Category 5 · Medieval History

Bhakti and Sufi Movement

13 micro topics in Medieval History for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Origins and Features of the Bhakti Movement; Nirguna Bhakti Saints (Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas); and 11 more.

1. 5.1

   Origins and Features of the Bhakti Movement

   The Bhakti movement stressed a personal, loving union of the devotee with God. Its roots lie in the Vedas, Mahayana Buddhism and the Gupta-age epics, popular Bhakti took shape in south India with the Nayanars and…

2. 5.2

   Nirguna Bhakti Saints (Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas)

   The nirguna saints worshipped one formless God and rejected idol worship, pilgrimages, ritual and caste. Kabir, a weaver of Banaras, and Guru Nanak of Talwandi taught a religion of love open to Hindus and Muslims, and…

3. 5.3

   Saguna Bhakti Saints (Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu)

   The saguna saints worshipped God in a form, as Rama or Krishna. Tulsidas retold the Ramayana in Awadhi, Surdas sang of Krishna in Braj, Mirabai composed Krishna songs in Rajasthani, and Chaitanya spread kirtan and the…

4. 5.4

   South Indian Bhakti Saints – Alvars (Vaishnava) and Nayanars (Shaiva)

   The Alvars were twelve Vaishnava poet-saints, including Andal, and the Nayanars were sixty-three Shaiva saints of the Tamil country, active from about the sixth to the ninth centuries. They rejected Jain and Buddhist austerity, preached love…

5. 5.5

   Basavanna and the Virashaiva (Lingayat) Movement

   The Virashaiva or Lingayat movement arose in twelfth-century Karnataka under Basavanna, a minister at the Kalachuri court, and his nephew Channabasava. They worshipped Shiva through a personal linga, composed vachanas in Kannada, opposed caste, fasts, pilgrimages…

6. 5.6

   Ramananda and His Contribution to the Bhakti Movement

   Ramananda, born at Prayag and living at Banaras, brought Bhakti from the south to north India in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. He turned devotion from Vishnu to Rama, taught in the vernacular, and…

7. 5.7

   Origins and Features of Sufism in Medieval India

   Sufism is the mystic tradition of Islam, in which devotees seek love and union with God. It began early among pious people disgusted by wealth and worldliness, was reconciled with orthodoxy by al-Ghazzali, was organised into…

8. 5.8

   Sufi Silsilas – Chishti Order (Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya)

   The Chishti order, named after Chisht in Afghanistan, was brought to India by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who settled at Ajmer after about 1192. His successors Bakhtiyar Kaki, Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar, Nizamuddin Auliya and Nasiruddin Chiragh-i-Delhi lived simply,…

9. 5.9

   Sufi Silsilas – Suhrawardi Order

   The Suhrawardi order entered India about the same time as the Chishtis but was strongest in the Punjab and Multan. Its saints, among them Shaikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi, Hamid-ud-Din Nagori and the missionary Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan,…

10. 5.10

    Concept of Wahdat-ul-Wujud in Sufi Philosophy

    Wahdat-ul-wujud, also called tauhid-i-wajudi, is the Sufi idea of the unity of being: that all existence is a manifestation of the one Reality. Linked with Ibn Arabi, it became popular in India in the fifteenth century…

11. 5.11

    Interaction and Syncretism Between Bhakti and Sufi Traditions

    Bhakti and Sufi saints shared love of God, equality, music and local languages, and by the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries they had built a common platform on which people of different sects and creeds could…

12. 5.12

    Guru Nanak and the Founding of Sikhism

    Guru Nanak (born 1469 at Talwandi, died 1538 or 1539 at Kartarpur) taught one God, devotion through the Name, honest work, sharing and the guidance of a guru, and made no plan for a new religion.…

13. 5.13

    Impact of the Bhakti and Sufi Movements on Medieval Indian Society and Religious Syncretism

    The Bhakti and Sufi movements softened caste rigour, built a platform of Hindu-Muslim understanding, raised regional languages and music, and created a climate that Akbar later used. They did not end caste, change the main religious…

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Frequently asked questions

Which topics are in Bhakti and Sufi Movement?

Bhakti and Sufi Movement has 13 micro topics in Medieval History: Origins and Features of the Bhakti Movement; Nirguna Bhakti Saints (Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas); Saguna Bhakti Saints (Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu); South Indian Bhakti Saints – Alvars (Vaishnava) and Nayanars (Shaiva); Basavanna and the Virashaiva (Lingayat) Movement; Ramananda and His Contribution to the Bhakti Movement; Origins and Features of Sufism in Medieval India; Sufi Silsilas – Chishti Order (Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya); Sufi Silsilas – Suhrawardi Order; Concept of Wahdat-ul-Wujud in Sufi Philosophy; Interaction and Syncretism Between Bhakti and Sufi Traditions; Guru Nanak and the Founding of Sikhism; Impact of the Bhakti and Sufi Movements on Medieval Indian Society and Religious Syncretism.

Is Bhakti and Sufi Movement important for UPSC Prelims?

Bhakti and Sufi Movement is a part of the UPSC Prelims Medieval History syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 13 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.