Bhakti - Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts — NCERT Solutions

Introduction:
Throughout medieval Indian history, rulers — both Hindu and Muslim — sought to establish connections with popular religious traditions. This was a deliberate political and social strategy to legitimise their authority and win the loyalty of their subjects.

Rulers and the Nayanar Tradition:

The powerful Chola rulers (9th–13th centuries) were the most prominent patrons of the Nayanar tradition:

1. Temple Construction: The Cholas built some of the most magnificent Shiva temples — at Chidambaram, Thanjavur, and Gangaikondacholapuram — recreating the visions of the Nayanar saints in stone and bronze sculpture.

2. Incorporation of Tamil Hymns: The Chola kings introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns (Tevaram) in temples under royal patronage and took the initiative to collect and organise them into a text.

3. Consecration of Saint Images: Inscriptional evidence from around 945 CE shows that the Chola ruler Parantaka I consecrated metal images of Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar in a Shiva temple, and these were carried in processions during festivals.

Why? The Nayanars were revered by the Vellala peasants — a powerful social group. By associating themselves with these saints, the Chola kings claimed divine support, proclaimed their own power and status, and won the loyalty of the peasantry.

Rulers and the Sufi Tradition:

1. Mughal Patronage of Dargahs: Akbar visited the dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti at Ajmer fourteen times, seeking blessings for conquests, fulfilment of vows, and the birth of sons. He offered generous gifts, including a huge cauldron (degh) for pilgrims, and had a mosque constructed within the dargah compound.

2. Mughal Princess Jahanara: The Mughal princess Jahanara undertook a pilgrimage to Ajmer in 1643, demonstrating the deep personal devotion of the Mughal royal family to the Chishti tradition.

3. Land Grants: Several Mughal rulers, including Akbar and Aurangzeb, made grants to non-Muslim religious leaders, indicating a policy of religious accommodation.

4. Aurangzeb's Letter to a Jogi: Even Aurangzeb, often portrayed as orthodox, wrote a respectful letter to a Jogi, offering gifts and expressing reverence — showing that political considerations shaped religious patronage.

Why? Sufi shrines attracted people from all walks of life — Hindus and Muslims alike. By associating with popular sufi saints, rulers gained legitimacy among a wide cross-section of the population. The dargahs also served as important social institutions that could mobilise public opinion.

Conclusion:
Rulers established connections with both Nayanar and sufi traditions primarily to legitimise their authority, win popular support, and project an image of piety and divine favour. These connections were thus as much political as they were religious.

Introduction:
One of the most striking features of the bhakti and sufi movements was their deliberate choice to communicate in the languages of the common people rather than in the elite languages of Sanskrit or Arabic/Persian. This was a conscious strategy rooted in their social, religious, and political goals.

Reasons for Adopting Vernacular Languages:

1. To Reach the Common People:
The primary aim of bhakti and sufi thinkers was to spread their message of devotion and equality to the widest possible audience. Sanskrit was the language of the Brahmanical elite, and Arabic/Persian was the language of the Islamic scholarly establishment. By using vernacular languages, these thinkers could communicate directly with ordinary people — peasants, artisans, women, and those considered 'low caste'.

Illustration: The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu composed their hymns in Tamil, the language of the people. Their compositions were so powerful that they were incorporated into temple rituals and compiled into anthologies like the Nalayira Divyaprabandham and the Tevaram.

2. To Challenge Brahmanical and Clerical Authority:
By composing in vernacular languages, bhakti and sufi thinkers implicitly challenged the monopoly of Brahmanas over Sanskrit texts and of Islamic scholars over Arabic/Persian learning. They asserted that the path to God was open to all, regardless of linguistic or scholarly attainment.

Illustration: The Virashaivas of Karnataka composed vachanas (sayings) in Kannada. Basavanna's vachanas directly critiqued empty ritual and caste hierarchy in the language of the people.

3. To Express Devotion More Authentically:
Vernacular languages were the languages of emotion and everyday life. They were better suited to express the intense personal devotion that characterised bhakti and sufi poetry.

Illustration: Mirabai composed her bhajans in Rajasthani/Brajbhasha, expressing her intense love for Krishna in the language of her own people. Her songs continue to be sung across Gujarat and Rajasthan.

4. Adaptation to Local Traditions:
The Chishtis in particular were known for their ability to adapt to local linguistic environments. This helped them spread their message effectively across different regions.

Illustration: Baba Farid composed verses in the local Punjabi language, which were later incorporated into the Guru Granth Sahib. The Chishtis in Delhi conversed in Hindavi, the language of the people. Sufi poets in the Deccan composed in Dakhani (a variant of Urdu), with songs set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel (Charkhanama) that women could sing while doing household chores.

5. Use of Multiple Languages by a Single Thinker:
Some thinkers used multiple languages to reach diverse audiences.

Illustration: Kabir composed in sant bhasha (a mixed language used by nirguna poets), drawing on Hindi, Punjabi, and other dialects. His compositions were understood across a wide geographical area. Amir Khusrau used Persian, Hindavi, and Urdu in his qawwali compositions.

6. Allegorical and Poetic Expression:
Long poems (masnavis) in vernacular languages were used to express complex sufi ideas through allegory.

Illustration: Malik Muhammad Jayasi composed the Padmavat in Awadhi, using the romance of Padmini and Ratansen as an allegory for the soul's journey to God.

Conclusion:
The adoption of vernacular languages by bhakti and sufi thinkers was thus a deliberate, multi-layered strategy. It was simultaneously a tool of social inclusion, a challenge to elite authority, a means of authentic emotional expression, and a method of effective communication. This linguistic diversity is one of the most enduring legacies of these movements.

Introduction:
The sources included in this chapter offer rich insights into the social and religious ideas of the bhakti and sufi traditions. The following analysis examines five sources.

Source 1: Tondaradippodi (Alvar) — 'The chaturvedin and the outcaste'

Social Idea: This composition directly challenges the caste hierarchy. Tondaradippodi, himself a Brahmana, declares that Vishnu values devotees born as outcastes who express love for His feet more than learned Brahmanas (chaturvedins) who are strangers to His service.

Religious Idea: The path to God is determined by devotion (bhakti), not by birth or learning. This is a classic statement of the nirguna/saguna bhakti principle that divine grace is accessible to all.

Source 2: Appar (Nayanar) — 'Shastras or devotion?'

Social Idea: Appar questions the relevance of gotra (lineage) and kula (caste/family) — the very foundations of the Brahmanical social order. He dismisses those who quote law books (shastras) to justify social distinctions.

Religious Idea: True religion lies in surrendering to Shiva, not in following the prescriptions of the Dharmashastras. Both Tondaradippodi and Appar share a similar attitude — they challenge Brahmanical authority and emphasise personal devotion over ritual and birth.

Source 4: Basavanna — 'Rituals and the real world'

Social Idea: Basavanna uses sharp, ironic contrasts to expose the hypocrisy of ritual religion. People pour milk on a stone serpent but kill a real one; they offer food to an idol that cannot eat but turn away a hungry servant of God. This is a critique of the social indifference that hides behind religious ritual.

Religious Idea: True devotion must be expressed in action and compassion towards living beings, not in empty ritual. Basavanna argues for a religion that is socially engaged and humanistic.

Source 7: Jahanara — 'The pilgrimage of the Mughal princess, 1643'

Social Idea: This source shows that sufi devotion transcended gender and class boundaries. A Mughal princess — one of the most powerful women of her time — undertook a pilgrimage with intense personal humility, going barefoot, kissing the ground, and rubbing her face with the dust of the threshold.

Religious Idea: The dargah is portrayed as a sacred space where the devotee seeks the spiritual grace (barakat) of the sufi saint. The gestures of Jahanara — circumambulating the tomb seven times, placing a rose scarf on it, applying itar — reflect the deep reverence for the Wali (Friend of God) as an intermediary between the devotee and Allah.

Source 10: Kabir — 'The One Lord'

Social Idea: Kabir directly addresses the communal conflict between Hindus and Muslims. He argues that both are mistaken — one kills the goat (Muslims), the other kills cows (Hindus), and both waste their lives in disputation. This is a powerful critique of religious intolerance and communal violence.

Religious Idea: God is one, known by many names — Allah, Ram, Karim, Keshav, Hari, Hazrat. Just as gold remains gold whether shaped into rings or bangles, God remains one regardless of the name used. Kabir advocates a universal, nirguna conception of the Divine that transcends all religious boundaries.

Conclusion:
Taken together, these five sources reveal the central social and religious ideas of the bhakti and sufi traditions: the rejection of caste hierarchy, the critique of empty ritual, the emphasis on personal devotion, the accessibility of God to all regardless of birth or religion, and the importance of compassion and humility. These ideas were expressed in the languages of the people and continue to resonate across centuries.

Instructions for Map Work:

On an outline map of India, mark and label the following:

Three Major Sufi Shrines:

1. Ajmer (Rajasthan) — Dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (Gharib Nawaz), died 1235. This is the most revered Chishti shrine in the subcontinent.

2. Delhi — Dargah of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, died 1325. Located in Nizamuddin, Delhi, on the banks of the Yamuna.

3. Ajodhan/Pakpattan (Pakistan) — Dargah of Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i Shakar (Baba Farid), died 1265.

(Alternatively, the dargah of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Delhi or Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli in Delhi may also be plotted.)

Three Temple Sites:

1. Temple of Vishnu (Vaishnava):

• Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) — Venkateswara Temple, one of the most important Vaishnava shrines in India.
• (Alternatively: Vrindavan/Mathura, Uttar Pradesh — associated with Krishna worship.)

2. Temple of Shiva (Shaiva):

• Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu) — Nataraja Temple, built under Chola patronage, associated with the Nayanar tradition.
• (Alternatively: Thanjavur or Gangaikondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu.)

3. Temple of the Goddess (Shakta):

• Vaishno Devi (Jammu & Kashmir) — One of the most important goddess shrines in India.
• (Alternatively: Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam, or Vindhyavasini Temple, Uttar Pradesh.)

Note: Use distinct symbols for sufi shrines (e.g., a crescent) and temples (e.g., a flag/trident for Shiva, a conch for Vishnu, a lotus for the goddess). Add a legend/key to the map. Ensure all locations are accurately plotted on the outline map of India.

Project Report: Kabir and Mirabai

KABIR (c. 14th–15th centuries)

Area and Times:
Kabir lived in Varanasi (Banaras), Uttar Pradesh, during the 14th–15th centuries. This was a period of significant political and social change — the Delhi Sultanate was in decline, regional kingdoms were emerging, and there was considerable interaction between Hindu and Islamic traditions. Varanasi was a major centre of both Hindu learning and trade.

Major Ideas:

• Belief in a formless, attributeless God (nirguna bhakti) accessible to all.
• Rejection of caste distinctions, idol worship, and empty ritual.
• Critique of both Hindu and Muslim religious orthodoxy.
• Emphasis on personal devotion and the inner spiritual journey.
• Use of paradoxical 'upside-down sayings' (ulatbansi) to convey the ineffable nature of God.
• God is one, known by many names (Allah, Ram, Brahman).

How We Know About Him:

• His verses were compiled in three traditions: the Kabir Bijak (Kabirpanth, Varanasi), the Kabir Granthavali (Dadupanth, Rajasthan), and the Adi Granth Sahib (Sikhism).
• Later hagiographies (biographies of saints) also provide information, though these must be used critically.
• By the 19th century, printed anthologies of his verses circulated across Bengal, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Why Important:
Kabir's message of universal brotherhood, rejection of caste, and the oneness of God remains profoundly relevant today. His followers, the Kabirpanthis, continue to transmit his teachings. His verses are sung across India by people of all communities.

MIRABAI (c. 15th–16th centuries)

Area and Times:
Mirabai was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar (Rajasthan), married into the Sisodia clan of Mewar. She lived during the 15th–16th centuries, a period of Rajput political power and intense bhakti devotion in northern India.

Major Ideas:

• Intense personal devotion to Krishna (avatar of Vishnu) as her divine lover and husband.
• Rejection of social obligations — she refused to accept the traditional role of wife and mother.
• Defiance of patriarchal norms and royal authority in favour of spiritual freedom.
• Her songs express the soul's longing for union with the Divine through the metaphor of human love.
• According to tradition, her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker — indicating her defiance of caste norms.

How We Know About Her:

• Primarily through the bhajans (devotional songs) attributed to her, transmitted orally for centuries.
• Later biographies and hagiographies provide additional information.
• Her songs are preserved in oral tradition and in written collections across Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Why Important:
Mirabai is a symbol of spiritual courage and the power of devotion to transcend social constraints. Her songs continue to be sung by millions, especially women and those from marginalised communities. She represents the possibility of a direct, personal relationship with God that bypasses all social hierarchies.

Conclusion:
Both Kabir and Mirabai challenged the social and religious orthodoxy of their times. Their teachings, expressed in the languages of the people, continue to inspire millions across India and the world. They remind us that the quest for the Divine is universal and cannot be confined by caste, gender, or religious boundaries.

Project Report: Pilgrimage Practices at Shrines Mentioned in the Chapter

1. Dargah of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, Ajmer (Rajasthan)

Is the pilgrimage still undertaken? Yes, very actively. The Ajmer dargah is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in India.

When is it visited? The shrine is visited throughout the year. The most important occasion is the Urs (death anniversary) of the Khwaja, celebrated in the Islamic month of Rajab. Thousands of pilgrims gather for six days of prayers, music, and devotion.

Who visits? People from all religious communities — Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians — visit the shrine. It is truly a site of composite devotion. Historically, Mughal emperors like Akbar visited it regularly.

Why do they visit? Pilgrims seek the barakat (spiritual grace) of the Khwaja, pray for the fulfilment of wishes, healing from illness, and general well-being. The Khwaja is known as 'Gharib Nawaz' (Comforter of the Poor).

Activities: Offering of flowers, chaddars (sheets), and itar (perfume) at the tomb; listening to qawwali (devotional music); distribution of food (langar); circumambulation of the tomb; recitation of prayers.

2. Dargah of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi

Is the pilgrimage still undertaken? Yes. The dargah in Nizamuddin, Delhi, is visited daily by thousands of devotees.

When is it visited? Daily, but especially on Thursdays (considered auspicious for sufi shrines) and during the Urs of the Shaikh.

Who visits? People of all faiths and social backgrounds — continuing the tradition of the Shaikh's khanqah, which was open to all.

Why do they visit? To seek the Shaikh's spiritual intercession, for healing, and for the experience of divine grace.

Activities: Qawwali performances (especially on Thursday evenings); offering of flowers and chaddars; prayers at the tomb; visiting the adjacent tomb of Amir Khusrau.

3. Chidambaram Temple (Tamil Nadu) — Shiva as Nataraja

Is the pilgrimage still undertaken? Yes. The Nataraja temple at Chidambaram is one of the most important Shaiva pilgrimage sites in South India.

When is it visited? Throughout the year, with major festivals during Natyanjali (a dance festival in February/March) and Arudra Darshan (in the Tamil month of Margazhi, December/January).

Who visits? Shaiva devotees from across Tamil Nadu and beyond; classical dancers who perform at the Natyanjali festival.

Why do they visit? To worship Shiva in his form as Nataraja (Lord of Dance); to seek blessings; to participate in the rich tradition of Tamil Shaiva bhakti associated with the Nayanars.

Activities: Temple worship (puja); circumambulation of the temple; classical dance performances; recitation of Tevaram hymns.

Conclusion:
The pilgrimages associated with the shrines mentioned in this chapter are very much alive today. They continue to attract millions of devotees from diverse religious and social backgrounds, testifying to the enduring power of the bhakti and sufi traditions. These pilgrimages are not merely religious events — they are also important social and cultural occasions that bring communities together and sustain living traditions of music, poetry, and devotion.