The Bhakti movement is about personal devotion to God. It did not begin as one event or with one founder. Poet-saints in the south started it, and saints in the north carried it on. This lesson follows the main saints, the two streams of worship and the exam questions.
At a glance
| Group | Worship | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Alvars | Vishnu | Tamil poet-saints of the Vaishnava path. |
| Nayanars | Shiva | Tamil poet-saints of the Shaiva path. |
| Kabir, Nanak, Ravidas | God without form | Nirgun Bhakti. |
| Chaitanya | Krishna | Sagun Bhakti. |
- Bhakti means loving devotion to God.
- Nirgun means without form or attributes.
- Sagun means with form and attributes.
- Alvar is a Vaishnava poet-saint of the south. Nayanar is a Shaiva one.
The Alvars and Nayanars: Tamil Nadu poet-saints
The Alvars worshipped Vishnu. The Nayanars worshipped Shiva. They were poet-saints of the Tamil country. They sang in Tamil, not in Sanskrit.
They lived roughly between the 7th and 10th centuries. Some came from so-called lower castes. Some were women. Andal is remembered as a symbol of women’s empowerment.
Some textbooks say they did not openly oppose caste or Brahmin priests. Other historians read their hymns as a protest against caste, or at least an attempt to reform it. Historians still debate how far they challenged caste. Their main targets were Buddhists and Jains.
Sources: Rajasthan board question bank · Open university study module · Bhakti metaphysics book (for the alvars and nayanars: tamil nadu poet-saints).
Check 1
The Alvars were devotees of Vishnu.
Check 2
The Alvar and Nayanar saints composed in Sanskrit.
Nirguna and saguna: two ways to worship
Bhakti has two broad streams. Sagun Bhakti is worship of God with form and attributes. Rama and Krishna devotion are the best known. Nirgun Bhakti is worship of God without form.
Ramananda is linked with Rama devotion in the north. Chaitanya is linked with devotion to Krishna. Kabir and Nanak followed the nirgun path. Kabir spoke of Rama, but not as the son of Dasharatha.
Nanak taught nirgun worship. He did not set out to found a new religion.
Sources: Shodhganga thesis chapter · Class 12 history support material · Tamil culture history (for nirguna and saguna: two ways to worship).
Check 3
Kabir worshipped Rama, the son of Dasharatha, in a sagun form.
Think it through: why can one saint be hard to place in one stream?
Saints used the names of gods like Rama.
But Kabir meant a God beyond form. So the name alone does not decide the stream. Read what the saint says about form.
Namdev: a Maharashtrian bridge to Sikhism
Namdev was a saint from Maharashtra. Sixty-one of his hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib. He is linked with the Marathi language. The Dadupanth counts him among its five gurus.
So his voice reached Punjab and Rajasthan too.
Sources: Sahitya Akademi newsletter (for namdev: a maharashtrian bridge to sikhism).
Check 4
Hymns of Namdev are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Crossing regional and religious boundaries
Ramananda took Bhakti to the north. His disciples came from all castes. Kabir tried to reconcile Hindus and Muslims. He called himself a child of both Allah and Rama.
Chaitanya stressed love, purity and devotion to Krishna. He condemned empty ceremonies and caste. Ramanuja is also seen as a social reformer.
Basavanna founded the Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka. It stressed linga worship and rejected caste.
Sources: Shodhganga thesis chapter · Tamil culture history · Class 12 history support material · Rajasthan board question bank (for crossing regional and religious boundaries).
Check 5
Ramananda’s disciples came from all castes.
Ravidas: devotion and social equality
Ravidas was a nirgun saint of Varanasi. He was born into a leather-working family and is counted among the chamar community. His ghat at Varanasi was carved out of Rajghat in the early 1990s. A temple stands there.
Pilgrims visit it in large numbers. Mirabai’s teacher, Raidas, is often identified with him. See also the lesson on Guru Ravidas.
Sources: Shodhganga thesis chapter · Kashi heritage stories · Class 12 history support material (for ravidas: devotion and social equality).
Compiling the hymns: an institutional foundation
The verses of Kabir survive in three traditions. They are the Bijak, the Granthavali and the Adi Granth Sahib. Namdev and Ravidas hymns also entered the Guru Granth Sahib.
Rulers helped too. The Chola king Parantaka I had metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar made. He also backed Shiva temples such as Chidambaram.
Sources: Class 12 history support material · Sahitya Akademi newsletter · Rajasthan board question bank (for compiling the hymns: an institutional foundation).
Check 6
The Chola kings had images of the Nayanar saints installed.
Women saints and the Tamil Veda
Some historians say the Alvars and Nayanars spoke out against caste. The debate is open. They also gave women an honoured place in worship. Andal was a woman Alvar who wrote songs of love for Vishnu. Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a woman Nayanar devoted to Shiva.
The main Alvar anthology is the Nalayira Divyaprabandham. It is often called the Tamil Veda.
- Alvars worshipped Vishnu.
- Nayanars worshipped Shiva.
- Both groups sang in Tamil, not Sanskrit.
Sources: Class 12 history support material (for women saints and the tamil veda).
Check 7
Andal was a woman saint among the Alvars.
Who followed which path
Saints can be sorted by how they pictured God. Saguna saints gave God a form and a name. Tulsidas worshipped Rama in this way. Surdas and Mirabai worshipped Krishna.
Nirguna saints worshipped God without form. Kabir followed the path of knowledge. Jayasi followed the path of love.
- Saguna Rama devotee: Tulsidas.
- Saguna Krishna devotees: Surdas and Mirabai.
- Nirguna path of knowledge: Kabir.
- Nirguna path of love: Jayasi.
- Do not mix up Kabir and Tulsidas. Kabir’s Rama had no form. Tulsidas worshipped Rama as the son of Dasharatha.
Sources: Class 12 history support material (for who followed which path).
Check 8
Surdas and Mirabai were Krishna devotees.
Basavanna and the Virashaiva movement
A new movement rose in Karnataka in the 12th century. It was led by Basavanna, who lived from 1106 to 1168. He was born a Brahmana but questioned the old order. His followers are called Virashaivas or Lingayats.
They worshipped Shiva in the form of a linga. They doubted the theory of rebirth. They also backed marriage after puberty and the remarriage of widows.
- Region: Karnataka.
- Century: the 12th.
- God worshipped: Shiva as a linga.
- Do not mix them up with the Nayanars. The Nayanars were Tamil saints of the early tradition.
Sources: Class 12 history support material (for basavanna and the virashaiva movement).
Check 9
Basavanna led the Virashaiva movement in Tamil Nadu.
One long tradition, not one single event
Bhakti began in Tamil Nadu and Kerala around the 7th century. It reached its peak in the north between the 15th and 17th centuries. Its common idea is direct, personal devotion to God. So no single founder or date explains the whole movement.
Sources: Zenodo research record · Bhakti metaphysics book (for one long tradition, not one single event).
How has this been asked in exams?
CAPF ACs 2021
The odd one out among the nirguna saints is Chaitanya. He worshipped Krishna in a sagun form. CAPF (ACs) 2021, General Ability, Q110.
CDS I 2018
Kabir’s verses are found in three traditions, not one. They are the Bijak, the Granthavali and the Adi Granth. CDS (I) 2018, General Knowledge, Q60.
Exam trap
Kabir is nirgun, not sagun. The Alvars and Nayanars sang in Tamil, in the 7th to 10th centuries. Chaitanya stands apart from the nirgun saints.
Quick Q&A
- Who did the Alvars worship? Vishnu.
- Who did the Nayanars worship? Shiva.
- How many Namdev hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib? Sixty-one.
- Who founded Virashaivism? Basavanna.
- South first: Alvars and Nayanars, 7th to 10th century.
- Two streams: sagun (with form) and nirgun (without).
- Kabir: nirgun, three traditions of verses.
- Chaitanya: Krishna devotion, the odd one out.
Current affairs: Sant Ravidas Express
Sant Ravidas Express and the 650th Jayanti
A direct Amritsar to Varanasi train was announced for the Ravidassia community. The Prime Minister was to flag off the Sant Ravidas Express at Jalandhar Cantt on 17 July 2026. It is the first direct AC train between Amritsar and Varanasi.
Varanasi holds the birthplace of Guru Ravidas at Seer Govardhanpur. The train links to the 650th Parkash Purab of Guru Ravidas.
Sources: Tribune India report (for sant ravidas express and the 650th jayanti).
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