The Bhakti Movement: Renaissance or Revivalism?

283 Pages·2022·8.633 MB·English

by  P. Govinda Pillai

THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT
Renaissance or Revivalism?
This is a Comprehensive Survey of the Bhakti Movement as it sprang
in South India to spread across the subcontinent in independent
and multifarious manifestations yet marked with amazing
commonalities. Spanning a period of 11 centuries starting from the
6th CE, the movement encompassed in its sweep a vast range of
dimensions; Social, political, economic, religious, cultural, linguistic,
ethical and philosophical. Among the multifarious movements
which contributed to the formation of India and its Culture, the
Bhakti was undoubtedly the most pervasive and persistent, says
the author. Besides its sweep and depth, what proved most
remarkable about the movement was that it arose almost everywhere
from the masses who belonged to the lowest class and castes. Though
spirituality was its leitmotif, Bhakti proved to be a stirring song of
the subaltern in their varied expressions of resistance and revolt. A
seemingly conservative phenomenon became a potent weapon
against entrenched hierarchies of orthodoxy and oppression, in a
wonderful dialectical expression. This qualifies Bhakti movement
to be reckoned on a par with European renaissance as it marked a
massive upsurge in the societal value system to directly impact a
range of fields like arts, politics, culture or religion. Even as he takes
note of the elements of reactionary revivalism that also marked the
Bhakti movement, the author convincingly argues that those of
renaissance and progress far outweighed the former.
P. Govinda Pillai (b.1926) graduated from St. Xavier’s College,
Mumbai. He became a full time political, social and cultural activist
after his student life and was elected four times to the Kerala State
Legislature, first as a representative of the Communist Party of India
and later, the Communist Party of India (M). He was the Chief Editor
of Desabhimani, the CPI(M)’s mouthpiece in Malayalam, for more
than two decades. He has headed many institutions including the
Kerala State Film Corporation, Centre for Imaging Technology,
Kerala State Press Akademi etc. He is the author of about 35 books
based on a range of subjects including Marxist asesthetics, literarture
and culture, social movements and science.

THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT

Renaissance or Revivalism?

P. GOVINDA PILLAI
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 P. Govinda Pillai and Aakar Books
The right of P. Govinda Pillai to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Pakistan or Bhutan)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-36471-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-36473-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-33215-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003332152
Typeset in Palatino
by Sakshi Computers, Delhi
Contents
Preface vii

PART I: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1. The Cult and Movement 3

2. Declining Buddhism, Resurging Hinduism 9

3. The Problems of Origin and Nature 13

4. The Chronology and Geography 17

5. Social and Political Background 21

6. ‘Kali’: A Curse or Blessing? 26

7. The Warring Princes and Foreign Conquerors 29

8. The Triumvirate and Duumvirate 34

9. Heartland Moves South 41

PART II: A THOUSAND-YEAR STORY
10. Bhagavata Purana 47

11. The First Blossoms from the Deep South 50

12. Hindu Reformation 55

13. Nayanars 59

14. The Alvars 77

15. Vridhim Karnatake Gata 81

16. Bhakta Mira 93

17. Surdas: The Blind Singer 101

18. Ramananda and the Ramanandis 105
vi The Bhakti Movement
19. Varkaries, Vithoba and Pandharpur 117

20. Chokhamela: The Untouchable Saint 133

21. Tulsidas and Rama Bhakti 139

22. Guru Nanak and the Sikhs 143

23. Sufism and Bhakti 156

24. Bhakti and Fanaticism in Kashmir 165

25. Assam and Sankara Deva’s Vaishnavite Reforms 175

26. Chaitanya and Bengal Vaishnavism 190

27. Many Streams of Bhakti in Andhra 215

28. Dadupanthis and Panchavani 234

29. Kerala: A Latecomer 238

30. Conclusion 248

Bibliography 255

Index 259
Preface

This book on the Bhakti movement in India does not claim to be
exhaustive. Many individual protagonists of the Bhakti
movement as well as some sects and sub-sects deserving
mention have been left out for reasons of space. The aim was to
keep the book within limits notwithstanding the massive
dimension of the subject. If the responses of the readers are for
a more exhaustive treatment of the subject, we may do so in the
next edition. One difficulty that the author faced was the
diversity of languages in which the bhakti literatures appear.
Friends who knew these languages have helped me to
understand and translate them into English.
Following Dr A.K. Majumdar who wrote about Bhakti
Renaissance and Dr Savithri Chandra Sobha who dwelt upon
bhakti in Hindi poetry, I was originally inclined, without any
doubt, to characterise the movement as pure Renaissance.
However, after studying the subject more, I came to realize the
complexity of the phenomenon. Finally, I came to the conclusion
that the movement cannot be portrayed as Renaissance alone
but that it contains a strong element of conservative Revivalism
as well. In the concluding chapter, I have dealt with this problem
in detail. This is an aspect which deserves more research and
study.
Had it not been for the help of my friend, L. Parameswaran,
both in research and production, this book would not have been
realized. I thank him for his assistance. The excellent DTP work
done by D.K. Premalatha also needs to be acknowledged.
viii The Bhakti Movement
In spotting out and collecting the necessary books and other
materials, Dr Ravi Sankar S. Nair’s service is invaluable.
My son M.G. Radhakrishnan, a senior journalist, read
through the entire manuscript and edited it. The bibliography
prepared by him provides additional value to this work. Though
he does not expect me to thank him formally I cannot resist the
temptation to acknowledge his services.
It will not be out of place if I express my profound feelings
of gratitude to my friend Shri N.E. Sudheer for providing me
with necessary references and for all his efforts in bringing out
this book.
Gandhi Jayanthi 2011 P. GOVINDA PILLAI
P I
ART
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND