A research student compares the religious records of south and north India from about the sixth century onwards. In the south she finds Tamil hymns sung by poet-saints who moved from one temple to another. In the north she finds that Vishnu and Shiva were also worshipped in temples, many of them built with the support of rulers. Yet for a long time she cannot find any body of devotional songs like the Tamil hymns. She now turns to the political history of the north to explain this gap.
Which explanation do some historians offer for the difference the student noticed?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → In the new Rajput states Brahmanas held positions of importance, and there was little attempt to challenge them directly.
Option (1) The Naths, Jogis and Siddhas had won the support of the ruling elites, leaving little room for temple poets. — Incorrect. The Naths, Jogis and Siddhas were popular, but they were not in a position to win the support of the ruling elites. The claim is reversed.
Option (2) The Turkish conquest had weakened the Rajput rulers, so no court could support devotional poets. — Incorrect. The Turks set up the Delhi Sultanate only in the thirteenth century. The explanation looks at the Rajput states of the earlier period, when they were strong.
Option (3) In the new Rajput states Brahmanas held positions of importance, and there was little attempt to challenge them directly. — Correct. In the Rajput states that emerged in this period, Brahmanas performed secular and ritual functions and their position was hardly challenged. So there was no strong devotional movement against them, unlike the Alvars and Nayanars in the south.
Option (4) Brahmanas in the Rajput states had lost their ritual functions to leaders from artisanal groups. — Incorrect. Brahmanas kept a range of secular and ritual functions in these states. The leaders from artisanal groups worked outside the Brahmanical framework and did not replace them.
NCERT (2026-27): “4. Religious Ferment in North India “Some historians point out that in north India this was the period when several Rajput states emerged. In most of these states Brahmanas occupied positions of importance, performing a range of secular and ritual functions. There seems to have been little or no attempt to challenge their position directly.” |