Identify the correct statements for early traditions of 'bhakti':

(A) Historians of religion often classify the 'bhakti' tradition into three broad categories.
(B) These traditions are often called saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes).
(C) The saguna focused on worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, and his avatars.
(D) Nirguna bhakti, on the other hand, was worship of an abstract form of god.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(B), (C) and (D) only

The correct answer is Option (4) → (B), (C) and (D) only

(A) Historians of religion often classify the 'bhakti' tradition into three broad categories. (Incorrect). At a different level, historians of religion often classify bhakti traditions into two broad categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes). The former included traditions that focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars (incarnations) and forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceptualised in anthropomorphic forms. Nirguna bhakti on the other hand was worship of an abstract form of god.
(B) These traditions are often called saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes). (Correct)
(C) The saguna focused on worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, and his avatars. (Correct)
(D) Nirguna bhakti, on the other hand, was worship of an abstract form of god. (Correct)