Read the passage and answer the questions:
Early Traditions of Bhakti
In course of evolution of these forms of worship, poet-saints emerged as leaders around whom there developed community of devotees in many instances. Further, while Brahmanas remained important intermediaries between gods and devotees in several forms of bhakti, these traditions also accommodated and acknowledged women and “lower castes,” categories considered ineligible for liberation within orthodox Brahmanical framework. What also characterized traditions of bhakti, was remarkable diversity. At 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 worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, and his avatars and forms of goddess or Devi, all often conceptualized in anthropomorphic forms. Nirguna bhakti, on other hand, was worship of an abstract form of god. Some of earliest bhakti movements (c. sixth century) were led by Alvars (literally, those who are “immersed” in devotion to Vishnu) and Nayanars (literally, leaders who were devotees of Shiva). They travelled from place to place singing hymns in praise of their gods.
The tradition of worshipping deities in anthropomorphic form is referred to as ________________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Saguna
‘Anthropomorphic’ means imagined in human form. The bhakti traditions that worshipped deities in such forms are called saguna, bhakti ‘with attributes’.
Option (1) Saguna — Correct. Saguna traditions focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars, and forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceived in anthropomorphic forms.
Option (2) Nirguna — Incorrect. Nirguna bhakti, bhakti without attributes, was the worship of an abstract form of god, the very opposite of a god in human form.
Option (3) Tēvāram — Incorrect. The Tevaram is a collection of the poems of the Nayanars Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar, compiled in the tenth century. It is a book of hymns, not a kind of worship.
Option (4) Brahmanical — Incorrect. The Brahmanical tradition is the orthodox framework in which Brahmanas acted as intermediaries between gods and devotees. It is not the name for worship of deities in human form.
NCERT (2025-26): “2. Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti … What also characterised traditions of bhakti was a remarkable diversity. 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.…” |