NCERT Solutions Class 12 History Chapter 6 Bhakti-Sufi Traditions

Concept used. The integration of cults is the process by which local, popular deities and forms of worship were gradually drawn into the larger Brahmanical, Puranic fold, while at the same time the Brahmanas accepted and reworked these local beliefs. Two processes worked together: the spread of Brahmanical ideas, and the absorption of local practices.

The two processes can be described like this:

1. Disseminating Brahmanical ideas. Puranic texts were composed, compiled and preserved in simple Sanskrit verse, meant to be accessible to women and Shudras, who were generally excluded from Vedic learning. This carried Brahmanical ideas to a wider public.
2. Accepting and reworking local cults. At the same time, the Brahmanas took up the beliefs and practices of local and other social groups and fitted them into the Puranic fold. Many beliefs were shaped through a continuous dialogue between the "great" Sanskritic Puranic tradition and the "little" local traditions.

The examples that prove it:

1. Jagannatha at Puri. By the twelfth century the principal deity at Puri in Orissa was identified as Jagannatha (literally, lord of the world), a form of Vishnu. Yet his image was, and still is, made of wood by local tribal specialists, so a local deity was recognised as a form of a major Puranic god.
2. Goddess cults. Worship of the goddess, often in the simple form of a stone smeared with ochre, was widespread. Such local goddesses were incorporated into the Puranic order by being made the wife of a principal male deity, equated sometimes with Lakshmi (wife of Vishnu) and sometimes with Parvati (wife of Shiva).

Integration of cults means local deities and forms of worship were absorbed into the Brahmanical Puranic fold, while Brahmanas also accepted and reworked local beliefs. The classic examples are Jagannatha of Puri, a local wooden tribal deity recognised as a form of Vishnu, and local goddesses (often just an ochre-smeared stone) turned into wives of Vishnu or Shiva, that is, Lakshmi or Parvati.

Concept used. A mosque (masjid) has some features that are the same everywhere, the universal ideals of the faith, and some features that change from place to place, the local traditions of building. The question asks how far the two are combined, and the answer is: to a very great extent.

The universal features (the same everywhere):

1. Orientation towards Mecca. Every mosque is oriented towards Mecca. This is shown in the placement of the mihrab (the prayer niche in the wall facing Mecca) and the minbar (the pulpit from which the sermon is delivered).

The local features (which vary):

1. Roofs and building materials. These differ widely from region to region, depending on local style and locally available material, brick, stone, wood, and so on.
2. Regional examples. The Kerala mosque (c. thirteenth century) has a shikhara-like roof, like a temple. The Atiya mosque in Mymensingh, Bangladesh (1609), is built of brick. The Shah Hamadan mosque in Srinagar (1395) is a fine example of Kashmiri wooden architecture, with a spire, carved eaves and papier-mache decoration.

The extent of the combination. So mosques in the subcontinent combine the universal and the local to a very large extent. The sacred core, orientation, mihrab, minbar, stays constant, while everything physical, roof, material, ornament, is borrowed from local building traditions. The complex blend of a universal faith with local custom is best seen in this architecture.

To a very great extent. Mosques keep universal features: orientation towards Mecca, shown by the mihrab (prayer niche) and minbar (pulpit). But their roofs, materials and ornament are local: the Kerala mosque has a temple-like shikhara roof, the Atiya mosque is of brick, and the Shah Hamadan mosque is fine Kashmiri woodwork. So the sacred core is universal while the building style is local.

Concept used. Both terms describe sufis, religious people who sought salvation through intense devotion and love for God. The difference lies in their attitude to the shari a, the law governing the Muslim community. Ba-shari a sufis complied with the shari a; be-shari a sufis deliberately defied it.

What they shared (the similarities):

• Both were sufis: both turned to asceticism and mysticism, seeking nearness to God through devotion and love rather than through scholastic, dogmatic interpretation of the Qur'an.
• Both grew out of the same protest, against the growing materialism of the Caliphate and the dry methods of the theologians.

How they differed (the differences):

1. Attitude to the shari a. This is the key difference. Ba-shari a sufis followed and complied with the shari a. Be-shari a sufis deliberately defied it.
2. Way of life. Many be-shari a mystics scorned the khanqah (the sufi hospice), took to mendicancy (begging) and observed celibacy. They ignored rituals and practised extreme forms of asceticism. Ba-shari a sufis, by contrast, lived in organised khanqahs under a shaikh.
3. Names. The be-shari a sufis were known by various names, Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris, and so on.

Both were sufis seeking God through devotion and asceticism, born of the same protest against materialism. The difference was their attitude to the shari a: ba-shari a sufis complied with it and lived in organised khanqahs, while be-shari a sufis defied it, scorned the khanqah, took to mendicancy and celibacy, and were known as Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs and Haidaris.

Concept used. The Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) and Nayanars (devotees of Shiva) of Tamil Nadu, and the Virashaivas or Lingayats of Karnataka, all challenged the caste system and Brahmanical dominance, though in different ways, through who they were, what they said, and how they lived.

The Alvars and Nayanars:

1. Diverse social origins. The bhaktas came from a wide range of backgrounds, from Brahmanas to artisans and cultivators, and even from castes considered "untouchable". This itself was a protest against caste exclusivity.
2. Their poetry claimed equality with the Vedas. One major anthology of Alvar compositions, the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, was described as the Tamil Veda, as important as the four Sanskrit Vedas cherished by Brahmanas. This challenged Brahmanical monopoly over sacred knowledge.
3. Direct criticism in verse. Saints attacked caste pride openly. Appar, a Nayanar, asked: "Of what use are your gotra and kula?" The Alvar Tondaradippodi said God prefers devotees who love him, "though they may be born outcastes", over learned Brahmanas without devotion.

The Virashaivas (Lingayats):

1. They rejected caste and "pollution". Led by Basavanna in twelfth-century Karnataka, the Lingayats challenged the idea of caste and the "pollution" attached to certain groups by Brahmanas. This won them followers among those marginalised in the Brahmanical order.
2. They questioned rebirth and Brahmanical rites. They questioned the theory of rebirth. They also rejected funerary rites like cremation, instead burying their dead, and encouraged practices the Dharmashastras disapproved of, such as post-puberty marriage and widow remarriage.

The Alvars and Nayanars critiqued caste by drawing devotees from all ranks (including "untouchables"), by claiming their Tamil hymns (the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, the "Tamil Veda") equalled the Sanskrit Vedas, and by openly mocking gotra and kula pride. The Virashaivas/Lingayats, led by Basavanna, rejected caste and "pollution", questioned rebirth, buried their dead instead of cremating, and encouraged widow remarriage and post-puberty marriage, against the Dharmashastras.

Concept used. The question lets you pick one poet-saint. We take Baba Guru Nanak (1469–1539), who taught a form of nirguna bhakti, devotion to a God without form, and ask both what he taught and how his message reached later generations.

His major teachings:

1. One formless God. For Baba Guru Nanak the Absolute, or "rab", had no gender and no form. He advocated nirguna bhakti, worship of an abstract God.
2. Rejection of outward ritual. He firmly rejected the external practices of the religions around him, sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities, and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.
3. A simple path of remembrance. He proposed a simple way to reach the Divine: remembering and repeating the Divine Name. He expressed this through hymns called "shabad" in Punjabi, the language of the region, singing them in various ragas while his attendant Mardana played the rabab.
4. A community of worship. He organised his followers into a community, set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving collective recitation, and appointed his disciple Angad to succeed him as guru.

How his teachings were transmitted:

1. Through hymns sung in sangat. His shabads were sung collectively in congregational worship, keeping his message alive among followers.
2. Through a line of gurus. The succession of preceptors he began (Angad onward) carried his teachings for nearly 200 years.
3. Through scripture. The fifth guru, Guru Arjan, compiled Baba Guru Nanak's hymns with those of his successors and of saints like Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. Later Guru Gobind Singh added Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns, and the scripture became the Guru Granth Sahib.

Baba Guru Nanak taught nirguna bhakti: one formless, genderless God ("rab"), reached not by ritual, idol worship or scripture but by remembering and repeating the Divine Name through Punjabi hymns ("shabad"). He organised congregational worship (sangat) and a line of gurus from Angad. His teachings were transmitted by collective singing in sangat, by the guru succession, and by their compilation in the Adi Granth Sahib (later the Guru Granth Sahib).

Concept used. Sufism (tasawwuf) was the mystical strand within Islam. Sufis sought salvation through intense devotion and love for God rather than through dry, scholastic interpretation of the Qur'an. The question asks for both their beliefs and their organised practices.

The major beliefs:

1. Devotion and love over dogma. Sufis turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the Caliphate. They were critical of the dogmatic definitions and scholastic methods of the theologians, and instead sought salvation through intense devotion and love for God, following His commands and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.
2. A personal reading of the Qur'an. They sought to interpret the Qur'an on the basis of their own personal experience of God.

The major practices:

1. The khanqah and the silsila. Sufis organised communities around the hospice (khanqah), controlled by a teaching master (shaikh, pir or murshid) who enrolled disciples (murids) and named a successor (khalifa). They formed silsilas, chains linking master to disciple in an unbroken spiritual genealogy reaching back to the Prophet.
2. The cult of the shaikh and ziyarat. When a shaikh died, his tomb-shrine (dargah) became a centre of devotion. This encouraged pilgrimage (ziyarat) to the grave, especially on his death anniversary (urs), to seek his blessings (barakat).
3. Sama and qawwali. They remembered God by reciting the Divine Names (zikr) and by performing mystical music (sama), including the qawwali sung by trained qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy.

Sufism (tasawwuf) was Islam's mystical strand. Its beliefs: salvation through intense devotion and love for God, not scholastic dogma, and a personal reading of the Qur'an. Its practices: organising around the khanqah under a shaikh, forming silsilas (chains to the Prophet), revering the shaikh's dargah through pilgrimage (ziyarat) on the urs, and remembering God through zikr and mystical music (sama, qawwali).

Concept used. The question has two parts: how rulers linked themselves to the Nayanars (Tamil devotees of Shiva) and the sufis, and why they did so. Both traditions were hugely popular, and kings wanted to share in that popularity and draw on it for legitimacy.

How rulers connected with the Nayanars:

1. Building grand temples. The Chola rulers (ninth to thirteenth centuries) built magnificent Shiva temples, at Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, adorned with stone and bronze sculpture that recreated the visions of these popular saints who sang in the language of the people.
2. Promoting Tamil hymns. They introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns in temples under royal patronage and took the initiative to collect and organise these into a text, the Tevaram.
3. Honouring the saints directly. Inscriptional evidence from around 945 shows the Chola ruler Parantaka I consecrated metal images of the Nayanars Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple, to be carried in festival processions.

How rulers connected with the sufis:

1. Patronising shrines. Rulers visited and endowed sufi dargahs. Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the first Sultan to visit Khwaja Muinuddin's shrine at Ajmer; Akbar went there fourteen times, gave a huge cauldron (degh) in 1568, and built a mosque in the compound.
2. Grants and tombs nearby. Sultans set up charitable trusts (auqaf) and gave tax-free land (inam) to hospices, and often wanted their own tombs built near sufi shrines.

Why they did it. The reasons were about legitimacy:

1. Both Nayanars and sufis commanded enormous popular devotion. The Nayanars and Alvars were revered by the Vellala peasants, and people of all creeds flocked to sufi dargahs. By associating with them, kings won the support of these large followings.
2. Sufis derived their authority directly from God. When the Turks set up the Delhi Sultanate among a non-Muslim majority, they avoided imposing the shari a and instead sought legitimacy from sufis, who did not depend on jurists.
3. It was believed the auliya could intercede with God to improve men's material and spiritual lot, so kings sought their blessings.

Rulers linked themselves to the Nayanars by building grand Shiva temples (Chola temples at Thanjavur, Chidambaram), promoting Tamil hymns (Tevaram), and consecrating saints' images (Parantaka I). They linked themselves to sufis by visiting and endowing dargahs (Akbar at Ajmer fourteen times, with a degh and a mosque) and granting auqaf and inam. Why? Both traditions were hugely popular and sufis drew authority from God, so kings used the connection for legitimacy and mass support.

Concept used. The question asks why bhakti and sufi thinkers wrote and sang in so many different languages, not just in Sanskrit, Arabic or Persian. The short reason is that they wanted to reach ordinary people directly, so they chose the languages those people actually spoke, while also keeping some prestige languages for scholarship.

The reasons, with illustrations:

1. To reach ordinary people in their own speech. Bhakti poet-saints mostly expressed themselves orally in the regional languages of ordinary people. The Alvars and Nayanars sang in Tamil; Basavanna and the Lingayats composed vachanas in Kannada; Baba Guru Nanak sang shabads in Punjabi. Using the local tongue let the message bypass the Sanskrit-Brahmana monopoly.
2. Sufis adopted the language of the locality. In Delhi, those of the Chishti silsila conversed in Hindavi, the language of the people. Baba Farid composed verses in the local language, later included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Around Bijapur, Chishti sufis wrote short poems in Dakhani (a variant of Urdu).
3. To fit the song to daily life. Some Dakhani poems were sung by women at household chores like grinding and spinning; others took the form of lurinama (lullabies) or shadinama (wedding songs), so the teaching slipped into everyday activities.
4. To express divine love through familiar stories. Some sufis composed long masnavis using human love as an allegory for divine love, like Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat, in a local idiom, on the romance of Padmini and Ratansen.
5. Kabir's deliberate mixing. Kabir's verses survive in several languages and dialects, including the sant bhasha of the nirguna poets, drawing on Islamic, Vedantic and yogic vocabulary at once.

Bhakti and sufi thinkers used many languages mainly to reach ordinary people in their own speech and to spread devotion beyond the Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian elite. Illustrations: Tamil (Alvars, Nayanars), Kannada vachanas (Basavanna), Punjabi shabads (Nanak), Hindavi and Dakhani (Chishti sufis), and the Padmavat masnavi (Jayasi). Songs were even shaped as lullabies and grinding songs to fit daily life, and Kabir deliberately mixed dialects and traditions.

Concept used. This is a source-based essay. You pick any five of the chapter's numbered Sources and draw out the social and religious ideas in each. Below are five clear choices, each with the idea it expresses; in the exam, name the source and state its idea.

Five sources and their ideas:

1. Source 1 (Tondaradippodi, an Alvar). He says Vishnu prefers devotees who love his feet, "though they may be born outcastes", over learned Chaturvedins without devotion. Idea: devotion matters more than caste or birth, a critique of caste pride.
2. Source 2 (Appar, a Nayanar). He asks, "Of what use are your gotra and kula? Just bow to Marperu's lord (Shiva)." Idea: caste lineage is worthless before God, only devotion to Shiva counts.
3. Source 4 (Basavanna's vachana). People pour milk on a stone serpent but kill a real one; they feed a stone image but turn away a hungry servant of God. Idea: a sharp attack on empty ritual and hypocrisy, true worship is serving the living, not idols.
4. Source 7 (Jahanara's pilgrimage to Ajmer). The Mughal princess records walking barefoot, kissing the ground, circling the tomb seven times. Idea: the depth of sufi devotion (ziyarat) and the special, sacred status of the dargah.
5. Source 10 (Kabir, "The One Lord"). "God is called by many names: Allah, Ram, Karim, Keshav, Hari, Hazrat. Distinctions are only words we invent." Idea: there is one God behind all names, a rejection of Hindu-Muslim division.

Pulling the ideas together. Read together, these five sources express two big themes: a religious idea of one God reached through sincere devotion (Tondaradippodi, Jahanara, Kabir), and a social idea attacking caste, ritual and communal division (Appar, Basavanna, Kabir).

Five sources and their ideas: Source 1 (Tondaradippodi), devotion matters more than caste; Source 2 (Appar), gotra and kula are worthless before Shiva; Source 4 (Basavanna), an attack on empty ritual and hypocrisy; Source 7 (Jahanara), the depth of sufi ziyarat and the sacredness of the dargah; Source 10 (Kabir), one God behind many names, rejecting communal division. Together they preach devotion over ritual, one God over many, and equality over caste.

Concept used. This is a map-work task. You mark three sufi shrines (dargahs) and three temple places, one for a form of Vishnu, one for Shiva and one for the goddess, drawn from the chapter and its timeline. Below is the guide for what to mark; on the actual map, locate each one in its correct state.

Three major sufi shrines to plot:

1. Ajmer (Rajasthan), the dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti ("Gharib Nawaz"), the most revered Chishti shrine, visited by Akbar.
2. Delhi, the dargah of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, the great Chishti shaikh of the fourteenth century.
3. Ajodhan (Pakistan), the dargah of Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i Shakar (Baba Farid). (You may instead mark Fatehpur Sikri, the dargah of Shaikh Salim Chishti.)

Three temple places to plot (one each of Vishnu, Shiva, goddess):

1. A form of Vishnu, Puri (Orissa): the temple of Jagannatha, a form of Vishnu, discussed in the chapter as an example of integration.
2. Shiva, Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu): the great Chola Shiva temple, built by rulers who patronised the Nayanars. (Chidambaram or Gangaikondacholapuram also work.)
3. The goddess, a goddess shrine: mark a well-known Devi temple such as those of the Shakti tradition; the chapter notes goddess cults were widespread across the land.

Sufi shrines: Ajmer (Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti), Delhi (Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya), and Ajodhan or Fatehpur Sikri (Baba Farid or Salim Chishti). Temple places: Puri for Jagannatha (a form of Vishnu), Thanjavur (or Chidambaram) for Shiva, and a well-known Devi temple for the goddess. Mark each in its correct state.

Concept used. This is a research-and-report project. There is no single correct answer; you are marked on how well you research two chosen saints and organise the report under the set headings. A strong choice is Kabir and Mirabai, since the chapter gives rich detail on both. The guide below shows how to structure it.

1. Choose two saints and set your headings. Pick two (for example Kabir and Mirabai), and use the question's own headings: (a) area and times, (b) major ideas, (c) how we know about them, (d) why they are important.
2. Area and times. Kabir (c. fourteenth–fifteenth centuries) lived around Awadh and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, among weavers (julahas). Mirabai (c. fifteenth–sixteenth centuries) was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar, married into the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan.
3. Major ideas. Kabir described one Ultimate Reality using Islamic, Vedantic and yogic terms, attacked idol worship and communal division, and used ulatbansi (upside-down sayings). Mirabai rejected her royal duties, took Krishna as her lover-god, and sang intense bhajans of devotion, defying caste and patriarchy.
4. How we know about them. For Kabir: the Kabir Bijak, Kabir Granthavali and the Adi Granth Sahib, plus later hagiographies. For Mirabai: the bhajans attributed to her, transmitted orally for centuries.
5. Why they are important. Both inspired those who questioned entrenched religious and social norms; their songs are still sung, especially by the poor and "low caste", showing a living legacy.

Pick two saints (for example Kabir and Mirabai) and report under the set headings: their area and times (Kabir in Awadh/Varanasi, c. 14th–15th c.; Mirabai in Merta/Mewar, Rajasthan, c. 15th–16th c.), their major ideas (Kabir's one God and attack on ritual and division; Mirabai's devotion to Krishna defying caste and patriarchy), how we know them (Kabir's Bijak, Granthavali and Adi Granth; Mirabai's orally-transmitted bhajans), and why they matter (both still inspire and are sung today).

Concept used. This is a fieldwork-and-research project on pilgrimage (ziyarat) to the sufi shrines in the chapter. There is no single correct answer; you are marked on how clearly you answer each part of the question using the chapter and your own enquiry. The guide below shows how to organise it.

1. Pick a shrine and confirm it is still active. Choose a shrine from the chapter, for example Ajmer (Muinuddin Chishti) or Delhi (Nizamuddin Auliya). Yes, these pilgrimages are still undertaken; virtually all these traditions continue to flourish today.
2. When are the shrines visited? Note the key times: especially the death anniversary or urs of the saint, and other auspicious days. The chapter records that the shrine of Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli drew crowds particularly on Sundays and during Diwali.
3. Who visits, and why? Record that people of all creeds, classes and backgrounds visit, Muslims and Hindus alike (Dargah Quli Khan noted both at Chiragh-i Dehli). They come to seek the saint's blessings (barakat), cures from illness, the fulfilment of vows, and material and spiritual benefit; Akbar himself sought sons and victories at Ajmer.
4. What activities take place? List them: offering a chadar, flowers or itar at the tomb; tying threads and making vows; the singing of qawwali and sama by qawwals; communal meals from the langar; and, at some shrines, fairs and merrymaking under the trees during the urs.

Research a shrine such as Ajmer or Nizamuddin's dargah. Yes, these pilgrimages (ziyarat) continue today. Shrines are visited especially at the saint's urs (death anniversary) and on special days (Sundays, Diwali at Chiragh-i Dehli). Visitors of all creeds and classes, Hindu and Muslim, come to seek blessings (barakat), cures, and the fulfilment of vows. Activities include offering chadars, flowers and itar, qawwali and sama, the langar, and fairs during the urs.