Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026)
Space and Culture, India

Special Articles

Everyday Ethics as Authority: Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri and Cross-Community Devotion in Thirteenth-Century Rajputana

Published 2026-09-26

  • Vishal Singh Bhadauriya
    • ,
  • Shubham Mishra
    • ,
  • Shweta Tripathi
    • ,
  • Sidhyendra Sisodia

Vishal Singh Bhadauriya
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of History, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

Shubham Mishra
Senior Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

Shweta Tripathi
Senior Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

Sidhyendra Sisodia
UGC-Senior Research Fellow, Malaviya Centre for Peace Research (MCPR), Faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005 India.

Abstract

This study examines the moral authority of Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri (1192–1274 AD) in the Hindu–Jain environment of thirteenth-century Rajputana. It argues that his authority was shaped less by doctrinal accommodation than by an everyday ethics that made Chishti sanctity intelligible across social and religious boundaries. Subsistence-based livelihood, household austerity, vernacular accessibility, distance from patronage, and a discipline of non-harm together formed a style of conduct that could be publicly recognised as morally credible. The study draws on a genre-sensitive reading of Chishti tazkira and malfūẓāt texts alongside a local manuscript tradition, treating these materials as institutional memory rather than transparent social description. It also considers Nagaur's later devotional life as a possible afterlife of this ethical credibility. Given the archive's predominantly hagiographical and retrospective character, the study does not claim to reconstruct social reality directly or to prove cross-community reception in a complete sense. Instead, it shows how ethical discipline was represented as a basis of saintly authority in a plural regional setting.

Keywords

Sufism, Chishti Order, Everyday Ethics, Nagaur, Rajasthan/Rajputana, Inter-Communal Devotion

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Author Biography

Vishal Singh Bhadauriya

Dr. Vishal Singh Bhadauriya's research focuses on historical trends, economic history, and broader Asian themes, with particular attention to ethnographic approaches to regional and social dynamics. He examines the intersection of economic structures and cultural practices, exploring how historical processes shape social and economic systems. He has contributed to several academic publications, offering fresh insights into India’s economic history and its connections to wider Asian contexts.

 

Shubham Mishra

Shubham Mishra's research interests focus on social inequality, social change, and the everyday dynamics of community life, with particular attention to the intersections of class, caste, and labour.  

Shweta Tripathi

Shweta Tripathi's research interests include social inequality, gender and labour, and the everyday dynamics of community life, with particular attention to how caste and class shape lived experience.

Sidhyendra Sisodia

Sidhyendra Sisodia's broad area of interest is in international relations theory, particularly in fine-grained theoretical approaches that explore the complexities of state behaviour. His current research focuses on the regional rivalry between India and China in the Indian Ocean Region through the lens of the security dilemma. He is especially interested in how power asymmetry, strategic uncertainty, and regional dynamics contribute to mistrust and competition between major powers while also shaping the strategic
choices of smaller states in the region.

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