UPSC Medieval India – Chapter 12: The Bhakti Movement (21 MCQs)

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UPSC Medieval India – Chapter 12: The Bhakti Movement (21 MCQs) – 21 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

The only woman among the twelve Alvars was:

Correct Answer: D [Andal]

Explanation:

Andal, the poet of the Tiruppavai, is the only woman among the twelve Vaishnava Alvars.

2.  

A woman saint counted among the sixty-three Nayanars was:

Correct Answer: B [Karaikkal Ammaiyar]

Explanation:

Karaikkal Ammaiyar, an early Shaiva poet, is one of the three women among the sixty-three Nayanars.

3.  

The philosophy of Dvaita was taught by:

Correct Answer: A [Madhvacharya]

Explanation:

Madhvacharya of Udupi (13th century) taught Dvaita, holding that God and individual souls are eternally distinct.

4.  

The Pushti marga (path of grace) was founded by:

Correct Answer: C [Vallabhacharya]

Explanation:

Vallabhacharya taught Shuddhadvaita and founded the Pushti marga, the path of divine grace centred on Krishna as Srinathji.

5.  

Basavanna led the:

Correct Answer: A [Virashaiva movement]

Explanation:

Basavanna, minister of the Kalachuri king Bijjala at Kalyana, led the twelfth-century Virashaiva or Lingayat movement.

6.  

The vachanas of Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi were composed in:

Correct Answer: A [Kannada]

Explanation:

Basavanna, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi composed their vachanas (sayings) in Kannada, the language of the people of Karnataka.

7.  

The devotional poems called abhangas are associated with:

Correct Answer: B [Tukaram]

Explanation:

Tukaram, the seventeenth-century Varkari saint, composed his devotional songs to Vitthala as Marathi abhangas.

8.  

The deity at the centre of the Varkari tradition is:

Correct Answer: A [Vitthala of Pandharpur]

Explanation:

The Varkari tradition centres on Vitthala (Vithoba) of Pandharpur, to whom devotees walk in the annual wari.

9.  

Ekasarana dharma was preached by:

Correct Answer: B [Sankaradeva]

Explanation:

Sankaradeva of Assam preached Ekasarana dharma, exclusive devotion to one god, Krishna-Vishnu, through satras and namghars.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. Kabir was a nirguna saint.
2. Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi.
3. Surdas was a disciple of Ramanuja.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Kabir was a nirguna saint and Tulsidas wrote in Awadhi, but Surdas was a disciple of Vallabhacharya, not Ramanuja.

11.  

Assertion (A): Bhakti saints composed their songs in regional languages.

Reason (R): They wished to reach ordinary people who did not know Sanskrit.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Saints used Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi precisely so that ordinary people who knew no Sanskrit could understand them.

12.  

The Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas is written in:

Correct Answer: D [Awadhi]

Explanation:

Tulsidas composed the Ramcharitmanas, his retelling of the Ramayana, in Awadhi in the sixteenth century.

13.  

The saint regarded as the father of Carnatic music is:

Correct Answer: C [Purandaradasa]

Explanation:

Purandaradasa, a Haridasa saint of Vijayanagara times, systematised music teaching and is called the father of Carnatic music.

14.  

The philosophy associated with Chaitanya is:

Correct Answer: D [Achintya bhedabheda]

Explanation:

Chaitanya's Gaudiya Vaishnavism teaches Achintya bhedabheda, the inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference of God and soul.

15.  

The Nalayira Divya Prabandham is a collection of the hymns of the:

Correct Answer: B [Alvars]

Explanation:

The Nalayira Divya Prabandham collects the Tamil hymns of the twelve Vaishnava Alvars and was compiled by Nathamuni.

16.  

According to tradition, Kabir was a disciple of:

Correct Answer: C [Ramananda]

Explanation:

Tradition names Ramananda of Varanasi, who taught Rama bhakti and accepted disciples from all castes, as Kabir's guru.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Tukaram
2. Alvars and Nayanars
3. Basavanna
4. Kabir

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-3-4-1]

Explanation:

Order: Alvars and Nayanars (6th–9th) → Basavanna (12th) → Kabir (15th) → Tukaram (17th centuries).

18.  

The one-act plays called Ankiya Naat are associated with:

Correct Answer: A [Assam]

Explanation:

The one-act plays called Ankiya Naat were created in Assam by the Vaishnava saint Sankaradeva to spread devotion to Krishna.

19.  

The Tirumantiram, a text of the Tamil Siddha tradition, was composed by:

Correct Answer: C [Tirumular]

Explanation:

Tirumular, the Tamil Siddha (also counted among the Nayanars), composed the Tirumantiram, part of the Shaiva Tirumurai.

20.  

Mirabai was a devotee of:

Correct Answer: D [Krishna]

Explanation:

Mirabai was a saguna devotee of Krishna, whom she worshipped as Giridhar Gopal in her songs.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2016

With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements:

1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry. 2. Lingayats of Kannada region questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: C [Both 1 and 2]

Explanation:

both describe the Siddhas and the Lingayats accurately.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U02 · Medieval India (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-medieval-india

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