Swami Haridas
Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Swami Haridas was a 16th-century bhakti saint, poet and musician of Vrindavan, near Mathura. Bhakti means loving devotion to God. He sang devotional songs to Krishna in the dhrupad style, a serious and old form of Hindustani classical music. Tradition says he was the teacher of Tansen, the great singer at Akbar's court. He links the bhakti movement with the growth of classical music in Mughal times.
Example
A popular story says that Akbar went to Vrindavan in disguise with Tansen to hear Swami Haridas sing. The Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, a classical music festival, is held in his memory today.
Don't confuse with
- Haridasa movement: a separate bhakti movement in Karnataka linked to Purandara Dasa and Carnatic music, not to Vrindavan.
Related concepts
- Fatehpur Sikri
- Buland Darwaza
- Panch Mahal
- Ibadat Khana
- Din-i-Ilahi
- Maktab Khana
- Razmnama
- Hamzanama
- Daswanth and Basawan
- Navaratnas of Akbar