Question

Consider the following statement:
I. Alvars and Nayanars initiated a moment of protest against the Caste system and the dominance of Brahmans or at least attempted to reform the system.
II.Alvars and Nayanars always supported the Caste system in the society.
III. The importance of the traditions of the Alvars and Nayanars was sometimes indicated by the claim that their compositions were as important as the Vedas.
Which of the following statement is/are correct about the attitudes of Alvars and Nayanars towards Cate system?
A. Only I
B. I and II
C. I and III
D. All of the above.

Answer 1

Hint:Caste is an hierarchical issue which classified people based on their work. Religion classified humans based on their divinity in their worship and ethical issues , morals. There were several religions in the world . Caste system was mostly followed in the Hindus. Several leaders like Alvars and Nayanars started several movements to remove the dominance of the higher caste people.

Complete answer:
 There were several leaders in the religion. Hindus started a Bhakti movement in the eighteenth century. It was led by Alvars and Nayanars. There were sixty three Nayanars and twelve Alvars . They belonged to different caste societies. They preached about the god and goddess in the local language through their stories and their poems. Hence the statement I is correct.
They were against the caste system and also against the dominance of Brahmans . Hence the statement II is wrong.The importance of the traditions of the Alvars and Nayanars was sometimes indicated by the claim that their compositions were as important as the Vedas. They were considered as leaders for their religion. We know that the Caste system classified the people based on their work and their devotion to God. Generally there were four castes Bhramins, Shatriyas , Vaishyas, Shudras. Based on their devotion to God , they were classified as Vaishnavas , Shaivas. Vaishnavas worship the Lord Vishnu and Shiva worshiped Lord Shiva. Alvars were Tamil poets who worshiped and devoted to Lord Vishnu and his avatars. They lived as saints. They were linked to Vaishnavism. Nayanars were also Tamil poetic saints who worshiped and devoted to Lord Shiva. They were linked to Shaivism.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note:Several leaders struggled to remove the caste and religious system from the earlier period. Their efforts made India to emerge as a nation with Unity in Diversity. India consists of a large number of religions and castes present in a comment society but they are united.