1. The Dawn of the Bhakti Movement

During the Medieval period, India faced numerous invasions from the Arabs and other Islam dynasties who spread their religion through the lengths and breadths of India.

Other contemporary religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Sikh etc., faced a high degree of persecution under the dominant Islamic rulers. These persecutions made way for the awakening of new religious orders which went on to make a Cultural Revolution in the Medieval Society.

One of the many religious orders that rose to prominence both in South and North India was the Bhakti Movement which had its degree of impact on its followers, especially among the Hindu people.

The Rise of Bhakti Movement:

The Origin of the Bhakti movement has its reasons, as the Social evils prevalent among the Hindus during the Islamic rule like Polygamy, dogmatic thoughts, irrelevant rituals and the rigid caste system made people think about a panacea.

The society was also plagued by Polytheism, Untouchability and Casteism, which further worsened the existence of people and led to ideological wars.

To relieve the people from the clutches of this agony, poets and saints began to compose songs that were centred around a single concept, “devotion to god” or Bhakti.
It also firmly emphasized the omnipresence of God and one should search the almighty within self to attain the path of Salvation.

 

The text of Bhagavad Gita propounded the principles that have to be followed to attain salvation. It speaks about three tenets that lays the path to an eternal journey.

 

 

Initial Phase of the Bhakti Movement:

The Bhakti movement in Tamil Nadu witnessed its shoots during the Sangam Age and the age of Pallava Kings. During the \(6^t\)\(^h\)-\(7^t\)\(^h\) Century the Bhakti saints of Tamil Nadu spread their ideals of love towards God.

 

 

They sang devotional songs and composed poems that spread the ideals of the Bhakti movement among the people. It also brought a sense of equality among the society as the saints from all classes and castes were included.

The religious Saints of this period were open to the inclusion of various ideals from other religions, which was a unique trait of this movement.