virtually all deities, represented iconographically in the south, were given
twoconsorts: one, according to the tradition, representing the devotee who
merited the deity’s favor, that is, the “grace of works”; the other representing
the devotee whose faith was such that the deity bestows his grace freely.
Further, while many other of the S ́rı ̄vais.n.avaa ̄ca ̄rya ̄sbelieved that spiritual
knowledge was available only to brahmans, Ra ̄ma ̄nuja is said to have shared
his ideas even with dalits, some of whom to this day claim Ra ̄ma ̄nuja
influenced their ancestors.
North India
We return to the northern part of the subcontinent to sketch some of the
important developments after the decline of the Gupta dynasty. The reign
ofHars.ain the Gangetic basin during the seventh century – a reign noted
for its stability and patronage of various religious institutions – was perhaps
the last relatively stable period in the north for some centuries. A Chinese
pilgrim,Hsüan Tsang, reported that Buddhist institutions continued to
flourish under Hars.a, not least important Na ̄landa ̄ “university,” which had
been founded in the Gupta period and had come to attract scholars from
other parts of Asia.^22 With the decline of Hars.a’s line, however, the north
reverted to the rise of regional satrapis, vying for hegemony and expansion.
The eighth through the twelfth centuries were marked by intermittent
warfare and relative instability. Three clans, in particular, waxed and waned
in importance: the Pratiha ̄ras, the Pa ̄las, and Ra ̄s.t.r.aku ̄t.as. Moreover, by
the tenth century at least, hill kingdoms and small city-states had developed
in such border areas as Assam, Nepal, and Kashmı ̄r. There was in many
respects a return to the classical style of the city-state of the urban period.
Regionalism had taken precedence over empire, though in many instances
local languages had not yet crystallized.
One of the “new” players on the scene of Northwest India were the
Ra ̄jputs. The Ra ̄jputs were apparently of foreign origin – some scholars have
even suggested they were descendants of the “Huns”^23 – but in their concern
for acceptance and hegemony, they created “pockets” of “Hindu” culture,
in some cases outdoing their rivals in orthopraxy. Brahmans were invited to
become ministers in their courts to serve as rhetoricians and public relations
agents. The brahmans were given land and the right to become kingmakers
and to rhetorically claim ks.atriyastatus for Ra ̄jput rulers. There were several
consequences of this alliance: Sanskrit became the lingua franca of the
courts and there were attempts to copy earlier forms of literature and
“dharmic culture.” In the early years of the Ra ̄jputs these cultural expressions
were more neo-classical than innovative and until the twelfth century the
The Post-classical Period 107