Eminent Personalities in India
10. Ancient and Medieval History
41. Basava :
He founded the Lingayats or Virashiva movement in Karnataka in around 12th century. His followers considered him to the reincarnation of Shiva. Virashivas were against caste system and other esoteric practices amongst Hindus.
42. Charak :
A renowned physician of Ayurveda. Authored Charaksamhita in 1st century AD. It contained teachings on cures for many diseases.
43. Chaitanya (1485-1533) :
Viswambar Mishra or Chaitanya was the initiator of a very broad movement which involved an organized sect, a theology and a broad-based popular cult. The Chaitanya movement was a Vaishnava Bhakti movement and disregarded the Veda and Vedantis.
44. Chand Bardai :
He was the court poet of Prithiviraj Chauhan- III of Delhi. He wrote the epic bardic tale Chanda Raisa or Prithviraja Raso. This work glorifies his patron and his for love for Samyukta.
45. Chakrapani :
A renowned Sanskrit scholar and an expert on medical knowledge during the eleventh century Bengal. He wrote Commentaries on Charaka and Sushruta.
46. Charvaka :
He was an exponent of the Materialistic School (Lokayata) of Indian philosophy. He discarded the authority of the Vedas, the existence of soul and expounded a philosophy which asked men to eat, drink and make merry . to enjoy life to its fullest as they did not believe in life after death.
47. Dhanga :
He was the most powerful king of the Chandella Dynasty. The grand temples of Khajuraho were built by him.
48. Dadu :
The most famous of the followers of Kabir's ideal. The great dream of his life was to unite all the divergent faiths in one bond of love and comradeship and he founded the Brahma-Sampradaya to propagate his ideals.
49. Dhoyi :
He was the court poet of king Lakshamana Sena of Bengal. Inspired from 'Meghadutam' of Kalidasa he wrote 'Pavandutam' which describes the adventure of Lakshamana Sena as prince.
50. Dhanananda :
The last of the Nanda kings who ruled in Magadha when Alexander the Great invaded India. He was defeated and killed by Chandragupta Maurya who established the Maurya dynasty.
51. Eknath :
Revived the bhakti Vaishnava spirit in Maharashtra. He was a mystic who showed how one could aspire for the deepest experience of religion within the ordinary framework of life. He was free of caste prejudice.
52. Francis Bernier :
He was French traveller who visited India during the regin of Shahjahan and gave a detailed account of India in his memoirs.
53. Fa hien :
A Chinese Buddhist traveller who visited India during the reign of Chandra Gupta, visited holy places related to Buddhism and studied many aspects of Buddhist philosophy.
54. Gulbadan Begum :
Daughter of Babur, she wrote Hamayunnama on the request of Akbar. This is the only book of Mughal period which gives a first hand account of Mughal haram.
55. Gosala :
A monk, was a contemporary of Buddha and Mahavira. He founded the Ajivika sect which survived till the early years of Gupta period.
56. Hemachandra :
One of the greatest Jain scholars of the 12th century A.D. who flourished in the court of Kumarapala, the Chalukyan king of Gujarat.
57. Huen Tsang :
A famous Chinese Buddhist monk who visited India during the reign of Harsha. He stayed in India for many years and studied at the university of Nalanda.
58. Ibn Batuta :
He was a Morrocan traveller who visited India during the reign of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq, who appointed him the chief Qazi. On his return, he acquired great fame and wrote 'Kitab-ul-Rehla'.
59. Jnanadeva :
One of the earliest bhakti saints of Maharashtra Jnaneshwar flourished in the 13th Century. He wrote the Marathi commentary on Gita known as Jnaneswari.
60. Jaideva :
A famous poet of Sanskrit, who wrote the masterpiece Gita Govinda in the 12th century. He worked during the reign of Sena ruler Laxmansena.
