RAS question
Sunderdas, the famous poet-saint, was a disciple of which saint?
Correct answer: (D) Dadu Dayal.
Sunderdas, the poet-saint born in Dausa, Rajasthan, was a disciple of Dadu Dayal.
Explanation
Sunderdas (1596-1689) is placed within the Dadu Panth because he was a prominent disciple of Dadu Dayal. The Siddha Yoga path website describes Saint Sunderdas as a poet-saint born in Dausa, Rajasthan, and as a disciple of the great saint Dadu Dayal. The relationship mattered because from an early age Sunderdas spread his Guru's teachings on bhakti across India. His standing as one of the scholarly saints of the Dadu Panth is reflected in works such as Sundar Vilas and Gyan Samudra, and he wrote more than forty-eight books containing philosophy, bhajans, and poems in vernacular languages.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Kabir lived earlier, so he does not fit the teacher-disciple relationship given for Sunderdas.
- (B) Tulsidas was a contemporary figure, but Dadu Dayal, not Tulsidas, was Sunderdas's guru.
- (C) Ramananda lived much earlier, while Sunderdas is specifically connected to Dadu Dayal and the Dadu Panth.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan History, Art and Culture through the saint traditions of Rajasthan, especially the Dadu Panth. RAS often checks such links between saints, disciples, places of birth, and literary works because they anchor regional religious and cultural history.