Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries — Class 7 Social Science
Exploring Society Part 2 · Chapter 4
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2- Mathematics
- Space weighted by chapter size
- Charts from the book's own data
- Traps corrected
- Space weighted by chapter size
- Charts from the book's own data
- Traps corrected
- Space weighted by chapter size
- Charts from the book's own data
- Traps corrected
Chapter summary
Key ideas & terms
- Turkic
- Peoples, languages and cultures historically associated with a vast region from Central Asia to Turkey, the source of the invaders of this period.
- Khyber Pass
- A major mountain pass through the Hindu Kush range, long a trade route and the entry point for many invaders into the Subcontinent.
- Sultan
- A word of Arabic origin meaning 'authority' or 'power', a title assumed by rulers like Mahmud to mean a sovereign king.
- Lilavati
- Bhaskaracharya's famous mathematics text that uses lively riddles and problems to teach basic mathematics.
- Second Battle of Tarain
- The 1192 battle in which Muhammad Ghuri defeated Prithviraja III, opening the way to the conquest of Delhi.
- Vachanas
- Short Kannada poems by the reformer Basaveshvara that convey his spiritual and ethical vision and his rejection of caste distinctions.
Extra questions & answers
Why are the 11th and 12th centuries seen as a turning point?
Because invasions by Turkic powers penetrated much deeper into north India than before and marked the start of foreign rule in parts of the north, altering the balance of power and bringing Islam as a new creed.
Who were the Hindu Shahis, and why was the Khyber Pass important?
The Hindu Shahis were a powerful dynasty that resisted invasions and controlled the Khyber Pass, a major mountain pass and trade route through which many invaders entered the Subcontinent.
How many campaigns did Mahmud of Ghazni conduct, and what did he do?
He conducted seventeen campaigns into India, plundering and destroying temples at Mathura, Kannauj and Somnath and returning each time to Ghazni with huge amounts of booty.
Who was al-Biruni, and what did he write?
He was a Persian scholar who accompanied Mahmud, learned Sanskrit, read Indian texts, and wrote an encyclopaedic survey of Indian religion, philosophy, literature, geography and sciences.
Who was Bhaskaracharya?
Born in 1114, he was one of India's greatest mathematicians and astronomers, author of the Lilavati, Bijaganita and Siddhantashiromani, whose works remained popular for centuries.
Why were the Cholas called masters of the seas?
Under Rajaraja and Rajendra Chola the empire conquered islands and parts of Sri Lanka and launched a famous naval expedition against the Shrivijaya Empire to protect its maritime trade.
Who was Bhoja of the Paramaras?
He was a scholar-king of Malwa who ruled from 1010 for almost half a century, known for efficient governance, public works like the Bhojtal lake, and writing treatises on many subjects.
What happened at the two Battles of Tarain?
Prithviraja III defeated Muhammad Ghuri at the First Battle of Tarain in 1191, but Muhammad returned with a larger army and defeated him at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192.
What did Bakhtiyar Khilji do in eastern India?
He conducted campaigns from the end of the 12th century, conquering Bihar and Bengal and destroying great Buddhist centres of learning like Nalanda and Vikramashila, which hastened the decline of Buddhism in India.
What thinkers and reformers appeared in this period?
Ramanujacharya developed the school of vishishtadvaita vedanta emphasising bhakti, while Basaveshvara founded the Lingayat movement, rejecting caste distinctions and writing vachanas in Kannada.
The Big Questions
1. Why are the 11th and 12th centuries seen as a period of transition in Indian history?
The 11th and 12th centuries are seen as a transition because older political orders declined and new ones appeared, while foreign Turkic invasions for the first time penetrated deep into north India and began to establish lasting control in parts of it. At the same time Indian kingdoms in the south and east still flourished, trade and cultural life continued, and new ideas, literature, science and temple architecture developed, so the period shows both major political change and continuity.
2. Which new powers emerged during this period? What were the essential features of their economic, military and administrative systems?
New powers included the Ghaznavids and later the Ghurids from the northwest, and within India the Cholas in Tamil Nadu, the Paramāras in Malwa, the Chandellas, the Chaulukyas or Solankis in Gujarat, the Chahamānas or Chauhans in Rajasthan and Delhi, the Senas and Eastern Gangas in eastern India, and the Kakatiyas and Hoysalas in the Deccan and south Karnataka. Economically they depended mainly on agriculture with irrigation works like tanks, wells, canals and lakes such as Bhojpal, plus internal and overseas trade through ports and merchant guilds and tribute from vassals. Militarily they kept large armies with foot soldiers, cavalry with mounted archers, elephants and forts, and the Cholas had a strong navy. Administratively they had a king at the centre with officials for revenue collection, local village self-governance especially under the Kakatiyas and Cholas, and the Ghurids introduced temporary land assignments to officers for revenue and military service, a more centralised system.
3. What high accomplishments in art, architecture, literature, science, etc., do we come across during this period?
The period saw great temples such as the Brihadishvara at Thanjavur, the temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, the Bhojeshwar temple, the Thousand Pillar temple at Hanamkonda, the Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura, and the Kandariya Mahadeva and Lakshmana temples at Khajuraho, plus Angkor Wat in Cambodia influenced by India. In literature there were Sanskrit works like Bhoja's Samaranganasutradhara and Someshvara III's Manasollasa and Jayadeva's Gitagovinda, and Telugu and Kannada growth under Kakatiyas and Hoysalas. In science Bhaskaracharya wrote Lilavati, Bijaganita and Siddhantashiromani with pioneering mathematics and astronomy, and al-Biruni documented Indian knowledge. Philosophers and reformers like Ramanujacharya with Vishishtadvaita and Basaveshvara with the Lingayat movement and vachanas and the anubhava mandapa also belong to this time.
LET'S EXPLORE
Observe the sketch of the Khyber Pass (Fig. 4.3). What kind of terrain does it depict?
The sketch shows a narrow valley gorge hemmed in by high, steep, rocky and barren mountains with little vegetation. It is an arid, rugged mountain pass with a winding track on the valley floor between the ranges.
What advantages would it offer to an army trying to reach the Indus plains? But also, what dangers?
Advantages: it was the main natural gap through the Hindu Kush, so it gave a relatively direct and shorter route from Central Asia and Afghanistan to the fertile Indus plains and was usable by large marching armies and cavalry. Dangers: it is narrow and easily blocked or ambushed, with steep slopes giving defenders high ground, little water and food, harsh weather, and difficulty moving elephants, baggage and large numbers of soldiers quickly.
Thinking of the caravans of traders that passed through the Khyber Pass for many centuries, let's ask the same questions about the advantages as well as dangers.
For trader caravans the advantage was the same - it connected Indian markets with Central Asian and Silk Route markets, allowing long-distance trade in goods, ideas and pilgrimage for over 2500 years in a single corridor. Dangers were attacks by robbers or local chiefs, landslides, extreme cold or heat, lack of water and fodder for pack animals, and having to pay tolls or protection money to whoever controlled the pass.
THINK ABOUT IT
What conclusions can we draw from this remark by someone in Mahmūd's entourage?
Al-Biruni was part of Mahmud of Ghazni's own camp, yet he praised the Hindu Shahis as noble, just and principled rulers who wanted to do what was good and right. This shows that even an observer on the invader's side could recognise their good governance and character, that the defeat of the Shahis was not because they were bad rulers, and that contemporary sources close to the invaders can be fairly objective. It also reminds us to read history from multiple viewpoints.
LET'S EXPLORE
In later centuries, the Somanātha temple was rebuilt and destroyed again several times; the existing temple was built in 1950 and inaugurated the next year by the then President of India, Rajendra Prasad. Why do you think it was decided to fund the construction entirely from public donations?
Funding from public donations was chosen so the new temple would belong to all the people of India and not be seen as a government project using taxpayer money for one religion in a secular country. Public contribution also expressed collective memory, devotion and national pride after repeated destruction, and showed that the restoration was a voluntary cultural act of the society rather than a state-imposed religious act.
LET'S EXPLORE
In the painting Fig. 4.14, can you make out who is the king and who is the guru?
In the painting at the Brihadishvara temple the figure standing with folded hands and wearing royal dress and crown is King Rajendra Chola I, and the seated figure in simpler, ascetic dress giving teaching or blessing is his guru.
What does the king's posture and general attitude express?
The king is shown bowing slightly with hands joined in namaskar, standing respectfully before the guru. This posture expresses humility, devotion, reverence for learning and dharma, and the traditional Indian idea that even a powerful emperor should respect his spiritual teacher.
LET'S EXPLORE
Writing some 60 years after Bakhtiyār Khiljī's campaign through Bihar, the historian Minhaj al-Siraj Jūzjānī, recorded in his Tabakāt-i-Nāsirī how Bakhtiyar's forces captured a 'fortress' and "acquired great booty." He adds, "The greater number of the inhabitants of that place were Brahmans, and all those Brahmans had their heads shaven; and they were all slain. There were a great number of books there. … It was found that the whole of that fortress and city was a college, and in [their] tongue, they call a college bihār." Remembering the meaning of vihāra and noting that Nālandā was known in ancient inscriptions as 'Nālandā Mahāvihāra', can you find two more clues in the above passage to identify the 'fortress' near the Nālandā university? (Hint: Who do you think these 'Brahmans' actually were?)
The 'fortress' was not a military fort but a Buddhist mahavihara. Clue 1: the inhabitants called 'Brahmans with shaven heads' were actually Buddhist monks or bhikshus, who shave their heads, not Hindu Brahmans. Clue 2: there were a great number of books, which points to a famous library like Nalanda's, not a fort's armoury. Clue 3: the writer himself says the place was a college called bihār, which is the Prakrit form of vihara, a Buddhist monastery university. Together they show the attackers mistook Nalanda / Odantapuri Mahavihara for a fort.
LET'S EXPLORE
Why, in your opinion, did Basava want people from all backgrounds to come together and exchange ideas?
Basaveshvara created the anubhava mandapa so that men and women from every caste, occupation, religion and language could meet as equals. He wanted to remove caste and ritual barriers, let personal experience and reason count more than birth, and allow free discussion of spiritual, ethical and social questions so truth could be found together.
If something like an anubhava mandapa existed today, what important topics do you think people ought to discuss there?
Today such a forum could discuss equality and dignity for all, gender justice, education for everyone, protection of the environment, poverty and work, honest governance, science and religion, and how to live together peacefully while respecting different faiths and opinions.
What lessons can we draw from the anubhava mandapa spirit to create a just and civil society today?
The lessons are to value the inner worth of a person over birth or status, to listen respectfully to all voices including women and the marginalised, to encourage open dialogue and questioning, to practise personal devotion combined with dedicated honest work, and to treat all as spiritually equal, which helps build democracy, tolerance and social justice.
Questions and activities
1. Why is the period under consideration in this chapter regarded as a major transition in Indian history? Give two examples each of change and continuity from this period.
It is a transition because the political map changed deeply with Turkic conquests, but Indian society and culture did not end and continued creatively. Two examples of change: 1) Mahmud of Ghazni's 17 raids and later Muhammad Ghuri's conquest of Delhi and the Gangetic plains brought the first lasting Turkic rule in north India and the introduction of sultanate administration and Islam as a larger presence. 2) Destruction of major centres like Somnath and Nalanda and Vikramashila disrupted north Indian learning which shifted to Kashmir and Varanasi. Two examples of continuity: 1) Powerful Indian kingdoms still flourished outside the conquest zone - Cholas, Eastern Gangas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Paramāras and others kept ruling and fighting among themselves. 2) Economy, trade with China and Southeast Asia, merchant guilds, agriculture and great art and literature continued, as seen in the Brihadishvara and Khajuraho temples, Rajendra's naval expedition, and works of Jayadeva, Bhaskaracharya and Basaveshvara.
2. Observe Fig. 3.27 in the previous chapter and draw a similar 'star of dynasties' gathering all or most of the dynasties that appear in this chapter.
A star diagram for this chapter would put the centre as 11th-12th century India and rays pointing to the main dynasties described: Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Paramāras, Chandellas, Chaulukyas or Solankis of Gujarat, Chahamanas or Chauhans, Senas, Kamarupa, Eastern Gangas, Western Chalukyas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Cholas and Pandyas. You can group them by region - northwest, north, east, Deccan and far south - and note overlapping dates like 985-1014 Rajaraja I, 1014-1044 Rajendra I, 1010-1055 Bhoja.
3. Taking a map of the Subcontinent, draw a geographical tour that covers all or most dynasties in this chapter (you may draw inspiration from some of the 'travels' the chapter's narration follows).
Start at the Khyber Pass and Ghazna, move into Punjab where the Hindu Shahis and then Ghaznavids ruled and Lahore, then southeast to Dhillika or Delhi and Ajayameru of the Chahamanas, west to Anahilavada of the Chaulukyas, south to Dhara of the Paramāras and to Mahotsavanagara and Khajuraho of the Chandellas, east to Nadia of the Senas and Pragjyotishpura of Kamarupa and to the Eastern Ganga area from the Ganga to the Godavari with Puri and Konark, then south to Kalyani of the Western Chalukyas, Orugallu or Warangal of the Kakatiyas, Dvarasamudra and Belur-Halebidu of the Hoysalas, and further to Tanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram and Kanchi of the Cholas. This clockwise tour covers almost all powers on Fig. 4.4 and Fig. 4.10.
4. With the help of a map of India and Southeast Asia, can you calculate the approximate distance that Rājendra I's fleet of ships had to navigate to reach their objective?
Rājendra I's fleet started from the Chola ports on the Tamil coast, such as Nagapattinam, crossed the Bay of Bengal, passed through the Strait of Malacca between Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, to the capital of the Shrivijaya Empire in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. On a modern map the straight sea distance is about
(a) Eastern Gangas
(iii) Konark Sun temple
(b) Chandellas
(iv) Kandāriyā Mahādeva temple
(c) Paramāras
(v) Bhojeshwar temple
(d) Hoysalas
(i) Belur
(e) Cholas
(ii) Bṛihadīśhvara temple
6. Working in groups, compare the dynasties in this chapter and in the preceding one; create a table to list the dynasties present in both, those that disappear from the preceding period, and those that appear in this chapter's period.
Present in both periods: Western Chalukyas, Eastern Chalukyas, Cholas, Pandyas, Paramāras, Chandellas, Palas at the start, and the Hindu Shahis. Disappear or decline after previous chapter: Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, Palas replaced by Senas in Bengal. Appear newly in this chapter: Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Senas, Eastern Gangas as a major power, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Chaulukyas or Solankis of Gujarat as distinct from Deccan Chalukyas, and Chahamanas or Chauhans as an empire. This table highlights the replacement of older north Indian empires by regional Rajput powers and the rise of strong Deccan and south Indian kingdoms plus the new Turkic intruders.
7. Using the chapter and any additional reading, prepare a short note explaining (1) why centres of learning like Nālandā were important;
Centres like Nalanda Mahavihara were international universities that preserved lakhs of manuscripts in three multi-storey library buildings, taught Buddhism, philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, mathematics and astronomy, and attracted students and scholars from China like Xuanzang and Yijing, from Tibet and from across India and Southeast Asia. They trained teachers who carried Indian ideas abroad, copied and preserved texts, and were supported by many dynasties including the Palas and even received land grants from the Shrivijaya king, showing their civilisational importance beyond religion.
7. Using the chapter and any additional reading, prepare a short note explaining (2) how their destruction may have affected education and culture in India.
When Bakhtiyar Khilji's forces burned Nalanda and Vikramashila, killing many monks and burning the libraries for months, India lost irreplaceable books and teachers. As al-Biruni had earlier noted, scholars fled to Kashmir, Varanasi and Tibet carrying what manuscripts they could save, so north Indian science and learning declined for a while. The destruction broke the continuity of formal monastic education and contributed to the decline of Buddhism in India, though learning revived elsewhere in the south and in regional languages, as seen with Bhaskaracharya.
8. Why do you think Mahmūd of Ghazni carry out repeated raids from Afghanistan into India, while Muhammad Ghūrī sought territorial expansion into India and long-term control? Write a short note on how their motives shaped the outcomes of their campaigns.
Mahmud operated from Ghazni and needed wealth to maintain his empire in Afghanistan and Central Asia and prestige as a ghazi or defender of his version of Islam. He therefore made 17 swift cavalry raids in the first decades of the 11th century, defeating the Hindu Shahis to open the Khyber route, then plundering rich temple cities like Mathura, Kannauj and Somnath and returning each time with booty and slaves, without trying to govern India. The result was huge destruction and looting but no lasting kingdom beyond Punjab. Muhammad Ghuri faced the disintegration of the Ghaznavid empire and wanted permanent territory and revenue. After failing in Gujarat against the Chaulukyas in 1178, he focused on Punjab and the Chahamana heartland, losing the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 but winning the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 and executing Prithviraja III. Unlike Mahmud, he left trusted generals like Qutb-ud-din Aibak and Bakhtiyar Khilji to occupy Delhi, Bihar and Bengal, introduce a more centralised iqta or land assignment system, and lay the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate. Thus Mahmud's motive produced plunder and fame, while Ghuri's motive produced conquest and lasting foreign rule in north India.