the religious equality of women, and their focus on worshipping a small lingam, which they always carried around their necks, as opposed to images in temples run by elite priesthoods.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. pp. 145–147. Edinburgh University Press. Another important Kannada figure in the Bhakti movement was Madhvacharya (c. 12–13th centuries), a great and prolific scholar of Vedanta, who promoted the theology of dualism (Dvaita Vedanta).Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. p. 148. Edinburgh University Press.
Similarly, the Bhakti movement in Odisha (known as Jñanamisrita bhakti or Dadhya Bhakti) also began in the 12th century. It included various scholars including Jayadeva (the 12th-century author of the Gita Govinda), and it had become a mass movement by the 14th century. Figures like Balarama Dasa, Achyutananda, Jasobanta Dasa, Ananta Dasa and Jagannatha Dasa preached Bhakti through public Kirtan across Odisha. Jagannath was and remains the center of the Odisha Bhakti movement.
The Bhakti movements also spread to the north later, particularly during the flowering of northern Bhakti yoga of the 15th and the 16th centuries. Perhaps the earliest of the northern bhakti figures was Nimbarkacharya (c. 12th century), a Brahmin from Andhra Pradesh who moved to Vrindavan. He defended a similar theology to Ramanuja, which he called Bhedabheda (difference and non-difference).Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. p. 151. Edinburgh University Press. Other important northern bhaktas include Namdev (c. 1270–1350), Ramananda, and Eknath (c. 1533–1599).Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. p. 152. Edinburgh University Press.
Another important development was the rise of the Sant Mat movement, which drew from Nath tradition and Vaishnavism. Kabir was a saint known for Hindi poetry that expressed a rejection of external religion in favor of inner experience. After his death, his followers founded the Kabir panth.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. p. 157. Edinburgh University Press. A similar movement sharing the same Sant Mat Bhakti background that drew on both Hinduism and Islam, was founded by the Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the first Guru of Sikhism.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. p. 158. Edinburgh University Press.
In Bengal, the most famous composer of Vaishnava devotional songs was Chandidas (1339–1399).Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. pp. 162–165. Edinburgh University Press. He was celebrated in the popular Bengali Vaishnava-Sahajiya movement. One the most influential of the northern Hindu Bhakti traditions was the Krishnaism Gaudiya Vaishnavism of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in Bengal. Chaitanya eventually came to be seen by the Bengali Vaishnavas as an Avatar of Krishna himself. Another important leader of northern Vaishnava Bhakti was Vallabha (1479–1531 CE) who founded the Pushtimarg tradition in Braj.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. pp. 165–166. Edinburgh University Press.
Some scholars state that the Bhakti movement's rapid spread in India in the 2nd millennium was in part a response to the arrival of IslamThe earliest arrival dates are contested by scholars. They range from the 7th to 9th century, with Muslim traders settling in coastal regions of the Indian subcontinent, to Muslims seeking asylum in Tamil Nadu, to Muslim raids in northwestern India by Muhammad bin Qasim. See:
and subsequent Islamic rule in India and Hindu-Muslim conflicts. That view is contested by some scholars, with Rekha Pande stating that singing ecstatic Bhakti hymns in local language had been a tradition in South India before Muhammad was born. According to Pande, the psychological impact of Muslim conquests may have initially contributed to community-style Bhakti by Hindus. However, other scholars state that Muslim invasions, the conquests of Hindu Bhakti temples in South India and the seizure and the melting of musical instruments such as cymbals from local people were part responsible for the later relocation or demise of singing Bhakti traditions in the 18th century.
According to Wendy Doniger, the nature of the Bhakti movement may have been affected by the daily practices to "surrender to God" of Islam when it arrived in India. In turn, that influenced devotional practices in Islam such as Sufism, and other religions in India from the 15th century onwards, such as Sikhism, Christianity, and Jainism.
Klaus Witz, in contrast, traces the history and nature of the Bhakti movement to the Upanishads and the Vedanta foundations of Hinduism. He writes that in virtually every Bhakti movement poet, "the Upanishadic teachings form an all-pervasive substratum, if not a basis. We have here a state of affairs that has no parallel in the West. Supreme Wisdom, which can be taken as basically non-theistic and as an independent wisdom tradition (not dependent on the Vedas), appears fused with the highest level of bhakti and with the highest level of God-realization."
The writings of Sankardev in Assam, however, included an emphasis on the regional language and also led to the development of an artificial literary language called Brajavali. Brajavali is, to an extent, a combination of medieval Maithili and Assamese.'The Brajabuli idiom developed in Orissa and Bengal also. But as Dr Sukumar Sen has pointed out "Assamese Brajabuli seems to have developed through direct connection with Mithila" ( A History of Brajabuli Literature, Calcutta, 1931 p1). This artificial dialect had Maithili as its basis to which Assamese was added.' The language was easily understood by the local populace, in line with the Bhakti movement's call for inclusion, but also retained its literary style. A similar language, called Brajabuli was popularised by Vidyapati, which was adopted by several writers in Odisha in the medieval times, and in Bengal during its renaissance.
The earliest writers from the 7th to 10th centuries, who are known to have influenced the movements driven by poet-saints, include Sambandar, Tirunavukkarasar, Sundarar, Nammalvar, Adi Shankara, Manikkavacakar and Araiyar Sevai. Several 11th- and 12th-century writers developed different philosophies within the Vedanta school of Hinduism that were influential to the Bhakti tradition in medieval India, and they include Ramanuja, Madhvacharya, Vallabha Acharya and Nimbarka.Richard Kieckhefer and George Bond (1990), Sainthood: Its Manifestations in World Religions, University of California Press, , pages 116-122Axel Michaels (2003), Hinduism: Past and Present, Princeton University Press, , pages 62-65 These writers championed a spectrum of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism, qualified nondualism and absolute monism.
The Bhakti movement also witnessed several works getting translated into various Indian languages. Saundarya Lahari was written in Sanskrit by Adi Shankara and was translated into Tamil language in the 12th century by Virai Kaviraja Pandithar, who titled the book Abhirami Paadal. Similarly, the first translation of the Ramayana into an Indo-Aryan language was by Madhava Kandali, who translated it into Assamese as the Saptakanda Ramayana. (2008). 9781424424085, IEEE. ISBN 9781424424085
Shandilya and Narada are credited with two Bhakti texts, Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra, but both have been dated to the 12th century by modern scholars.
Both views had parallels in the ancient pantheistic formless and theistic traditions, respectively, and are traceable to a dialogue in the Bhagavad Gita. These two may be considered to be the same Brahman, as viewed from two perspectives: a formless mode focused on wisdom ( jñana) and a form mode, focused on love. Nirguna Bhakti poetry is more focused on jñana, and Saguna bhakti poetry focuses on love ( prema). In Bhakti, the emphasis is reciprocal love and devotion in which the devotee loves God, and God loves the devotee.
The concepts of Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, which is at the root of Bhakti theology, underwent more profound developments with the ideas of the Vedanta schools, particularly those of Adi Shankara's 8th-century Advaita Vedanta (absolute nondualism / monism), Ramanuja's 12th-century Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (a qualified nondualism that posits unity and diversity), and Madhvacharya's (c. 12th-13th century) Dvaita Vedanta (which posits a true dualism between God and the Ātman).
According to David Lorenzen, the idea of bhakti for a Nirguna Brahman has been a baffling one to scholars since it offers "heart-felt devotion to a God without attributes, without even any definable personality". However, given the "mountains of Nirguni bhakti literature", Bhakti for Nirguna Brahman has been a part of the reality of the Hindu tradition along with the Bhakti for Saguna Brahman.David Lorenzen (1996), Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India, State University of New York Press, , page 2 Thus, these were two alternate ways of imagining God even in the Bhakti movement.
The Nirguna and Saguna forms of Bhakti may be found in two 12th-century treatises on bhakti: the Sandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra. Sandilya leans towards Nirguna Bhakti, and Narada leans towards Saguna Bhakti.Jessica Frazier and Gavin Flood (2011), The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies, Bloomsbury Academic, , pages 113-115
the dispute was over the question of human effort versus divine grace in achieving salvation, a controversy often and not unreasonably compared to the Arminian and Calvinist standpoints within Protestantism. The Northern school held that the worshipper had to make some effort to win the grace of the Lord and emphasised the performance of karma, a position commonly summed up as being ‘on the analogy of the monkey and its young’, for as the monkey carries her young which cling to her body so Visnu saves the worship per who himself makes an effort. The Southern school held that the Lord’s grace itself conferred salvation, a position ‘on the analogy of the cat and its kittens’, for just as the cat picks up her kittens in her mouth and carries them off willy-nilly, so Visnu saves whom he wills, without effort on their part.Brockington, J. L. (1996). The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity, p. 139. Edinburgh University Press.
Poet-saints grew in popularity, and literature on devotional songs in regional languages became profuse. These poet-saints championed a wide range of philosophical positions within their society, ranging from the theistic dualism of Dvaita to the absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta. Kabir, a poet-saint, for example, wrote in Upanishadic style, the state of knowing truth:
The early-15th-century Bhakti poet-Sant Pipa stated:Nirmal Dass (2000), Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, State University of New York Press, , pages 181-184
The Bhakti movement also led to the prominence of the concept of female devotion, poet-saints such as Andal coming to occupy the popular imagination of the common people along with her male counterparts. Andal went a step further by composing hymns in praise of God in vernacular Tamil, rather than Sanskrit, in verses known as the Nachiyar Tirumoli, or the Woman's Sacred Verses:
The impact of the Bhakti movement in India was similar to that of the Protestant Reformation of Christianity in Europe. It evoked shared religiosity, direct emotional and intellection of the divine and the pursuit of spiritual ideas without the overhead of institutional superstructures. Practices emerged bringing new forms of spiritual leadership and social cohesion among the medieval Hindus such as community singing, the chanting together of deity names; festivals; pilgrimages; and rituals relating to Saivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.Karen Pechelis (2011), The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (Editor: Jessica Frazier), Bloomsbury, , pages 22-23, 107-118 Many of these regional practices have survived into the modern era.
The Guru Granth Sahib, the scripture of the Sikhs, contains the hymns of 6 (possibly 7 or 8) out of the 10 Sikh gurus, 14 Hindu bhagats and one Muslim Bhagat.E Nesbitt (2014), in The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (Editors: Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech), Oxford University Press, , pages 360-369 Some of the bhagats whose hymns were included in the Guru Granth Sahib, were Bhakti poets who taught their ideas before the birth of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. The fourteen Hindu bhagats whose hymns were entered into the text were poet saints of the Bhakti movement, and included Namdev, Bhagat Pipa, Ravidas, Kabir, Bhagat Beni, Bhagat Bhikhan, Bhagat Dhanna, Jayadeva, Bhagat Parmanand, Bhagat Sadhana, Bhagat Sain, Surdas and Trilochan, and the one Muslim bhagat and Sufi saint Baba Farid.Mahinder Gulati (2008), Comparative Religious and Philosophies: Anthropomorphism and Divinity, Atlantic, , page 302;
HS Singha (2009), The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Hemkunt Press, , page 8
Most of the 5,894 hymns in the Sikh scriptures came from the Sikh gurus, the rest from the Bhagats. The three highest contributions in the Sikh scripture of non-Sikh bhagats were from Bhagat Kabir (541 hymns), Bhagat Farid (134 hymns) and Bhagat Namdev (62 hymns). (2025). 9781451499636, Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451499636
Sikhism shared beliefs with the Bhakti movement, Quote: "Historically, Sikh religion derives from this nirguni current of bhakti religion"Louis Fenech (2014), in The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (Editors: Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech), Oxford University Press, , page 35, Quote: "Technically this would place the Sikh community's origins at a much further remove than 1469, perhaps to the dawning of the Sant movement, which possesses clear affinities to Guru Nanak's thought sometime in the tenth century. The predominant ideology of the Sant parampara in turn corresponds in many respects to the much wider devotional Bhakti tradition in northern India." Sikhism, Encyclopædia Britannica (2014), Quote: "In its earliest stage Sikhism was clearly a movement within the Hindu tradition; Nanak has raised a Hindu and eventually, belonged to the Sant tradition of northern India," and incorporated hymns from the Bhakti poet-saints, it was not simply an extension of the Bhakti movement. For instance, it disagreed with some of the views of the Bhakti sants Kabir and Ravidas.These views include Sikhs believing in achieving blissful mukhti while alive, Sikhs emphasizing the path of the householder, Sikh's disbelief in Ahinsa, and the Sikhs afterlife aspect of merging with God rather than physical heaven.
Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, shared some devotional ideas with the Bhakti movement but founded Sikhism, teaching the oneness of God beyond religious labels—he famously said, ‘There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim, only God’. He taught, states Jon Mayled, that the most important form of worship is Bhakti. Nam-simran – the realisation of God – is an important Bhakti practice in Sikhism. (2025). 9789004221116, BRILL Academic. ISBN 9789004221116 Guru Arjan, in his Sukhmani Sahib, recommended the true religion is one of loving devotion to God. (2025). 9788170103677, Hemkunt Press. ISBN 9788170103677 The Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib includes suggestions for a Sikh to perform constant Bhakti. The Bhakti themes in Sikhism also incorporate Shakti (power) ideas.
Some Sikh sects outside Punjab, such as those found in Maharashtra and Bihar, practice Arti with lamps in a gurdwara. Arti and devotional prayer ceremonies are also found in Ravidassia sect
Madeleine Biardeau states, like Jeanine Miller, that the Bhakti movement was neither reform nor a sudden innovation but the continuation and expression of ideas to be found in Vedas, Bhakti Marga teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the Katha Upanishad and the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.Madeleine Biardeau (1994), Hinduism: The Anthropology of a Civilization (Original: French), Oxford University Press, (English Translation by Richard Nice), pages 89-91J Miller (1996), Does Bhakti appear in the Rgveda?: An enquiry into the background of the hymns, ; see also J Miller (1995), in Love Divine: Studies in 'Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism (Editor: Karel Werner), Routledge, , pages 5, 8-9, 11-32
John Stratton Hawley describes recent scholarship that questions the old theory of the Bhakti movement's origin and story of art coming from the south and moving north". He states that the movement had multiple origins by mentioning Brindavan in North India as another centre. Hawley describes the controversy and disagreements between Indian scholars and quotes Hegde's concern of Bhakti movement being a reform a theory that has been supported by "cherry-picking particular songs from a large corpus of Bhakti literature". He states that if the entirety of the literature by any single author like Basava is considered along with its historical context, there is neither reform nor a need for reform.
Sheldon Pollock writes that the Bhakti movement was neither a rebellion against Brahmins and the upper castes nor a rebellion against Sanskrit since many of the prominent thinkers and earliest champions of the Bhakti movement were Brahmins or from other upper castes. Also, early and later Bhakti poetry and other literature werre in Sanskrit.Sheldon Pollock (2009), The Language of the Gods in the World of Men, University of California Press, , pages 423-431 Further, Pollock considers that evidence of Bhakti trends in ancient Southeast Asian Hinduism in the 1st millennium CE, such as those in Cambodia and Indonesia, where the Vedic period was unknown, and upper-caste Tamil Hindu nobles and merchants introduced Bhakti ideas of Hinduism, suggest that the roots and the nature of the Bhakti movement were primarily spiritual and political quests, rather than the rebellion of some form.Sheldon Pollock (2009), The Language of the Gods in the World of Men, University of California Press, , pages 529-534Keat Gin Ooi (2004), Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, , page 587
John Guy states that the evidence of Hindu temples and Chinese inscriptions from the 8th century CE about Tamil merchants presents Bhakti motifs in Chinese trading towns, particularly Quanzhou's Kaiyuan Temple. They show that Saivite, Vaishnavite and Hindu Brahmin monasteries revered Bhakti themes in China.John Guy (2001), The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400 (Editor: Angela Schottenhammer), Brill Academic, , pages 283-299
Scholars increasingly drop, according to Karen Pechilis, the old premises and the language of "radical otherness, monotheism and reform of orthodoxy" for the Bhakti movement. Many scholars now characterise the emergence of Bhakti in medieval India as a revival, reworking and recontextualization of the central themes of Vedic traditions.
|
|
