Bhakti and Sufi Movements in India: Saints, Teachings, Sufi Orders and Important Facts for SSC Exams

The Bhakti and Sufi movements were the great religious and cultural movements of medieval India. SSC history asks the saints, their teachings, the places they belong to and the Sufi orders. This guide on Bhakti and Sufi movements for SSC gives the early Bhakti saints of the south, the philosophers, the northern saints, the Sufi silsilas and the key terms, with tables and practice questions.

Bhakti Movement: Main Features

• Devotion (bhakti) to a personal God as the way to salvation, instead of rituals and caste distinctions.
• Use of regional languages instead of Sanskrit, which helped the growth of literature in Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada and Assamese.
• Rejection of caste inequality and idol worship by the Nirguna saints such as Kabir.
• The movement began in South India between the 7th and 12th centuries and spread to the north in the 14th–17th centuries.

Early Bhakti in the South

Philosophers of Bhakti

Saints of North and West India

Sufism in India

Sufis were Muslim mystics who stressed love for God, tolerance and service to humanity. They came to India from the 11th century and became popular in the 12th–14th centuries. Their orders are called silsilas; the teacher is a pir (or shaikh) and the disciple a murid; the hospice is a khanqah; and the Sufi musical gathering is sama (qawwali).

• The Chishti saints avoided state patronage and lived simply; Nizamuddin Auliya’s disciple was the poet Amir Khusrau (Tuti-e-Hind), who developed qawwali and the Hindavi language.
• Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah at Ajmer was visited by Akbar and later Mughals.
• Sheikh Salim Chishti of Fatehpur Sikri was a Chishti saint linked to the birth of Jahangir.

Effects of the Movements

• Rise of regional languages and literature.
• Better relations between Hindus and Muslims; the Hindu–Muslim synthesis in music and art.
• Rise of the Sikh religion.
• Weakened caste distinctions and the focus on equality.
• Growth of devotional music: Kirtan, Qawwali, Abhang and Bhajan.

Tricks to Remember

• Alvars = Vishnu; Nayanars = Shiva.
• Kabir, Ravidas and Pipa were disciples of Ramananda.
• Chishti: Ajmer and Delhi; Suhrawardi: Multan.
• Tulsidas = Ramcharitmanas; Surdas = Sursagar; Kabir = Bijak.
• Advaita = Shankara; Vishishtadvaita = Ramanuja; Dvaita = Madhva.

Quick Tips

• Learn the doctrines of the four philosophers with their names.
• Learn the Sufi silsilas with their saints.
• Remember the works of each saint.
• Remember that Ramananda was the first to use Hindi.

Quick Revision Points

• Alvars worshipped Vishnu; Nayanars worshipped Shiva.
• Shankaracharya: Advaita; Ramanuja: Vishishtadvaita; Madhva: Dvaita.
• Kabir’s work: Bijak; Tulsidas: Ramcharitmanas.
• Chishti silsila: Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya.
• Amir Khusrau was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.

Practice Questions With Answers

1. Who founded the Advaita philosophy?
   Answer: Shankaracharya
2. Who was the author of the Ramcharitmanas?
   Answer: Tulsidas
3. Who wrote the Bijak?
   Answer: Kabir
4. Which Sufi order did Moinuddin Chishti belong to?
   Answer: Chishti
5. Who was the disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya known as Tuti-e-Hind?
   Answer: Amir Khusrau
6. Which saint founded Lingayatism?
   Answer: Basavanna
7. Who founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism in Bengal?
   Answer: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
8. Who propounded Vishishtadvaita?
   Answer: Ramanuja
9. Which Sufi silsila had Baba Farid as a saint?
   Answer: Chishti
10. What is a Sufi hospice called?
    Answer: Khanqah

How to Practise This Chapter

Practise 10 questions every day and write the steps on paper. Then attempt timed sets from our practice papers and the previous year papers page. See all topics on the Indian History notes page, read the previous topic Sangam Age and South Indian Dynasties and the next topic Vijayanagara, Bahmani, Maratha and Sikh Powers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Bhakti movement?

A religious movement of devotion to a personal God that spread across India from the 7th century onward.

Who were the Alvars?

Twelve Tamil saints who were devotees of Vishnu.

Who were the Nayanars?

Sixty-three Tamil saints who were devotees of Shiva.

Who was Ramananda?

A Bhakti saint of Varanasi who was the first to preach in Hindi; Kabir was his disciple.

Who was Kabir?

A Nirguna Bhakti saint of the 15th century who preached Hindu–Muslim unity.

Who founded Sikhism?

Guru Nanak.

What is Sufism?

A mystical form of Islam that emphasises love of God and service to humanity.

What are the main Sufi orders in India?

Chishti, Suhrawardi, Firdausi, Qadiri and Naqshbandi.

Who was Nizamuddin Auliya?

A great Chishti saint of Delhi.

What is a khanqah?

A Sufi hospice or centre.

Is this topic asked in SSC?

Yes. Bhakti saints, Sufi orders and their works are asked every year.

Which saint wrote Sursagar?

Surdas.