"His ideas probably crystallised through dialogue and debate (explicit or implicit) with the traditions of sufis and yogis in the region of Awadh." This statement refers to which poet-saint?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Kabir
Option (1) Kabir — Correct. Kabir's ideas took shape through debate with sufis and yogis in Awadh, part of present-day Uttar Pradesh. Later, several groups claimed his legacy.
Option (2) Guru Nanak — Incorrect. Guru Nanak was born in a village near the river Ravi in Punjab. His ideas grew in a different region.
Option (3) Mirabai — Incorrect. Mirabai was a Rajput princess from Merta in Rajasthan who worshipped Krishna. Her devotion grew in Rajasthan.
Option (4) Ramananda — Incorrect. Vaishnava hagiographies suggest that Ramananda was perhaps the guru who initiated Kabir into bhakti. The statement describes the disciple, Kabir.
NCERT (2026-27): “8.1 Weaving a divine fabric: Kabir … “This is most evident in later debates about whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim by birth, debates that are reflected in hagiographies. Many of these were composed from the seventeenth century onwards, about 200 years after Kabir’s lifetime.” “Hagiographies within the Vaishnava tradition attempted to suggest that he was born a Hindu, Kabirdas (Kabir itself is an Arabic word meaning “great”), but was raised by a poor Muslim family belonging to the community of weavers or julahas, who were relatively recent converts to Islam. They also suggested that he was initiated into bhakti by a guru, perhaps Ramananda.” |