History
Bhakti and Sufi Movements
Bhakti Saints of North, West and East India
Nirguna and saguna saints for CGPSC: Ramananda, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Tulsidas, Mirabai, the Varkaris, Chaitanya, Sankardev, and Dharamdas's Kabirpanth in Chhattisgarh.
Prerequisites
- Origins of Bhakti: Alvars, Nayanars and the Acharyas — the southern roots and the acharyas’ philosophies
- The Delhi Sultanate — the political world of the 14th–16th-century saints
The Hook: A Weaver’s Couplets in a Chhattisgarh Village
Connect
At Damakheda (दामाखेड़ा) in Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara district, devotees in white gather at the seat of the Kabirpanth (कबीरपंथ) and sing the couplets of Kabir (कबीर), a weaver of Varanasi who rejected both temple and mosque. The district of Kabirdham (कबीरधाम) carries his name.
How did a 15th-century saint from Varanasi, who never came here, become part of Chhattisgarh’s identity? The answer lies in his disciple Dharamdas and in the way bhakti spread across north India in the languages of ordinary people.
Why it matters: saint–region, saint–text and saint–guru matches are among the most predictable Prelims questions. Kabir and Guru Nanak are Mains favourites, and Dharamdas links the topic to Chhattisgarh GK.
Nirguna vs Saguna: The Two Streams
| Point | Nirguna bhakti (निर्गुण भक्ति) | Saguna bhakti (सगुण भक्ति) |
|---|---|---|
| God | Formless, without attributes; “Ram” as a name for the One | God with form: Rama or Krishna |
| Image worship | Rejected | Accepted |
| Attitude to caste and ritual | Sharp criticism of both Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy | Devotion open to all, but usually within the Vaishnava tradition |
| Main saints | Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ravidas, Dadu Dayal, Sena, Dhanna | Rama: Tulsidas. Krishna: Surdas, Mirabai, Chaitanya, Vallabha |
| Social base | Many from artisan and “low” castes (weaver, leather-worker, barber, cotton carder) | Many from Brahmin and Rajput families, though not all |
Ramananda: The Bridge from South to North
Ramananda (रामानंद), usually placed in the 14th–15th centuries (his dates are disputed), is described as a follower of Ramanuja’s tradition who moved the focus to Rama and preached in Hindi rather than Sanskrit. He is the bridge between southern bhakti and the north.
His disciples by tradition came from every social group:
| Disciple | Social background |
|---|---|
| Kabir | Weaver (julaha) |
| Ravidas (Raidas) | Leather-worker (cobbler) |
| Sena | Barber |
| Dhanna | Jat peasant |
| Pipa | Rajput prince |
| Padmavati, Surasari | Women disciples |
Some modern scholars question whether all of them were his direct disciples. For the exam, the traditional list is what is asked.
The Nirguna Saints
Kabir (कबीर)
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | Disputed: some historians favour 1398–1448, others 1440–1518. Write “15th century” if unsure |
| Background | Brought up in a Muslim weaver family in Varanasi |
| Death | Maghar (Uttar Pradesh), by tradition |
| Compositions | Sakhi (couplets), Sabad (songs), Ramaini. Collected in the Bijak (Kabirpanthi compilation); many verses in the Guru Granth Sahib |
| Teaching | One formless God, called Ram, Rahim, Allah or Hari; inner devotion; rejection of idol worship, pilgrimage, fasting, namaz and caste pride |
| Followers | Kabirpanth (कबीरपंथ) |
Guru Nanak (गुरु नानक, 1469–1539)
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth | Talwandi (now Nankana Sahib, Pakistan) |
| Travels | Long journeys (udasis) across India and beyond |
| Last years | Settled at Kartarpur on the Ravi, where a community of followers lived and worked |
| Teaching | One God (Ik Onkar); remembrance of the divine name (nam japna), honest work (kirat karni), sharing (vand chhakna); rejection of caste and empty ritual |
| Institutions | Sangat (congregation) and langar (community kitchen where all eat together) |
| Legacy | First of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Adi Granth, compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604, includes verses of Nanak and also of Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas and the Sufi Baba Farid |
Other nirguna saints
| Saint | Region | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Ravidas (Raidas, रविदास) | Varanasi | Leather-worker by caste; verses in the Guru Granth Sahib; by tradition a guru of Mirabai |
| Dadu Dayal (दादू दयाल) | Rajasthan, 16th century (Akbar’s time) | Cotton carder; founded the Dadupanth; nirguna devotion |
| Sena, Dhanna, Pipa | North India | Disciples of Ramananda (see table above) |
The Saguna Saints of the North
| Saint | God | Language | Main work | Remember |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsidas (तुलसीदास) | Rama | Awadhi | Ramcharitmanas; also Vinay Patrika, Kavitavali, Hanuman Chalisa (by tradition) | Contemporary of Akbar; made the Rama story a household text in the Hindi belt |
| Surdas (सूरदास) | Krishna | Braj Bhasha | Sursagar | Leading poet of the Ashtachhap, the eight poets of Vallabha’s Pushtimarg grouped by Vitthalnath |
| Mirabai (मीराबाई) | Krishna | Rajasthani and Braj | Padas (devotional songs) | Rajput princess of Merta, married into the Mewar (Sisodia) royal family; treated Krishna as her husband; defied family and caste norms; Ravidas her guru by tradition |
| Narsinh Mehta (नरसिंह मेहता) | Krishna | Gujarati | Bhajans, including “Vaishnav Jan To” | The bhajan was a favourite of Gandhi |
Maharashtra: The Varkari Saints
The Varkari (वारकरी) tradition centres on Vithoba (Vitthal) of Pandharpur. Devotees walk to Pandharpur in an annual pilgrimage (the wari). The saints sang abhangas in Marathi and came from many castes.
| Saint | Period | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Jnaneshwar (Dnyaneshwar, ज्ञानेश्वर) | 13th century | Dnyaneshwari (1290), a Marathi commentary on the Gita; his sister Muktabai was also a saint |
| Namdev (नामदेव) | 13th–14th centuries | Tailor by caste; travelled to Punjab; verses in the Guru Granth Sahib |
| Chokhamela | 14th century | From the Mahar caste, then treated as untouchable |
| Janabai | 13th–14th centuries | Woman saint, maidservant in Namdev’s household |
| Eknath (एकनाथ) | 16th century | Eknathi Bhagavat; criticised untouchability |
| Tukaram (तुकाराम) | 17th century | Abhangas; contemporary of Shivaji |
| Ramdas (समर्थ रामदास) | 17th century | Dasbodh; devotee of Rama and Hanuman; outside the Varkari fold (his followers are called Ramdasis) |
East, North-East and Kashmir
| Saint | Region | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (चैतन्य) | Bengal, Odisha (Puri) | Gaudiya Vaishnavism; ecstatic sankirtan; Radha-Krishna devotion; welcomed all castes |
| Srimanta Sankardev (शंकरदेव, 1449–1568) | Assam | Ekasarana Dharma (devotion to one god, Krishna); Namghar (village prayer hall), Sattra (monastery); Ankiya Naat (one-act plays) and Borgeet (devotional songs, with his disciple Madhavdev) |
| Lal Ded (Lalleshwari, लल्लेश्वरी) | Kashmir, 14th century | Shaiva woman mystic; vakhs (verses) in Kashmiri; revered by Hindus and Muslims |
Chhattisgarh Angle: Dharamdas and the Kabirpanth
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dharamdas (धनी धर्मदास) | A merchant who became Kabir’s leading disciple; founder of the Dharamdasi branch of the Kabirpanth. Often called the “Adi Kavi” (first poet) of Chhattisgarhi (see Writers and Poets) |
| Lineage | By tradition, Kabir blessed Dharamdas with 42 generations (bayalis vansh) of gurus |
| Kawardha (कवर्धा) | Seat (guru gaddi) of the Dharamdasi lineage from 1806 (8th guru Haq Nam Saheb) to 1903 |
| Damakheda (दामाखेड़ा) | Seat since 1903, when the 12th guru Ugra Nam Saheb moved it; now in Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara district. In 2026 the state government was reported to have renamed it Kabir Dharm Nagar Damakheda |
| Kabirdham district | Kawardha district was renamed Kabirdham on 17 January 2003, in honour of this Kabirpanthi heritage |
| Kudurmal (Korba) | A village with a samadhi associated with a Kabirpanthi guru; a fair is held on Magh Purnima |
Why Kabir found a home in Chhattisgarh
Kabir’s nirguna message (one God, no caste, no costly ritual) appealed to peasant and artisan communities of the Chhattisgarh plains. The Kabirpanth became one of the state’s important religious communities. The same appeal of a casteless, image-free devotion appears later in Guru Ghasidas’s Satnam Panth (see Impact on Society).
Memory Tricks
Ramananda's disciples: 'Kabir Ravi Sena Dhan Pipa Padma'
Kabir (weaver) · Ravidas (cobbler) · Sena (barber) · Dhanna (Jat) · Pipa (Rajput) · Padmavati (woman)
Every caste is represented: that is the point Mains wants you to make.
Saint – language pairs: 'Tulsi Awadh, Sur Braj'
Tulsidas wrote in Awadhi (Ayodhya is in Awadh, so the Rama poet writes in Rama’s dialect).
Surdas wrote in Braj (Krishna’s land).
Jnaneshwar — Marathi · Narsinh Mehta — Gujarati · Sankardev — Assamese and Brajavali · Lal Ded — Kashmiri.
Kabirpanth seats: '06 to 03, then Dama'
Kawardha 1806 → 1903, then Damakheda. District renamed Kabirdham in 2003: two different “03"s, a century apart.
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Ramananda — Rama devotion, Hindi, disciples of all castes | vs | Ramanuja — Vishishtadvaita, Sanskrit, Srirangam |
| Ramcharitmanas — Tulsidas, Awadhi | vs | Ramayana — Valmiki, Sanskrit |
| Sursagar — Surdas | vs | Bijak — Kabir (compiled by Kabirpanthis) |
| Ramdas (Maharashtra, Dasbodh) | vs | Ravidas (Varanasi, leather-worker saint) |
| Dharamdas — Kabir’s disciple, Kabirpanth | vs | Guru Ghasidas — 18th–19th-century founder of the Satnam Panth |
Common Mistakes
MCQ traps
- “Kabir was a saguna Rama bhakt.” False. Kabir used the name “Ram” for the formless God. He is the leading nirguna saint.
- “Ramcharitmanas was written in Braj Bhasha.” False. It is in Awadhi. Surdas wrote in Braj.
- “The Adi Granth contains only the compositions of the Sikh Gurus.” False. It also includes Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas, Baba Farid and others.
- “Sankardev was a Shaiva saint of Bengal.” False. He was a Vaishnava saint of Assam (Ekasarana Dharma).
- “The Kabirpanth seat has always been at Damakheda.” False. It was at Kawardha from 1806 to 1903.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas in the ______ dialect.
- The Varkari saints worship Vithoba of ______.
- The Kabirpanth guru gaddi moved from Kawardha to ______ in 1903.
Answers
- Awadhi.
- Pandharpur.
- Damakheda.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Match List I (Saint) with List II (Region):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Sankardev | 1. Maharashtra |
| B. Lal Ded | 2. Assam |
| C. Tukaram | 3. Gujarat |
| D. Narsinh Mehta | 4. Kashmir |
- (a) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- (b) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
- (c) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
- (d) A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
Answer and explanation
(b) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3. Sankardev preached Ekasarana Dharma in Assam. Lal Ded was a 14th-century Kashmiri mystic. Tukaram was a Varkari saint of Maharashtra. Narsinh Mehta composed “Vaishnav Jan To” in Gujarati.
Q2. Consider the following statements:
- Kabir is regarded as a saint of the nirguna tradition.
- Verses of Kabir are included in the Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan.
- The Bijak is a collection of the verses of Surdas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(b) 1 and 2 only. Kabir worshipped a formless God and his verses are in the Adi Granth (1604). The Bijak is the Kabirpanthi collection of Kabir’s verses. Surdas’s work is the Sursagar.
Q3. Which of the following was not among the disciples of Ramananda according to tradition?
- (a) Ravidas
- (b) Sena
- (c) Tukaram
- (d) Pipa
Answer and explanation
(c) Tukaram. Tukaram was a 17th-century Varkari saint of Maharashtra, centuries after Ramananda. Ravidas, Sena, Pipa, Dhanna and Kabir are the traditional disciples.
Q4. Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh is named after the Kabirpanth because:
- (a) Kabir died at Kawardha
- (b) Kawardha was the guru gaddi of the Dharamdasi Kabirpanth from 1806 to 1903
- (c) The Bijak was compiled at Kawardha by Kabir himself
- (d) Kabir was born in the Kawardha region
Answer and explanation
(b). The Dharamdasi lineage’s seat was at Kawardha from 1806 until 1903, when it moved to Damakheda. The district was renamed Kabirdham in January 2003. Kabir lived and died in the Varanasi region (Maghar by tradition) and never lived in Chhattisgarh.
Q5. Which pair is correctly matched?
- (a) Jnaneshwar — Dasbodh
- (b) Surdas — Sursagar
- (c) Eknath — Ramcharitmanas
- (d) Ramdas — Dnyaneshwari
Answer and explanation
(b) Surdas — Sursagar. Jnaneshwar wrote the Dnyaneshwari, Ramdas the Dasbodh, Eknath the Eknathi Bhagavat and Tulsidas the Ramcharitmanas.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (150–200 words) Compare the nirguna and saguna streams of the Bhakti movement with examples.
Model answer outline
- Intro: From the 14th century the bhakti movement in the north divided into two streams: devotion to a formless God (nirguna) and to God with form (saguna).
- Body:
- Concept of God: formless One (Kabir, Nanak, Dadu) vs Rama or Krishna (Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai).
- Image and ritual: rejected by nirguna saints, accepted by saguna saints.
- Social stance: nirguna saints attacked caste and orthodoxy of both Hindus and Muslims; saguna saints opened devotion to all but largely within the Vaishnava fold.
- Social base: artisans and “low” castes among nirguna saints (weaver, leather-worker, barber, cotton carder); more Brahmin and Rajput saints among saguna poets.
- Legacy: Sikhism, Kabirpanth, Dadupanth (nirguna); Ramcharitmanas and Krishna poetry shaping Hindi literature (saguna).
- Common ground: both used vernacular languages, stressed love over ritual and welcomed women.
- Chhattisgarh angle: the nirguna Kabirpanth of Dharamdas (Kawardha, Damakheda) and the later Satnam Panth show how the nirguna stream took root here.
- Conclusion: different paths, one aim: a personal, accessible faith.
Q2. (60 words) Who was Dharamdas? State his significance for Chhattisgarh.
Model answer outline
Dharamdas was Kabir’s leading disciple and founder of the Dharamdasi branch of the Kabirpanth. His lineage’s seat was at Kawardha (1806–1903) and then Damakheda (since 1903). He is regarded as the “Adi Kavi” of Chhattisgarhi, and Kawardha district was renamed Kabirdham (2003) in honour of this heritage.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ramananda | Rama bhakti in Hindi; disciples Kabir, Ravidas, Sena, Dhanna, Pipa, Padmavati |
| Kabir | Nirguna; weaver of Varanasi; Bijak; dies at Maghar (tradition); dates disputed |
| Guru Nanak | 1469–1539; Talwandi; Kartarpur; langar and sangat |
| Adi Granth | Compiled by Guru Arjan, 1604; includes Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas, Farid |
| Dadu Dayal | Rajasthan; Dadupanth; 16th century |
| Tulsidas | Ramcharitmanas; Awadhi; Akbar’s contemporary |
| Surdas | Sursagar; Braj; Ashtachhap |
| Mirabai | Merta princess, Mewar family; Krishna devotee |
| Varkaris | Vithoba of Pandharpur; Jnaneshwar (Dnyaneshwari 1290), Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram |
| Sankardev | Assam; 1449–1568; Ekasarana; Namghar, Sattra, Ankiya Naat, Borgeet |
| Dharamdas | Kabir’s disciple; Kabirpanth; Kawardha 1806–1903, Damakheda since 1903 |
| Kabirdham | Kawardha district renamed 17 Jan 2003 |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Ramananda carried bhakti north and opened it to every caste.
- Nirguna (Kabir, Nanak, Ravidas, Dadu) rejected image and caste; saguna (Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai) worshipped Rama or Krishna.
- Learn saint–region–language–text together; most MCQs are matches.
- Bhakti flowered regionally: Varkaris (Maharashtra), Chaitanya (Bengal), Sankardev (Assam), Lal Ded (Kashmir).
- Dharamdas’s Kabirpanth ties the chapter to Chhattisgarh: Kawardha, Damakheda, Kabirdham.
What’s Next
- Sufi Orders (Silsilas) in India — the parallel Islamic devotional stream
- Impact on Society — what these saints changed, and what they did not
- Literature, Chhattisgarhi Language, Idioms and Riddles — Dharamdas and the Chhattisgarhi literary tradition
- The Mughal Empire — the age of Tulsidas, Surdas and Dadu
Advertisement