Bhakti, Sufi & Medieval Culture: previous-year questions

Answer: (C) Sher Shah

Malik Muhammad Jaisi, a Sufi poet from Jais in Awadh, completed 'Padmavat' in 1540, when Sher Shah Suri was on the throne of Delhi; the poem itself praises Sher Shah as the reigning Sultan. Written in Awadhi, it is a Sufi allegorical romance about Ratansen of Chittor, Princess Padmavati of Simhala and Alauddin Khalji's siege of Chittor (1303). That is why Alauddin Khalji (A) is the tempting wrong answer: he is a character in the story, not the contemporary ruler. Jaisi's other works are Akhravat and Akhiri Kalam. Other Sufi premakhyan poems: Mulla Daud's Chandayan and Qutban's Mrigavati.

Answer: (C) Amir Khusrau

Amir Khusrau, the poet and musician of the Delhi Sultanate, was called Tuti-e-Hind, the ‘Parrot of India’, for the sweetness of his verse. Tansen was a musician at Akbar's court, Surdas a Bhakti poet, and Abul Fazal Akbar's historian.

Answer: (A) Basawan

Basawan was one of the leading painters of Akbar's atelier, along with Daswanth. Bebadal Khan was Shah Jahan's goldsmith who made the Peacock Throne, Raja Ravi Varma a 19th-century painter, and Minhaj-us-Siraj a Sultanate historian.

Answer: (A) Shah Niamatullah Qadri

The Qadiri order traces back to Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani of Baghdad, and it was introduced into India by Shah Niamatullah Qadiri and Makhdum Muhammad Jilani, so among these names it is the one linked with the Qadiri order. Baba Farid (Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar) was a Chishti saint whose verses are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Bakhtiyar Kaki, the Chishti saint of Delhi, was the successor of Moinuddin Chishti, and the Qutb Minar is said to be named after him. Shah Jalal was a Sufi saint of Sylhet, now in Bangladesh.

Answer: (C) Auliya

Auliya (plural of wali, 'friends of God') is the term for Sufi saints, and it is the only option belonging to Sufism. The Namdharis (Kukas) are a Sikh reform sect whose Kuka movement under Baba Ram Singh opposed British rule in Punjab. Kirpandhari is not a Sufi term either. 'None of the above' is the tempting option, since the major Sufi orders (silsilahs) are the Chishti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri and Naqshbandi, and auliya strictly names saints rather than an order.

Answer: (D) Silsilah

A Sufi order is called a silsilah, meaning a 'chain' that links the master (pir or shaikh) to his disciples (murids) in an unbroken line. The best known in India are the Chishti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri and Naqshbandi silsilahs. Siyasa means politics or statecraft, virasat means inheritance or heritage, and hukumat means government. None of these words names a Sufi order.

Answer: (C) Chandi Mongal

Mukundaram Chakrabarti, honoured as Kavikankan, wrote the Chandimangal in the 16th century, a Bengali mangal-kavya praising the goddess Chandi that gives a vivid picture of rural Bengal. Padma Puran is the tempting option, because Bijay Gupta's Bengali Manasamangal on the snake goddess Manasa (Padma) is also called Padmapuran. Barsha Mongal is not a work of Mukundaram. Since (C) is correct, 'None of the above' is wrong.

Answer: (C) Ajmer — Kubbatul Islam

The Quwwat-ul-Islam ('Might of Islam') mosque stands in the Qutb complex at Delhi and was built by Qutbuddin Aibak; the monument at Ajmer is the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, also by Aibak. The other pairs are correct: Atala Masjid at Jaunpur was completed by Ibrahim Shah Sharqi (1408), Jahaz Mahal at Mandu in Malwa was built by Ghiyasuddin Khalji, and the Bara Sona (Baro Duari) Masjid at Gaur was completed by Nusrat Shah in 1526.

Answer: (C) Abu Rihan Alberuni

Abu Rihan Al-Biruni, the Persian scholar who came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni and wrote Kitab-ul-Hind (Tahqiq-i-Hind), mentioned Khajuraho ('Kajuraha') around 1022 CE as the capital of Jajahuti (Jejakabhukti), the Chandela kingdom. Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller, also described Khajuraho, but only in 1335 - the 14th century. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was a Persian physician-philosopher (Canon of Medicine) and Omar Khayyam a Persian poet-mathematician (Rubaiyat); neither visited India. The Khajuraho temples (Nagara style, e.g., Kandariya Mahadeva) became a World Heritage Site in 1986.

Answer: (C) Tulsidas

Goswami Tulsidas, a contemporary of Akbar, composed the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi from 1574; his other works include Vinay Patrika, Kavitavali, Dohavali and Hanuman Chalisa. Harisena was Samudragupta's court poet, who composed the Allahabad Pillar inscription (Prayag Prashasti); Harshavardhana wrote the Sanskrit plays Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarshika; Jayadeva, court poet of Lakshmana Sena of Bengal, wrote the Gita Govinda. Other Ramayanas: Valmiki (Sanskrit), Kamban (Tamil), Krittibas Ojha (Bengali).

Answer: (C) Muhammad Bin Tughlaq

Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller from Tangier, reached India in 1333 during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-51), who appointed him Qazi of Delhi and in 1342 sent him as envoy to China; his travelogue is the Rihla. Akbar's court received travellers like Ralph Fitch and the Jesuit fathers, Alauddin Khalji's reign is described by Amir Khusrau and Barani, and Sher Shah's by Abbas Sarwani. Other pairings: Marco Polo - Pandya kingdom (c. 1292); Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razzaq - Deva Raya I and II; Bernier and Tavernier - Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.