The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c11.s2.3

c11.s2.3

In the domain of religion also, which must always be the fountain-head of right conduct and morality, perceptible degeneration crept in. The great Shankaracharya, who had organised Hinduism and given it a common philosophical background, had failed to purge it of great evils that had crept into it. *Vamamarga Dharma* had become popular at this period, specially in Kashmir and Bangal. The followers of this creed indulged in wine, flesh, fish and women, and they believed in the motto of ‘eat, drink and be merry’. The vicious ideas of this school had permeated some of our educational institutions, patricularly in the University of Vikramasila in Bihar. An incident that took place at the above named university shows how deep the moral canker had gone into our life in that age. A student priest was found with a bottle of wine and, on being interrogated by the university authorities, he revealed that it had been given to him by a nun. When the authorities decided to take disciplinary action against him, the members of the university split up into two parties and the result was trouble. When such an incident could take place at a highest seat of learning, the condition of the upper and middle class people, who lived in sloth and luxury, can well be imagined. Our great *mathas*, which were originally great seats of learning and piety, became centres of luxury and idleness. Many of the monks became licentious. The order of the *sannyasis* lost its significance, but the common people continued showing them reverence. Another evil which can be traced in its exaggerated form to this period was the *devadasi* system. Every important temple had a number of unmarried girls dedicated to the service of the deity. This bred corruption and temple prostitution became common. Tantrik literature which was obscene in the extreme, developed rapidly in this era. It produced an adverse effect on our morals. It was not considered derogatory by the greatest of our scholars of this period to write obscene books. A minister to one of the kings in Kashmir wrote a book named *Kuttini Matam* or ‘Opinions of a Go-Between’. Another great Sanskrit scholar, Kshemendra, published *Samaya Matraka* or ‘the Autobiography of a Prostitute’. In this book “the heroine describes her adventures in every sphere of society, as a courtesan, as the mistress of a noble, as a street walker, as a go-between, as a false nun, as a corrupter of the youth and as a frequenter of religious places.” All this led to moral degeneration among the upper and the middle class people. Probably the common folk were free from the debasing effect of current literature and *Vamamarga* religion.