Suratrana

Suratrana (IAST: Suratrāṇa, सुरत्राण) is a Sanskrit word that has been interpreted to mean either "protector of gods", or a transliteration of the Islamic word "Sultan" into Sanskrit.[1][2] The term consists of two words "sura" (सुर) meaning "deva, gods, deity",[3] and trana (त्राण) meaning "protect, preserve, defend".[4][5][note 1]

Suratrana is found in Indian texts and inscriptions, its interpretation is controversial particularly when the context relates to the post 12th-century medieval period of Hindu-Muslim interaction during Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.[8] For example, the word is found in a long Sanskrit stone inscription found at a temple at Hampi in Karnataka and dated to 1344 CE.[9] The Nāgarī script inscription includes the term Hinduraya Suratrana, which Benjamin Lewis Rice translates as "the Suratrana of Hindu Rayas".[9][note 2] The term Hindu raya suratrana is also seen in some stone inscriptions found in Andhra Pradesh, the earliest dated to about 1352 CE.[11]

Some scholars have interpreted this to mean "the Sultan among Hindu kings" and state this to be an evidence of Islamic political traditions being adopted by Hindu kings,[12][8][note 3] as well as that Indian kingdoms recognized their religious identity of being Hindu and of Hinduism by early 14th century.[11] Others interpret the term Hinduraya Suratrana to mean "protectors of the gods of (or among) the Hindu kings".[8][17][18]

A few other inscriptions in South India use the word Suratrana, sometimes as part of the term Hinduraya Suratrana, and sometimes in modified form. For example, the Akkalapundi Grant inscription of 1368 CE for Kapaya Nayaka of Warangal who fought the Delhi Sultanate armies, refers to the Nayaka as Andhrasuratranah (Andhra-Suratranah, or the Suratranah of the Andhra).[19] A related term Hinduravu Suradhani (IAST: Hindurāvu Suradhāni) is found in an Ongole inscription for Sariyapati Timmareddi of Andhra region, and is dated to 1482 CE. According to Wagoner, both Suratrana and Suradhani are transliterations of Sultan.[19][note 4] Suradhani found in Hindurāvu Suradhāni term is also a composite of two words, "Sura" and "Dhani", with Dhani meaning "possessor, housing, virtuous keeper".[20] The term Suratrana appears in a Warangal inscription dated to about 1570 CE, for Aravidu king Tirumala I, as Urigola Suratranah meaning the "Suratranah of Urigola" or "Suratranah of Warangal". Wagoner interprets it as "Sultan of Warangal".[19]

See also

Notes
  1. Sura, in most contexts means "god, divinity, deity", but also means in other contexts someone "supreme, with superhuman power". A related word Suretara is found in the Bhagavata Purana, which means "other than a Sura, an Asura".[6] The word Trāṇa is found in Vedic literature, such as in Apastamba Mantra Brahmana's section 2.17 and Apastambiya Gryhasutra's section 5.13.[7]
  2. Raya is a Sanskrit word and means "king, prince".[10]
  3. The Hinduraya suratrana term in inscriptions has been coupled with long brocaded headdress (kullayi) and others shown in some royalty-related reliefs found in Hampi as additional support for the hypothesis that 'Islamicization of Hindu culture' in 14th-century.[13] The long headdress are also seen in the royalty-related and secular artwork in Pattadakal dated from the 7th and 8th century, about 5 centuries before the first Sultanate was formed in South Asia.[14] Similar conical headdress is seen in other sites such as the Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Aihole and Badami, variously dated from the 2nd century CE to 10th century CE.[15][16]
  4. Sanskrit and Indian languages have distinct letters "l", "r", "tr" and "t"; for example, one nagari versions are "ल", "र", "त्र" and "त" respectively.

References
  1. P. Acharya (1946), Jajnagar from epigraphic and literary sources from Orissa and Bengal, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 9 (1946), pp. 215-227, Quote: "Suratrana means the protector of gods"
  2. Habib, Irfan (1997). "The Formation of India: Notes on the History of an Idea". Social Scientist. 25 (7/8): 3–10. doi:10.2307/3517600. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 3517600., Quote: "Hindu-suratrana ('the Hindu Sultan')"
  3. Sura, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 1234
  4. Trāṇa, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 457
  5. Alain Daniélou (1964). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4.
  6. Monier Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, pages 457-458
  7. A Vedic Concordance, Maurice Bloomfield, Harvard University Press, page 448
  8. Pollock, Sheldon (1993). "Ramayana and Political Imagination in India". The Journal of Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press. 52 (2): 284–285. doi:10.2307/2059648. JSTOR 2059648.
  9. Benjamin Lewis Rice (1905). Epigraphia Carnatica: Inscriptions in the Kolar District. Mysore Government Central Press. pp. 113–114.
  10. राय, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 878
  11. David Lorenzen (2017). J. E. Llewellyn (ed.). Defining Hinduism: A Reader. Taylor & Francis. pp. 73–75. ISBN 978-1-315-47563-9.
  12. Rajat Kanta Ray (2003). The Felt Community: Commonalty and Mentality Before the Emergence of Indian Nationalism. Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-19-565863-7.
  13. Wagoner, Phillip B. (1996). ""Sultan among Hindu Kings": Dress, Titles, and the Islamicization of Hindu Culture at Vijayanagara". The Journal of Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 55 (4): 853. doi:10.2307/2646526. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2646526.
  14. George Michell (2002). Pattadakal. Oxford University Press. pp. 65–68, 54–73. ISBN 978-0-19-565651-0.
  15. Lisa Owen (2012). Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora. BRILL Academic. pp. 68–71. ISBN 978-90-04-20630-4.
  16. Walter M. Spink (2005). Cave by Cave. BRILL Academic. pp. 38–40, 78–79, 225–227. ISBN 90-04-15644-5.
  17. Habib, Irfan (1999). "The Envisioning of a Nation: A Defence of the Idea of India". Social Scientist. 27 (9/10): 18–29. doi:10.2307/3518100. JSTOR 3518100.
  18. A.R. Kulkarni (1970), Social Relations in the Maratha Country in the Medieval Period, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 32, Issue 1, pp. 231-268, Quote: "Suratrana has been interpreted by some as the 'protector of gods' (...)"
  19. Wagoner, Phillip B. (1996). ""Sultan among Hindu Kings": Dress, Titles, and the Islamicization of Hindu Culture at Vijayanagara". The Journal of Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 55 (4): 862 footnote 8. doi:10.2307/2646526. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2646526.
  20. Vijayaraghava Rangacharya (1985). A topographical list of the inscriptions of the Madras Presidency. Asian Educational Services. p. 786.
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