Identify the saints whose images were consecrated in a Shiva temple in 945 C.E.
A. Parantaka
B. Sundarar
C. Appar
D. Basavanna
E. Sambandar
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → B, C, E Only
A. Parantaka Incorrect. Parantaka I was the Chola ruler who consecrated the images; he was a king, not one of the saints.
B. Sundarar Correct. Inscriptional evidence from around 945 suggests that Parantaka I consecrated metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple; they were carried in processions during the festivals of these saints.
C. Appar Correct. Appar was a Nayanar saint; his poems, with those of Sambandar and Sundarar, form the Tevaram.
D. Basavanna Incorrect. Basavanna (1106-68) led the Virashaiva movement in Karnataka in the twelfth century, about two centuries after these images were set up.
E. Sambandar Correct. Sambandar is the third saint named in the same inscriptional evidence.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.4 Relations with the state … These kings also introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns in the temples under royal patronage, taking the initiative to collect and organise them into a text (Tevaram). Further, inscriptional evidence from around 945 suggests that the Chola ruler Parantaka I had consecrated metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple. These were carried in processions during the festivals of these saints.” |