Twilight of the Sultanate c18.s1.1

c18.s1.1

Rāmānanda brought to northern India the religious revival which Rāmānuja had initiated in the south. This movement was "in part a reaction against the increasing formalism of the orthodox cult, in part an assertion of the demands of the heart as against the intellectualism of the Vedānta",⁵ and was kept alive by a number of famous saints in the direct line of descent from Rāmānuja to Rāmānanda.⁶ There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the date of Rāmānanda's birth and death, but Kabīr being his disciple and therefore contemporary, there is good reason to believe that he lived and worked during the first half of the fifteenth century. Rāmānand was born at Prayag in a Brahman family and received his education at Allahabad and Varanasi. His first teacher was a Shankaran Advaitist, but later on Rāmānand became a disciple of Rāghavānanda, who belonged to the Sri Sampradāya of Rāmānuja. Rāmānanda travelled widely and studied deeply. At Varanasi he joined in philosophical discussions with learned Muslims and Brahmans.⁷ It was there that he passed most of his years, teaching and preaching.