Religious liberalism in Rajput courts
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Secularism is a cherished ideal in India and is founded in the country's philosophical traditions and eclectic culture.[citation needed] In past centuries, various Rajput kings have practised secularism in their support of faiths other than their own.
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[edit] Founding principles
One of the earliest historical expositions of secularism in India is found in the famous inscriptions, dating to the 3rd century BC, of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. The following excerpt is from from Edict No. 12 of Rock Edicts:
- "The beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadassi, honors both ascetics and householders of all religions, and he honours them with gifts and honours of various kinds. But Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadassi, does not value gifts and honors as much as he values this -- that there should be growth in the essentials of all religions. Growth in essentials can be done in different ways, but all of them have as their root restraint in speech, that is, not praising one's own religion, or condemning the religion of others without good cause. And if there is cause for criticism, it should be done in a mild way.
- But it is better to honour other religions for this reason. By so doing, one's own religion benefits, and so do other religions, while doing otherwise harms one's own religion and the religions of others. Whoever praises his own religion, due to excessive devotion, and condemns others with the thought "Let me glorify my own religion," only harms his own religion. Therefore contact (between religions) is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadassi, desires that all should be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions."
Similarly, King Kharavela (2nd century BC) of present-day Orissa says: "savva pasaNDa-puujako, savva devaayatan-sa.nskaarako". Translation: "(I am) the worshipper of all sects, restorer of all shrines."
Thus, kings in India often saw themselves as being protectors of all faiths. The principles thus set out by important political (rather than religious) figures over two millennia ago are consonant with the living traditions of all the Indic religions, being Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The Hindu tradition equally honours several different interpretations of the nature of the human soul and of Godhead.
[edit] Practise in Rajput states
These principles have arguably informed Indian attitudes to religion through the ages, and some manifestations of this liberalism are evident in the acts of Rajput rulers who held sway over substantial areas of the country in past centuries.
[edit] Support of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism, the state religion of Sassanid Persia, was supplanted by Islam following the defeat of Yazdgerd III at the Battle of Nihawand in 642 AD. In due course, the residence of non-Muslims became untenable and many Zoroastrians who continued to adhere to their ancestral faith were forced to emigrate.
According to the Qissa-i Sanjan, an epic poem written c. 1600, one group of those fleeing Zoroastrians landed in what is now Gujarat, India. They were granted refuge by the local king Jadi Rana, and were allowed to practise their religion freely. These refugees would later found the city of Sanjan (in present-day Gujarat; cf. Sanjan in Greater Khorasan).
There is an even older tradition which links the Zoroastrians to India. Many Rajput rulers built temples to the Sun-God (Mithra or Mihira in Persian). By tradition, only the Maga/Bhojaka priests, originally from Shaka-dvipa (present-day Afghanistan) were entitled to conduct worship in these temples. The Maga (termed Magi in the New Testament) were priests belonging to the Mazdayasni (Zoroastrian) tradition.
[edit] Support of the Buddhism
Buddhism had a significant present in several early Rajput kingdoms, although that faith had declined in popularity during the Gupta period, whose era preceded that of the early Rajput kingdoms.
The Gahadvalas were an early Rajput dynasty who ruled a substantial area in present-day Uttar Pradesh in the 12th century. Gahadvala Govindchandra (1114—1154 AD) supported the construction of a large Buddhist vihara at Jetavana. A copper-plate grant of Govindachandra dated AD 1129 mentions the donation of several villages to the Jetavana Mahavihara, the chief of whom was Buddha-Bhattaraka. An inscription (c.1170 AD) by Gahadvala Jayachandra, located at Bodhgaya, opens with an invocation to lord Buddha, the Bodhisattvas and the king’s own preceptor, a monk named Srimitra. It mentions the construction of a cave-monastery at Jayapura. The dikshaguru of Jayachandra was Jaganmitrananda (Mitrayogi), who is considered one of the Mahasiddhas; his book, the Chandra-raja-lekha, has survived in its Tibetan translation.
Numerous other examples of Rajput support to Buddhist institutions exist. Inscriptions documenting the renewal of grants to Buddhist Viharas by the Chandellas of Bundelkhand is one example. The Ajanta caves are Buddhist and were created in the Rashtrakuta kingdom. The Shilaharas of Kolhapur are also known to have richly supported both Jainism and Buddhism.
[edit] Support of Jainism
Jainism veritably flourished during Rajput rule. Jains were often appointed to high government positions, and Rajput kings richly supported Jain scholars and institutions. Numberless Jain temples ornamenting the landscapes of Rajasthan and Gujarat, including those at Mount Abu, Palitana and Osian, bear testimony to the support extended by Rajput rulers to the Jain tradition.
[edit] References
- Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture, Sukumar Dutt. 1962.
- The Rise and Decline of Buddhism in India, Kanai Lal Hazra
- Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas, Delhi, 1934
