Page 1 - LN-sub topic 3-The beginning of Bhakti
P. 1

SAI INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL

                                                    SUBJECT HISTORY
                                                   CLASS VI (2020-21)
                                        CH- 9 TRADERS, KINGS  AND PILGRIMS
                                                        MODULE-3
                                                      LESSON NOTES

                The quest of the        The Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Fa Xian, Xuan Zang and I-Qing,
                    Pilgrims             came to the subcontinent to visit places associated with the life
                                         of the Buddha as well as famous monasteries.
                                        Each of these pilgrims wrote of the dangers they encountered
                                         on their travels, which took years, of the countries and the
                                         monasteries that they visited, and the books they carried back
                                         with them.
                                        Xuan Zang carried back statues of the Buddha made of gold,
                                         silver and sandalwood, and over 600 manuscripts.
                                        He spent the rest of his life translating the remaining
                                         manuscripts from Sanskrit into Chinese.



                The beginning           During this time, the worship of certain deities Siva, Vishnu,
                   of Bhakti             and goddesses such as Durga, gained importance in Hinduism.
                                        These deities were worshipped through Bhakti, an idea that
                                         became very popular.
                                        Bhakti means a person’s devotion to his or her chosen deity.
                                        In the sacred book of Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita, the idea of
                                         Bhakti is present, which is included in the Mahabharata.
                                        This form of worship widely spread to different parts of the
                                         country.
                                        Those who followed the system of Bhakti emphasised devotion
                                         and individual worship of a god or goddess, rather than the
                                         performance of elaborate sacrifices.
                                        According to this system of belief, if a devotee worships the
                                         chosen deity with a pure heart, the deity will appear in the form
                                         in which he or she may desire.
   1