PODAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

POWAI (CBSE)

Name: ______________________ Class: VII ____

Subject: SST (History) NOTES Roll No: ___

CH: 9 Religious Movement in Medieval Period

Q.1 Answer the following questions in 10 to 20 words:

1. Write the names of Bhakti saints of Maharashtra.

Ans: Shankara, Ramanuja, Basavanna, Chaitanya, Shankaradeva,

Surdas, Tulsidas, Dadu Dayal, Meerabai, Narsinha Mehta (any four)
were the names of the Bhakti saints of Maharashtra.

2. Describe the practice of langar started by Guru Nanak.

Ans: Guru Nanak started the practice of eating together without any
distinction between castes, creeds and genders in a common kitchen
called langar.

3. What did the Sufi saints preach?

Ans: The Sufi saints preached on personal love and devotion to God by
rejecting outward religiosity, the elaborated rituals and codes of
behavior demanded by the Muslim religious scholars.

4. Who were the Dadu Panthis?

Ans: Dadu Dayal followers were known as Dadu Panthis.

Q.2 Answer the following questions in 50 to 70 words.

1. What were the factors responsible for the rise of the Bhakti
movement?

Ans: The factors responsible for the rise of the Bhakti movement are as
follows:

1. People were no longer satisfied with their religion as it became

too ritualistic and dogmatic. The caste system became more rigid
and alienated the lower castes from the social order.
2. With the advent of Islam in India, Sufi saints preached Islamic
ideas of equality and brotherhood. People were on a look out for
a religion that could satisfy their reason and emotions.
3. Though the foundation of the Bhakti Movement was laid in South
India, soon it became the widespread mass movement that
embraced the whole country. A large number of Bhakti saints
devoted their life and propagated the bhakti cult.

2. Write about the Nayanars and Alvars.

Ans:

1. From the seventh to the ninth century, the Bhakti Movement of

South India was led by popular saints called Nayanars (devotees
of Shiva or Shaivites) and Alvars (devotees of Vishnu or
Vaishnavites). They came from different castes.
2. They travelled widely singing hymns, composing beautiful poems
in praise of their deities. They spread their message in local
languages such as Tamil, Kannada and Telugu and not in Sanskrit.
They were very critical of the Buddhists and the Jains, and
 preached extreme dedication and devotion to God as the path to
salvation.
3. Their teachings were simple and the common people could
understand the principles as the compositions were in local
languages that made the Bhakti movement popular among
masses.

3.Discuss the teachings of Guru Nanak.

Ans: Guru Nanak teachings includes:

1. To believe in Universal toleration and devoted his whole life

preaching the same doctrine.
2. He laid great emphasis on the worship of one God. One could
attain salvation by repeating by his name with love and devotion
irrespective of one’s caste, creed or sect.
3. Guru Nanak opposed idol worship, pilgrimages, several other
formal observances of various faiths and preached equality. He
also insisted on the purity of character, conduct and the need of a
guru or a teacher to guide.

4.How did the Chishti Silsilah differ from the Suharwardi Silsilah?

Ans:

1. The Chishti Silsilah was founded by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti,

around the same time the Suharwardi Silsilah came to India. The
activities of the Suharwardis were largely restricted to Punjab and
 Multan. Shaikh Shihabuddin Suharwardi and Hamid-ud-Din Nagori
were the most prominent saints of this order.
2. The Chishtis led a simple and austere life and believed in the
service of mankind, whereas the Suharwardi Silsilah did not
believe in excessive austerity and leading a life of poverty.
3. The well-known Chishti saints were Nizamuddin Auliya,
Nasiruddin-Chiragh-i-Delhi, Baba Farid, etc. worked amongst the
people of lower classes and also mingled with the Hindus,
whereas the Naqshbandi Silsilah, the Qadri Silsilah, the Firdausi
Silsilah, etc. were other Sufi mystic orders that came to India but
did not make significant impact on the Indian people.

Q.3 Give reasons.

1. Muslim mystic saints laid great importance on personal love and

devotion to God.

Ans:

1. Muslim mystic saints who laid great importance on personal love

and devotion to God by rejecting outward religiosity, the
elaborated rituals and codes of behavior demanded by the
Muslim religious scholars.
2. They emphasised on being compassionate towards all human
beings.
3. They also interacted with the Bhakti saints and adopted many
ideas and practices of each other.
2.Kabir preached the religion of love.

Ans:

1. Kabir preached the religion of love which would promote unity

among all the classes and creed.
2. He laid emphasis on the unity of God whom he addressed by
variable names such as Ram, Rahim, Hari, Govinda, Allah, Sahib,
etc.
3. Kabir vehemently rejected idol worship, caste system, practices
such as untouchability, going on pilgrimages, participation in
formal worship and condemned all sort of discrimination.

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