A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s4.17

v1.c5.s4.17

The disappearance from the stage of Nāmadēva marks the close of a period in the history of Marāthī literature. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries no work of importance was produced, and the literary legacy of the period is trivial. The reason is foreshadowed in the *abhangas* of Nāmadēva, which contain references to foreign incursion and to a Pādshāh, who is obviously a Moslem ruler. The Muhammadan invasions of the Deccan had commenced, rendering life unsettled and generating frequent occasions of rapine and disorder. Now for the first time, in such literary remains as have survived, foreign words, both Persian and Urdu, are introduced into the language of Mahārāshtra; while in the domain of religion the presence of foreign invaders results in a reconciliation between the two warring sects of Saivas and Vaishnavas, which is symbolized in the installation of an image of Vithoba (Vishnu) in the temple of Pandhari on the Bhīma river (Pandharpur in Sholāpur District), and its association with the *lingam* of Siva. Dr. J. N. Farquhar mentions that ‘in the chief temple of Pandharpur, Vitthal (i.e. Vithoba) wears a curious sort of crown, which the priests say is Siva’s *linga*; so that the image, standing for both gods, is truly Bhāgavata.’ ¹