Hindu kingdoms, to the Mughals
Sandhya Sharma’s pioneering volume investigates Mughal Indian society and politics, as well as family dynamics, kinship, and caste, through Riti Kal literature. The author focuses on a form of Riti Kal known as Braja basha poetry, which was predominant in Western and North-Central India from the sixteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Interestingly, although this poetry was traditionally written by male poet-saints, those originating from Northern India are mostly penned from a female point of view.
As a result, Riti Kal as a genre advocated the conventional roles of women in family and society, and did so with sympathy and understanding. In addition, the majority of Braja basha poetry is mystical in nature, focusing on the spiritual union between a devotee and God. One of the most popular themes was the legend of Krishna (an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu) and his chief consort Radha. Through a chronological and historical framework, Sharma traces the development of the female role and the evolution of the Krishna-Radha narrative against contemporaneous socio-political and religious environments respectively. As a result, she has found through her extensive research that the literature is a reflection of the changes in North India, from being home to medieval Hindu kingdoms, to being controlled by the Mughals. The author’s use of this traditional form of Hindu literature offers an innovative and fresh perspective of understanding the influence of the Mughal Empire on North Indian life and culture.
The Introduction, which also acts as the first chapter, provides a sound foundation of understanding the genre of Riti Kal literature. It is made very clear, from Sharma’s concise overview, that Riti Kal is greatly diverse and complex, qualities that have prevented it from being used as a source for understanding Mughal impact on North India. In addition, this section of the book acquaints the reader with the wide variety of primary source material on the subject, and how it can be utilized as historical documentation. Chapter Two, Kinship, Caste, and Gender, investigates the relationship between the individual and society. Sharma addresses how the dynamics of the family emanates in larger kin groups and plays a role in the formation of caste. She is particularly interested in patriarchal joint families, how they affected societal development, and how they were affected by the changes brought on by the Mughals. In her discussion of familial ideologies and their position within society, she takes the opportunity to discuss the individual, and how conformist and nonconformist attitudes are indicators of continuity and change. At this point in the chapter, she shifts her attention to gender relations. What makes this discussion more insightful and especially profound is that Sharma looks at the issues of gender from a historical perspective and not according to our present day views. She also brings up an interesting point in her study; that the idealization of women in Riti Kal literature actually resulted in the oppression and objectification of women in society. Her examination concludes with a look at how different poets viewed women and gender relations through sociological, political, and familial frameworks, and how that affected their writings.
Chapter Three, Krishna and Radha, recounts the attributes, incidents, and myths attached to the legends of the two figures over time. Sharma re-evaluates the emotional and devotional portrayal of Krishna and Radha that were first set forth by nineteenth century scholars and historians. She looks at different traditions of the duo, as well as their divine and human forms, through a comparison between Indian religious traditions and colonial perceptions. The author brilliantly continues her assessment of gender relations by looking at the treatment of Krishna and Radha in devotional poetry and how their roles changed and developed over time. As a result, she demonstrates that Radha takes precedence in power over the god Krishna, which an interesting juxtaposition to the contemporary views of women and religious practices.
Three works are acutely examined in Chapter Four, Narratives from the Past: Shakuntala, Prabodh Chandrodaya Natak, and Sujan Vilas. Sharma uses these texts to support her argument that either Riti Kal poets, their patrons, or their audience (or perhaps all of the above), were making attempts to revive their literary and traditional past. Her comparison of these eighteenth century texts with their ancient counterparts allows for her to successfully demonstrate the impact of socio-political changes, brought on by the Mughals and later by colonialism, on pre-modern India.
Chapter Five, Rulers, Regions, and Wars: Histories in Verse, is an analysis of political narratives of the pre-modern period. By looking at political works contemporaneous to the poetry that Sharma has dedicated this book to, she allows the reader to gain a greater understanding of how much influence the changing environment had on Riti Kal literature. In addition, this section allows for a more comprehensive view of the relationship between the Mughal court at the different regions of Northern India. Through this chapter, Sharma successfully shows how the poetry reveals shifting patterns of alliances and rivalries between different geographical regions and the Mughal Empire, particularly between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Sharma’s conclusion is an overview of the book. Her brief summary reiterates the necessity of her examination, and how important this traditional type of Indian literature is to understanding the dynamics between the Mughal Empire and the indigenous society, politics, and culture of the subcontinent. Sharma has paved the way for future research and scholarship in using literature as a platform for understanding the dynamic environment of pre-modern India. Her fresh and new perspective only helps achieve a greater understanding of the extent of the Mughals’ influence on traditional practices, and also proves that this type of material should not be treated so flippantly. This book, filled with wonderful color plates, is a necessity to scholars, students, and those interested in learning more about pre-modern India.
Rachel Parikh, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (rachel.parikh@metmuseum.org)