Bhakti Movements in Other Regions of India

Bhakti Movement in Karnataka

• The Virshaiva Movement was initiated by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.
• This movement strongly argued for the equality of all human beings.
• It was against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.
• They were also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.
  • Endowment to temples was also forbidden because Veerashaivism believed that such acts as these encouraged inequality between one devotee and another.
• Veerashaivism also came to be known as Lingayatism because the most important component of the faith was the Ishtalinga (a phallic image of Shiva worn on the body).
• One of the most important steps taken by Basava to popularise this movement was the establishment of theAnubhava Mantapa (Hall of Discussion of Experience) at Kalyana.
• It emphasised the worship of only one God, namely Lord Shiva.
• The Veerashaivism doctrine enjoined upon its members to abstain from observing the ‘Pancha Sutakas’ or Five Pollutions, namely the pollution arising from
  • Birth
  • Death
  • Menstruation
  • Spittle and
  • Caste contact, i.e. contact with the so-called inferior castes.
• Since Veerashaivism did not believe in or encourage temple worship, mathas served as institutional alternatives to temples.

Bhakti Movement in Assam

• He preached absolute devotion to Vishnu or his incarnation, Krishna.
• Monotheistic ideas influenced his concept of bhakti, which came to be known as the eka-sarana-dharma (religion of seeking refuge in one).
• Though eka-sarana acknowledges the impersonal (nirguna) God, it identifies personal (saguna) one as worshipful, which it places in the Bhagavad- Puranic Narayana.
• He denounced the caste system and preached his ideas to the people in their language (an Assamese form of Brajaboli).
• He made some significant innovations in devotional practice, such as including dance-drama-music form in the preaching of bhakti. 
• He also founded the institution of Satra, a sitting during which people of all classes assembled for religious and social purposes.
  • Later, the Satras grew into full-fledged monasteries.
  • It gave rise to Sattriya, a new dance form.
• His sect is called Mahapurashiya Dharma.

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Bhakti Movement in Kashmir and Gujarat

• Kashmir: Saiva bhakti flourished in Kashmir in the 14th century. Most prominent of the Shaiva bhakti saints was a woman, Lal Ded.
• Gujarat: Bhakti was preached by the Vallabha sect of Vallabhacharya and another important saint, Narsimha Mehta.
  • He knew of Jayadeva and Kabir and was followed by a number of poet-saints.
  • The Vallabha sect became popular among merchants and landowners of Gujarat.

Thyagaraja (1767-1847) and Bhakti Movement

• Thyagaraja, a saint-poet who spread bhakti through kritis and kirtans. The Sahitya is of primary importance in kirtan, unlike kritis, whose significance mainly lies in music.
• Tyagaraya is believed to have composed more than 1000 kritis.
• He was a devotee of Lord Rama.
• The majority of his kritis are in Telugu; others are in Sanskrit. 
• He has composed several Samudayakritis (Group Kritis) such as Ghana Raga Pancharatna, kritis and also other Pancha ratna groups like Kovur, Lalgudi, Tiruvattiyur and Srirangam Pancharatna.
• He has also composed the groups of Utsava Sampradaya kritis,Divyanama Sankirtanas, and Upachara Kritis, which readily lend themselves to congregational singing.
• Divyanama Kirtana: These songs contain Lord's name and his praises, usually sung in Bhajans. There are two types of Divyanama Kirtana,
  • Ekadhatu type: In this type of singing, the Pallavi and charanas are sung to the same dhatu or swaram.
    • For example, Sri Rama Jayarama-Yadukulakambhoji ragam, Tava Dasoham-Punnagavarali ragam- Adi Talam, composed by Thyagaraja.
  • Dvidhatu type: In this type of singing, the music of charana is different from that of the Pallavi.
    • For example, Sri Rama Sri Rama-Sahana ragam, Pahi Rarnachandra Palita Surendra-Sankarabharana ragam, composed by Thyagaraja.