Chapter – 6

Bhakti-Sufi Traditions

In this post, we have given the Important Questions of Class 12 History Chapter 6 (Bhakti-Sufi Traditions) in English. These Important Questions are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

Board	CBSE Board, UP Board, JAC Board, Bihar Board, HBSE Board, UBSE Board, PSEB Board, RBSE Board
Textbook	NCERT
Class	Class 12
Subject	History
Chapter no.	Chapter 6
Chapter Name	(Bhakti-Sufi Traditions)
Category	Class 12 History Important Questions in English
Medium	English

1 Marks Questions

Q1: The term great and little traditions were coined by which sociologist ?

Ans: Robert Redfield

Q2: The Virashaivas Movement in Karnatka led by which person ?

Ans: Basavanna.

Q3: Who was Basavanna?

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

Q4: By which other name we know the Virashaivas?

Ans: Lingayats.

Q5: What is Shari’a?

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

Q6: Write the name of any two Sufi Silsilas?

Ans: Chisti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri, etc.

Q7: Who was the founder of Chisti Silsilas ?

Ans: Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti .

Q8: In which place Khwaja Muinuddin’s dargah was situated?

Ans: Ajmer Rajasthan .

Q9: Who were Alavars?

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

Q10. Give the name of any four well known reformers of Bhakti movement.

Ans: Meera Bai , Kabir , Raidas , Gurunanak .

Q.11. 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.

Q12. What were the main Principle of Sufism?

Ans. Renunciation of worldly pleasure

Q13. 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.

Q14.Which Tamil text is known as Tamil Veda?

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

Q15.Who was Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar?

Ans.

• Andal – Woman Alvar – She composed many poems.
• Karaikkal Ammaiyar – devotee of Shiva.

Q.16. State how historians of religion have classified Bhakti tradition?

Ans. Bhakti traditions into two broad categories,

• (i) Saguna – with attributes.
• (ii) Nirguna – without attributes.

3 Marks Questions

Q17. What were the four 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.

Q.18.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.

Q19. 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.

Q20. 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.

Q.21.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.22. 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.

Q.23. 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 categories, 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.

Q.24. 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 converted the Hindus to Islam.
• They used the language of people to propogate the ideas.
• Establishment of Khanqahas – for meeting people.
• They spread Islam among lower castes also.
• Mullas were also popular.
• Sultans also granted rent free lands to the Khanqahs and to their Shaikhs.
• The textual traditions are written in several styles and languages.

Q25.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.

8 Marks Questions

Q.26. 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 of 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

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