Bhakti-Sufi Traditions Class 12 Notes History Chapter 6 - CBSE

• The principal deities of the Vedic pantheon were Indra, Agni and Soma.

The major deities of worship in India during medieval times were Vishnu, Shiva and mother goddess.

• The education became accessible to the women as well as Shudras due to the accessibility of the Puranic literature in simple Sanskrit language.
• Alvars were a group of religious saints who were engaged in the worship and devotion of Vishnu.
• Nayanars were a group of religious saints who were engaged in devotion to the Shiva.
• Andal was a woman Alvar, whose compositions were widely sung by the devotees of Vishnu.
• Some of the most famous temples constructed by the Chola rulers were in the cities of Chidambaram, Thanjavur  and Gangaikondacholapuram.
• The Bhakti tradition is generally classified into two categories: Saguna and Nirguna Bhakti.
• Saguna Bhakti is the worship of God with attributes. Nirguna Bhakti is the worship of God without attributes.
• Tevaram was the compilation of the Tamil Shaiva hymns sung in the temples under royal patronage.
• Lingayats were the followers of the Basavanna who was a Brahmin from Karnataka. They were also known as the Virashaivas.
• Bhagavata Purana is the collection of the stories and practices associated with Lord Vishnu.
• Ulamas were the scholars of Islamic studies. They performed functions related to religious matters, judicial  matters and teachings functions.
• Sharia is the set of laws governing the Muslim community. Sharia is said to be based on the Quran and Hadis.
• The major sufi saints of the Chisti Silsilahs were Sheikh Muinuddin Sijzi, Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Sheikh Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar, Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.
• Sufis were the religious-minded people generally belonging to Islam that started following the path of asceticism and mysticism against the orthodoxy of the Islamic Caliphate.
• Sufi lineages were named after their founding father.
• The Sufis used to organise communities around the hospices and used to appoint a teaching master known as Shaikh or pir.
• The Shaikh used to make enrollments of disciples (murids) and also used to appoint a Khalifa who would carry out the reigns of the community in his absence.
• The tomb shrine or the Dargah of the sheikh became the centre of devotion for his followers.
• Wali or Auliya is said to be the friend of God having proximity with Allah.
• Zimmis were the people following other religious faiths such as Christianity and Judaism and were under the protection of the Muslims. They have to pay a religious tax called Jizya for gaining the protection of the Muslim rulers.
• Kabir is one of the most famous saints in the history of India. He is said to be raised by a poor Muslim weaving family.
• The verses of the Kabir is preserved in three compilations : Kabir Biajk, Kabir Granthavali and Adi Granth Sahib.
• Baba Guru Nanak was born in the year 1469 in a village called Nankana Sahib which is situated on the river Ravi predominantly in Pakistan.
• He was an advocate of Nirguna Bhakti and promoted the abstract worship of God.
• He composed hymns that came to be known as ‘Shabad’ in Punjabi. Baba Nanak used to sing these compositions in several ragas and his disciples used to play rabab.
• Mirabai was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar. She was married against her will to the Prince of Sisodia clan of Mewar in Rajasthan.
• Mirabai became the epitome of love and devotion to God and is remembered for her selfless love for God.
• The best source for the reconstruction of the histories is the study of religious and historical texts which provides insights about the social, cultural and political traditions of those times.