Meena, a history student from Madurai, visits a large temple where priests sing old Tamil hymns during the daily worship, and the image of a poet-saint stands near the main deity. Her guide tells her that the poet-saint once walked from place to place, singing in praise of his god. In the temple library she finds a large anthology of poems by the Alvars and the verses of a Tamil woman poet who calls herself the beloved of her god. She also reads a scholar's note on quarrels between groups who followed different paths of worship in early medieval India.
The scholar's note refers to quarrels in early medieval religious life. Which of the following correctly describes the conflict between followers of the Vedic tradition and those engaged in Tantric practices?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Those who valued the Vedic tradition condemned practices that went beyond sacrifices and chanted mantras, while Tantric practitioners ignored the authority of the Vedas.
Option (1) Those who valued the Vedic tradition condemned the worship of Vishnu and Shiva, while Tantric practitioners frequently ignored the authority of the Vedas. — Incorrect. The second half is right, but the first is not. Vishnu and Shiva can be glimpsed even in Vedic mantras; what Vedic followers condemned was worship that went beyond sacrifices and chanted mantras.
Option (2) Tantric practitioners condemned practices that went beyond sacrifices and chanted mantras, while those who valued the Vedic tradition ignored the Puranas. — Incorrect. The two sides are reversed. It was the Vedic followers who condemned worship beyond sacrifice and mantras, and the Tantric practitioners who ignored the authority of the Vedas.
Option (3) Those who valued the Vedic tradition condemned practices open to women, while Tantric practitioners strictly followed caste differences in their rituals. — Incorrect. Tantric practices were open to women and men, and their followers often ignored caste and class differences in rituals. So the claim about caste is reversed.
Option (4) Those who valued the Vedic tradition condemned practices that went beyond sacrifices and chanted mantras, while Tantric practitioners ignored the authority of the Vedas. — Correct. Vedic followers valued a <strong>closely regulated contact with the divine</strong> through sacrifices and exact mantras, so they condemned other practices. <strong>Tantric practitioners</strong> in turn often <strong>ignored the authority of the Vedas</strong>.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Difference and conflict … |