UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 42 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Tamil Siddhas Lingayats
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectMedieval History
- TopicBhakti and Sufi Movement
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements:
1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry.
2. Lingayats of Karnataka questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: C. Both 1 and 2
Verdict
The answer is both 1 and 2. The Tamil Siddhas were monotheistic and condemned idolatry, and the Lingayats questioned rebirth and rejected caste.
Analysis
Statement 1 is CORRECT. The Siddhas or Sittars of the Tamil region were a heterodox group who rejected image worship and ritual formalism in favour of a direct and monotheistic devotion. Statement 2 is CORRECT. The Virashaiva or Lingayat movement led by Basavanna in twelfth century Karnataka challenged caste and the notion of pollution attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas, and it also questioned the theory of rebirth, which is why it drew followers among those marginalised within the Brahmanical order.
Source
NCERT, Themes in Indian History Part II, page 147, and Our Pasts II on the Bhakti movement.
How to crack it
Both statements describe the same underlying posture, that of a movement defining itself against Brahmanical ritual and hierarchy, so once you place each group as heterodox both statements follow. Note the Lingayat detail worth carrying: their rejection of rebirth explains their distinctive burial rather than cremation practice, which is a fact UPSC has used. Where a doctrine has a visible social consequence, learn the pair, because either half can be the question.