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Home › Exam notes › UPSC Civil Services › Bhakti & Sufi Traditions

Bhakti & Sufi Traditions

History & Culture

Useful for: UPSC Civil Services

Overview

Bhakti and Sufi movements emphasised personal devotion, equality and vernacular expression, shaping India’s religious and literary culture.

Key points

  • Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) and Nayanars (devotees of Shiva) led Tamil bhakti (c. 6th–9th centuries).
  • Shankaracharya taught Advaita; Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita; Madhva Dvaita.
  • Nirguna saints: Kabir, Guru Nanak; saguna saints: Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai.
  • Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal), Shankaradeva (Assam, sattras), and the Varkari saints Jnaneshwar, Namdev and Tukaram (Maharashtra).
  • Sufi orders: Chishti (Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer; Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi), Suhrawardi, Qadiri and Naqshbandi (orthodox; Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi).
  • Sufis lived in khanqahs and used sama (devotional music).

Practice MCQs

  1. From the perspective of definition and scope, which one of the following statements about Bhakti & Sufi Traditions is correct?

    1. Bhakti traditions developed in multiple languages and regions and cannot be treated as one uniform movement.
    2. All Bhakti and Sufi traditions rejected every ritual, institution and social hierarchy in exactly the same manner.
    3. Bhakti & Sufi Traditions is unrelated to institutions, processes or real-world applications.
    4. Bhakti & Sufi Traditions has no exceptions or limitations in exam analysis.

    Read chapter notes · Similar questions

    Show answer

    Answer: (a) Bhakti traditions developed in multiple languages and regions and cannot be treated as one uniform movement.. Bhakti traditions developed in multiple languages and regions and cannot be treated as one uniform movement.

  2. Consider the following statements on Bhakti & Sufi Traditions, focusing on definition and scope: 1. Bhakti traditions developed in multiple languages and regions and cannot be treated as one uniform movement. 2. Many poet-saints emphasized personal devotion and critiqued social or ritual exclusivity in different ways. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2

    Read chapter notes · Similar questions

    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2. Both statements are correct.

More topics in this chapter

Notes and questions are written by Kundali IQ for practice. They are not official papers; always check the latest official notification for the syllabus and pattern.