Chapter 4: Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries (History)

The 11th and 12th centuries saw the arrival of Turkic invaders and the beginning of foreign rule in parts of north India, which changed the political and religious map, while much of Indian life continued as before.

Changes:

1. The raids of Mahmūd of Ghazni and the conquests of Muhammad Ghūrī (victory at the second Battle of Tarain, 1192) led to the start of Turkic rule in north India (the Delhi Sultanate soon after).
2. Destruction of temples, cities and centres of learning like Nālandā and Vikramaśhilā, and the spread of Islam as a new faith in India's religious landscape.

Continuity:

1. Large parts of north India and all of south India remained under Indian dynasties (Cholas, Chālukyas, Hoysaḷas, Eastern Gangas, Paramāras, Chandellas), who kept fighting and allying with each other as before.
2. Temple building, art, literature and science flourished: the Bṛihadīśhvara temple, Kandāriyā Mahādeva temple, Bhāskarāchārya's mathematics (Līlāvatī), and trade with South-East Asia continued.

It marked the start of Turkic rule and the spread of Islam in north India (change: Mahmūd's raids, Ghūrī's conquest; destruction of Nālandā), while south India and much of the north stayed under Indian dynasties with flourishing temples, learning and trade (continuity).

Draw a star with "11th–12th centuries" at the centre and one dynasty on each point, with its region and capital:

Draw a star whose points are the Cholas, Western Chālukyas, Hoysaḷas, Eastern Gangas, Paramāras, Chandellas, Chāhamānas, Pālas/Senas and the invading Ghaznavids and Ghūrids, each with its region and capital.

Suggested tour (with arrows on the map):

Start in Tanjāvūr (Cholas; the Bṛihadīśhvara temple) → north to Gangaikoṇḍacholapuram → west to Belur and Halebidu (Hoysaḷas) → north to Kalyāṇi (Western Chālukyas) → north to Dhārā/Bhojpur (Paramāras; the Bhojeshwar temple) → east to Khajurāho (Chandellas; the Kandāriyā Mahādeva temple) → north-west to Ajmer (Chāhamānas; Pṛithvīrāja III) and Tarain (battles of 1191 and 1192) → east along the Ganga to Nālandā and Vikramaśhilā (Bihar; Pālas) → south-east to Konark and Puri (Eastern Gangas, Odisha) → by sea, follow Rājendra Chola's fleet towards the Strait of Malacca.

E.g. Tanjāvūr (Cholas) → Belur (Hoysaḷas) → Kalyāṇi (Chālukyas) → Dhārā/Bhojpur (Paramāras) → Khajurāho (Chandellas) → Ajmer and Tarain (Chāhamānas) → Nālandā (Bihar) → Konark (Eastern Gangas) → sea route to Malacca.

Rājendra I's fleet sailed from the Chola coast (near Nāgapaṭṭinam, Tamil Nadu) across the Bay of Bengal to Kaḍāram (Kedah, in present-day Malaysia) and other centres of the Śhrīvijaya empire around the Strait of Malacca and Sumatra.

On a map with a scale (for example, 1 cm = 200 km), the straight-line distance from Nāgapaṭṭinam to Kedah measures about 11–12 cm, i.e. roughly 2,200–2,500 km. Following the actual sea route (along the coast or via the Andaman Sea), the voyage would be about 2,500–3,000 km one way.

Roughly 2,200–2,500 km in a straight line from the Tamil coast (Nāgapaṭṭinam) to Kedah in Malaysia, about 2,500–3,000 km by the actual sea route.

(a) Eastern Gangas – (iii) Konark Sun temple

(b) Chandellas – (iv) Kandāriyā Mahādeva temple (Khajurāho)

(c) Paramāras – (v) Bhojeshwar temple (Bhojpur)

(d) Hoysaḷas – (i) Belur (Chennakeshava temple)

(e) Cholas – (ii) Bṛihadīśhvara temple (Thanjavur)

(a)–(iii), (b)–(iv), (c)–(v), (d)–(i), (e)–(ii)

(Some dynasties like the Paramāras and Chandellas began earlier as vassals of the Pratīhāras and became independent in this period.)

In both: Cholas, Chālukyas, Pālas. Disappear: Pallavas, Rāṣhṭrakūṭas, Pratīhāras, Harṣha's kingdom. Appear: Hoysaḷas, Eastern Gangas, Paramāras, Chandellas, Chāhamānas, Senas, Ghaznavids and Ghūrids.

(1) Importance: Nālandā (in Bihar) was one of the world's greatest centres of learning for about 700 years. Thousands of students and teachers from India and abroad (China, Tibet, Korea, South-East Asia) studied Buddhist philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, mathematics and astronomy there. Its huge library held countless manuscripts. Scholars like Xuanzang studied there, and its teachers spread Indian knowledge across Asia. Vikramaśhilā and other monasteries were similar centres.

(2) Effects of destruction: around 1200, the armies of Bakhtiyār Khaljī destroyed Nālandā and Vikramaśhilā, killed many monks and burnt their libraries. As a result:

• countless manuscripts and books were lost forever;
• teaching traditions were broken, and scholars fled to Tibet and Nepal;
• it hastened the decline of Buddhism in India;
• India lost a major centre that attracted international students, weakening learning and cultural exchange for a long time.

Nālandā drew students from across Asia to study philosophy, medicine, mathematics and more, with a vast library; its destruction (c. 1200, Bakhtiyār Khaljī) destroyed manuscripts, broke teaching traditions, hastened the decline of Buddhism and weakened Indian learning.

Mahmūd of Ghazni (raids c. 1000–1027): his main aim was wealth and plunder, to enrich his capital Ghazni and pay for his wars in Central Asia, and to gain prestige as a warrior of his faith. India's temples and cities (Mathura, Kannauj, Somanātha in 1025–26) held great treasures. He carried out 17 campaigns, returning to Ghazni after each with booty. Outcome: apart from annexing Punjab, he did not build lasting rule in the Ganga plains; he left behind destruction and weakened Indian kingdoms, but Indian dynasties continued to rule most of the north.

Muhammad Ghūrī (late 12th century): he aimed to conquer territory and rule it. After being defeated by Pṛithvīrāja III Chauhan at the first Battle of Tarain (1191), he returned and won the second Battle of Tarain (1192), captured Delhi and Ajmer, and left his generals (like Quṭbuddīn Aibak) to govern. Outcome: this laid the foundation of lasting Turkic rule and the Delhi Sultanate in north India, with a more centralised system of control.

Mahmūd sought plunder and prestige (17 raids, e.g. Somanātha), so he left destruction but no lasting rule beyond Punjab; Ghūrī sought territory and rule, won at Tarain in 1192 and left governors like Aibak, founding lasting Turkic rule (the Delhi Sultanate).