Maarg Manthan · Topic 8.16

Saints of Bhakti Movement (Kabir, Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Meera Bai, Basavanna)

Art & Culture › Religion, Philosophy, Buddhism & Jainism · Topic 8.16

Five major saints of the Bhakti Movement are Kabir, Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Meera Bai and Basavanna. Ramanuja of Sriperumbudur taught Vishishtadvaita and wrote the Sri Bhashya. Basavanna of Karnataka, a minister of the Kalachuri king Bijjala in the twelfth century, founded the Lingayat or Virashaiva movement with the Anubhava Mantapa and the vachanas. Kabir, a Varanasi weaver of the fifteenth century, preached the formless God in dohas collected in the Bijak. Chaitanya of Nadia in Bengal spread Krishna devotion and kirtan. Meera Bai of Merta sang for Krishna.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Art & Culture · Religion, Philosophy, Buddhism & Jainism

At a Glance

Kabir Nirguna, Varanasi, Bijak
Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita, Srirangam
Chaitanya Krishna bhakti, Bengal
Meera Bai Krishna devotee, Rajasthan
Basavanna Lingayat, Karnataka, vachanas
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Art and Culture: Religion, Philosophy, Buddhism & Jainism

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixteenth topic of the macro on religion and philosophy. It takes up five of the saints named in the Nayanars Two streams Saguna and Nirguna Language Regional…">Bhakti Movement topic and gives their facts in one place. Previous topic: Bhakti Movement. Next topic: sufism-chishti-suhrawardi-silsilas/" class="maargx-auto-link" data-preview="At a Glance Nature Mystic tradition of Islam Chishti founder in India Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer Suhrawardi founder in India Bahauddin Zakariya,…">Sufism (Chishti, Suhrawardi Silsilas).

How Do the Five Saints Compare?

Saint	Period and region	Teaching and tradition	Works and legacy
Kabir	About 1440 to 1518 (dates debated), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; a weaver of the julaha community	Nirguna Bhakti. Rejected idol worship, caste and both Hindu and Muslim ritual. Said to be a follower of Ramananda	Verses are sakhis, shabads and ramainis, collected in the Bijak; some are in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Kabir Panth follows him
Ramanuja	Traditionally 1017 to 1137 CE, born at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu; served at Srirangam	Vishishtadvaita. Devotion and surrender to Vishnu. Opened temple worship to wider groups	Sri Bhashya, Gita Bhashya, Vedartha Sangraha. Statue of Equality at Hyderabad, 2022
Chaitanya	1486 to 1534, born as Vishvambhar Mishra (Nimai) at Navadvip in Nadia, Bengal; later at Puri	Saguna devotion to Krishna and Radha through kirtan and the Hare Krishna chant. Gaudiya Vaishnavism with the doctrine of Achintya Bhedabheda	Chaitanya Charitamrita by Krishnadasa Kaviraja. ISKCON, founded in 1966, follows this line
Meera Bai	About 1498 to 1546, born at Merta in Rajasthan; married into the Mewar royal house of Chittor	Saguna devotion to Krishna, called Giridhar Nagar. Rejected court restraints and worshipped with song and dance	Padavali in Rajasthani and Braj; bhajans are popular across India
Basavanna (Basaveshwara)	Twelfth century (about 1131 to 1196), born at Bagevadi, Karnataka; minister of Bijjala at Kalyana	Virashaiva or Lingayat movement. Worship of Shiva as Ishtalinga worn on the body. Rejected caste, ritual and untouchability, and supported women	Vachanas in Kannada, signed Kudalasangama Deva. Anubhava Mantapa as a spiritual assembly

What Else Should You Know About Each Saint?

Kabir and the Bijak: the Bijak has three parts, the Sakhi, Sabad and Ramaini, and is the main text of the Kabir Panth
Ramanuja and Srirangam: the Srirangam temple on an island in the river Kaveri became the centre of Sri Vaishnavism
Chaitanya and Puri: he spent his later life at Jagannath Puri in Odisha and is held to have died there in 1534
Meera Bai and Chittor: by tradition she left Mewar and spent her last years at Dwarka in Gujarat
Basavanna and Kalyana: Basavakalyan in Bidar district of Karnataka was the capital of the Kalachuri king Bijjala
Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi: leading vachanakaras of the Lingayat movement; Akka Mahadevi is a famous woman poet
Kabir and unity: his verses attack Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy equally and call for the unity of humanity
Ramananda: the north Indian teacher who brought Bhakti from south to north; his disciples included Kabir and Ravidas in tradition

What Else Should You Remember?

Alternate names: Basavanna is also Basaveshwara; Kabir is Kabirdas; Meera is Mirabai; Chaitanya is Gauranga or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; Ramanuja is Ramanujacharya and Ilaya Perumal
Kabir’s burial and cremation tale: a story says that Hindu and Muslim followers quarrelled over his body, which turned into flowers; it shows his appeal across religions
Gaudiya Vaishnavism: the Bengal school with centre at Vrindavan; Rupa and Sanatana Goswami organised its theology
ISKCON: the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was started in New York in 1966 by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and follows the Chaitanya tradition
Lingayat identity: Lingayats are numerous in Karnataka, and debates on whether they form a separate religion arose in the twenty-first century
Basava Jayanti: the birth anniversary of Basavanna is observed in Karnataka in spring
Bhakti in Mewar: Meera Bai’s songs reflect conflict with the royal family, which is a common theme in stories
Link with the movement: the broader pattern is in Bhakti Movement
Link with Sikhism: verses of Kabir and Ravidas are in the Guru Granth Sahib, as in Sikhism
Link with Vedanta: Ramanuja’s thought is compared with the other lines in Vedanta Sub-Schools (Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita)
Link with music: Meera’s and Kabir’s verses are staples of bhajan and folk singing
Caution: birth and death dates of Kabir and Meera Bai vary in sources, so exam options usually avoid exact years

Why Does It Matter for the Exam?

Saint with text: Kabir with Bijak, Ramanuja with Sri Bhashya
Saint with region: Basavanna with Karnataka, Chaitanya with Bengal
Doctrine: Nirguna, Vishishtadvaita, Achintya Bhedabheda, Lingayat
Institutions: Anubhava Mantapa, Kabir Panth, ISKCON
Common errors: calling Meera Bai a Nirguna saint, or Chaitanya the founder of the Varkari sect

As an analytical point, these five saints show the range of Bhakti: philosophical, mystic, ecstatic and social reform. Basavanna and Kabir show the strongest critique of caste, while Meera Bai’s life shows the position of women who chose devotion over family expectations.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Match Saint, text, region
Doctrine Sect and philosophy
Mains Caste and gender critique

What Came Next?

The next topic covers Sufism, the parallel mystic movement of Islam. Next topic: Sufism (Chishti, Suhrawardi Silsilas).

Key People and Terms

Bijak Kabir’s collected verses
Vachana Kannada devotional prose poem
Ishtalinga Personal Shiva symbol
Kirtan Congregational singing
Padavali Collected poems
Sakhi Couplet of Kabir

Study this topic together with these linked topics from other subjects.

Nirguna Bhakti Saints (Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas) (Medieval History)
Saguna Bhakti Saints (Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) (Medieval History)

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Kabir: Nirguna, Bijak.
Ramanuja: Sri Bhashya, Vishishtadvaita.
Chaitanya: Navadvip, kirtan.
Meera Bai: Krishna, Merta.
Basavanna: Anubhava Mantapa, vachanas.

Do Not Confuse With

Kabir and Chaitanya Formless God versus Krishna with form
Basavanna and Ramanuja Shaiva reformer versus Vaishnava philosopher
Vachana and Doha Kannada prose poem versus couplet in Hindi

Memory Hook

Kabir weaves, Ramanuja explains, Chaitanya sings, Meera dances, Basavanna reforms.

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the contribution of the saints to equality and culture. These points give a balanced frame.

Caste Basavanna and Kabir
Women Meera, Akka Mahadevi
Language Vernacular poetry

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Examine the contribution of Kabir, Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Meera Bai and Basavanna to Indian society and culture.”

How to Answer

Saints Five types of Bhakti.
Ideas Equality and love.
Texts Vachanas, Bijak.
Legacy Sects and music.

GS Relevance

Prelims: teachings, texts, regions and doctrines of the major Bhakti saints. GS Paper 1: Indian culture, medieval history.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Kabir and what did he teach?

Kabir was a fifteenth-century weaver-saint of Varanasi who preached Nirguna Bhakti, the worship of a formless God. He rejected idol worship, caste and the rituals of both Hindus and Muslims, and taught unity through love. His verses are in the Bijak and in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Who founded the Lingayat movement?

Basavanna, also called Basaveshwara, founded the Lingayat or Virashaiva movement in Karnataka in the twelfth century. A minister of the Kalachuri king Bijjala at Kalyana, he set up the Anubhava Mantapa, rejected caste and ritual, and composed vachanas addressed to Kudalasangama Deva.

What did Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teach?

Chaitanya, who lived from 1486 to 1534 in Bengal, taught devotion to Krishna and Radha through kirtan and the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. His school, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, holds the doctrine of inconceivable oneness and difference, and its modern branch is ISKCON, founded in 1966.

What is the difference between Kabir and Meera Bai?

Kabir was a Nirguna saint who worshipped a formless God and criticised idols and orthodoxy, while Meera Bai was a Saguna devotee of Krishna in his form as Giridhar Nagar. Kabir wrote dohas in a mixed Hindi, and Meera Bai composed bhajans in Rajasthani and Braj.

Why are the Bhakti saints important for UPSC?

Questions on the Bhakti saints usually ask the founder of a sect, the text, the region and the stream, such as Bijak with Kabir or Anubhava Mantapa with Basavanna. In Mains, they support answers on caste reform, women's voices and the growth of regional languages.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The Bijak is associated with Kabir.

True

It is the main text of the Kabir Panth.

2 Basavanna founded the Anubhava Mantapa.

True

The Lingayat spiritual assembly at Kalyana.

3 Meera Bai was a Nirguna saint.

False

She was a Saguna devotee of Krishna.

4 Chaitanya was born in Maharashtra.