Which of the following statements about Virashaivism is/are correct? 1. The Virashaivism traces its origin to the five great religious teachers—Renuka, Daruka, Ghantakarna, Dhenukarna and Vishvakarna. 2. The Virashaiva philosophy is called Shaktivishishtadvaita—the non-duality of God. 3. Ashtavarana are the eight rules of the Virashaivism to be observed by the followers. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)1, 2 and 3
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)3 only
Correct — B, 1, 2 and 3. All three statements are accepted. Statement 1 reports the tradition's own account of its origin in five great teachers, the Panchacharyas, said to have appeared from the five faces of Shiva; the paper gives their names as Renuka, Daruka, Ghantakarna, Dhenukarna and Vishvakarna. Statement 2 names the school's philosophy correctly — Virashaiva thought is called Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, a qualified non-dualism in which the world is not separate from God but is God's own Shakti. Statement 3 is the most concrete of the three: the Ashtavarana are the eight observances that shield a Virashaiva — obedience to the guru, wearing the ishtalinga on the body, reverence for the jangama or wandering ascetic, the padodaka or water used to bathe the linga, the prasada or sacred offering, vibhuti or holy ash, the rudraksha string, and the mantra Namah Shivaya. Nothing needs striking out, so all three stand.
- (a)1 and 2 only — Drops statement 3, but the Ashtavarana really are the eight prescribed observances of the tradition, and they are its most distinctive practical feature.
- (c)1 and 3 only — Drops statement 2, but Shakti-Vishishtadvaita is the accepted name for Virashaiva philosophy.
- (d)3 only — Keeps only the Ashtavarana and rejects both the origin account and the philosophical label, though the key accepts all three.
Virashaivism, whose followers are also called Lingayats, is a Shaiva devotional tradition centred in Karnataka. Its members wear a personal ishtalinga on the body, reject the mediation of temple and priest and the ranking of caste, and take their name from an intense, heroic devotion to Shiva. Its philosophy is Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, and its practical discipline is the Ashtavarana, the eight coverings or shields.
Two of the three statements use technical vocabulary that a candidate is unlikely to have met, so the temptation is to reject them for that reason alone. Resist it: an unfamiliar Sanskrit term is not evidence that a statement is false, and here the two unfamiliar ones — Shaktivishishtadvaita and Ashtavarana — are both genuine. One caution on statement 1 for a student who reads further. The five teachers are more usually listed as Renukacharya, Darukacharya, Ekorama, Panditharadhya and Vishwaradhya; the paper's Ghantakarna, Dhenukarna and Vishvakarna belong to an alternative naming for the same five within the tradition. The key marks statement 1 correct, so answer (b), but do not be thrown if you meet the other list.
- Virashaiva tradition traces its transmission to five Panchacharyas, more commonly listed as Renukacharya, Darukacharya, Ekorama, Panditharadhya and Vishwaradhya.
- The Virashaiva philosophy is called Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, described as a monism fused with Shakti belief.
- The eight Ashtavarana are guru, linga, jangama, padodaka, prasada, vibhuti, rudraksha and mantra.
- The movement's great twelfth-century leader in Karnataka was Basavanna, a minister at the court of the Kalachuri ruler.
- Rejecting a statement because its Sanskrit term is unfamiliar rather than because it is wrong.
- Confusing Vishishtadvaita, which is Ramanuja's Vaishnava system, with Shakti-Vishishtadvaita, the Virashaiva one.
- Assuming the movement begins with Basavanna alone; the tradition itself claims a much older descent from the five teachers.
Asked as a three-statement item on a regional religious tradition, leaning on technical terms most candidates have not memorised.
With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements: 1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry. 2. Lingayats of Kannada region questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
The same tradition under its other name. Statement 2 there gives the social content of Lingayat teaching — rejection of caste hierarchy and of the rebirth doctrine — which sits alongside the philosophical label and the eight observances this CDS item tests.
Consider the following statements related to the Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka: 1. The Virashaiva movement was led by a Brahmana named Basavanna, a minister in the court of the Kalachuri ruler in the twelfth century. 2. The Virashaivas encouraged practices, approved by the Dharmashastras, like post-puberty marriages and remarriage of widows. Which of the statement/s given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) 1 only
Same tradition, and a good test of precision. Statement 2 there fails on a single clause — the Virashaivas did encourage post-puberty marriage and widow remarriage, but those were practices the Dharmashastras did not approve, which is the whole point of their dissent.
CDS_GK_2022_I_Q522022Who among the following was the founder of the Virashaiva Movement in Karnataka?
- (a) Basavanna
- (b) Appar
- (c) Sambandar
- (d) Sundarar
Answer(a) Basavanna
Same movement, asked for its historical leader rather than its doctrine. Note how the two questions fit together: CDS 2022 credits Basavanna with founding the movement in Karnataka, while CDS 2024 accepts the tradition's own claim of descent from five earlier teachers.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Ashtavarana of Virashaivism refers to
- (a)eight sacred rivers
- (b)eight observances that shield a follower
- (c)eight temples of Shiva
- (d)eight ministers of the Kalachuri court
Answer(b) eight observances that shield a follower — guru, linga, jangama, padodaka, prasada, vibhuti, rudraksha and mantra.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The philosophy associated with the Virashaiva tradition is
- (a)Kevaladvaita
- (b)Dvaitadvaita
- (c)Shakti-Vishishtadvaita
- (d)Shuddhadvaita
Answer(c) Shakti-Vishishtadvaita — Shuddhadvaita is Vallabhacharya's and Dvaitadvaita is Nimbarka's.