Medieval Indian Literature, Languages, Historians and Foreign Travellers Notes for UPSC: Amir Khusrau, Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta, Abul Fazl, Bernier and Regional Poets

The medieval period (8th to 18th century) gave India a rich variety of literature in Persian, Sanskrit and the regional languages, and a large number of travel accounts by visitors from Arabia, Italy, France, Portugal and Central Asia. For UPSC, this topic is the favourite of match-the-following questions: who wrote which book, which traveller visited which ruler, and which language belongs to which saint. These notes organise the medieval writers, historians, travellers and regional literature in tables, with a memory trick for each group.

Why This Topic Is Important

The books and accounts of the medieval age are the main source of the medieval history, and UPSC asks about them in the Prelims as well as in the Mains (GS I: sources of history and cultural developments). A student who knows the author, the book, the ruler and the language of each work can answer a large number of questions in a few seconds. Read this together with our notes on the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire and the Bhakti and Sufi Movements.

Languages of the Medieval Period

• Persian was the official and court language of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, and most histories were written in it.
• Arabic was used for religion and by the foreign scholars, such as Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta.
• Urdu grew in the camps and the markets of Delhi as a mixture of Persian, Arabic, Turkish and the local dialects. It was also called Hindavi, Dakhni or Rekhta in the early days.
• Sanskrit continued as the language of scholars, and works like the Rajatarangini and the Gita Govinda were written in it.
• Regional languages such as Hindi (Awadhi, Braj), Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam developed their literature in this age, mainly through the Bhakti movement.

Court Historians of the Delhi Sultanate

Mughal Period Writers and Historians

Foreign Travellers in Medieval India

Regional Language Literature and Bhakti Poets

Sanskrit Works of the Period

Kalhana's Rajatarangini (12th century) is the first work to be called a true historical text in Sanskrit, with the history of the kings of Kashmir. Jayadeva's Gita Govinda (Bengal, 12th century) is a lyrical poem on the love of Radha and Krishna, and it influenced the dance, music and painting. Hemachandra, a Jain scholar, wrote on the grammar and the history in Gujarat. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana were translated into Persian under Akbar (Razmnama), and the Atharvaveda and other texts were also translated.

The Translation Movement and Cultural Synthesis

One of the finest features of medieval India was the exchange of ideas between the Persian and the Sanskrit traditions. Under Akbar, a translation department (Maktab Khana) was set up at Fatehpur Sikri, and the Mahabharata (Razmnama), the Ramayana, the Atharvaveda, the Lilavati (mathematics) and the Rajatarangini were translated into Persian. Dara Shukoh translated the Upanishads and wrote the Majma-ul-Bahrain, the "Mingling of the Two Oceans", on the common truths of Hinduism and Islam. In the south, the Bahmani and Vijayanagara courts also supported both Persian and local literature. This synthesis created the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, the composite culture of north India, which shows itself in language, food, music, dress and architecture.

Music, Poetry and Courtly Arts

The literature of the age is connected with the growth of music. Amir Khusrau is credited with the mixing of the Persian and the Indian musical traditions, the invention of new ragas and the early form of the qawwali, and with the Hindavi verse in the riddles and songs, although many attributions to him, such as the invention of the sitar and the tabla, are traditional beliefs and not proven. Tansen, the court musician of Akbar and one of the Navaratnas, was a master of the Dhrupad, while the Khayal style developed later under the Sultans of Jaunpur and the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. In the south, Purandaradasa laid the base of the Carnatic music. Poets such as Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan wrote Hindi couplets, and the Mughal court also saw women writers such as Gulbadan Begum and Zebunnisa. You may link this with our notes on Indian Classical Music and Musical Instruments.

How to Use These Sources in Answers

• Name the source: instead of writing "Akbar was tolerant", write "As the Ain-i-Akbari and the Akbarnama of Abul Fazl show, Akbar followed a policy of Sulh-i-Kul".
• Compare views: Abul Fazl praises Akbar, whereas Badauni criticises his religious policy, which gives you a balanced answer.
• Use the traveller's observation for the economy: Ibn Battuta on the postal system (the dak) and the Delhi markets, Abdur Razzaq on the prosperity of Vijayanagara, Bernier on the Mughal court and the cities.
• Use the regional literature for society: the Bhakti poets used the local languages to attack the caste and the ritual, and so they are a source of the social history.

Previous-Year Style Practice

• Which traveller wrote about the post (dak) and horses in the Tughlaq period? Answer: Ibn Battuta.
• The Persian work Majma-ul-Bahrain was written by? Answer: Dara Shukoh.
• The author of the Padmavat is? Answer: Malik Muhammad Jayasi.
• Which traveller was a French jewel merchant? Answer: Jean-Baptiste Tavernier.

The Mains Angle: What These Sources Tell Us

In the Mains, use these works as sources of history and show their strengths and limits. The Persian chronicles give details of the court, wars and administration, but they are often written from the ruler's point of view, with praise and omissions. The foreign travellers give the details of the society, trade and the economy, but they sometimes misunderstood the local customs, as in Bernier's view on the absence of private property in land, which later historians have questioned. The regional literature shows the voice of the common people and the social change brought by the Bhakti movement. A good answer compares the different kinds of the sources and shows how they help in building a balanced picture of the period.

Memory Tips and Common Mistakes

• Link "Akbar" with Abul Fazl and the Ain-i-Akbari, "Babur" with the Baburnama and "Jahangir" with the Tuzuk.
• Do not confuse Ziauddin Barani with Minhaj-us-Siraj, as one wrote on Firoz Tughlaq and the other on the earlier period.
• Remember that Ibn Battuta is from Morocco and Al-Biruni from Central Asia, and Marco Polo is from Venice.
• Bernier and Tavernier were French, and Manucci was Italian.
• Khusrau was a Persian poet, but he is also linked with the Hindavi verse and the music.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who wrote the Baburnama?

Babur wrote it in Turki as his memoirs.

Who wrote the Akbarnama and the Ain-i-Akbari?

Abul Fazl, the court historian of Akbar.

Which Moroccan traveller visited the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq?

Ibn Battuta, who also worked as the qazi of Delhi.

Who wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind?

Al-Biruni wrote it after his stay in India with Mahmud of Ghazni.

Who is called the 'Parrot of India' (Tuti-i-Hind)?

Amir Khusrau is called the Tuti-i-Hind.

Which French traveller was the physician of Dara Shukoh?

Francois Bernier.

Who wrote the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri?

Minhaj-us-Siraj.

Who wrote the Ramcharitmanas and in which language?

Tulsidas wrote it in the Awadhi language.

Which work is the first historical text in Sanskrit from Kashmir?

The Rajatarangini by Kalhana.

Who visited Vijayanagara during the reign of Deva Raya II?

The Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq.

Who translated the Upanishads into Persian?

Dara Shukoh, under the title Sirr-i-Akbar.

How are these works asked in the Prelims?

As match-the-following questions on the author, the book and the ruler of the period.