UPSC Prelims 2019 GS Paper I · Q13 of 100 History medium

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?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (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.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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