Saguna bhakti traditions do not include:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Worship of an abstract form of god
Historians of religion classify bhakti traditions into two broad categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes).
Option (1) Traditions that focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars (incarnations) — Correct. Saguna bhakti included traditions that focused on specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars.
Option (2) Forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceptualized in anthropomorphic forms — Correct. The forms of the goddess, imagined in human form, were also part of saguna bhakti.
Option (3) Worship of an abstract form of god — Incorrect. Worship of an abstract form of god is nirguna bhakti, devotion to a god without attributes.
Option (4) Worship of a form of god with attributes — Correct. ‘With attributes’ is the very meaning of the word saguna.
NCERT (2026-27): “2. Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti … 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.…” |