The Bhakti and Sufi movements

Between roughly the sixth and seventeenth centuries, a wave of devotional religion swept across India. Poet-saints sang of a personal love for God in the languages people actually spoke — Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese. Many of them questioned caste, ritual and priestly authority. At the same time, Sufi mystics brought a parallel emphasis on love, devotion and the inner path within Islam.

For UPSC, the two movements feature in Prelims (saints, texts, silsilas) and in Mains questions on their social impact, composite culture and literature.

Bhakti: the southern origins

Bhakti as a mass movement began in the Tamil region between about the sixth and ninth centuries.

They travelled between temples, composed in Tamil, and included people from many castes — a challenge, at least in the sphere of devotion, to Brahmanical hierarchy.

Philosophers and reformers

• Ramanuja (11th–12th century) — developed Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), giving philosophical grounding to devotion to Vishnu.
• Basavanna (12th century, Karnataka) — founder of the Virashaiva (Lingayat) movement; his vachanas (prose-poems) rejected caste distinctions, temple ritual and idol worship, and promoted the dignity of labour. He was associated with the Anubhava Mantapa, a forum for spiritual discussion.
• Madhva (13th century) — Dvaita (dualism).

Bhakti in the north: two streams

Kabir (15th century) — a weaver from Banaras who rejected both Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy, idol worship and caste. His verses (dohas, sakhis) are in a vernacular mix often called sadhukkadi. They were collected in the Bijak and are also found in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Nanak (1469–1539) — founder of Sikhism; emphasised the one formless God, honest work, sharing (vand chhakna) and remembrance of God (naam japna), and established the institution of langar.

Mirabai (16th century) — a Rajput princess devoted to Krishna, whose songs defied the social conventions of her time.

Tulsidas — composed the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi. Surdas — the Sursagar, devoted to Krishna.

The Varkari saints of Maharashtra

The Varkari tradition centres on devotion to Vithoba (Vitthal) of Pandharpur, and the annual pilgrimage (wari) that continues today.

• Jnaneshwar (13th century) — the Jnaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
• Namdev (13th–14th century) — a tailor; some of his verses are in the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Eknath (16th century) and Tukaram (17th century), whose abhangas remain widely sung.
• Saints came from many castes — including Chokhamela, from a caste then treated as untouchable, and Janabai.

Eastern India

• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th–16th century, Bengal) — ecstatic devotion to Krishna through kirtan; the basis of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
• Srimanta Sankaradeva (15th–16th century, Assam) — founded the Ekasarana dharma, the sattras (monasteries) and namghars, and created the Ankiya Naat plays and the Sattriya dance.

The Sufi movement

Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam, emphasising love of God, the inner life, and the guidance of a spiritual master (pir or shaikh) to a disciple (murid).

Key institutions and practices:

• Silsila — a spiritual lineage or order.
• Khanqah — a hospice where the Sufi master lived, taught and received visitors.
• Sama — devotional music and song; the qawwali tradition grew from it.
• Dargah — the tomb-shrine of a Sufi saint, a place of pilgrimage for people of all faiths.

The major silsilas in India

Baba Farid's verses were included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Amir Khusrau, the poet and musician associated with Nizamuddin Auliya, is linked with the development of qawwali and wrote in both Persian and Hindavi.

Social and cultural impact

• Vernacular literature — the movements gave Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Assamese much of their early literature.
• Critique of caste and ritual — many saints came from artisan and lower castes, and their verses questioned social hierarchy — though the movements did not dismantle the caste system.
• Women's voices — Andal, Akka Mahadevi, Mirabai, Janabai and others.
• Music — kirtan, abhanga, bhajan and qawwali traditions.
• Composite culture — shared shrines and practices, and a meeting of Hindu and Islamic mystical ideas.

Practice questions

1. Prelims-type: Match the saints with their regions — Sankaradeva, Chaitanya, Tukaram, Basavanna. Which Sufi silsila is associated with Nizamuddin Auliya?
2. Mains-type (150 words): Distinguish between nirguna and saguna bhakti with examples.
3. Mains-type (250 words): Assess the contribution of the Bhakti and Sufi movements to the growth of vernacular languages and a composite culture in India.