The Asramas In Early Medieval India There were two main elements of the social organisation, one of which was varna, and the other ashrama or stage of life. The division of life into four stages was a very old system evolved by the Aryans. From the very beginning the number of Ashramas has been four, though there are slight differences in the nomenclature and in their sequence. These were Brahmacarya, Gärhasthya, Vänaprastha and Sannyasa. Twenty five years were allotted to each stage on the basis of hundred years’ span of life. They were observed according to the Dharmasastra by a Dvija or twice-born. There may be doubt as to how much it was actually observed. It is possible that the Brahmanas at least in limited number practised it. Among Muslim writers, only Al-Biruni gives a detailed account of the four stages of life. He mentions these stages only in respect of the Brahmanas, we may presume that very few of other two castes, viz., the Ksatriyas and the Vaisyas followed them. Their occupation orobably was responsible for leaving the ideal scheme. At least the first two of the adramas were generally followed by every Dvija. The Sadras, however, were not allowed to enter any stage except that of the householder. Al-Biruni’s account of these ashramas is undoubtedly taken from the Dharmasastras and not drawn from actual life. Though we have a few epigraphical references  to these dramas and the Smṛtis of our period mention them accordingly, we may conclude that to some extent they were followed by at least a section of the society. Before entering the first stage of life a Brahmana boy of eight years was invested with a pair of the sacred thread. Now he became a Brahmacarin which was the beginning of the first stage of life. Al-Biruni gives very elaborate rules and regulations governing the whole life of a Brahmana divided into the four ashramas. BRAHMACARYA The first period of the Brahmanas life extends till the twenty-fifth year of his age, or according to the Vishņu Purana, till his forty-eight year. His duty is to practise abstinence, to make the earth his bed, to begin with the learning of the Veda and of its explanation, of the science of theology and law, all this being thought to him by a master whom he serves day and night. He washes himself thrice a day and performs a sacrifice to the fire both at the beginning and end of the day. After the sacrifice he worships his master. He fasts a day and he breaks fast a day, but he is never allowed to eat meat. He dwells in the house of the master, which be only leaves in order to ask for a gift and to beg in not more than five houses once a day, either at noon or in the evening what- ever alms he receives he places before his master to choose from it what he likes. Then the master allows him to take the remainder. Thus the pupil nourishes himself from the remains of the dishes of his master. Further, he fetches the wood for the fire, wood of two kinds of trees, palasa (Butea fondosa) and darbha in order to perform the sacrifice. Undoubtedly the whole account of Al-Biruni relating to the first stage of life is based on the study of the Puranas and Smrtis like Manu in which the life of a Brahmacari has bean described in detail. As regards the study of the Vedas, we have some epigraphic references also. A Brahmacārī, Vasudeva by name, is mentioned in a grant of Bhojadeva of Kanauj who devoted his time to the study of Asvalayana Sakta. In one inscription it is mentioned that Brahmacari of Vajasneya  school was granted a gift of village. The life long Brahmacaris, who devoted their whole life to study, are also mentioned in a Chauhana record. GARHASTHYA The second period of his life extended from the twenty-fifth year to the fiftieth. Soon after his return to his paternal home the young Brahmana proceeded to many with the permission of his teacher but he was not allowed to marry a girl of more than twelve years of age. He lived by asking a gift or present or fee obtained for teaching the Brahmana: or Ksatriyas. Lastly he lived from what he gathered on the earth or from the trees. His last duty was to beat the drum before fire and recite the prescribed holy texts. The description of the second stage can be confirmed with the rules and regulations prescribed by Manu for a householder.” VANAPRASTHA The third stage of the Brahmana’s life extended from the fiftieth year to the seventy-fifth year. This stage was called Vanaprastha. His wife could accompany him to the forest or remain behind with his sons. He led the same life as he had done before in the first period. He clothed himself in barks of trees or skins. He let his hair and nails grow, lived on fruits, plants and roots of the forest, and slept on the ground. He did not anoint himself with oil. Perhaps this order was never universally recognised.” SANNYASA The fourth period extends till the end of life. He wears a red garment and holds a stick in his hand. He is always given to meditation, he strips the mind of friendship and enmity and roots out desire and lust, and wrath. He does not converse with any body at all. When walking to a place of a particular merit in order to gain a heavenly reward, he does not stop on the road in a village longer than a day, nor a city longer than five days. If any one gives him something he does not leave a remainder of it for the following day. He has no other business but of caring for the path which leads to salvation, and for reaching ‘moksa’, whence there is no return to this world. This...

डॉ एस एन वर्मा एसोसिएट प्रोफेसर इतिहास, राजकीय महाविद्यालय सेवापुरी वाराणसी। सिक्ख धर्म मध्यकालीन भक्ति आंदोलन का अनिवार्य उत्पाद था । अखिल भारतीय स्तर पर अपनी धमक दर्ज कराने के कारण इसे राष्ट्रीय स्वरूप  वाला अभिधान भी दिया  जाता है। इसके केंद्र में भक्ति  थी] जिसे  मुस्लिम आक्रमण से उत्पन्न पराजित मनोवृत्ति का परिणाम कहा जाता है। हजारी प्रसाद इसे  बारह आने  मुस्लिम पराजय का परिणाम मानते हैं । शेष दूसरी घटनाओं का प्रभाव जिसमे दक्षिण से आने वाली भक्ति भी शामिल थी। अधिकांश भारतीय विचारक अब दक्षिण से आये भक्ति प्रवाह को अधिक महत्त्व देने लगे है । रामानंद इस क्रांति के प्रसारक और उत्तर- दक्षिण सेतु मान लिए जाते हैं । इन्ही के प्रभाव के कारण उत्तर भारत मे कबीर] महाराष्ट्र में नामदेव] बंगाल में चैतन्य और पंजाब में नानक का उदय होता है । सबने अपने क्षेत्रों में नवीन चेतना] प्रगतिशीलता] मानवता] ईश्वर प्रेम] समाज सुधार आदि की बात करते हैं । भाषा के आधार पर अलग अलग दिखने वाले अपनी अपील में एकरूप  दिखते हैं । राजनीतिक रूप से मुस्लिम प्रभाव इन क्षेत्रों में अलग अलग समय पर स्थापित हुआ था । पंजाब तो सबसे पहले प्रभावित हुआ था। सल्तनत की स्थापना के बाद भी पंजाब अलग धार्मिक पृष्ठभूमि वाले मंगोलों से आक्रांत रहा। तैमूर के आक्रमण के समय तक मुस्लिम सत्ता पश्चिमोत्तर सीमा पर स्थिर नही हो पाई थी। दिल्ली के सुल्तान कभी अलगाव] कभी दबाव तो कभी संघर्ष की नीति पर चलते रहे। शांति तब स्थापित हो पाई जब मङ्गोल नव -मुस्लिम के रूप में आ गए। पंजाब की  राजनीतिक और कृषीय व्यवस्था  ने एक साथ  परिवर्तन और अशांति देखी । अतः यहाँ विकसित सिक्ख धर्म के साथ दूसरे अन्य तथ्यों पर सोच विचार की आवश्यकता है। आजकल सिक्ख और हिन्दू धर्म मे घालमेल कर दिया गया है। क्या भक्ति आंदोलन के  सभी संत हिन्दू धर्म की पुनर्स्थापना चाहते थे] शायद नही। यदि उन संतो के विचार आज हिन्दू धर्म के अंग हैं तो सिक्खों के धर्म को क्योंकर हिन्दू धर्म का हिस्सा माना जाए। विशेषकर तब जब इस धर्म के संस्थापकों ने बाकायदा अलग धार्मिक विधान बना लिए थे। मसलन ]उनके पूजा स्थल] धार्मिक पुस्तक] आचार संहिता आदि सभी कुछ अलग हो गए थे जो अब तक विकसित धार्मिक प्रणालियों के आवश्यक अंग माने जाते थे।  हिन्दू धर्म इस मानक पर धर्म नही बल्कि जीवन दर्शन था। इस आलेख में सिक्ख धर्म के विकास क्रम के साथ मुगलों के साथ इसके सम्बन्धों की जांच पड़ताल की कोशिश की गई है। क्या यह संबंध केवल धार्मिक मुठभेड़  ही बना रहा  या फिर इसके मूल में अन्यान्य तत्त्व थे। यह जन्मना भारतीय धर्म तो है लेकिन क्या यह अखिल भारतीय मुक्ति का आकांक्षी रहा है। हिन्दू फोल्ड के अंतर्गत इसे शामिल करने की मंशा कुछ और तो नही है। इन प्रश्नों का उत्तर आज जनमानस में कौतूहल का विषय है। 1-सिक्ख धर्म की स्थापना का इतिहास गुरु नानक को सिक्ख धर्म का प्रवर्तक माना जाता है। उनका जन्म  कार्तिक पूर्णिमा के दिन 1469 ईस्वी में पंजाब के रावी नदी के किनारे  गुजरांवाला जिले के तलवंडी नामक स्थान  पर हुआ था। उनके जन्म के समय तक पंजाब पर इस्लाम का पूर्ण प्रभाव स्थापित हो गया था। पानीपत] सरहिन्द] पाक पट्टन] मुल्तान] उच्छ आदि सूफी संतों और फकीरों से भरा  पड़ा था। अतः नानक की भाषा व्यंग्यात्मक की बजाय प्रेम और सहानुभूति की है। उन्होंने दलितों को उचित सम्मान देकर इस्लाम अपनाने से रोका लेकिन वापस हिंदू धर्म मे बने रहने की अपील नही की। धर्म और समाज के बाहर वे राजनीतिक चेतना के प्रसार की बात  आरम्भ से ही कहते हैं। लोंगो के निराशा भाव को दूर करके आशा विश्वास और पौरुष का संचार उनका लक्ष्य बन गया। बाबर के आक्रमण के समय की दुश्वारियों को उन्होंने महसूस किया था। एक समाज सुधारक के रूप में उन्होंने जाति प्रथा का खंडन किया] हिन्दू- मुस्लिम समन्वय] स्त्री सुधार की वकालत की। स्त्रियों को आध्यात्मिक साधना और अन्य क्षेत्रों में पुरुषों के समान अधिकार दिया। प्रायः  अन्य संत केवल धार्मिक और सामाजिक  जीवन को केंद्र में रखते रहे लेकिन नानक  इस दृष्टि की व्यापकता में भी आगे रहे। उनके विचारों में जनतांत्रिक सिद्धान्तों के महत्त्वपूर्ण सूत्र मिलते हैं जो समाजवादी समाज का पूर्वाभास देते हैं। यह अकारण नही था कि उनके अनुयायियों ने एक बिशिष्ट सामाजिक राजनीतिक वर्ग बना लिया। यह हिन्दू सामाजिक ढांचे की मान्यता का उतना ही विरोध करता है जितना कि मुगल नीतियों का। कहा जाता है कि नानक और बाबर की मुलाकात भी हुई थी। बाबर उनके आध्यात्मिक विचारो से प्रभावित भी था । उनकी नीतियां ही आगे चलकर  गोविंद सिंह के धार्मिक सैन्यवाद में परिणत हुईं। उनके उपदेशों का आधार इतना सशक्त था कि आगे चलकर सिक्ख धर्म ने एक प्रभावशाली पूर्ण धर्म का स्वरूप धारण किया। 1538 में नानक की मृत्यु के बाद अंगद दूसरे गुरु हुए जिनका नॉमिनेशन नानक ने अपने जीवनकाल में ही कर दिया था। अमरदास तीसरे गुरु हुए ] और रामदास चौथे] उनके समय तक सिक्ख अलग समुदाय के रूप में प्रतिष्ठित हो गए। सिक्ख अपने गुरुओं को भगवान का अवतार और दैवीय शक्ति सम्पन्न मानने लगे ।यह धारणा बन गयी कि  नानक की आत्मा  ही अंगद] अमरदास रामदास तक यात्रा की है बाद में यह गोविंद सिंह तक  चलती चली गयी। अधिंकाश सिक्ख जाट समुदाय से जुड़े थे जो स्वाभाविक रूप से मेहनती और बहादुर थे। उनके मन मे गुरुओं के प्रति अगाध सम्मान था] एक आवाज पर अपनी जान न्यौछावर करने को तैयार थे। अब तक के सभी गुरु सांसारिक चकाचौंध से दूर आध्यात्मिक प्रकर्ष के हिमायती थे। यद्यपि सभी ने गृहस्थ जीवन का परित्याग नही किया था लेकिन रामदास के  समय से ही धन संग्रह की प्रवृत्ति आरम्भ हो गयी। अकबर ने उन्हें  500 बीघा जमीन दान की जिससे कि अमृतसर में मंदिर और तालाब का निर्माण किया जा सके।  मियां मीर एक मुस्लिम था जिसने  अमृतसर के गुरुद्वारे का प्रथम पत्थर रखा था। अतः दोनों समूहों में अनबन होने का कोई कारण नही था। अब तक उत्तराधिकार नियम पैतृक नही हुआ था। जब रामदास ने अपने पुत्र अर्जुनदास को गुरु का पद दिया] तभी से पैतृक अधिकार का समावेश हुआ।  अमरदास और रामदास के बीच जामाता...

The general term for village in India is grama, derived from the coot gras(to swallow, or to eat). Sometimes it is derived from the root gam (to go) as well. Although it has come to siginify generally anumber of residential houses clustered together at a place, yet it cannot be denied that it means something more. According to the Markandeya Purana grama is a habitat in the centre of land fit for cultivation. This show that a village must have cultivable land all around it. A large number of land grants also indicate that in addition to the habitat, the area of a village comprised cultivable, uncultivable, high, low, watery, dry, forest and grassy land. According to PV Kane that “grama ordinarily meant a village in the modern sense and included several hundred acres of lands.’’ H.S.Maine points out that an Indian village was divided into three parts like the district of the ancient Teutonic cultivating community in Germany- the village itself which was the cluster of residential houses, the arable mark or the cultivated area, and the common mark of the village waste. Thus a village in India consisted of the inhabited part as well as all kinds of land attached to it. Village crafts- Pot-making:       Our sources refer to some important village crafts, such as pot making, wood work, iron work, oil pressing, weaving, basket-making, milk churning, salt making, paddy pounding,etc. The Harsacharita speaks of servel kinds of water-pot, namely, karkari, sikatilakalasi, alinjara,udkumbhan and a type of plate called sarava used at the drinking inns(prapa) of a sylan village in U.P. The same work mentions water-jars uplifted by the old village elders in honour of the king marching with his army through the countryside in a part of U.P. It again speaks of a ceremonial water-pot with a mango spray on its mouth placed in the courtyard of the house of Bana in village Pritikuta in western Bihar. Govardhanacarya describes the churning of milk and crud in earthen pots. Drona, used as land or corn measure, was also perhaps an earthen vessel. Moreover, poor villagers may have used earthen vessels for boiling  rice, milk, etc; and for storing molasses and grain. Thus a large number of earthen pots were in use in village. Hiuen Tsang clearly states that utensils used in households were mostly earthenware and a few of brass. All these pots for various purpose appear to be the work of village potters, whose chief instrument for moulding pots was a wheel. Wood-work-       A large number of wooden articles were also used by the villagers, plough and harrow, mortar and pestle, bullock-cart, and oil press –all were made of wood as now. The Harsacarita refers to wooden frames (kasthamancika) for keeping water-jars at the inns; and the Krsiparasara speaks of a wooden measure called Adhaka for measureing paddy perhaps the sugar-press was also made of wood. All these must have been the work of the village carpenters, who may have also helped the villagers in making bamboo sticks and bows, wooden posts to be fixed at the threshing floor, wooden handles for the spades and sickles, etc, wooden machine or lever for drawing water from wells for irrigating fields, and several other articles of common use. Nowadays villagers in north-eastern India generally use wooden bedstead plaited with strings( carapai or khata). The timber of sala, mango, mahua, jackfruit and palmrya, which were largely grown in north-eastern India, may have been used for all these purposes. Bamboo, khadira, banyan, silk-cotton, udumbara, gambhari, slesmataka, etc, may have been also in common use. Iron-work-       Village blacksmiths showed their skill in making agricultural implements of iron, namely, spade, hoe, sickle, axe, plough-share, etc. It is likely that they also made iron-rims and placed them on the wooden wheels of the bullock-carts. The Harascarita, referring to the blacksmiths (vyokara) of forest village, states that they burn piles of wood for getting charcoal, This shows that they used charcoal in their furnace for heating iron. A large number of gahadavala land grants refer to iron pits existing in village. This must have ensured constant supply of iron ores to the blacksmiths. Paddy- pounding-       Pounding of paddy with the help of mortar and pestle was very common in village. It seems to have been a supplementary craft practiced by the farmers and agricultural labourers. Yogesvara notes with interest the beauty of the moving arms and tinkling of the bracelets of women engaged in the act of pounding paddy; This shows that paddy-pounding was generally done by women, and that dhemki or dhemkula (pedal for husking grain) as a means of pounding paddy, etc, now much in use in north-eastern India, was not known in the early medieval times. Parching of grains-       Frying or parching of grains was also practiced on a considerable scale. Hiuen Tsang tells us that “parched grain with mustard- seed oil” was an item of “common food.’’ This seems to have been the modern muhari or mudi as called in Bengal Peasant Life. Sattu (grain- powder)-       Several references of sattu (powdered grain) indicate that barley and gram were also parched. These two varieties of grain, when parched and ground, yield very fine powder while describing the drinking inns of a sylvan village Bana refers to grain-powder consumed perhaps by the travelers and pilgrims. Yogesvara states that apoor housewife is very uneasy on looking at her saktu (sattu)  flooded with water during a heavy downpour;  and Lakhsmidhara speaks of a man who was renounced the pleasure of material life as living on powdered grain obtained as alms. Milk-churning-       Churning of milk and curd by women of the herdsman class was another craft. Hiuen Tsang  refers to ghee (clarified butter) as an item of common food, which indicates that it was produced on a large scale. The Bhattikavya speaks of the churning of milk or curd by the cowherd ladies living in the village settlements of eastern uttar Pradesh and states that the movement of the hips and the...