Kabir, Baba Guru Nanak and Mirabai: New Devotional Paths (Class 12 History)
Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Kabir (c. fourteenth-fifteenth centuries) described one formless Ultimate Reality using Islamic, Vedantic and yogic terms and attacked empty ritual. Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) taught nirguna bhakti through remembering the Divine Name and congregational worship. Mirabai, a Rajput princess, defied convention through intense saguna devotion to Krishna.
Understand Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai
Why this topic matters. Section 8 of Theme 6 is the most examined part of the chapter. Boards set 8-mark questions on the philosophy and teachings of Kabir or Guru Nanak almost every year, 3-mark questions on nirguna bhakti and Mirabai's devotion, and source passages from Kabir's verses. NCERT section 8 with Sources 10-11 and the Shankaradeva box.
1. The context. These poet-saints were in dialogue with new social situations, ideas and institutions in north India: sufis, Naths, Jogis and Siddhas, and artisan groups such as weavers. NCERT calls them three of the most influential figures of the time.
2. Kabir (c. fourteenth-fifteenth centuries).
*How we know him.* Historians reconstruct his life from verses attributed to him and from later hagiographies, a challenging task. His verses survive in three distinct but overlapping compilations:
| Compilation | Preserved by / region |
|---|---|
| Kabir Bijak | Kabirpanth, Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh |
| Kabir Granthavali | Dadupanth, Rajasthan |
| Adi Granth Sahib | Many of his compositions included |
All were compiled long after his death; by the nineteenth century printed anthologies circulated as far apart as Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
*Language and style.* His poems survive in several languages and dialects; some use sant bhasha, the special language of nirguna poets; others are ulatbansi (upside-down sayings) that invert everyday meaning, such as 'the lotus which blooms without flower', hinting at how hard it is to put the Ultimate Reality into words.
*Many names for one Reality.* He drew on:
- Islam: Allah, Khuda, Hazrat, Pir;
- Vedantic traditions: alakh (the unseen), nirakar (formless), Brahman, Atman;
- Yogic traditions: shabda (sound), shunya (emptiness).
In Source 10 he asks how the world could have two lords instead of one, compares the many names of God to gold shaped into rings and bangles, and says those who kill goats and those who kill cows both miss the one Ram and waste their lives in dispute.
*Diverse, even conflicting ideas.* Some poems use Islamic monotheism and iconoclasm against Hindu polytheism and idol worship; others use the sufi ideas of zikr and ishq (love) to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran (remembering God's name). Whether all were composed by Kabir cannot be settled with certainty; scholars study language, style and content to decide.
*Who was he?* His ideas probably took shape through dialogue with sufis and yogis in Awadh, and many groups later claimed him. Hagiographies, many from the seventeenth century onwards, about 200 years after him, debated whether he was born Hindu or Muslim. Vaishnava hagiographies said he was born a Hindu, Kabirdas ('Kabir' is an Arabic word meaning 'great'), raised by a poor Muslim family of julahas (weavers), and initiated by a guru, perhaps Ramananda. But his verses mention only guru and satguru, not a named preceptor, and it is hard to make Ramananda and Kabir contemporaries without improbably long lives. The stories show how much his legacy mattered to later generations.
3. Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539).
- Born into a Hindu merchant family at Nankana Sahib near the Ravi, in predominantly Muslim Punjab; trained as an accountant, studied Persian; married young but spent most of his time among sufis and bhaktas; travelled widely.
- Nirguna bhakti: he firmly turned away from outward religious practice. He would have none of sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship or austerities, nor of the scriptures of Hindus and Muslims alike. The Absolute, 'rab', had no gender or form.
- The way to the Divine: remembering and repeating the Divine Name, through hymns called shabad in Punjabi, sung in various ragas while his attendant Mardana played the rabab.
- Organisation: he formed a community with rules for congregational worship (sangat) and collective recitation, and named his disciple Angad as his successor (guru), a practice followed for nearly 200 years.
- NCERT's careful judgement: he does not appear to have wanted to found a new religion; after his death his followers consolidated their practices and set themselves apart from Hindus and Muslims.
4. From Adi Granth to Khalsa.
- Guru Arjan (fifth guru) compiled Guru Nanak's hymns with those of his four successors and of Baba Farid, Ravidas (Raidas) and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. These hymns, in various languages, are called gurbani.
- In the late seventeenth century Guru Gobind Singh (tenth guru) added the compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur (ninth guru); the scripture became the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth, the 'army of the pure', whose five symbols are: (1) uncut hair, (2) a dagger, (3) a pair of shorts, (4) a comb and (5) a steel bangle. The community was consolidated as a socio-religious and military force.
5. Mirabai (c. fifteenth-sixteenth centuries).
- Perhaps the best-known woman poet of bhakti. Her life is reconstructed mainly from bhajans attributed to her, transmitted orally for centuries.
- A Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar, married against her will to a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar. She defied her husband, refused the traditional role of wife and mother and recognised Krishna, avatar of Vishnu, as her lover (saguna bhakti).
- Her in-laws tried to poison her; she escaped to live as a wandering saint, composing songs of intense emotion. In Source 11 she asks the Lord to light her pyre and smear its ash on his limbs, and asks what Mewar's ruler can do to her when only God's anger matters.
- Some traditions make Raidas, a leather worker, her preceptor, which would indicate defiance of caste norms. She is said to have worn a widow's white robes or the renouncer's saffron.
- She founded no sect, yet has inspired people for centuries; her songs are still sung, especially by the poor and those considered 'low caste' in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
6. Shankaradeva (box). In the late fifteenth century he was a leading proponent of Vaishnavism in Assam. His teaching, the Bhagavati dharma, was based on the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana and stressed absolute surrender to Vishnu, naam kirtan in sat sanga (congregations), satra (monasteries) and naam ghar (prayer halls). His major work: the Kirtana-ghosha.
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
Distinctions are only words we invent
Kabir (Source 10, NCERT): Arguing that Allah, Ram, Karim, Keshav, Hari and Hazrat are names of one God.
Kabir's rejection of the idea that each community has its own god.
the lotus which blooms without flower
An ulatbansi of Kabir, quoted in NCERT section 8.1: An upside-down saying.
Shows how Kabir conveyed mystical experience that ordinary words could not capture.
What can Mewar's ruler do to me?
Mirabai (Source 11, NCERT): On her defiance of the Rana of Mewar.
Devotion to God placed above royal and family authority.
let flame be lost in flame
Mirabai (Source 11, NCERT): Imagining her union with the Lord through her funeral pyre.
The intense emotion characteristic of her songs.
Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai: key facts
- Kabir's three compilations
Kabir Bijak Kabirpanth, Varanasi and elsewhere in UP Kabir Granthavali Dadupanth, Rajasthan Adi Granth Sahib many of his compositions - All compiled long after his death.
- Kabir's vocabulary for the Ultimate Reality
Islam Allah, Khuda, Hazrat, Pir Vedanta alakh, nirakar, Brahman, Atman Yoga shabda, shunya - Sant bhasha and ulatbansi.
- Baba Guru Nanak
Life 1469-1539, born at Nankana Sahib near the Ravi Belief nirguna bhakti; rab without gender or form Practice remembering the Divine Name; shabad in Punjabi; Mardana on the rabab Organisation sangat; Angad named successor - Rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both communities.
- Scripture timeline
- 1.Guru Nanak composes shabad
- 2.Guru Arjan compiles the Adi Granth (Nanak, four successors, Farid, Ravidas, Kabir)
- 3.Guru Gobind Singh adds Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns: the Guru Granth Sahib
- The hymns are called gurbani.
- Khalsa symbols
- Uncut hair
- Dagger
- Pair of shorts
- Comb
- Steel bangle
- Founded by Guru Gobind Singh.
- Mirabai
Birth Rajput princess of Merta in Marwar Marriage into the Sisodia clan of Mewar, against her wishes Devotion Krishna as her lover (saguna) Life escaped a poison attempt; wandering saint Preceptor Raidas, a leather worker (some traditions) - Founded no sect; songs still sung in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
How to answer Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai questions
Expect 1-mark items (nirguna versus saguna, compilations, Khalsa symbols, Mirabai's marriage), 3-mark questions (Kabir's Ultimate Reality, Guru Nanak's nirguna bhakti, Mirabai's devotion), 4-mark source questions from Kabir's or Mirabai's verses, and 8-mark questions on the philosophy and teachings of Kabir or Guru Nanak.
- 1Open with the person, period and place in one line (Kabir: c. fourteenth-fifteenth centuries, Awadh; Nanak: 1469-1539, Punjab; Mira: Merta and Mewar).
- 2State the type of bhakti: Kabir and Nanak nirguna; Mirabai saguna (Krishna).
- 3Give the core teachings with NCERT terms: Kabir's many names and ulatbansi; Nanak's rab, Divine Name, shabad, sangat.
- 4Add what each rejected: ritual, idol worship, sacrifice, communal disputes, caste and patriarchal norms.
- 5Explain transmission: Kabir's three compilations and hagiographies; Nanak's successors, Adi Granth, Guru Granth Sahib; Mira's oral bhajans.
- 6End with legacy or significance today, and note uncertainty where NCERT does (authorship of Kabir's verses, Ramananda link).
Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Many names, one substance
Suppose a goldsmith melts the same lump of gold into a ring, a bangle and a chain, and two customers start arguing about which piece is 'real gold'.
How did Kabir use this picture to argue about God?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The shape and name change; the gold stays the same.
- Kabir said God is called Allah, Ram, Karim, Keshav, Hari and Hazrat, yet is one.
- Quarrels between communities over names therefore miss the one Reality.
Answer: Names of God are like ornaments of one gold; distinctions are only words people invent.
Memory hook: Rings and bangles, all gold.
Building a community without a new religion
Imagine a teacher who starts weekly singing circles in his town, sets simple rules for how the group meets, and names one student to lead after him.
Which features of Guru Nanak's organisation does this resemble, and what happened after him?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Weekly circles resemble sangat, congregational worship with collective recitation.
- Naming a successor resembles his appointment of Angad as guru.
- Later leaders compiled the hymns (Adi Granth) and the community set itself apart from Hindus and Muslims.
Answer: Sangat and succession; his followers consolidated their own practices after his death, though he apparently did not intend a new religion.
Memory hook: Circle, rules, successor.
Tricks to remember Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
BGA for Kabir's books
Bijak (Banaras, Kabirpanth), Granthavali (Dadupanth, Rajasthan), Adi Granth.
Use it when: The three traditions that preserve Kabir's verses.
Nanak's 'NO' list
No sacrifice, no ritual bath, no image, no austerity, no scripture of either community: five refusals, one practice, the Name.
Use it when: 3-mark and 8-mark answers on his teachings.
Mira: M to M
Merta (birth) to Mewar (marriage), then Krishna (devotion) above both.
Use it when: Her life in one line.
Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Who played the rabab? · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who accompanied Baba Guru Nanak on the rabab when he sang his compositions?
(a) Angad
(b) Mardana
(c) Raidas
(d) Arjan
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- NCERT: his attendant Mardana played the rabab as he sang his shabad in various ragas (1 mark).
Answer: (b) Mardana
Example 2: Mirabai's defiance · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
In what three ways did Mirabai challenge the norms of her society? (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Defied her husband and the traditional role of wife and mother; took Krishna as her lover (1 mark).
- Left the palace after her in-laws tried to poison her; lived as a wandering saint (1 mark).
- Accepted Raidas, a leather worker, as preceptor in some traditions, defying caste (1 mark).
Answer: First, though married against her wishes into the Sisodia clan of Mewar, she defied her husband and did not submit to the role of wife and mother, recognising Krishna as her lover. Second, when her in-laws tried to poison her, she escaped from the palace and lived as a wandering saint, reportedly in a widow's white robes or a renouncer's saffron. Third, some traditions say her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker, which would show defiance of caste norms.
Example 3: Assertion and reason: Kabir's birth · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Historians accept the story that Ramananda initiated Kabir into bhakti.
Reason (R): Kabir's verses use the words guru and satguru but name no specific preceptor.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Historians find it very difficult to make the two contemporaries, so the link cannot be accepted at face value: A is false. R is true (1 mark).
Answer: (d) A is false but R is true.
Example 4: Why Kabir is hard to pin down · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why do historians find it difficult to reconstruct Kabir's life and ideas? Give three reasons. (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Verses in three overlapping compilations, all made long after his death; authorship uncertain (1 mark).
- Several languages and dialects, sant bhasha and ulatbansi; diverse, even conflicting ideas (1 mark).
- Hagiographies written about 200 years later, shaped by later debates over whether he was Hindu or Muslim and by claims of a link with Ramananda (1 mark).
Answer: First, his verses are preserved in three distinct but overlapping traditions, the Bijak, the Granthavali and the Adi Granth Sahib, all compiled long after his death, so we cannot be certain which verses are his. Second, the poems are in several languages and dialects, some in sant bhasha and some as ulatbansi, and they express diverse and even conflicting ideas, from Islamic iconoclasm to sufi-style zikr. Third, the hagiographies were mostly composed from the seventeenth century, about 200 years after him, and reflect later debates over whether he was born Hindu or Muslim and claims, hard to accept, that Ramananda was his guru.
Example 5: Source-based: Mirabai's songs · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level
Read the source (summarised for this page from songs attributed to a bhakti poet in NCERT) and answer.
The singer asks her Lord to build her funeral pyre from sandalwood and aloe and to light it himself; when she has burnt to ash, he should smear the ash on his body, so that her flame merges into his. In another song she says that if God is displeased everything is lost, but the ruler of Mewar can do nothing to her.
(i) Who is the singer, and to which deity are the songs addressed? (1)
(ii) What does the second song show about her attitude to the Rana? (1)
(iii) How do these songs reflect both the emotional character and the social challenge of her devotion? (2)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) Mirabai; Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu (1 mark).
- (ii) She defies royal authority; only God's anger matters (1 mark).
- (iii) Intense, total self-surrender in the image of the pyre; rejection of the duties of a royal wife, of her in-laws' authority and of patriarchal norms (2 marks).
Answer: (i) Mirabai, the Rajput princess-poet; the songs are addressed to Krishna, whom she recognised as her lover. (ii) She does not fear the Rana of Mewar: royal power means nothing compared with God's displeasure. (iii) The image of burning to ash and merging flame in flame expresses complete self-surrender and the intense emotion that marks her songs. Socially, the songs show a woman placing her devotion above her husband, his family and the king, refusing the traditional role of wife and mother, which is why her songs still inspire the poor and 'low caste' in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Example 6: Long answer: Kabir and Guru Nanak compared · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"Both were nirguna poets, but only one left behind an organised community." Compare the teachings of Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak and explain how their messages were transmitted. (8 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Context: dialogue with sufis, yogis, new social groups; both nirguna (1 mark).
- Kabir: many names for one Reality from Islamic, Vedantic and yogic terms; sant bhasha, ulatbansi (1 mark).
- Kabir: attack on communal division and ritual; zikr, ishq and nam-simaran (1 mark).
- Nanak: rab without gender or form; rejection of sacrifice, ritual baths, image worship, austerities, scriptures (1 mark).
- Nanak: Divine Name, shabad in Punjabi, sangat, Angad as successor (1 mark).
- Kabir's transmission: Bijak, Granthavali, Adi Granth; hagiographies; uncertainty (1 mark).
- Nanak's transmission: Guru Arjan's Adi Granth, gurbani, Guru Granth Sahib, Khalsa (1 mark).
- Comparison and conclusion: shared message, different institutional legacy (1 mark).
Answer: Kabir (c. fourteenth-fifteenth centuries) and Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) both emerged in a north India where poet-saints were in dialogue with sufis, yogis and new social groups, and both expressed nirguna bhakti, devotion to a God without form.
Kabir described the Ultimate Reality with words drawn from many traditions: Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir from Islam; alakh, nirakar, Brahman and Atman from Vedanta; shabda and shunya from yogic traditions. He argued that the many names of God were like rings and bangles made of the same gold, and mocked those who quarrelled over them. His poems, some in sant bhasha and some as ulatbansi, attacked idol worship and empty ritual, while others used the sufi ideas of zikr and ishq to express nam-simaran.
Guru Nanak repudiated outward religious practice: he rejected sacrifice and ritual bathing, image worship and austerity, and the scriptures of Hindus and Muslims alike. For him the Absolute, rab, had no gender or form, and could be reached by remembering and repeating the Divine Name. He sang his shabad in Punjabi, in various ragas, with Mardana on the rabab.
The difference lies in transmission. Kabir's verses were preserved by others: the Bijak by the Kabirpanth, the Granthavali by the Dadupanth, and many in the Adi Granth Sahib, all compiled long after his death, while hagiographies written about 200 years later argued over whether he was Hindu or Muslim. Guru Nanak himself organised his followers into a community with rules for congregational worship (sangat) and appointed Angad as his successor, a practice followed for nearly 200 years. Guru Arjan compiled his hymns with those of his successors and of Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib; Guru Gobind Singh added Guru Tegh Bahadur's compositions to form the Guru Granth Sahib and founded the Khalsa Panth.
The statement is therefore fair: their teachings were close, but Guru Nanak's organisation produced a continuing community, while Kabir's legacy was claimed by several groups. NCERT notes that Guru Nanak apparently did not intend to found a new religion; the separate identity was consolidated by his followers.
Where students lose marks in Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Calling Mirabai a nirguna poet
Grouping all north Indian saints together.
Wrong working
Mirabai, like Kabir, worshipped a formless god.
Right working
Mirabai's devotion was to Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu: saguna bhakti.
Do this: Mira = Krishna = saguna; Kabir and Nanak = nirguna.
Usually costs: 1 mark, plus credibility in longer answers.
Mistake: Saying Guru Nanak compiled the Adi Granth
Mixing the founder with the compiler.
Wrong working
Guru Nanak compiled the Guru Granth Sahib.
Right working
Guru Arjan compiled the Adi Granth; Guru Gobind Singh added Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns, making the Guru Granth Sahib.
Do this: Nanak composes, Arjan compiles, Gobind completes.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Stating Ramananda as Kabir's guru as a fact
Repeating the hagiography.
Wrong working
Kabir was a disciple of Ramananda.
Right working
Vaishnava hagiographies suggest it, but historians find it hard to make them contemporaries.
Do this: Write 'according to later hagiographies'.
Usually costs: 1 mark in analytical answers.
Mistake: Listing teachings without transmission
Questions often say 'and the ways in which these have been transmitted'.
Wrong working
An 8-mark answer that ends after the teachings.
Right working
Add the compilations (Bijak, Granthavali, Adi Granth) or the guru succession and scripture.
Do this: Teachings + transmission + legacy.
Usually costs: 2-3 marks.
Exam tips
- Asked in: 2023 board paper 61/3/1 Q29(a) and 2024 board paper 61/2/1 Q29(a) (8 marks, Kabir's philosophy and teachings); 2023 board paper 61/4/1 Q29(a), 2024 board paper 61/2/1 Q29(b) and 2025 board paper 61/1/1 Q29(a) (8 marks, Guru Nanak's teachings); 2024 board paper 61/1/1 Q29 and 2025 board paper 61/5/1 Q29 (8 marks, Kabir or Guru Nanak); 2024 board paper 61/4/1 Q32 (source, 'The One Lord'); 2024 board paper 61/5/1 Q24 and 2025 board paper 61/4/1 Q25 (3 marks, Guru Nanak); 2026 board paper 61/3/1 Q25(a) and 61/4/1 Q25(b) (3 marks, Kabir); 2025 board paper 61/7/1 Q27 (3 marks, Mirabai's poetry). Answers here are our own.
- Learn the three lists cold: Kabir's names for God, Nanak's rejected practices, the Khalsa symbols.
- For an 8-mark answer on either saint, cover teachings, transmission and legacy in separate paragraphs.
- Quote a phrase from the sources ('Distinctions are only words we invent', 'What can Mewar's ruler do to me?') to lift an answer.
Practice questions on Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which of these was among the five symbols defined for the Khalsa Panth?
(a) A rosary
(b) A steel bangle
(c) A saffron robe
(d) A linga in a silver caseHint
Guru Gobind Singh's five symbols.
Answer
(b) A steel bangle.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Name the three traditions in which Kabir's verses have been compiled, and the group associated with each of the first two. (2 marks)
Hint
Bijak, Granthavali, Adi Granth.
Answer
The Kabir Bijak, preserved by the Kabirpanth in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh; the Kabir Granthavali, associated with the Dadupanth in Rajasthan; and the Adi Granth Sahib, which contains many of his compositions.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How did the Guru Granth Sahib take shape? Trace its compilation in three steps. (3 marks)
Hint
Nanak, Arjan, Gobind Singh.
Answer
Baba Guru Nanak composed hymns (shabad) in Punjabi. Guru Arjan, the fifth preceptor, compiled them with the hymns of his four successors and of Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib; these hymns, in various languages, are called gurbani. In the late seventeenth century Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth preceptor, added the compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the scripture came to be called the Guru Granth Sahib.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Kabir's poems contain diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas. Give two examples and explain what this suggests to a historian. (3 marks)
Hint
Iconoclasm versus zikr; authorship.
Answer
Some poems use Islamic ideas of one God and of breaking idols to criticise Hindu worship of many gods and of images; others use the sufi concepts of zikr and ishq to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran. This suggests that the corpus grew over time and may not all be Kabir's own; scholars analyse language, style and content to decide. It also shows that Kabir inspired many who questioned entrenched religious and social practices.
Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Mirabai attracted a large sect of followers in her lifetime.
Reason (R): Her songs continue to be sung, especially by the poor and those considered 'low caste' in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.Hint
Did she found a sect?
Answer
(d) A is false but R is true: Mirabai did not attract a sect, though she has inspired people for centuries.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose a student argues that Guru Nanak founded Sikhism as a new religion during his lifetime. Using NCERT's account, evaluate this claim. (3 marks)
Hint
What he did versus what his followers did.
Answer
The claim needs qualifying. Guru Nanak did organise his followers into a community, set rules for congregational worship (sangat) and appointed Angad as his successor. But NCERT notes that he does not appear to have wished to establish a new religion; it was after his death that his followers consolidated their own practices and distinguished themselves from Hindus and Muslims, through the Adi Granth compiled by Guru Arjan and later the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh.
Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai lived centuries ago. Give one reason, with evidence, why each of them still matters to people today. (4 marks)
Hint
Unity, equality, individual conscience.
Answer
Kabir: his insistence that Allah and Ram are names of one God, and that quarrels between communities waste life, speaks to religious harmony; he still inspires those who question entrenched institutions. Guru Nanak: his rejection of empty ritual and his rab without gender or form, together with congregational worship open to all, support equality and community service; his hymns live on in the Guru Granth Sahib. Mirabai: her refusal to submit to her husband, in-laws and the Rana in the name of devotion makes her a voice for individual conscience and women's freedom; her songs are still sung by the poor and 'low caste' in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Which sect preserves the Kabir Bijak?Show answer
The Kabirpanth, in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
2.What is ulatbansi?Show answer
Upside-down sayings in which everyday meanings are inverted.
3.Where was Guru Nanak born?Show answer
Nankana Sahib, near the Ravi, in Punjab.
4.What are Guru Nanak's hymns called?Show answer
Shabad, composed in Punjabi.
5.Into which clan was Mirabai married?Show answer
The Sisodia clan of Mewar.
6.What was Shankaradeva's teaching called?Show answer
Bhagavati dharma.
Kabir, Guru Nanak and Mirabai: frequently asked questions
What were the main teachings of Kabir?
That the Ultimate Reality is one and formless, called by many names such as Allah, Ram and Hari; that communal quarrels and empty rituals are mistaken; and that God is reached through love and remembrance.
What did Guru Nanak teach?
Nirguna bhakti: the Absolute (rab) has no gender or form; sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and scriptures are unnecessary; one connects to the Divine by remembering and repeating the Divine Name, in congregation.
Was Mirabai a saguna or nirguna devotee?
Saguna: she worshipped Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, as her lover.
Who compiled the Adi Granth Sahib?
Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh guru, with the hymns of Guru Nanak, his successors, Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir.