Bhakti & Sufi Movements Quiz: Medieval Indian History Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. The Nayanars of the Tamil region were devotees of:

   • Vishnu
   • Shiva
   • Murugan
   • Shakti

   Answer: Shiva. The 63 Nayanars were Shaiva saints; their hymns are collected in the Tevaram. The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu.

2. The philosophy of Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) was propounded by:

   • Shankaracharya
   • Madhvacharya
   • Ramanuja
   • Nimbarka

   Answer: Ramanuja. Ramanuja taught that the soul is distinct from God yet part of Him, and that devotion is the path to salvation.

3. Basavanna is associated with which movement?

   • Virashaiva (Lingayat) movement
   • Varkari sampradaya
   • Gaudiya Vaishnavism
   • Ekasarana dharma

   Answer: Virashaiva (Lingayat) movement. Basavanna, a minister in 12th-century Karnataka, rejected caste and ritual and preached devotion to Shiva through vachanas in Kannada.

4. The Varkari tradition of Maharashtra centres on the worship of Vitthala at:

   • Nashik
   • Dwarka
   • Udupi
   • Pandharpur

   Answer: Pandharpur. Varkaris walk to Pandharpur every year. Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram belong to this tradition.

5. Sankaradeva propagated the Ekasarana dharma in:

   • Bengal
   • Odisha
   • Assam
   • Manipur

   Answer: Assam. Sankaradeva taught devotion to Krishna in Assam through namghars (prayer halls) and sattras (monasteries), and created the dance that became Sattriya.

6. The dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is located at:

   • Ajmer
   • Delhi
   • Fatehpur Sikri
   • Gulbarga

   Answer: Ajmer. Moinuddin Chishti settled at Ajmer in the late 12th century and established the Chishti order in India.

7. Which Sufi order was established in Multan by Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya?

   • Chishti
   • Suhrawardi
   • Naqshbandi
   • Qadiri

   Answer: Suhrawardi. Unlike the Chishtis, the Suhrawardis accepted state grants and maintained ties with the rulers.

8. The verses of which Sufi saint are included in the Guru Granth Sahib?

   • Nizamuddin Auliya
   • Salim Chishti
   • Gesu Daraz
   • Baba Farid

   Answer: Baba Farid. Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar (Baba Farid) of Pakpattan wrote in Punjabi; his verses were included by Guru Arjan.

9. Tulsidas composed the Ramcharitmanas in which language?

   • Braj
   • Awadhi
   • Maithili
   • Bhojpuri

   Answer: Awadhi. The Ramcharitmanas is in Awadhi. Surdas, by contrast, wrote the Sursagar in Braj.

10. Consider the following statements about Kabir: 1. His verses are compiled in the Bijak. 2. He worshipped a formless (nirguna) God. 3. He composed his verses in Sanskrit. Which of the statements given above are correct?

    • 1 only
    • 2 and 3 only
    • 1, 2 and 3
    • 1 and 2 only

    Answer: 1 and 2 only. Kabir, a weaver of Banaras, wrote in a mixed spoken Hindi, not Sanskrit, and attacked rituals of both Hindus and Muslims.