Krishna has been a major part of the Bhakti movement. One of the key devotees was Meera (pictured).[1]

The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism[2] that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation.[3] Originating in Tamilakam during the 6th century CE,[4][5] it gained prominence through the poems and teachings of the Vaishnava Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars in early medieval South India, before spreading northwards.[2] It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.[6]

The Bhakti movement regionally developed around different Hindu gods and goddesses, and some sub-sects were Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Shakti goddesses), and Smartism.[7][8][9][10] The Bhakti movement preached using the local languages so that the message reached the masses. The movement was inspired by many poet-saints, who championed a wide range of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism of Dvaita to absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta.[11][12]

The movement has traditionally been considered an influential social reformation in Hinduism, as it provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality, regardless of one's birth or gender.[6] Contemporary scholars question whether the Bhakti movement was ever a reform or rebellion of any kind.[13] They suggest that the Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking, and recontextualisation of ancient Vedic traditions.[14]

Terminology

The Sanskrit word bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which means "divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to".[15][16] The word also means "attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation".[17][18]

Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love for and devotion towards religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellect.[19] The connotation of love in this context is not one of uncritical emotion but committed engagement.[19] The Bhakti movement in Hinduism refers to ideas and engagement that emerged in the medieval era on love and devotion to religious concepts built around one or more gods and goddesses. The Bhakti movement preached against the caste system and used local languages and so the message reached the masses. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta.[20]

Textual roots

The Vaishnavite Saint Nammalvar. He is one of the most prominent of the 12 Alvars of the Vaishnavism Bhakti movement.

Ancient Indian texts, dated to the 1st millennium BCE, such as the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, and the Bhagavad Gita mention Bhakti.[21]

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

A copper alloy sculpture of a Shiva Bhakti practitioner from Tamil Nadu (11th Century or later).

The last of three epilogue verses of the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, 6.23, uses the word Bhakti as follows,

This verse is notable for the use of the word Bhakti, and has been widely cited as among the earliest mentions of "the love of God".[23][26] Scholars have debated whether this phrase is authentic or later insertion into the Upanishad, and whether the terms "Bhakti" and "God" meant the same in this ancient text as they do in the medieval and modern era Bhakti traditions found in India.[27][28] Max Muller states that the word Bhakti appears in only one verse of the epilogue at its end, may have been a later insertion and may not be theistic as the word was later used in much Sandilya Sutras.[29]

Grierson, as well as Carus, note that the first epilogue verse 6.21 is also notable for its use of the word Deva Prasada (देवप्रसाद, grace or gift of God), but add that Deva in the epilogue of the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad refers to "pantheistic Brahman" and the closing credit to sage Śvetāśvatara in verse 6.21 can mean "gift or grace of his Soul".[23]

Doris Srinivasan states that the Upanishad is a treatise on theism, but it creatively embeds a variety of divine images, an inclusive language that allows "three Vedic definitions for a personal deity".[30] The Upanishad includes verses wherein God can be identified with the Supreme (Brahman-Atman, Self, Soul) in Vedanta monistic theosophy, verses that support the dualistic view of Samkhya doctrines, as well as the synthetic novelty of triple Brahman where a triune exists as the divine soul (Isvara, theistic God), individual soul (self) and nature (Prakrti, matter).[30][31]

Tsuchida writes that the Upanishad syncretically combines monistic ideas of the Upanishads and the self-development ideas of Yoga with personification of the deity Rudra.[32] Hiriyanna interprets the text to be introducing "personal theism" in the form of Shiva Bhakti, with a shift to monotheism but in the henotheistic context where the individual is encouraged to discover his own definition and sense of God.[33]