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 70 A HISTORY OF HINDI LITERATURE {santa ras). Much of their verse is smooth and rhyth- mical, and the artistic influences which had come into Hindi literature were no doubt felt by them to a certain extent. But their interest was religious rather than literary, and few of them rank high amongst Hindi poets. If their verses are less rugged than those of Kabir, they are also often lacking in the vigour and charm which characterise his work. The subjects dealt with in these voluminous works are not very extensive. The need of a guru and the respect due to him, the value of the repetition of the name of God, the supreme importance of devotion {bhakti), the delusions of may a, the value of truth, the duty of living a righteous and sober life, these and a few kindred topics are repeated over and over again, in different ways, at interminable length, in a manner which to the ordinary reader is apt to be tedious. Nevertheless there are many striking pas- sages to be found w^hich are full of beauty and inculcate valuable lessons. During the greater part of this period the North of India was passing through a time of great political change. The reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) was a long struggle against disintegrating forces, and after him the political disorder grew worse. Internecine strife and rebellion were frequent. The invasions of Nadir Shah (1739) and afterwards of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1756) were a time of terrible disaster. The Marathas also were constantly attacking the Mughal Empire, which by the end of this period ceased to exist except in name.^ It was a time of frequent calamity, of persecution' and tyranny ; but during this period many thoughtful men sought peace of heart in piety and quietism, and it was in such circumstances that much of the religious verse referred to in this chapter was produced. In these poems the writers not only expressed their own aspiration and feeling after God, but gave forth many beautiful thoughts which were a solace to others in times of distress, and an incentive to them to live nobly and to seek after the highest ends. The sects whose literature is described in this chapter all owe something to Kabir, in some cases