Consider the following statements : 1. Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar. 2. Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi. 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 ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• Statement 1 is wrong: Nimbarka, founder of the Dvaitadvaita school and the Nimbarka Sampradaya devoted to Radha-Krishna, lived around the 12th–13th century, long before Akbar (r. 1556–1605).
• Statement 2 is wrong: Kabir (15th century) predates Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564–1624), the Naqshbandi reformer who opposed Akbar's eclecticism; Kabir's influences were Ramananda and Sufi thought of his own time.
• Hence neither 1 nor 2, option (d).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 only
- Statement 1 is wrong: Nimbarka lived centuries before Akbar.
- (b) 2 only
- Statement 2 is wrong: Kabir predates Sirhindi.
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- Both statements are wrong.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.