Class 12 Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts Mock Test (CBSE)

Topics in Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts

• A mosaic of religious beliefs and practices
• Poems of prayer: early traditions of bhakti
• The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu
• The Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka
• New strands in the fabric: Islamic traditions
• The growth of Sufism
• The Chishtis in the subcontinent
• New devotional paths: dialogue and dissent in northern India
• Kabir, Baba Guru Nanak and Mirabai
• Reconstructing histories of religious traditions

Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts practice questions with answers

1. Q1Multiple choice·1 mark
   Which local deity in Puri, Odisha, was identified with Vishnu, exemplifying the integration of diverse local and pan-Indian religious traditions?

   1. (a)Sun God
   2. (b)Lingaraja
   3. (c)Jagannath
   4. (d)Vitthala
   Show answer and step marks

   1. Correct option: (c) Jagannath+1

   Answer: (c)
2. Q2Multiple choice·1 mark
   The important compilation of Tamil hymns of the Alvars, which was often referred to as the Tamil Veda, is known as:

   1. (a)Tiruvachakam
   2. (b)Nalayira Divya Prabandham
   3. (c)Tevaram
   4. (d)Periya Puranam
   Show answer and step marks

   1. Correct option: (b) Nalayira Divya Prabandham+1

   Answer: (b)
3. Q3Short answer·2 marks
   State any two distinct features of the devotional tradition established by the Alvars and Nayanars in Tamil Nadu.
   Show answer and step marks

   1. First feature, any one of: Alvars were devotees of Vishnu and Nayanars of Shiva; they composed and sang hymns in Tamil while travelling from place to place; the shrines they visited became pilgrimage centres; their devotees came from diverse social backgrounds, from Brahmanas to artisans, cultivators and 'untouchable' castes (some historians see this as a protest against caste); women saints such as Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar were part of it; their hymns were compiled as the Nalayira Divyaprabandham and the Tevaram; or any other valid feature.+1
   2. Second feature, a different one from the same list.+1

   Answer: Any two of: Alvars worshipped Vishnu and Nayanars Shiva; they sang hymns in Tamil while travelling between shrines that became pilgrimage centres; devotees came from all social backgrounds including women such as Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar; their hymns were compiled as the Nalayira Divyaprabandham and the Tevaram.
4. Q4Short answer·3 marks
   Describe how the coming of new Islamic traditions influenced the religious and cultural landscape of the Indian subcontinent.
   Show answer and step marks

   1. First influence, briefly explained, any one of: new Muslim communities formed as Arab traders and later Turkish and Afghan rulers settled, e.g. the Mappilas of Malabar, who adopted Malayalam and local customs; rulers treated Jews, Christians and later Hindus as zimmis (protected people) who paid the jizya tax; rulers gave land grants and tax exemptions to Hindu, Jaina, Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish religious institutions; the Khojahs (an Ismaili Shia group) spread Qur'anic ideas through ginans, devotional songs in ragas in Punjabi, Multani, Sindhi, Kachchi, Hindi and Gujarati; mosques kept universal features (orientation towards Mecca, mihrab, minbar) but followed local styles, e.g. the temple-like roof of a thirteenth-century mosque in Kerala and the brick Atiya mosque in Bengal; Persian words and Indo-Islamic art forms spread; Sufi saints and bhakti saints such as Kabir and Guru Nanak engaged with both traditions, questioning ritual and orthodoxy; or any other valid influence.+1
   2. Second influence, a different one from the same list, briefly explained.+1
   3. Third influence, a different one from the same list, briefly explained.+1

   Answer: Any three of: new Muslim communities such as the Mappilas, who kept Malayalam and local customs; non-Muslims treated as zimmis (protected people) paying jizya; land grants and tax exemptions to Hindu, Jaina, Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish institutions; Khojah ginans sung in ragas in regional languages; mosques in local building styles; spread of Persian words and Indo-Islamic art; dialogue between Sufi and bhakti saints such as Kabir and Guru Nanak; or any other valid influence.

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