RAS question
The Kirtan-Bhajan tradition in Rajasthan was popularized by which saint movement?
Correct answer: (B) Bhakti Movement.
The Kirtan-Bhajan tradition in Rajasthan was popularised by the Bhakti Movement through devotional saints such as Meera Bai, Dadu Dayal and Pipa.
Explanation
The Bhakti Movement is the right answer because it placed personal devotion at the centre of religious practice and brought that devotion to ordinary people through accessible forms such as hymn singing. In Rajasthan, saints such as Meera Bai, Dadu Dayal and Pipa composed in local dialects, enabling ordinary people to participate in devotional music rather than leaving it confined to learned priests or royal courts. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes bhakti as an intense emotional bond between a devotee and a personal god, with practices that include singing hymns in praise of the deity and reciting the deity's name. These features align the Kirtan-Bhajan tradition with the Bhakti Movement much more closely than with a ritual, reformist or exclusively Sufi framework.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Buddhist tradition is not the best fit because Rajasthan's Kirtan-Bhajan tradition is associated with Bhakti saints; the option itself also notes that Buddhism had limited influence in Rajasthan.
- (C) The Sufi Movement alone is too narrow because Rajasthan's Kirtan-Bhajan tradition is linked to Bhakti saints and devotional singing, whereas the Sufi tradition is associated here with Qawwali.
- (D) Arya Samaj is wrong because it came much later and does not explain the saint-led Kirtan-Bhajan tradition associated with Meera Bai, Dadu Dayal and Pipa.
Concept
This question tests Rajasthan's saint tradition in medieval cultural history, especially how devotional movements shaped popular religious practice and folk devotional music. It recurs in RAS because questions often connect saint movements and literature in local dialects with history, art and culture.