Identify the incorrect statements regarding the 'Virashaiva' tradition:
(A) The twelfth-century witnessed the emergence of a new movement in Kerala.
(B) This movement was led by Nayanars.
(C) They practiced funerary rites such as cremation.
(D) The tradition discouraged post-puberty marriages and remarriage of widows.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (B), (C) and (D)
(A) The twelfth-century witnessed the emergence of a new movement in Kerala. Incorrect statement. The twelfth century saw the emergence of the new movement in Karnataka, not Kerala; the Virashaivas continue to be an important community in that region.
(B) This movement was led by Nayanars. Incorrect statement. The movement was led by a Brahmana named Basavanna (1106-68), a minister in the court of a Kalachuri ruler. The Nayanars (literally, leaders who were devotees of Shiva) had led some of the earliest bhakti movements in Tamil Nadu, from about the sixth century.
(C) They practiced funerary rites such as cremation. Incorrect statement. Lingayats believe that on death the devotee is united with Shiva and does not return to this world, so they do not practise funerary rites such as cremation, prescribed in the Dharmashastras; they ceremonially bury their dead.
(D) The tradition discouraged post-puberty marriages and remarriage of widows. Incorrect statement. The Lingayats encouraged certain practices disapproved in the Dharmashastras, such as post-puberty marriage and the remarriage of widows.
NCERT (2026-27): “3. The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka … 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. The Lingayats challenged the idea of caste and the ‘pollution’ attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas. They also questioned the theory of rebirth. These won them followers amongst those who were marginalised within the Brahmanical social order. The Lingayats also encouraged certain practices disapproved in the Dharmashastras, such as post-puberty marriage and the remarriage of widows.…” |