Choose the correct options out of the following statements.

(A) 'Saguna' is the type of worship based on the form of god and goddess.
(B) Alvars were the devotees of Shiva.
(C) 'Nirguna' is the type of worship based on the abstract form of god.
(D) Nayanars were the devotees of Vishnu.
(E) Compositions of 12 Alvars were compiled in the 'Nalayira Divyaprabandham'.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(A), (C), (E) only

The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (C), (E) only

Given statements:

(A) 'Saguna' is the type of worship based on the form of god and goddess. (CORRECT)
(B) Alvars were the devotees of Shiva. (INCORRECT)
(C) 'Nirguna' is the type of worship based on the abstract form of god. (CORRECT)
(D) Nayanars were the devotees of Vishnu. (INCORRECT)
(E) Compositions of 12 Alvars were compiled in the 'Nalayira Divyaprabandham'. (CORRECT)

Correction in the incorrect statements:

(B) Alvars were the devotees of VISHNU, not Shiva.

(D) Nayanars were the devotees of SHIVA, not Vishnu.

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.

The importance of the traditions of the Alvars and Nayanars was sometimes indicated by the claim that their compositions were as important as the Vedas. For instance, one of the major anthologies of compositions by the Alvars, the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, was frequently described as the Tamil Veda, thus claiming that the text was as significant as the four Vedas in Sanskrit that were cherished by the Brahmanas.