Which of the following is not true about the Lingayats?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → On death, the devotee will be united with Vishnu.
The Lingayats (wearers of the linga), also called Virashaivas, were the followers of Basavanna in twelfth-century Karnataka.
Option (1) On death, the devotee will be united with Vishnu. — Incorrect. Lingayats believe that on death the devotee will be united with Shiva, not Vishnu, and will not return to this world.
Option (2) They ceremonially bury their dead. — Correct. Since the devotee does not return to this world, they do not practise cremation; instead, they ceremonially bury their dead.
Option (3) They worship Shiva in his manifestation as a ‘linga’. — Correct. Their very name, Lingayats, means wearers of the linga; they worship Shiva in this form.
Option (4) Lingayats wear a small linga in a silver case on a loop strung over the left shoulder. — Correct. The men usually wear it so.
NCERT (2026-27): “3. The Virashaiva Tradition … The twelfth century witnessed the emergence of a new movement in Karnataka, led by a Brahmana named Basavanna (1106-68) who was a minister in the court of a Kalachuri ruler. His followers were known as Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (wearers of the linga). Lingayats continue to be an important community in the region to date. They worship Shiva in his manifestation as a linga, and men usually wear a small linga in a silver case on a loop strung over the left shoulder. Those who are revered include the jangama or wandering monks. Lingayats believe that on death the devotee will be united with Shiva and will not return to this world. Therefore they do not practise funerary rites such as cremation, prescribed in the Dharmashastras. Instead, they ceremonially bury their dead.…” |