CLASS 7 GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · CH 6: DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE (NCERT CLASS 7 — OUR PASTS II)
NCERT-aligned Class 7 Geography topic. Every item is anchored to a real location on India's map — built for boards (CBSE, ICSE, state) and UPSC aspirants.
Who were the Alvars and the Nayanars?
ALVARS = 12 Tamil saints devoted to VISHNU; NAYANARS = 63 Tamil saints devoted to SHIVA; flourished 6th-9th centuries CE. Composed devotional songs in Tamil, sung at temples; rejected caste and gender hierarchy in DEVOTION.
Famous women among the Alvars/Nayanars?
ANDAL (Alvar, ~9th c.) — only female Alvar; "Tiruppavai" + "Nachiyar Tirumozhi" hymns. KARAIKKAL AMMAIYAR (Nayanar) — famous for renouncing beauty/family for Shiva.
How did their poems reach posterity?
Compiled in the 10th c. by NATHAMUNI (Alvar hymns = NALAYIRA DIVYA PRABANDHAM) and around the same time the Nayanar hymns were collected as TEVARAM and TIRUVACAKAM (Manikkavacakar).
Who founded the Lingayat tradition?
BASAVANNA (1106-67) and his colleagues ALLAMA PRABHU + AKKA MAHADEVI in 12th c. Karnataka. Basava was prime minister of Kalachuri king Bijjala II at KALYANI (Basavakalyan).
Lingayat distinctive practices?
Worshipped Shiva as a LINGA worn on the body (ishtalinga); REJECTED caste, brahmanic ritual, idol worship, the doctrine of rebirth, untouchability; allowed widow remarriage; permitted post-puberty marriage. Buried their dead instead of cremating.
Vachana literature?
Brief, intense Kannada free-verse poems composed by Basava, Allama, Akka Mahadevi and ~300 other "vachanakaras" (including many low-caste and women authors). Pioneered Kannada literary expression.
Who were the Nathpanthis?
Followers of MATSYENDRANATH and GORAKHNATH (12-13 c.); rejected ritual, caste; emphasised intense yogic discipline (HATHA YOGA — physical postures, breath control); ate meat, drank wine, were celibate; criticised orthodoxy. Foundational influence on Kabir, Guru Nanak.
Who were the Siddhas?
Tantric Buddhist masters (~7-12 c.) who went beyond monastic Buddhism — emphasised meditation + alchemy + body mysticism (MAHASIDDHAS like Saraha, Tilopa, Naropa); spread to Tibet via Pala-period monks.
Who founded the Chishti Silsila in India?
KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI (1141-1230) — born Sistan; settled at AJMER c. 1192; his shrine (Dargah Sharif) became (and remains) one of South Asia's greatest pilgrimage sites — visited by Akbar, Mughal emperors, modern PMs.
Successors of the Ajmer master?
BAKHTIYAR KAKI (Delhi/Mehrauli, d. 1235) → BABA FARID (Pakpattan/Punjab, d. 1265) → NIZAMUDDIN AULIYA (Delhi, d. 1325; tomb at Hazrat Nizamuddin) → NASIRUDDIN CHIRAGH-I-DEHLI; later GISUDARAZ (Gulbarga, d. 1422) and SALIM CHISHTI (Fatehpur Sikri, d. 1572).
Sufi practices?
KHANQAH (hospice/teaching centre); SAMA (devotional music — invented QAWWALI by Amir Khusrau, disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya); zikr (chanting God's name); LANGAR (community meal regardless of caste/religion); pir-murid (master-disciple) relationship.
Who was Kabir?
KABIR (1398-1518) — born to Muslim weavers (julahas) of Banaras; raised as Vaishnava Hindu; reputedly disciple of RAMANANDA. Composed devotional couplets (DOHE) in colloquial Hindi/Awadhi/Bhojpuri — included in Adi Granth (Sikh scripture) and Kabir Bijak.
This topic is part of the NCERT Class 7 History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Ch 6: Devotional Paths to the Divine (NCERT Class 7 — Our Pasts II). Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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