Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Medieval India: Bhakti Sufi Traditions

Question:

Which of the following statements is incorrect about Mirabai?

Options:

She was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar.

She happily married a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan.

She recognized Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, as her lover.

Her songs are sung by women and men, especially those who are poor and considered “low caste” in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Correct Answer:

She happily married a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan.

Explanation:

The correct answer is option 2- She happily married a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan.

Mirabai (c. fifteenth-sixteenth centuries) is perhaps the best-known woman poet within the bhakti tradition. Biographies have been reconstructed primarily from the bhajans attributed to her, which were transmitted orally for centuries. According to these, she was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar who was married against her wishes to a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan. She defied her husband and did not submit to the traditional role of wife and mother, instead recognising Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, as her lover. Her in-laws tried to poison her, but she escaped from the palace to live as a wandering saint composing songs that are characterised by intense expressions of emotion.

According to some traditions, her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker. This would indicate her defiance of the norms of caste society. After rejecting the comforts of her husband’s palace, she is supposed to have donned the white robes of a widow or the saffron robe of the renouncer. Although Mirabai did not attract a sect or group of followers, she has been recognised as a source of inspiration for centuries. Her songs continue to be sung by women and men, especially those who are poor and considered “low caste” in Gujarat and Rajasthan.