9th Standard, Social, History CHAPTER – 3
RELIGIOUS REFORMERS OF INDIA
EXERCISES
I. Fill in the blanks with suitable words:
1. Shankaracharya was born at Kaladi in Kerala.
2. “The world is an illusion, Brahma alone is the Truth”. This was propounded by Shankaracharya.
3. Ramanujacharya’s disciples are called Shrivaishnavites.
4. Proponent of Dwaita philosophy is Madhwacharya.
II. Answer the following questions by discussing with your group:
5. Who is the proponent of Advaita philosophy?
Answer: Madhwacharya is the proponent of Advaita philosophy.
6. Which is the philosophy advocated by Ramanujacharya? What is their sect called?
Answer: The philosophy advocated by Ramanujacharya is ‘Vishishtadvaita’. Their sect is called ‘Shrivaishnavism’.
7. Name the books written by Ramanujacharya.
Answer: Ramanujacharya wrote Vedanta Sangraha, Vedantasara, Vedanta Deepika, Shribhasya and in his famous work ‘Geethabhashya’, he emphasized the importance of devotion.
8. Which are the tenets advocated by Madhwacharya?
Answer: According to Madhwacharya, the world is not maya or illusion. It is as true as Paramatma or the Divine Soul. Between these, the Divine soul is independent and the rest of the world is illusionary. The Divine soul and the human soul have a Lord and Servant relation. Lord Vishnu or Narayana alone is supreme. Worship of Lord Vishnu can elevate the human soul and thus enable it to attain moksha.
9. Name the books written by Shankaracharya.
Answer: The books written by Shankaracharya are Shankarabhasya, Anandalahari, Soundaryalahari, Shivanandalahari, Vivekachoodamani, Prabuddasudhakara and Dakshinamurthy stotra. His hymn Bhajagovindam is very famous.
10. What were the welfare measures of Basavanna?
Answer: Basavanna condemned the rituals, superstition and blind beliefs which was in practice then. He was instrumental in bringing economic, social and religious reforms in the society. He established ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ known as the world’s first parliament at Basava Kalyana of present Bidar district. Basavanna worked for the reformation of the soul along with the reformation of the society. Basavanna propounded the idea of one God in the form of Istalinga with the concept of ‘body as temple’, and ‘Awareness as Guru’. He believed that compassion (daya) is the base of Dharma and stressed non-violence. He brought out new concepts like work (Kayaka), charity (Dasoha) and Istalinga. Through these concepts, Basavanna established equal and secular society devoid of discrimination of gender and caste in Kalyana. Vachanas were written in the backdrop of spiritual growth and welfare of the world.
11. Which followers were with Basavanna during the Vachana movement?
Answer: Vachana movement united the followers of Basavanna irrespective of their caste, class, colour and gender. Prominent Vachanakaras are Satyakka, Aydakki Lakkamma, Siddarama, Channa Basavanna, Molige Maraiah, Ambigara Chowdaiah, Madiwala Machaiah, Madara Chennaiah, Samagara Haralaiah, Kinnari Bommaiah and others.
12. What is the meaning of ‘Kayave Kailasa’ propagated by Basavanna?
Answer: ‘The eternal shall perish, the transient will stay on’, ‘‘Body is abode of Lord Shiva’’ (Kayave Kailasa), thus said Basavanna, stressing on ‘Kaya’ and upheld the principle of work culture. He also declared there is no superiority or inferiority in work.
Additional Questions and Answers:
- Who were the Acharyathrayas?
Answer: Shankaracharya, Madhwacharya and Ramanujacharya are called Acharyathrayas.
- The human soul has no separate existence and he expressed this fact in the phrase ‘Aham Brahmasmi’.
- Shankaracharya travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on foot and propagated his Advaitha philosophy.
- Ramanujacharya travelled to Srirangam and became the Peethadheesha of that mutt.
- What are the teachings of Ramanujacharya?
Answer: Ramanujacharya taught that life and nature were controlled by Brahma. Atma and Paramatma cannot exist at the same time. Devotion and surrender (prapatti) were essential for attaining moksha. Ramanujacharya condemned casteism and taught the path of devotion to people of all castes. He advised that we should give up our desires and surrender to God. He advocated attainment of nirvana through the path of devotion.
- Madhwacharya independently gained great knowledge about the religious scriptures and defeated his guru in debate.
- Name the books written by Madhwacharya.
Answer: The books written by Madhwacharya are Geetabhashya, Geetatatparya nirnaya, Mahabharata tatparya nirnaya, Vishnutatva nirnaya, Bhagawata tatparya nirnaya, Sutrabhashya, Mayavadakhandana etc.
- Government of Karnataka, while unveiling the portrait of Vishwaguru Basavanna declared him as the ‘Cultural Leader of Karnataka’.
III. Activities:
1. Collect all Vachanas of the important vachanakras, present them before a group and comment on them.
2. Collect the portraits of the contemporary Vachanakaras of Basavanna.
Answer: The contemporary Vachanakaras of Basavanna are, Akkamahadevi, Allama prabhu, Urilinga Peddigala Punya Stri Kalavve, Madivala Machideva, Madaar Channayya, Dohar Kakkayya, Hadapad Rechanna, Ambigar Choudayya etc.
3. Conduct Vachana Singing competition.
IV. Projects:
- With the help of your teacher, write an essay on Dwaita and Adwaita philosophy.
Answer:
Dwaita: Madhwacharya advocated Dwaitha philosophy. According to this philosophy, the human soul and the Divine soul are separate. According to Madhwacharya, the world is not maya or illusion. It is as true as Paramatma or the Divine Soul. Between these, the Divine soul is independent and the rest of the world is illusionary. The Divine soul and the human soul have a Lord and Servant relation. Lord Vishnu or Narayana alone is supreme. Worship of Lord Vishnu can elevate the human soul and thus enable it to attain moksha. Prominent among the disciples of Madhwacharya who propagated the Dwaitha philosophy are Padmanabhateertha, Narahariteertha, Vijayendrateertha and Vadirajateertha.
Adwaita: Shankaracharya was born in the village Kaladi in Kerala in a Namboodari Brahmin family. Shankaracharya studied the Upanishads and Brahmasutras in depth and propagated the Advaitha philosophy. According to this, Brahma is the absolute truth, the rest of the world is false. The soul is one with Brahma, and life is not separate from Brahma. The world is maya, an illusion; Brahma is the absolute truth. People are ignorant; they are not aware of the illusionary nature of the world. They are also not aware that Brahma is the only Truth. Hence we should go on the path of knowledge, and realize the nature of the world. Ultimately, we should merge our ‘atma’ (soul) with the absolute truth, Brahma. Only then we can attain moksha (liberation). In this manner, Shankaracharya taught the path of knowledge. Shankaracharya travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on foot and propagated his Advaitha philosophy. In order to spread the message of his philosophy, he established peethas (institutions) in all the four directions.
2. Invite the local vachana singers and have them sing various vachanas.
