Consider the following statements about the Lingayats : 1. They bury their dead 2. They are great believers in the caste system, especially in the theory of purity and pollution 3. They are against child marriage and favour widow remarriage Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 and 2
- B.1 only
- C.2 and 3
- D.1 and 3
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, 1 and 3. Lingayats bury their dead and opposed child marriage while accepting widow remarriage, but they rejected the caste system and ideas of pollution.
The Lingayat or Virashaiva tradition arose in twelfth-century Karnataka under Basavanna, a minister at the Kalachuri court. Its followers worship Shiva as a linga, which each devotee wears in a small case on the body. They questioned caste, the authority of the Brahmanas, the theory of rebirth and the idea of pollution attached to birth and death. Because they believe a devotee goes to Shiva at death and does not return, they bury the dead instead of cremating them. They also disapproved of child marriage and allowed widows to remarry. Their teachings are recorded in Kannada vachanas.
A is wrong because statement 2 is false; Lingayats challenged caste and purity rules. B is wrong because statement 3 is also correct. C is wrong because it includes the false statement 2 and leaves out statement 1.
Exam tip: Lingayats: Basavanna, 12th century Karnataka, Kannada vachanas, burial of the dead, against caste.
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