A UNIQUE PHENOMENON

Consequently, in that one mirror of writing it is possible to see reflections of ever so many forms. In fact, Hindi is the result of just such natural and voluntary mixtures, whose oldest specimens can be witnessed in Siddha literature. The late Kashi Prasad Jayaswal and Rahul Sankrityayana were the first people who drew attention to these Siddha poets in terms of the origin and development of Hindi, and to the fact that through them the early period of Hindi authentically goes back to the eighth century A.D. (Quoted in Amrit Rai, A Divided House: The Origin and Development of Hindi/Hindavi.)¹⁸ 

As would be obvious from the foregoing quotation, Siddha poets played a critical role in the development of the Hindi language. They represented a revolt against practices which are associated with vamacara (esoteric occult practices of the mantra and the tantra, of wine and women.) They preached a simplistic religion with no mantra or tantra. Called the Sahajayani marga, this trend, starting from the east, conquered the west up to Kabul and beyond. Goraknath, the greatest religious figure since Shankaracharya in the eighth century, was central to this enterprise. He was born in the tenth century. His followers, known as Nath-Panthi Yogis and, subsequently, Kabir and his Nirgun school of poets dominated the scene for 600 years till Ram and Krishna worship took over in the sixteenth century. This remarkable phenomenon of Nath-Panthi Yogis has passed out of our consciousness, though in north-western India, one could encounter them up to the nineteen-twenties. But its importance cannot be overemphasized.

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