THEME-6 BHAKTI - SUFI TRADITIONS Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts (QUESTION ANSWERS)

THEME-6

BHAKTI - SUFI TRADITIONS

Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts

(QUESTION ANSWERS)

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OTQ (1 marks )

Q1:- What do you mean by Hagiographies?

Ans- Hagiographies or biographies of saints written by their followers.

Q2: After 8^th century which three new deities appeared?

 Ans- Brahma,Vishnu, Shiva.

Q3: Worship of goddess is often associated with………….tradition especially  in north eastern India?

Ans- Tantrik

Q4: Which principal deities of Vedic pantheon become marginal figures now?

Ans- Agni, Indra, Soma

Q5.Write down two broad categories of bhakti tradition.

Ans- Sagun And Nirgun Bhakti

Q6.Who emerged as leaders around whom there developed a community of devotees?

Ans-Bhakti Saints as Kabir Dass, Mirabai, Basvanna, Appar, Andal,  etc.

Q7: What is the meaning of Lingayats?

Ans- Wearer of Lingas

Q8: The term great and little traditions were coined by which sociologist?

Ans: Robert Redfield

Q9: The Virashaivas Movement in Karnatka led by which person ?

Ans: Basavanna.

Q10: Who was Basavanna ?

Ans: Basavanna was a minister in the court of a Kalachuri Ruler and founder of Virashaivas tradition.

Q11: By which other name we know the Virashaivas ?

Ans: Lingayats.

Q12: What is Shari’a ?

Ans: The Shari’a is the law governing the Muslim Community.

Q13: Write the name of any two Sufi Silsilas ?

Ans: Chisti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri, etc.

Q14: Who was the founder of Chisti Silsilas ?

Ans: Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti .

Q15: In which place Khwaja Muinuddin’s dargah was situated?

Ans: Ajmer Rajasthan .

Q16: Who were Alavars?

Ans. In southern India the devotees of Vishnu were called Alvars.

Q17. Give the name of any four well known reformers of Bhakti movement.

Ans: Meera Bai , Kabir , Raidas , Gurunanak .

Q18. What do you mean by Sufism?

Ans. The Sufis were Muslim saints who left a great impact on the Indian society Sufism originated in Persia.

Q19: What were the main Principle of Sufism?

Ans. Renunciation of worldly pleasure

Q20: What is the importance of Murshid in Sufi ideology?

Ans. According to Sufism, an individual must have a religious guide (Murshid)   through whom he can communicate with god.

Q21: Which Tamil text is known as Tamil Veda?

Ans. The Nalayira Divyaprabandham - composed by Alvar Saints. It is as important as Four Sanskrit Vedas.

Q22:Who was Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar?

Ans. Andal - Woman Alvar - She composed many poems.

Karaikkal Ammaiyar - devotee of Shiva.

Q23: State how historians of religion have classified Bhakti tradition?

Ans. - Bhakti traditions into two broad categories,

(i) Saguna - with attributes.

(ii) Nirguna - without attributes.

Q24: Wandering monks of Lingayat tradition were called as?

Ans- Jangam

Q25: Give reason for hostility between Nayanars and Jain, Buddhist tradition?

Ans- Competition between members of religious tradition for royal patronage.

Q26: Mention two social practices supported by Lingayat.

Ans- (i) Post Puberty marriage (ii)Remarriage of widows

Q-27: Which three main dities are worshipped in Puri temple?

Ans- Jagannath, His sister Subhadra and His brother Balaram

Q-28: The integration of cult has developed by which two process?

Ans- (i) By disseminating of brahmanical ideas

         (ii) Brahaman accepting the beliefs and practice of other social categories.

Q29:  A tamil saint Manikkavachakar was the devotee of which Bhakti tradition?

Ans- Nayanars

Q30: What are two peculiar feature of Puri temple?

Ans- The deities is made of wood by local tribal specialists.

Q31: Which woman devotee adopted the path of extreme asceticism?

Ans- Karaikkal Ammaiyar (Devotee of Shiva)

Q32:  Which chola ruler had consecrated metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar?

Ans- Parantaka-1

Q33: Which famous shiva temples were constructed under chola patronage?

Ans- Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangaikaondacholapuram

Q34: Which two categories of people that were considered eligible and accommodated in Bhakti tradition and considered ineligible in  Brahmanical framework?

Ans- Women and lower caste persons

Q35: ____________peasants supported both Alvars and Nayanars.

Ans- Vellala

Q36: What were the beliefs of lingayats regarding after death?

Ans- They believed that on death devotee will be united with shiva and will not return to world.

Q37: Who do not practice funerary rites such as cremation prescribed in Dharmashastras?

Ans- Lingayats. They ceremonially bury their dead body instead cremation.

Q38. The composition of Basavanna was known as --------------?

Ans- Vachanas

Q39. Scholars of Islamic studies and knowledge of ilm were known as______

Ans-Ulama

Q40. Tax paid by jews, Christians and hindu to muslim rulership is called .

Ans- Jizya.

Q41Which terms were used for Prayer niche in the wall and Pulpit in universal architectural features of Mosques.

Ans- For prayer niche in the wall –Miharab, For Pulpit- Minbar

Q42. Which chisti was popular by the name garib nawaz.

Ans- Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti

Q43. Write down the name of Padmawat.

Ans- Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

Q44. In __________Arab general ____________________conquered sind and make it a part of Calipha domain.

Ans- 711 AD. And Muhammad Bin Qasim.

Q45. Match the followings-

(i)                Prophet is messenger	(a) Sawn/Roza
(ii)             Prayer five times in a day	(b) Zakat
(iii)           Giving alm to needy	(c)  Namaz/salat
(iv)           Fasting during Ramzan	(d) Hajj
(v)             Performing pilgrimage to Mecca	(e)  Sahada

 

Ans-(i)-(e), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(a), (v)-(d)

Q46. The law governing of muslim community is called as.

Ans- Sharia.

Q47.In Sharia which were included?

Ans- Quran, Hadis, Kiyas, Ijma

Q48. Branches of Ismailis who developed new mode of communication influenced by indigenous literary traditions.

Ans-Khojas

Q49. The composition like wedding songs was called----------and lullabies were called________.

Ans- Lurinama and Shadinamma

Q50. The composition of kabir waere compilled by_____________________

Ans-Kabir panth and Dadupanth in Rajasthan.

Q51. Mirabai was a rajputa princess from_________in Marwar and married to prince of__________clan of Mewar in Rajasthan.

Ans- Merta, Sisodia

Q52. Write down the composition of Kabir Dass.

Ans- Kabir Bijak and Kabir Granthavali

Q53. Match the followings:-

(i)Turuksha	(a) Afgahnistan
(ii)Tajika	(b) Greek
(iii)Parshika	(c)  Tajikistan
(iv)Shakas	(d) Persia
(v)Yavanas	(e) Turkey

Ans- (i)-(e) , (ii)-c. (iii)-d, (iv)-a, (v)-b

Q54. The sufis who ignored ritual and observed extreme form of ascetism were known as.

Ans- Qalandars, Madaries, Malangs, Haidaris

Q55. Poems sung by womenwhile performing household chores like grinding grains and spinning were called.

Ans-Dakhani.

Q56. Write down local custome adopted by Arabic marchants who settled in Malabar coast.

Ans- Adopted local language Malayalam and local custom of Matriliny and matrilocal residence.

Q57. Who was the fifth Guru of Sikhism?

Ans- Guru Arjan dev

Q58.In which book Guru Nanak Hymans, along with other poets like Baba farid, Ravi das and Kabir are complied.

Ans- Adi Garanth Sahib

Q59 Padmavat is the story of which ruler.

Ans- Chitoor Ruler Rana Ratan singh and his wife Padmavat.

Q60. Write down the terms used by sufis-

Sr no	Words	Terms
1	Hospice	Khanqahs
2	Master	Saikh
3	Appointed successor	Khalifa
4	Disciples of Pir	Murids
5	Pir or Saikh or wali	Murshid
6	Continuous link between master and Disciple	Silsila
7	Tomb shrin of saikh	Dargah
8	Pilgrimage to dargah	Ziyarat
9	Death anniversary of Saikh	Urs
10	Open Kitchen	Langar
11	Plural of Wali	Auliya
12	Pilgrimage to Mecca	Hajj
13	offering prayers five times a day	Namaj/ Salat
14	Giving alams	Zakat
15	Fasting during the month of Ramzan	Sawm
16	One God Allah and prophet Muhammad is his messenger	Shahada

 

S. A. (3 Marks)

Q1.What were the five major principles of Islam?

Ans.- Belief in one god Allah and Prophet.

- Namaj (Five times every day).

- Zakat (Give alms to the poor).

- Haj visit.

- Fasting during the month of Ramzan.

Q2. What were the main teachings of the Lingayats?

Ans.  - Against the caste system.

- Questionsed belief in the theory of rebirth.

- Not believed in Child marriages.

- Encouraged widow's remarriage.

Q3.Discuss the ways in which the Alvars, Nayanars and the Virashaivas expressed critiques of the caste system?

Ans.  - The followers (Bhaktas) came from different social background.

- They challenged the idea of caste and pollution attributed by brahmanas.

- She adopted the path of extreme asceticim to gain her goal.

Q4.Analyze the influence that the Tamil Bhakti Saints had on the Chola  Rulers.

Ans.  - By giving land grants and constructing temples of Vishnu and Shiva.

- Sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja was also produced.

- To ensure the stability of Chola Kingdoms, they supported these saints.

- These kings introduced the singing of Tamil Shiva hymns in the temple.

- Took initiative to compile these hymns into text called Tevaram.

Q5.Describe the main features of Life in Shaikh Nizamuddin's Khanqah.

Ans.  - Situated in Ghiyaspur.

- Several small rooms and a big hall for prayer.

- Shaikh met visitors in morning & evening.

- It was also a centre of refuge.

- Langar system was also there which ran on futuh (unasked for charity).

- Many eminent personalities also visited here.

- Certain practices were performed at Khanqah.

- Shaikh appointed several spiritual successors.

Q.6 Analyze the relations which existed between the Chisti Sufi Saints and the State.

Ans.     - Sufi Saints maintained distance from worldly affair, but accepted donations and grants from state.

- Kings set up charitable trust, gave tax free lands.

- Donation disbursed to meet their daily requirements.

- Donation was not used for personal use.

- Kings often needed the Support of the Sufi Saints for their decisions.

- Kings constructed their Tombs near Sufi shrines and Khanqahs.

- Both (The kings and Saints) expected certain established rituals to be performed. Eg. prostration, kissing of the feet.

Q7. Explain with examples what historians meant by the integration of cults?

Ans.  - Two processes were at work, e.g. dissemination of brahmanical ideas.

- The efforts of brahmanas to rework the belief and practices of other social  women &Shudras.

- Deity Jagannaatha was said to be a form of Vishnu.

- Vishnu was visualized in different forms.

- The worship of goddess in the form of a stone smeared with ochre was wide spread.

- Local deities were made a part of the puranic traditions.

Q8.Describe the growth of Chishti Silsila of Sufism.

Ans.  - There were numerous orders of the Sufis in India.

- Eg, Chishti, Suharwardi, Qadiri, Naqshbandi etc.

- In India Chishti was most important order.

- They established themselves at Ajmer, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and the Deccan.

- Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti - called the Khwaja was the first saint of Chishti order.

- Other important saints were Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar, Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, Baba Farid etc.

- They used the language of people to propogate the ideas.

- Establishment of Khanqahas - for meeting people.

- They spread Islam among lower castes also.

- Sultans also granted rent free lands to the Khanqahs and to their Shaikhs.

- The textual traditions are written in several styles and languages.

Q9.Describe the origin of Bhakti Movement.

Ans. Causes of the Origin of the Bhakti movement - Evil practices of the Hindus.

- Fear of spread of Islam.

- Influence of Sufi Sects.

- Influence of Vaishnavism.

- Emergence of great reformers - eg. Namdeva, Ravidas, Ramanand, Surdas, Tulsidas, Mirabai, Kabir etc.

Q10. Write down about the text records , by which we come to know about Bhakti traditions.

Ans   -The Compositions attributed to poet saints. These were compiled by disciples or devotees generally after the death of saints.

-Hagiographies or biographies of saints written by their followers.

-The sculptures of many saints and the devotions by the many kingdoms also provide the sources to know about the famous saints.

Q11. Write down the features of tantric tradition.

Ans             -The forms of worship often associated with goddess were classified as Tantric.

-Tantric worship was wide spread in the subcontinent. It was open to women and men.

-Those who followed Tantric rejected the caste and class within the ritual context.

-Many of these ideas influenced Shaivism and the Buddhism, especially in eastern, northern and southern part of this sub-continent.

Q12. Explain the comparatives analysis of South India Bhakti tradition.

Ans   -During the sixth century, some of the Bhakti movements in south India were led by the Alvars and the Nayanars.

-                 -The literal meaning of the Alvars is those who are immersed in devotion to Vishnu.

-                     -The meaning of the word Nayanars is those who were devotees of Shiva.

-         -        They travelled from place to place singing hymns in Tamil in praise of their gods.

-                - During their travels the Alvars and Nayanars identified certain shrines as abodes of their chosen deities.

-                - Later big temples were built at those places and developed as pilgrimage centre’s.

-      -   According to some historians, the Alvars and the Nayanars started a movement of protest against the caste system and the Brahmanas and attempted to reform the system.

-         The devotees came from the different social backgrounds such as artisans, cultivators and even from the caste that were considered “untouchable”

-         The saint –poets the Alvars and the Nayanars were opposed to Buddhism and Jainism.

-         This hostility is well marked in their compositions particularly of the Nayanars.

Q13. Explain the relation of south India Bhakti tradition with the rulers.

Ans   -From the 2^nd half of the first millennium  Buddhism and Jainism was supported byPallavas and pandays.

-In theis new Bhakti tradition saints opposed the Jainism and Buddhism

-The Chola rulers supported the bhakti traditions and built temples for Shiva and Vishnu.

-Some of the magnificent temples for Shiva such as temples in Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholpuram were constructed under their patronage.

-The Chola rulers built temples often to claim divine support and proclaim their own power and status and adorned those temples with stone and metal sculpture to represent the visions of the popular saints.

-They made the spectacular representations of Shiva in bronze sculpture.

-The Chola kings introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns under royal patronage, taking the initiative to collect and organize them into a text (Tevaram).

-According to Inscriptional evidence, the Chola king Parantaka I had constructed the metal images of Appar,Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple.

-These were carried in procession during the festivals of these saints.

Q14. Which terms were used for the muslim communities till 14 th centuries.

Ans- Today we often use the term Hindu or Muslim for these communities but the historian find out from inscriptions and Sanskrit text that this term was not used for these people till 14 century.

-         Instead these term people were identifies by their region as Turkish for Turushka, Tajika for Tajikistan or Parshika for Persia.

-         Sometime Turks or Aghan were referred as Shakas  and Yavans (Greeks)

-         A term Mlechchha also used for these migrants which means they did not follow the norms of caste system and spoke different language instead of Sanskrit.

-         Hindu term was not used for the religion as we saw that it was used for the people who live near the river Sind.

Q15. Explain the term sufi. Write down its features.

Ans-The groups of religious minded people were called as Sufis in Islam. It is an English word. The word used for Sufism in Islam is Tasawwuf.

-         The term sufi were defined by many ways by historians-

-         It is derived from suf meaning wool, refer the course woolen clothes worn by sufis

-         Some told that it is derived from safa mens purity

-         It may also derived from suffa , the platform outside the prophet mosques, where followers assembled to learn about faith.

-         They were critical of the dogmatic definitions and scholastic methods of interpreting the Quran.

-         They emphasized on seeking salvation through intense devotion and love for God by following his command.

-         They emphasized interpretation of Quran on the basis of personal experience.

Q16. Write the difference between ba-sharia and be-sharia sufis.

BA-SHARIA	BE-SHARIA
1.Ba shara were those Sufis who adhere with the Shariat	1.Be-sharia Sufis were those who ignored shariat
2. They organized themselves around Khanqahs.	2.They boycott the khanqahs and took mendicancy and observed celibacy
3.  They were called as wali and saikh	3. They were known by different names-Qaladars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris etc.

Ans-

 

 

 

 

 

Q17. Write down the Composition and teaching of  Kabir Das

Ans   - The Kabir Bijak is preserved by the Kabirpanth (the path or sect of Kabir) in  Varanasi and in Uttar Pradesh.

-         The Kabir Granthavali is associated with the Dadupanth in Rajasthan and - many of his compositions are found in the Adi Granth Sahib.

-         Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects and sometimes with special language of nirguna poets (the sant bhasha) and others known as ulatbansi (upside-down sayings)

Ø Teachings of Kabir

-         Kabir tried to describe the Ultimate Reality including Islam. According to him the Ultimate Reality was Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. He also used certain Vedic terms such as Brahman and Atman.

-         He also used some yogic traditional terms such as shabda (sound) or shunya (emptiness).Some poems of Kabir expressed conflicting and diverse ideas.

-         Some poems attacked Hindu polytheism and idol worship and others use sufi concept of zikr and ishq(love) to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran (remembrance of God’s name).

-         Historians have tried to analyze the language, style and content of these poems. Debates about whether Kabir was a Hindu or a Muslim by birth are well reflected in hagiographies.

L. A. (8 Marks)

Q1. Analyze with Illustrations, why Bhakti and Sufi thinkers adopted a variety of language to express their opinions?

Ans.  -Bhakti and Sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages due to following reasons.

- To ensure their teachings spread rapidly and gained acceptance among the local population.

- Chishti saints conversed in Hindavi.

- Baba Farid composed verses in the local languages.

- Masnavis (long poems) expressing ideas of divine love using human love as an allegory were composed.

- Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat revolves around the romance of Padmini and Ratansen. -

-In Karnataka (Bijapur) short poems were written in Dakhani (a form or Urdu).

- These poems sung by women while performing household chores. Lorinama and Shadinama were other compositions.

- Sufis were influenced by the Kannada Vachanas and the Marathi abhangs of the saints of Pandharpur.

Q2. Write down the teaching of Guru NANAK Dev

Ans   - Baba Guru Nanak was born in a village called Nankana Sahib near Ravi in Punjab in 1469.

-         He trained to be an accountant and studied Persian.He was married at a young age but he spent most of his time among sufis and bhaktas.He also travelled widely.

Teachings of Guru Nanak

-         His teachings are well reflected in his hymns. These hymns suggest that he advocated a form of nirguna bhakti.He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship and the scriptures of Hindus and Muslims.

-         According to him, the Absolute or ‘rab’ had no gender or form. He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering the Divine Name.

-         He expressed his ideas through hymns called “shabad” in Punjabi, the language of the region and sang with different ragas.

-          He organized his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat).He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru).Guru Nanak did not want to establish a new religion.

-          After his death, his followers consolidated their own practices to form a distinct community.

-         The fifth guru, Guru Arjun compiled Guru Nanak”s hymns along with those of his four successors and other religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. These hymns called “gurbani” are composed in various languages.

-         The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth guru; Guru Tegh Bahadur.This scripture was called the Guru Grantha Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (army of the pure).He also defined its five symbols:

Uncut hair,

A dagger,

A pair of shorts,

A comb and

A steel bangle.

-         It was under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh that the community became a socio-religious and military force.

Q.3 The Pilgrimage of the Mughal Princes Jahanara, 1643. After praising one God.. this lovely fakir (humble soul) Jahanara - went from the capital Agra in the Company of my great father (Emperor shah Jahan) towards the pure region of incomparable Ajmer ............ and having taken off the rose scarf that I had on my head, I placed it on the top of the blessed tomb...........

(i) Who made the trip to Ajmer and why?

(ii) Who funded the initial construction of this saint's tomb and which king was the first to visit this shrine?

(iii) Why did this Shrine become popular?

Ans. –(i) Jahanara and Shah Jahan, to seek blessings from Saint Muinuddin Chishti.

(ii) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Khaliji funded and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq visited first.

(iii) Because of the piety and austerity of the Shaikh, greatness of his successors and patronage of royal visitors.