Aspirant Academy

History

Key Points at a Glance

Religious Movements and Philosophy (Ancient & Medieval)

Paper I · Unit 1 Section 1 of 11 0 PYQs 31 min
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Key Points at a Glance

  1. Six Orthodox and Three Heterodox Schools

    • Astika (Vedic-accepting): Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, Vedanta
    • Nastika (Vedic-rejecting): Buddhism, Jainism, Charvaka
    • All six Astika schools accept the authority of the Vedas
    • This six-plus-three taxonomy was tested directly in RPSC 2021 (2 marks)

  2. Gautama Buddha — Four Sacred Sites

    • Born: Lumbini, Nepal (c. 563 BCE)
    • Enlightenment: Bodh Gaya, under a peepal tree
    • First sermon (Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta): Sarnath
    • Parinirvana (death): Kushinagar (c. 483 BCE)

  3. Buddha's Core Teachings

    • Four Noble Truths: Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, Magga
    • Eightfold Path: Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration
    • Dependent Origination (Pratityasamutpada): all phenomena arise in dependence on conditions
    • These three form the doctrinal foundation of all Buddhist schools

  4. Mahavira and Jain Philosophy

    • Mahavira (c. 599–527 BCE), 24th Tirthankara, born at Kundagrama (Vaishali, Bihar)
    • Three Jewels: Samyak Darshana (right faith), Samyak Jnana (right knowledge), Samyak Charitra (right conduct)
    • Five Great Vows (Pancha Mahavrata): ahimsa, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, non-possession
    • Mahavira added celibacy to Parshvanatha's original four vows

  5. Buddhism — Hinayana vs Mahayana Split

    • Split occurred at the Fourth Buddhist Council under Kanishka (c. 100 CE) at Kundalvana, Kashmir
    • Hinayana (Theravada): conservative, individual liberation, Pali canon, spread to Sri Lanka and SE Asia
    • Mahayana: Bodhisattva ideal, Sanskrit texts, spread to East Asia (Tibet, China, Japan)
    • A third school, Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), emerged in NE India in the 5th–7th century CE

  6. Shankaracharya and Advaita Vedanta

    • Shankaracharya (c. 788–820 CE) founded the Advaita Vedanta school
    • Core teaching: Brahman alone is real; Atman is identical with Brahman; perceived world is maya (illusion)
    • Established four Mathas: Sringeri (south), Dvarka (west), Puri (east), Badrinath (north)
    • Defeated Buddhist influence in philosophical debates across India

  7. Ramanuja and Madhva — Vedanta Sub-schools

    • Ramanuja (c. 1017–1137 CE) propounded Vishishtadvaita — "qualified non-dualism"
    • Vishishtadvaita: Brahman is real; individual souls and matter are real parts of Brahman, not illusory
    • Madhva (c. 1238–1317 CE) propounded Dvaita — pure dualism
    • Dvaita: God (Vishnu) and individual souls are eternally distinct — never identical

  8. Bhakti Movement — Key Features

    • Pan-India devotional revolution spanning the 6th–17th century
    • Democratised access to God: bypassed caste hierarchies and priestly monopolies
    • Used vernacular languages; emphasised personal devotion over ritual
    • Key strands: Saiva (Nayanmars, Tamil Nadu), Vaishnava (Alvars, Tamil Nadu; Varkari, Maharashtra), Nirguna (Kabir, Nanak)

  9. Sufism in India — Key Orders

    • Islamic mysticism emphasising love of God, inner purification, and unity of being
    • Entered India in the 11th–12th centuries with the Chishti order
    • Chishti: Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer (c. 1143–1236); emphasis on love and service to poor
    • Suhrawardi (Punjab/Sindh; more orthodox); Qadiri; Naqshbandi — other major orders
    • RPSC directly tested the Suhrawardi silsilah in 2021

  10. Alvars and Nayanmars — Tamil Bhakti

    • Both flourished in Tamil Nadu during the 6th–9th century CE
    • 12 Alvars (Vaishnava): composed Nalayira Divya Prabandham — 4,000 Tamil hymns
    • 63 Nayanmars (Shaivite): composed Tevaram (first 7 books of Tirumurai)
    • RPSC tested the Alvars and Nayanmars directly in 2023 (5 marks)

  11. Kabir — Nirguna Bhakti

    • Weaver-saint of Varanasi (c. 1440–1518); challenged both Hindu ritualism and Islamic orthodoxy
    • Preached Nirguna Bhakti — devotion to a formless God — bridging the Hindu-Muslim divide
    • Dohas (couplets) composed in Awadhi-Brajbhasha appear in the Adi Granth (Sikh scripture) and the Bijak (Kabir Panthis)
    • His teachings rejected caste as spiritually meaningless

  12. Amir Khusrau — Hindu-Islamic Cultural Synthesis

    • Poet and musician (1253–1325) at the Delhi Sultanate courts; disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya (Chishti order)
    • Credited with developing khayal (classical music form) and qawwali (devotional music)
    • Also credited with possibly developing the sitar and tabla
    • Represents India's most important musical synthesis of Hindu and Islamic traditions